DIAMONDS OF GEMS
On a beautiful summer day, the Field of Dreamers took to the field to celebrate the annual Pride Game! Fans lined the stands awaiting with bated breath two games that wouldn’t disappoint. Fianna Dirks brought their entire fall collection with at least five incredible wardrobe changes, Victoria Barnett and Lucky Visvanathan sparkled in matching glittery finery, the Jarl of Dufferin came adorned in a cute ensemble of teal shorts, lavender top, and teal/lavender cap, and the crowd filled up in a celebratory mood.
But there were, indeed, games to be played, and the question on everyone’s minds was , of course, who would be the belles of the ball! Would the Humber River Habeneros spice up your life or would the Credit River Cuties upstage the contestants of the Great British BakeOff with their ooey gooey sweetness? As night fell and the half moon peaked from beyond the outfield trees, the crowd turned their attention to the Don Don Revolution’s attempt to go up tempo and strut over Garrison Creek, while the Gargoyles made it clear who they thought would be striking the final pose!
If you wanna know the results…
READ MORE TO FIND OUT!
Photo Credit: Victoria Barnett
HUMBER RIVER HABANEROS @ CREDIT RIVER CUTIES
With LJ Robinson locked into the DJ booth and Craig Fortier handling the play-by-play, the stage was set early for what seemed like a test-match for both Humber and Credit. Despite playing well all season, Humber River had yet to secure its first win and despite scrambling for most of the season to fill their roster, Credit River had gone undefeated. Would their streaks continue or were the Habanero’s ready to smoke out the Cuties?
Throughout the game, both teams were playing as though they had diamonds on the souls of their shoes! With defensive gem after defensive gem, it was hard for the crowd to continue their enthusiasm for that sexy defensive play! The Habaneros started the game off with a scorching hot base hit by Annelies Cooper, but some incredible plays in the field by Oskar Eliashevsky, and subs Nicole Bond and Tamara Daley, poured milk to calm the heat. In their half of the first, the Habaneros were stayed to a 1-0 lead. The Cuties, meanwhile, strutted their stuff in exhilarating fashion with hits from Sarah Peek and Noah Adams to blast out front and a single by Johann Juarez during the first of multiple baked potatoes to plate a few chives! After one inning the score favoured the Cuties 3-1.
The game continued to exude defensive greatness, though the Cuties weren’t able to contain Peter Demakos, Yassi Aghazadeh, and Andy Smith who made like Chili Klaus and were giddy from the taste of the Carolina Reapers they planted around the diamond. Humber River tied the game 3-3 heading into the bottom of the 2nd. The Cuties, however, would not be denied their moment of fame, and they took advantage of a couple well placed jewels off the bats of Lucky Visvanathan, Cristina Jaimungal, and Fianna Dirks to pull ahead 4-3.
The third and fourth innings continued to show Humber and Credit trading outs and with excitement in the air, even the great leaders of the Jewish and Gay frisbee teams (they were two teams not one single Gay Jewish team) came up to the booth to ask that we announce their desire to recruit! That was the impact of the plays by each team! Devin Clancy made some fine leather work in the outfield, Samira Banihashemi was a star at 2nd base, Victoria Barnett showed off an incredible throwing arm from third base and by the end of 4 innings the score was 7-5 for Credit.
The heat wave, however, began in the top of the 5th, when Jeffrey Ansloos sent a ghost pepper to the top of spice mountain and rolled into 3rd base with a triple (despite dreams from the stands that Jeff would hit the first home run of the game!). Jeff didn’t wait long on third, however, as Peter Demakos promptly scorched the ball into flames and Yassi and Andy belted hits to tie the game. Annelies Cooper hit a stinging grounder to short and though shortstop Nicole Bond looked to have a play, Cooper had left vapor trails along the baseline and had reached safely. Devin Clancy followed with an RBI single and the Habaneros had jumped to the lead 9-7. But could they hold on for their first win of 2021? The Cuties never let up and came to bat in the 5th with pomp and circumstance, but the Humber River squad was determined. Two quick outs, were followed by two singles and runners on first and second with a rally brewing, but with the third out in hand, the Habaneros got the magic W!
Final Score Humber River 9 – Credit River 7.
DON RIVER DON DON REVOLUTION @ GARRISON CREEK GARGOYLES
In the night cap the Don Don Revolution were revved up to face the Gargoyles for the first time this season. Garrison Creek has shown itself to be a well-oiled machine, with some of the best energy on the field at all times. This game would prove that this isn’t just a fluke as Garrison continued to strut their stuff throughout the game. But for the DDR, perhaps the opening salvo of the game came not from a play on the field, but from an incredibly well-timed walk up to SOPHIE’s “Immaterial” by team co-captain Jenny Chan, who waited specifically for the beat to drop before slashing a single to third base! Kay Ma and Kasey Walmsley followed this up with hits of their own and Don River took the lead in the first 1-0.
The Gargoyles were stoic in their half of the first inning and Darren Puscas, Kirsten Dick, and Glenn Gaviller held guard to plate 3 runs and put Garrison Creek back in the lead. But the DDR weren’t done, and they cut a rug thanks to a lead off double by team captain Craig Fortier, a single by Chris Mueller (who was removed because of injury – but who valiantly made his way to second on a fielder’s choice by sub Michael Kenny). TG Wong then laced an RBI triple and the DDR were up 4-3 going into the bottom of the 2nd. This, however, would be the last time Don River led in the game and Garrison Creek soon dashed the hopes of the DDR to emulate the great St. Romanus, the bishop of Rouen, who claimed to have delivered the country from a monster called Gargouille. The Gargoyles breathed fire off the bats of Sam Ponting, Nicole Bond, Phill Morgan, and Brittany Beaton and showed extreme speed and wingspans through the play of Molly Fremes, Victoria Barnett, Kris Belben, and Lucky Visvanathan.
By the end of the 2nd the score was now 8-4. The DDR, however, made like that mid-2000s Justice song and D.A.N.C.E.’d their way to three more runs thanks to some superb play by Tamara Daley, MJ Rwigema, Hall of Fame sub Nav Sidhu, and injury replacement Ruth Wilson (who struck the ball into the outfield following the first time they ever held a bat!). But perhaps no one worked harder to keep the dream alive for the DDRevolutionaries than Jenn Ma who took a ball to her hand from a throw at first base and then a ball to the mouth from a fouled ball off of her own bat! Despite the loss, the DDR played stunning defense and showed growth from many of their beginners!
Final Score Don River Don Don Revolution 9 – Garrison Creek Gargoyles 14.
See the game box scores here
See player stats here
See league standings here
MILESTONES
Credit River
Sarah Peek – becomes the 74th player in league history to score 15 career runs!
Oskar Eliashevsky – becomes the 56th player in league history to reach 20 career runs batted in!
Noah Adams – becomes the 37th player in league history to reach 70 career hits!
Fianna Dirks – currently tied for 39th on the all-time list with 34 career runs batted in!
Johann Juarez – becomes the 3rd player in league history to reach 250 career hits (253)!
Cristina Jaimungal – see firsts below!
Lainie Basman – becomes the 15th player in league history to reach 220 career at-bats (222)!
Jenni Klonteig – see oddities below!
Don River
MJ Rwigema – see firsts below!
TG Wong – becomes 54th player in league history to hit a triple!
Tamara Daley – currently ranks 36th on the Don River all-time at-bats leaderboard with 17!
Jenny Chan – becomes the 2nd player in league history to reach 180 career singles!
Craig Fortier – becomes the 1st player in league history to reach 40 career triples!
Kay Ma – see oddities below!
Kasey Walmsley- becomes the 140th player in league history to reach 5 career singles!
Jenn Ma– becomes the 163rd player in league history to reach 5 career at-bats!
Chris Mueller – see oddities below!
Humber River
Annelies Cooper– becomes the 4th player in league history to reach 170 career singles (171)!
Samira Banihashemi – becomes the 48th player in league history to reach 45 career singles!
Karl Gardner – becomes the 5th player in league history to reach 135 career runs scored!
Yassi Aghazadeh – currently ranks 33rd in Humber River history with 8 career hits!
Jeffrey Ansloos– becomes the 55th player in league history to hit a triple!
Peter Demakos – becomes the 21st player in league history to hit 20 career doubles!
Andy Smith – currently ranks 10th on the all time list with 31 career doubles!
Devin Clancy – becomes the 6th player in league history to reach 280 career at-bats!
Rouge River
Sena Hussain – becomes the 61st player in league history to reach 40 career hits!
Vanessa Gray – becomes the 130th player in league history to reach 10 at-bats (11)!
Terrance Luscombe – becomes the 7th player in league history to reach 15 career triples!
Matthew Koscic – see oddities below!
Laura Shepherd – see firsts!
Leah Silverman– becomes the 94th player in league history to reach 30 career at-bats!
Joseph Bautista – currently ranks 22nd on the all-time list with 165 career at-bats!
Ryan Hayes – becomes 1st player in league history to reach 185 career singles (186)!
Rhiannon Cobb– currently tied for 37th on the Rouge River career list for runs batted in with 2!
Garrison Creek
Victoria Barnett – becomes the 44th player in league history to reach 50 career singles (53)!
Phill Morgan – currently ranks 13th on the all-time with 26 career doubles!
Darren Puscas – currently ranks 6th on the all time list with 128 career runs batted in!
Samantha Ponting– currently tied for 102nd on the all-time list with 7 career runs scored!
Kirsten Dick – see oddities below!
Nicole Bond– see oddities below
Brittany Beaton– currently tied for 122nd place on the all-time list with 7 career hits!
Molly Fremes– also currently tied for 122nd place on the all-time list with 7 career hits!
Kris Belben– also currently tied for 122nd place on the all-time list with 7 career hits!
Lucky Visvanathan –see oddities below!
Glenn Gaviller – becomes the 53rd player in league history to hit a triple!
Siobhan Saravanamuttu– also currently tied for 122nd place on the all-time list with 7 career hits!
Stuart Schussler – becomes the 15th player in league history to reach 130 career hits!
Subs
Nav Sidhu– currently tied for 13th on the all-time list with 109 career singles!
Ruth Wilson– see first below!
Michael Kenny– becomes 17th player in league history to reach 80 career singles (81)!
LJ Robinson– currently tied for 4th on the all-time list with 199 career hits!
Yogi Acharya – taking the place of Darren Puscas (167 career hits), Yogi Acharya used his only sub at-bat of the season to temporarily move back into 12th on the all-time with 168 hits!
FIRSTS
Cristina Jaimungal (Credit)- first career run scored, first career run batted in!
MJ Rwigema (Don) – first career run batted in!
Laura Shepherd (Rouge) – first career double!
Ruth Wilson (Field of Dreamers) – first career at-bat, first career hit, first career run scored, first career run batted in!
Michael Kenny (Field of Dreamers) – first career at-bat, first career hit, first career run scored, first career run batted in!
ODDITIES
HOT START ALERT!
Kay Ma (Don River) has been on a very hot start to their career with 7 hits in their first 8 at-bats!
Kirsten Dick (Garrison Creek) has been on a very hot start to their career with 12 hits in their first 13 at-bats!
Matthew Koscic (Rouge River) has been on a very hot start to their career with 7 hits in their first 7 at-bats!
Siobhan Saravanamuttu (Garrison Creek) has been on a very hot start to their career with 7 hits in their first 9 at-bats!
Jenni Klonteig (Credit River) has been on a very hot start to their career with 7 hits in their first 8 at-bats!
TWO FOR TWO
Chris Mueller (Don River) has gotten a hit in each of his first two games before being injured. We wish Chris a speedy recovery so that he can continue his perfect start to the season.
HINDSIGHT TWINS!
Teammates Nicole Bond and Lucky Visvanathan (Garrison) become the 102nd and 103rd players in league history to reach 20 career at-bats!