GAME RECAPS

After a downpour during the mid-afternoon with Dreamers running for shelter and making panicked calls to check if the games were still on, the skies let up and the diamond was in great shape for two excellent nail-biter games! In the first game, Humber River took a large early lead helped by some defensive wizardry at short-stop and second base from the pairings of Yogi Acharya and Giibwanisi and a nifty slide by Craig Fortier. This was complemented from some excellent hitting by Katie, Jenny, Ro, Janine, and Jo – one hasn’t seen contact like that at SkyDome since the Days of Olerud & Alomar! As might be expected on a night when the air was warm and dewey, the ball was jumpin! Karl “The Jarl of Dufferin” and Andrew “No-Nonesense” Norton exchanged towering home runs that were hit into another area code and required rescue missions for the balls. However, just as Humber thought they had the game locked up, Rouge stormed back to score 9 runs in the top of the 6th inning to tie the game! However, Jenny Chan played hero on this day, knocking in the winning run on a walk-off single, 16-15 for the Hustle! (Richard Peters & Craig Fortier).

Game two was played at dusk under a beautiful sundown. But quickly the Credit River Rainbown Trout went to work. Just as the sun had descended earlier a shallow bloop off the bat of Don River powerhouse Ryan “I Don’t Bunt” Hayes, looked to be drooping in over the infielders and out of reach of the outfielders. However, from the dark reaches of left field came a sliding Johann Juarez to make what might have been the most spectacular catch of the season!!! As Juarez walked off, both teams (Don & Credit) and even a few of us lingering in the crowd rose in standing ovation to acknowledge the spectacular effort. It was back to work for the fish as they quickly took a 10-1 lead over their distant distant distant relative Mastadons (like really distant, really really distant). But no lead is safe when the Mastadons start playing like Wooly Mammoths and the keen clobbering by Jessica Duarte, Karen Campell, Reena Reddy, Erika Pulfer, and the speedy sprint of Brianna Greaves set up some enormous blasts from Don Rivers’ side that ended in 3-4 balls being consumed by the night sky! However, Credit River was not going to be denied their second win of the season and as they gingerly pushed Alex Brant toward third base, the clutch hit from Colin Hastings sealed the victory, 16-15 for the Trout!

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS

Hits
Tracey Mann (Rouge)

Triples

Darren Puscas (Don)

Andrew Norton (Humber)

ODDITIES

Double Agent

Brianna Greaves and Erika Pulfer have the same number of hits (9) in almost the same number of at bats – yet while Brianna has knocked in the most runs (4), Erika has been a scoring machine (8)

Adrian Rodill Award

Karl Gardner – currently leads in all-time career .AVG (.775) .SLG (1.080) and OPS (1.854)

ALL TIME PLAYER STATUS!!!
Richard Peters becomes the 35th player in league history to eclipse the 50 At-Bat plateau. An important milestone of longevity for the league!!!

GAME RECAPS

The sweltering Toronto heat started to break – just barely – as Field of Dreamer’s players took the field in tank tops and altered jerseys. And while the temperature was indeed dropping, the action on the field continued to be fire. In the first game of the day, Credit River faced Humber River for the first time this season. A matchup of the west-end rivers the game was bound to be long and winding with a strong current. And sure enough, these two teams combined to play the first 7 inning game of the season! A 22-7 score for Humber River belies the action-packed and thrilling play that was exhibited by both sides. Katie German played a stellar second base alongside Craig Fortier at short stop where the pairing combined for a half dozen put-outs and some dance floor flair for the Hustle. In the 4th inning an apparent home run blast off the bat of a Humber River player was met by the incredible iridescence of a number of Rainbow Trout relay throws that was able to cut the celebration short with an out at home!

In game two, the night cooling the air, a reformulated Don River squad placed their undefeated record on the line against a determined Rouge River in the first battle of the eastern river teams. The dense summer air ensured that the ball was flying off the bat! Home runs from Karl Gardner, Umar Saeed, Andy Smith, Darren Puscas and Matthew Poggi led the charge…but it was Rouge that was able to place runners on base to drive in. Merle Davis, Rachele Clemente, Gita Madan, Shelagh Pizey-Allen, Andrew Stokes and Nav Sidhu all had multi-hit games that clogged the base paths with Ballsheviks. And like Czar Nicholas II some time in the summer months of 1917, the writing was on the wall for the undefeated Mastadons. A score of 19-7 in favour of the collectivists made the mammutid proboscideans realize that no team is safe at the top of the food chain. Nonetheless, the Mastadons are far from extinct as they take the best record in the league into this week’s matchups. Stay tuned kids…

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS

Hits
Andrew Norton (Don)

Runs Batted In
Linda Swanston (Credit)

Home Run
Matthew Poggi (Don)

Darren Puscas (Don)

Andy Smith (Rouge)

ODDITIES

Double Agent

TH Vega (Credit) – becomes only the 10th player in league history to record a hit as both a left handed and right handed hitter!

Double Cycles!

Karl Gardner (Rouge) – accomplishes an incredible feat by hitting for the cycle (1B, 2B, 3B, HR) two times in 4 games played! Including a Grand Slam! Interestingly Karl only scored once in all of these at-bats.

GAME RECAPS

The June 4th early match was a defensive nailbiter between small but mighty iterations of the Credit River Rainbow Trouts and the Rouge River Ballsheviks, ending in a 11-10 victory for the Trouts – their first of the season. Don’t let the low score fool you: bats were firing on both sides. An early ground-rule double for Andy Smith and a three-run homer for Umar Saeed of the Ballsheviks were supplemented by tons of singles to load the bases and drive in runs, with Shelagh Pizey-Allen and Rachele Clemente finding perfect holes in the field. The Ballsheviks were robbed of more than a few scoring opportunities due spectacular catches by the Trouts’ outfielders, with Alex Brant making – in this writer’s humble opinion – the most jaw-dropping scoop of the game. Another weird and wonderful defensive highlight belongs to Lainie Basman and Ness Dixon of the Ballsheviks, who worked together to handle a pop-fly close to the third base line. Trout bats were firing on all fronts, with a pair of home runs by Johann Juarez and doubles by LJ (“Laser-Jay”) Robinson and everyone else batting at least one single – none sweeter, though, than TH Vega’s wicked lefty walk-off (Robyn Letson – Credit River).

A rainy morning couldn’t keep the Dreamers off the field on June 4. The Humber River Hustle and the Don River Mastodons faced off in the second game of the night on the slippery field, in a high-action game. Defensive plays featured spectacular dives in the outfield: notably a dive by Craig Fortier from the Humber River Hustle, who lunged fearlessly towards a flyball hit by Noah Adams in the second inning, barely missing it. Then, in the bottom of the third inning Matthew Poggi and Devin Clancy displayed their own defensive chops, diving to catch the Hustle’s flyballs twice, almost succeeding.

The Mastodons dominated second base, with Annalies Cooper posting outs three innings in a row, Karen Campbell posting two outs at first, and Jessica Duarte posting two outs at second in a single inning! These outs are attributable to a perfect display of teamwork, with impeccable fielding on the part of short stops Darren Puscas, Matthew Poggi, Terrance Luscombe and Ryan Hayes. The Hustle dominated the offense with hard-hit balls that were burning gloves all night. One of the highlights of the game came at the top of the sixth with bases loaded, the Hustle maxed out the five-run rule with an inning-ending longball hit by Richard Peters, with the crowd roaring. The lights on the field went out before both teams went home in high spirits, as another night of our favourite team sport came to a close (Jessica Duarte & Karen Campbell – Don River)

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

ODDITIES

Symmetrical Lines
Robin Smillie (Credit) – 7 hits in 14 at bats with 3 runs scored and 3 runs batted in

Symmetrical Lines
Katie German (Humber) – Currently leads the league with 16 at-bats this season!

Near Perfect Start
Jessica Duarte (Don) – First player in league history to start their career 9/10 in hits!

Set It Up and Rack Em
Jennifer Mussell (Don) – Becomes latest player to begin career scoring each time they reach base (6 times!)

Singles Bar Specialist
Annelies Cooper – leads all players this season with 12 singles!

 

GAME RECAPS

 

The hot sunny day game saw the tenacious Humber River Hustle face the formidable Rouge River Ballsheviks in a rematch of week 2.  This game featured our first two substitute players of the season as Jean McDonald and Graeme Bacque made their Field of Dreamers debuts for the Humber River squad! Amidst clouds of marijuana smoke and a festive regalement of hippies and disc enthusiasts, the western and eastern river rivals played a back and forth affair marked by a titanic home run by Richard Peters, some stellar defence by the Rouge River comrades and a game tying RBI single by Katie German!  Katie represented the winning run and on a sharp line drive to the outfield she rounded third on her way to score the winning run, but alas, an incredibly beautiful relay and a superb catch by Lainie at home beat Katie to the plate by a half-step!  The game ended historically in the first tie in Field of Dreamers History! 11-11! (Craig Fortier – Humber)

With dance music from surrounding Frisbee players setting the tone for a fun match-up between the Credit River Rainbow Trouts and the Don River Mastodons, players tried their best and made some fantastic plays over an hour and a half. As the season and the weather heat up, teams are coming together and skills of all players are noticeably improving.

The crowd in the stands got their money’s worth, with stellar plays from both teams. The Don River Mastodons continue to be power hitters, with at least three balls flying down to the dog pit, out of reach of the Credit River Rainbow Trouts. Credit River, on the other hand, ramped up their team’s defense abilities, catching fly balls in the infield and outfield, and putting up a good fight. In the end, we were all winners: it’s not about the destination, it’s how you get there, and we’re getting better every day.

Ok, I guess there are some winners in baseball. The Mastodons were the winning team, with 19 points scored vs the Rainbow Trouts’ 9. The Mastodons remain undefeated, and the Trouts remain defeated, but hopeful and confident that a win is in their grasp. (Robin Smillie – Credit)

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

FIRSTS

At-Bats

Graeme Bacque (Humber) (4)

Hits
Linda Swanston (Credit) (3)

Doubles
Gita Madan (Rouge)
Andy Smith (Rouge)
Jennifer Mussell (Don)
Jean McDonald (Humber)

Triples
Peter Demakos (Credit)

Runs
Kate Uffelman (Rouge) (2)

ODDITIES

Double Trouble

Erika Pulfer (Don) has recorded 4 runs scored in 2 career games!

Lots of Mileage

Richard Peters (Humber) – with 4th home run on season, currently has as many home runs as singles!

Adrian Rodill Who?

Karl Gardner (Rouge) – going 3/3 last game, Karl takes over the all-time lead in career batting average (.761) for qualified players (Min 50 AB)

If I’m On, I’m In

Gita Madan (Rouge) remains the only person to have scored each time they have reached base safely -streak is now 4!

ALL TIME PLAYER STATUS*
Yogi Acharya (Humber) – 34th player in league history to record 50 career at-bats

*Reaching 50 at-bats meets the threshold to be placed in the hall of career players for the Field of Dreamers Cooperative Softball Association.

GAME RECAPS

On a windy Sunday evening at 8pm, the Don River Mastadons and the Humber River Hustle returned to Trinity Bellwoods Park to face off for the second round of games in league history. Energy was high as both teams came off of first game victories. Humber River led off at bat and set the stage for a game that featured several innings of hitting the mercy cap of 5 runs by both teams. Humber’s hitting was formidable with first career doubles from Janine Caster, Leigh Kittson, Katie German and the first career triple from Yogi Acharya. However, Don River was able to shore up their defensive play and contain Humber’s score, holding the lead going into the final inning. In particular Terrance Luscombe played a spectacular inning at short stop single handedly forcing a 3-up 3-down on Humber. Don River’s Ryan Hayes also scored a breathtaking Grand Slam Home run! Humber would go down with a fight however, scoring 11 runs in a ‘no mercy’ final inning to take the lead. However, that come from behind rally was no match for Don River who was able to score enough runs to take back the game with a final score of 24-23 and remain undefeated in the league thus far (Annelies Cooper – Don River).

The late game between Rouge River and Credit River was a showdown between two teams looking for their first win of the season. Both teams knocked the ball all over Trinity Bellwoods Park in this high scoring affair. In the end, Rouge River came out on top by a score of 18-11. The 29 total runs scored in the game were the product of many career firsts! Rachel Small set the tone for the game by leading off for Credit River in the first inning and hitting their first career home run, later Umar Saeed of Rouge River would launch their first career home run too! Three players on Rouge River (Gita Madan, Rachele Clement, and Kate Uffelman) recorded their first career hits and two players (Alex Brant and Niloofar Golkar) on Credit River recorded their first extra-base hits! While the scorecard shows that Karl Gardner hit for the cycle, it does not describe just how deep into the trees his home run ball traveled (that ball did not come back). Also not portrayed on the scorecard is Lainie Basman’s spectacular grab in the infield! All and all an exciting game to wrap up week 2 that gives both teams a lot to look forward to heading into the training week next week (Colin Hastings – Credit River).

See the game box scores here

See player stats here

See league standings here

MILESTONES

 

FIRSTS

First Career Hit

• Gita Madan (Rouge)
• Rachele Clement (Rouge)
• Kate Uffelman (Rouge)
• Jennifer Mussell (Don)
• Erika Pulfer (Don)
• Brianna Greaves (Don)

First Career Double

• Alex Brant (Credit)
• Niloofar Golkar (Credit)
• Janine Caster (Humber)
• Leigh Kittson (Humber)
• Katie German (Humber)

• Yogi Acharya (Humber)

First Career Home Run

• Umar Saeed (Rouge)
• Rachel Small (Credit)

First Career Run Scored

• Shelagh Pizey-Allen (Rouge)
• TH Vega (Credit)
• Robin Smillie (Credit)

First Career Run Batted In

• Michelle Roseman (Credit)

ODDITIES

Everything Comes in 3s! 

• Richard Peters has a 3 home run 9 RBI performance!

Everything Comes in 4s!

• Karl Gardner hits for the cycle with 4 runs scored and 4 runs batted in — Cycle = 1 single, 1 double, 1 triple, 1 home run

Same Same But Different! 

• LJ Robinson & Jenny Chan reach 90 career hits on the same night!
• Colin Hastings & Annelies Cooper both start the season after 2 games with 6 hits in 6 at bats
• Reena Reddy – achieved 20 runs batted in and 10 runs scored on the same day! DOUBLE MILESTONE!