THE JULY 1st FiREWORKS SPECTACULAR
The humidex was broken, the clay surface was hardened, the frisbee game was almost unplayable, and yet the Field of Dreamers trudged onto the field to play two of the most spirited games of the season. The SkyDome was a alive on this blistering day to welcome the 2nd half of the year, and players came decked in their finest tank tops, shorts, and replenished with an array of strawberries, watermelon, Robin’s famous browned-butter rice krispie squres and various forms of electrolytes. Would the Blush wear their hot new look all the way towards victory or would the Comrades link arms to resist a needed makeover? Would the Valley Cats burn one of their nine lives in pursuit of victory or would the Humdingers be the last ones singing?
You’ll have to keep reading to find out!
CREDIT RIVER COMRADES vs. ROUGE RIVER BLUSH
It was the kind of day where the Blush were applying their Lancôme Hypnôse Star 24 Hour Waterproof mascara and where the Comrades were joyfully recalling stories of their long treks through the Sierra Maestra mountains during the great Cuban Revolution. The teams approached each other with a tentativeness as the Comrades began the game with their rally chants and food rations and the Blush spent some time filing their nails and making sure their outfits were on point. So began the slow start where both defences shined like a patch of oily skin after a few days of falling of your skin care routine. TH Vega and Craig Fortier connected for some swift plays at Third Base, while Jenny Chan made a few harrowing plays at Second. Terrance Luscombe provided the largest blast of the day, a ruby red liner that turned into a home run. After four innings of play, the game had produced a meagre 6-3 score. But the Comrades, ever hopeful, started to string together hits, with Tanis Franco leading the office scoring 3 times and knocking in 4 pals en route to a five run mercy fifth inning. The Blush tried hard to freshen their look for one last chance at victory, but it was not to be. In the end, Credit River took their 6th win of the season by a score of 8-6 over Rouge River. (Craig Fortier, Rouge River Blush).
DON RIVER VALLEY CATS vs. HUMBER RIVER HUMDINGERS
The sun had set by the time the Humber River Humdingers and the Don River Valley Cats entered the SkyDome on a sweltering Sunday, but it left sticky, steamy air in its wake. That heat made Humber slick with perspiration as they picked up a tune and began making hits and catches. Meanwhile, the Cats felt like they were on a hot tin roof as they pounced from ball to ball. Both teams traded runs back and forth, and onlookers celebrated every hit, catch, and umpire’s call with an explosive blast of fireworks. The Humdingers caught their rhythm when Devin Clancy slugged a massive hit to centre field, and they made play after play thanks to the production, sound engineering, and songwriting of subs Susannah, David, and Saren. Don Valley, however, twitched their tails and met those moves when Niloofar Golkar swung for the fences and caught a nail-biter of a pop fly, and Andrew Norton showed his claws at shortstop, stopping Humber smashes. The game went back and forth until the heat began to let up, the lights dimmed, and both teams shook hands, calling a 13-13 tie (Andrew Stokes, Don River Valley Cats).
See the game box scores here
See player stats here
See league standings here
MILESTONES
Credit River
Gita Madan – becomes 21st player in league history to reach 40 career runs batted in!
Peter Demakos – becomes 20th player in league history to reach 50 career singles (51)!
Tanis Franco – see oddities below!
Johann Juarez – becomes 3rd player in league history to reach 275 career at-bats!
Darren Puscas – becomes 7th player in league history to reach 85 career runs batted in!
Karl Gardner – see oddities below!
Jill Aoki-Barrett – becomes 67th player in league history to reach 10 career runs scored (11)!
Robyn Letson – becomes 21st player in league history to reach 70 career hits (71)!
Yogi Acharya – becomes 10th player in league history to score at least 60 career runs (61)!
LJ Robinson – see oddities below!
Don River
Katie German – see oddities below!
Andrew Stokes – becomes 20th player in league history to reach 75 career hits!
Janine Caster – see oddities below!
Shelagh Pizey-Allen – becomes 52nd player in league history to reach 35 career hits!
Niloofar Golkar – becomes 45th player in league history to reach 40 career hits (41)!
Richard Peters – becomes 22nd player in league history to reach 70 career hits (71)!
Andrew Norton – currently ranks 13th all time in single-season doubles after hitting doubles #10,11 already this season
Phill Morgan – becomes 80th player in league history to reach 15 career at-bats!
Caren Weisbart – becomes 89th player in league history to reach 10 career at-bats!
Humber River
Natalia Saavedra – becomes 25th player in league history to reach 100 career at-bats!! BRAVO NAT!
Alex Brant – see oddities below!
Ryan Hayes – see oddities below!
Annelies Cooper – becomes 14th player in league history to score at least 50 runs (52)!
Devin Clancy – is currently tied for 13th all time with 18 career doubles!
Colin Hastings -becomes 6th player in league history to reach 125 career hits!
Rouge River
Sarah Weinberger – becomes 73rd player in league history to record at least 20 career at-bats (21)!
Samira Banihashemi – recorded their first career run scored!
Noah Adams – becomes 25th player in league history to score 25 career runs!
Merle Davis – becomes 11th player in league history to reach 150 career at-bats (152)!
TH Vega – becomes 64th player in league history to reach 20 career hits!
Terrance Luscombe -tied for 10th all time with 6 career home runs!
Craig Fortier – see oddities below!
Rocio Velasquez Guzman – becomes 32nd player in league history to reach 50 career hits!
Jenny Chan – becomes 5th player in league history to reach 215 career at-bats!
Andy Smith – among qualified players (those with at least 61 career at-bats) ranks 1st all time with a career .865 batting average
SUBS
Joseph Bautista – becomes first sub player to record 20 career at-bats!
Saren Smillie – becomes 90th player in league history to record 5 career hits!
Susannah Mulvale – becomes 121st player in league history to record their first hit!
David Ravensbergen- becomes 80th player in league history to record a double!
Jayne Miles – becomes 115th player in league history to record at least 2 career hits!
ODDITIES
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Tanis Franco (Credit) doubles their career runs batted with 4 during a single game and now sits at 6 career RBIs!
133 IS RIGHT FOR WE
Credit River Comrades teammates LJ Robinson and Karl Gardner are currently tied for 4th on the all-time list with 133 hits!
OCTOGENARIAN CLUB
Don River Valley Cat teammates Katie German (82) and Janine Caster (80) become the 36th and 37th players to respectively reach 80 career at-bats!
NEW MIRROR
Alex Brant (Humber) has moved from having an almost identical career line with Robin Smillie (Humber) to having an almost identical career line with Katie German (Don).
Alex Brant 84 AB 49 H 48 1B 1 2B
LIKE MONEY IN THE BANK
Ryan Hayes (Humber) has scored more runs this season (12) than hits (11). An unusual feat!
TRIPLE THREAT
With another triple last game, Craig Fortier has 33 career triples more than double the nearest player on the career list Ryan Hayes (16)
Katie German 82 AB 49 H 48 1B 1 2B