Freight Train

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Freight Train Boogie

Among hundreds of others there is a cliche in the NBA that in the playoffs there is no carry-over from game to game. That each game is its own drama and story to be told. So you could lose by 30 and then win the next game. This years's playoffs were full of those stories.

You would think that rec league softball followed the same pattern, if for no other reason than we only play once a week. There is plenty of time for momentum to change, or perhaps it wouldn't even exist.

But you can look at the last three weeks of Transdyn's season for evidence to the contrary.

Three weeks ago we had that great two out walk-off rally to upend the Brews Bros. 9-8 on Rene's gapper.

The Brews Bros responded to their frustration by going out and playing a solid game against the (then) first place Sons of Pitches 14-6. You wonder if the crushing defeat gave them more resolve.

We took our momentum and confidence generated by the dramatic win, and just cruised in crushing the Alabama Tuna Melts 30-5.We had separate rallies of nine and ten runs. Jason broke out with a 4-4 and four RBIs from the leadoff spot. Coop had nearly the same game, 3-3 with a walk and four RBIs from the 'second leadoff' spot. Albert combined the pair's output for seven RBIs - including a bases loaded three run single in the first for the game winning RBIs. A side show was him deciding to take second on the play - when he was thrown out 'stretching' the hit - by about three steps. Maybe he should stretch before the game instead.

Hama was also a perfect 4-4 with a double and a walk and everyone in the lineup had a hit and a run scored and at least one RBI. The Tuna starter couldn't find the plate - there were ten walks altogether. We are the wrong team to not throw strikes to - we have too many veterans who are not too proud to take a walk for the team, in order to avoid swinging at bad pitches.

This set up the Rematch - we were now a half game ahead of the Sons going into our showdown last week. The winner pretty much would lock down regular season Cotton. If they won the best we could do was tie them and they would hold the tie breaker. Vice versa, except with their upset loss last week, it meant we could clinch regular season Cotton with a win.

The game was tight from the get go. No one could really square up the ball against either pitcher. Tom was dealing, holding them to a single run through four innings including a K. He even had them talking about having a no-hitter through two or three innings. They kept trying to un-jinx it by talking about it, I think they were getting nervous and jinxing themselves.

After taking a 2-0 lead in the first via run scoring singles from Bert and Hama, we came up in the fourth with what turned out to be our best rally of the game. Bert and Hama set the table this time and in a gapper reminiscent of the game winner a couple weeks earlier, Rene drove in both runners. I've never seen Hama run so hard as he scored from first again. We weren't done, and hits by Heffe, Tom and Coop brought in a couple of more.

Even though it was getting late and the way things were going 6-1 seemed like a large lead, we knew with the Sons of Pitches it could evaporate just like that.  And sure enough they rallied to tie it up in the top of the fifth.

We answered - but with just one run scratched across with a hit, a walk, a fielder's choice and one more hit. It was like a National League baseball rally. The tension mounted as neither team scored in the sixth. The highlight was Brian ranging far into center field to rope in a blooper that could have opened up their half.

We knew we had the hammer and the top of the lineup set  to come up in the bottom of the seventh should we need it. One run seemed like a very slim margin for error going into the seventh with such a prolific team in the other dugout.

Who knew the drama we were setting up?

They put a runner on first with one out. The next hitter smashed it up the middle - and Tom not only got a glove one it, he had it IN his glove. He had ALL day to at least get the lead runner and then the double play to end it. It was hit that hard. The batter was not even out of the box.

And then he rushed it. We've all done it. He threw behind Jas coming up to second base and it clanked off the tip of his glove into shallow right. Luckily he did slow the ball down so that no one could advance further, which proved to be important.

Give Tom credit for not panicking - he just went after the next batter and threw strikes. The guy hit a sinking liner to right, it looked like the game tying hit or at least the bases would be loaded. Or it could have bounced in front of and by Coop who went into a full lunge...and then they could have run amok.

But not this night. Coop, extended to the max, caught the ball. The runner on second was so sure it would drop he was already past third. And there was no panic in Coop. He flipped it to second, game over, COTTON!

We have a roll going on down the tracks.

Hopefully will continue it through the playoffs. Tomorrow's game is, of course, meaningless, but I always expect that we will try to win. Note that DS Electric is the Old Kahunas, who we never liked, and they scored 36 runs last week. Time to show them what good defense and pitching will do to them.

Milestones:

6/21
Heffe      130 bb (#1)
Bert        10 bb (#22)

6/28

Jas          350 h (#8)