GAME RECAPS

This week’s early match featured the charging Mastodons against the migrating Rainbow Trout and it was clear that a great collision was about to occur. The last game of the pre-eclipse 2017 era, the Field of Dreamer’s played under an usually sunny field as the last sweaty days of summer dripped with the sappy emotion of a Death Cab for Cutie song.  While the action on the field was filled with exciting plays, including Rachel Smalls over the head swings for base hits, in the stands, our weekly play-by-play announcer, Michael, stopped by to play a game he called “Five Innocent Questions” and though we only got through two of the five questions before a heroic 18-10 victory for the flapping fish, we did learn that: 1. Michael’s favourite city (outside of Toronto) is: Athens, Greece.  2. A meal that Micheal learned from his mother that he still makes to this day is: Potato Latkes. 3. Micheal is of Ukrainian descent and has been married a number of times. 4. The best part of Michael’s week is watching our ball games and yelling “Let’s Make Baseball!” – a phrase he is certain to have coined, confirming Umar & Jess’s suspicion from earlier in the season.

In the nighttime bill, the Humber River Hustle got some spot support from Dancing Deeve, Grooving Graeme, and Disco Darren as they went to work under the bright lights of SkyDome to face off with the “Only Dance Acceptable is Dance to Tune of Marching Band” Soviets who welcomed Comrade Ryan Hayes to bolster their Red Army. The Disco Divas played some stellar defence with Yogi Acharya notably snaring a Soviet Missile off the bat of the Jarl of Dufferinikov that left burn marks in his glove. While the Hustle got out to a good lead, the Ballsheviks gave them a red scare in the third inning with a powerful five run burst. But in the end, the Hustle brought some feel good levity to the austere communists and walked away with a 23-11 victory.

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS & Seconds

Runs Batted In
Graeme Bacque (2) – Humber River

Triples
Devin Clancy (1) – Don River

ODDITIES

ALL TIME PLAYERS LIST (REACH 50 CAREER AT-BATS!!!)

Matthew Poggi (Don) (50), Katie German (Humber) (52), and Stuart Schlusser (54)  all moved above the 50 at-bat mark becoming the 42nd, 43rd, and the 44th players in league history to reach that mark!!

Ahead by a Century Fish

Colin Hastings (102) and Rachel Small (101) become the first set of teammates to reach the 100 hit plateau on the same night. They become 8th and 9th players in league history to reach that mark! 

Quarter Century Fish

Alex Brant (25) and Niloofar Golkar (25) become the first set of teammates to reach the 25 hit plateau on the same night. They become the 51st and 52nd players in league history to reach that mark!

GAME RECAPS

The tonal cacophony of traditional Portuguese folk music and underground house modulated back and forth as the Dreamers took the Field for two games under the Sturgeon Moon.  The first tilt saw the charging Mastodons take on the dipsy doodling Hustle and with so much stomping happening it was clear that the dance card was full for the evening.  Both the twinkle toes and the heavy footed ones welcomed an array of subs for this affair as Gita Madan, Andrew Stokes, Krysta Williams suited up for the white & gold of Humber and Karl Gardner, and Ness Dixon, donned the deep purple of Don! The start of the game favoured the Miocene mammals as they pummelled an array of hits that prompted them to a 9-3 lead.  But a pair of two-run bombs by Craig Fortier scoring Yogi Acharya narrowed the gap.  However, again the Eastenders flew out on top with some clutch hitting by Karen Campbell and Darren Puscas and some key defensive stops by the returning Terrance Luscombe and the sure handed Ryan Hayes.  The game became a see-saw battle and it was a lightning rod three run home run that scored Laura Pin and Andrew Stokes by Gita Madan that dropped the needle and put the Hustle out in front.  But it was the Mastodons who saved the last dance this time as they came away with a 17-15 victory!

While it was the Sturgeon Moon that shined brightly in the sky it was the Rainbow Trout who glistened on the diamond.  Both squads were fortified with a slew of subs with Viva Rae Davis Matthews, Julia Danilewski, Giibwanisi and Janine Caster donning the white cloth of the red menace and Mark Calzavara, Natalia Saavedra, Darren Puscas, Yogi Acharya, and Craig Fortier sporting the powder blue iridescence of the Trout.  The game was an explosive display from the Trout who swam with fury all over the diamond.  At one point, perhaps foreshadowing the significant prowess for getting on base the Credit River squad showed, it could be heard from bench captain Rachel Small, that the Ballshevik revolution had reached it’s Troutskyist turn! Despite the lopsided result, the game was filled with exciting flourishes from the Rouge as Viva & Julia looked comfortable as part of the vanguard with some serious hits that had the Trout floundering.  But defence was the name of the game for the fish as an excellent outfield assist by Niloofar Golkar prompted a run-down after a hard hit double off the bat of Richard Peters and a steeple chase double play swallowed up Kate Uffelman trying to scamper back to first. With the win Credit River flexed their gills, but like the 4th International, the Ballsheviks realized that there would be life post-Troutsky and as the brisk breeze filled the air…the echoes of “Let’s Make Baseball” hung a little heavier tonight.

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS & Seconds

Hits
Mark Calzavara (4) – Credit River
Viva Rae Davis Matthews (1) – Rouge River
Julia Danilewski (2) – Rouge River
Krysta Williams (1) – Humber River

Home Runs
Gita Madan (1) – Rouge River

ODDITIES

ALL TIME PLAYERS LIST (REACH 50 CAREER AT-BATS!!!)

Darren Puscas (Don) Peter Demakos (Credit) and Janine Caster (Humber) all moved above the 50 at-bat mark becoming the 37th, 38th, and the 39th players in league history to reach that mark!!

Singles Party

The trio of Annelies Cooper (29), Jessica Duarte (27), and Karen Campbell (26) are 2nd, 3rd, and 4th respectively in singles this season on the leaderboards – the Mastodons continue to stomp out the hits! They are all chasing the all-time record for singles in a given season held by Devin Clancy who hit 33 in 2016.

20/20

Laura Pin and Leigh Kittson become a duo of Humber River players to accumulate their 20th career hit on the same night!

The least Outs

Ness Dixon (Rouge) has only recorded 3 outs over the first 22 at-bats of the season!

GAME RECAPS

The Skydome’s early match between the Humber River Hustle and the Credit River Rainbow Trout was chock-full of small victories, the details of which overwhelm this short summary. Here are just a few highlights: A triple at the plate and a double play at shortstop for Natalia Saavedra were essential to the Hustle’s success. In five at bats, Janine Caster – arguably one of the fastest Hustlers – posted four hits and three runs. And, to no one’s surprise, there were abounding ground-rule doubles off the mighty bats of Richard Peters and borrowed-Ballshevik Karl Gardner. The Trout had their own reason to celebrate after the first home run by Peter Demakos this season (second in his career!), which also scored three runs. A couple of new Trouts jumped into the water for the first time and showed their stripes: Meghan Wright and Saren Smillie contributed excellent offence, and Saren took a strong stance against opposing RBIs with an amazing catch in centre field. In the end, the Hustle had the higher score – but the game peaked spirits on both sides (by Robyn Letson – Credit River Rainbow Trout).

“Why don’t we have a post-game stomp?” asked a member of the Rouge River squad as they huddled and stared across the diamond at the Mastodons engaging in an ever-so-slightly imposing ritual.

Often the box scores fail to capture some of the most important things to happen at the game. Tonight, we cannot recap this game and not mention the enthusiastic and possibly inebriated man that relentlessly cheered (but in a heckling sort of way) every single player to approach the plate that night. He did not discriminate. He wanted you to get hits. He would encourage you to “focus” at times if he felt it was necessary, or to “just give it a poke” if you swung and missed a couple of times. He would definitively let you know that you were out, in case you weren’t sure. If “Let’s make baseball” becomes a thing – this was the man that coined that phrase.

But what actually happened in the game? The Rouge River Ballsheviks squeaked out a win 18-17. The game was cut short due to time so who knows what might have happened had another inning been played. The Ballsheviks took an early lead thanks to many hard hit balls, some being lost in the outfield. Rouge River solidified this lead with stellar defense, marked by a 1-2-3 inning where Gita Madan, Lainie Basman and Karl Gardner made back-to-back-to-back amazing pop-fly catches. But the Mastodons took this charge in stride. And it was indeed thanks to the gigantic mammal’s strides that suddenly, the Ballsheviks’ who were thought to have practically assured victory, were taken to tusk. The loveable prehistoric beasts reinforced their defensive strategy with masterly 2nd base hustles by Annelies Cooper and total 3rd base control by Matthew Poggi to hold the Ballsheviks’ 7 point lead at bay. Then, in what were nail-biting final innings, Darren Puscas hit two home runs bringing in at least 5 Mastodons home, and Ryan Hayes continued the stoic climb to a tied score with an out of field hit that contributed to what must have been the league’s record in “most balls lost in a single game”. What a joy it was for both teams to challenge each other so rewardingly and evenly. May all future games be as evenly matched (by Umar Saeed – Rouge River Ballsheviks and Jessica Duarte – Don River Mastodons).

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS & Seconds

Hits
Meghan Wright (4) – Credit River
Saren Smillie (2) – Credit River

Triples
Natalia Saavedra (2) – Humber River
Umar Saeed (1) – Rouge River

Home Runs
Peter Demakos (2) – Credit River

ODDITIES

Double Trouble

Darren Puscas (Don) becomes the third player this season (joining Karl Gardner (Rouge) and Richard Peters (Humber)) to have multiple home runs in a single game!

Safest Player

Andy Smith (Rouge) has only recorded 4 outs in 35 at-bats resulting in a league leading .886 batting average!