Wednesday Cuernavaca Park - Week 1 Highlights

Welcome to Wednesday!!  With 4 of the most competitive teams showing on Wednesday’s, we are sure to get close games, close plays, and smart decisions!! 

Minus Dice, our first order of business is getting teams complete!!  Not that we need to be “father figure” here, but how do you get better?  Repetition.  In order to repeat, you have to have a consistent team showing, this starts with signing up.  Let’s make that happen!!  Let’s get some weekly chatter out there amongst teams, comment on these highlights, and raise the competition!!

Dice vs. Step Parents:  Speaking of repetition, we remember seeing Matt Graffam at the park working on his line drive shots before the Mile High Kickball Open August 2nd…you talking bout practice?!  Yessir!!  And we’ve noticed a big difference in Matts’ shots through the gap!!  It happened in this game too…Graffam smacked a line drive shot in the top of the 3rd inning for Dice to bring in 3-runs and make this game a 6-1 margin.  We have a lot of talented athletes on our fields, but it’s the execution of aggressive base running, strategic pitching, unselfish kicking, and errorless fielding that create a margin of 6-1…Dice brings this every week and kudos to them.  Both Brett Stanilka and Justin Andrew Anderson were able to confuse Step Parents at the plate…nice werk fellas!!  It seems everything does end with Dice.  Dice wins 8-1.

Hose Draggers vs. Punani Patrol:  Both teams started this one out with makeshift rosters, but heck…better to be where we’re at on August 27th than being at the same spot on September 3rd!!  Let’s see what happens between these two teams when rosters are full and we don’t hear, well we didn’t have this person, this person, and this person!!  One person who has improved with time/practice/repetition is pitcher Chad Ferrier with Hose Draggers…we were impressed with Chad painting corners…way to raise your game Chad!!  Both teams started out scoring in this one, but Punani was the team able to calm down after the 1st.  Punani went on lockdown defense for the rest of the game and stymied the offensive presence of Hose Draggers by having more errorless innings!!  In the end, it’s all about base runners, NOT the huge blast to deep center that ended up getting caught for an out, and that is what Punani focused on scoring 4 out of 6 innings…great execution Punani!!  Punani Patrol wins 6-2.

Zuni Park - Week 1 Highlights

Backdoor Ohoolihans vs. Menace 2 Sobriety:  In the opening day of the fall league, Backdoor Ohoolihans looked to make their mark on GO Kickball as the Highland main stays of Menace 2 Sobriety looked to flex their muscles as the team to beat in Highlands.  Backdoor got things started off nicely as the knocked in 1 run in the first and Menace failed to answer in the bottom half.  Then the game turned into a showcase of great defense and pitching.  Donnie make a great running catch for Backdoor to save 2 runs in the 3^rd inning…nice wheels Donnie, especially in that thick grass!!  The following inning Backdoor’s defense shinned again as they recovered nicely after loading the bases full of Menacing 2 Sobriety runners.  Backdoor added an insurance run in the 7^th and they started the season out right with a W!!  Backdoor Ohoolihans win 2-0.

Highlanders vs. Not In The Face:  Highlanders, where you at???  Email us if you’re not going to make it.  Not In The Face wins 3-0.

Sunday Funday - Week 1 Highlights

It was a beautiful Sunday morning at Cuernavaca, perfect skies, perfect highs, and the perfect breeze.  As a normal group of Sunday ballers rolled in, we were all a little discombobulated…weren’t we just finishing up summer?  Some of us refusing alcohol due to the evening before and some starting out where they’d left off!! J We laced them up and got straight as can be, for about an hour!  A lot of us had our sights on Blake Street but knew we had to muster up some competitive moxie, and we did, like we always do…

 Mile High Kickballers vs. That One Team:  We aren’t judging this week, we’re just glad to have been out on the field.  Kay Kamienski was heading Mile High and Justin Anderson had That One Team and we were bringing it all together.  Mile High started the game and kicked through their order in the 1st as That One Team had a tuff time snagging that ball!!  Before we knew it Mile High was out to a 9-0 lead in the top of the 1st!!!  Again, let’s just focus on the fact that we were out there, on a beautiful Sunday, there were hints of lilac in the air, a lot of us had a kinda weird stare (minus the parents – up and at em!!), and (thanks GKB) no t-shirts to wear!!  There was a “don’t call it a comeback,” idea/moment for That One Team…but really, how do you comeback from a 9-0 deficit in k-ball.  Mile High Kickballers win 17-7.

Kevin Bacon vs. Wasted Talent:  To be talented and wasted is to be a Sunday Funday Baller!!  A perfect fit for the group who easily dominated Cup In Hand AND continue to play that way!!  KB was just getting their team formed and we were stoked to have them, but they were still learning each others names (not really), but it was a last minute get together.  This game, had hints of booze, dogs, and fireball with a touch of nasty ‘N’ word rap in the background…you know, the kind of park experience you take mom too!  The Talent had 15 runs in 4 innings and started getting the grill ready.  KB is re-grouping on their week off for Labor Day and planning on coming out sizzling on the 7th…be ready!!  Wasted Talent wins 18-2.

Lee Martinez Park - Week 1 Highlights

Ballbarians (Cardinal Red) vs. 2 Legit 2 Kick (Athletic Gray): The Ballbarians started strong and finished even stronger as they put up 6 runs in the 1st inning and 7 runs in the 7th inning. In particular, Michael Ochs from the Ballbarians really got things going in the top of the 1st inning with a 3-run homer! 2 Legit 2 Kick tried to stifle the Ballbarian’s stellar offense by aggressively charging the kicker after the pitcher rolled the ball, but their efforts were in vain. Captain of the Ballbarians, Nadia Fahoum, said after the game, “It’s obvious that our pre-season regimen of a 100 kicks and catches each day really paid off. We were ready to go from the outset and never looked back!” Ballbarians wins 18-1.

Girls Love Big Kicks (Cactus Green) vs. Skies Out Thighs Out (Sapphire Blue): In an effort to defend their Summer 2014 championship, Girls Love Big Kicks wanted to come out and make a statement early. However, Skies Out Thighs Out hung tough through three innings with Kevin Warner showing some exceptional base-running to tie the game in the bottom of the 3rd inning. However, perennial MVP contender Steve “The Hitman” Walker from Girls Love Big Kicks proceeded to kick an inside-the-park grand slam in the top of the 4th inning to put some distance between the two teams. That was all they really needed! Girls Love Big Kicks wins 6-1. 

Odd Balls (Purple) vs. Muddy Wing Tippers (Charcoal): In this contest, newcomers the Muddy Wing Tippers came out tough in their GO Kickball debut against league mainstay, the Odd Balls. The Muddy Wing Tippers showed amazing team chemistry, as evidenced by Bob Muntz assisting Phil Baros for an out after the ball bounced off Phil’s hands and Bob dove behind him to make the catch. The scream from the crowd could be heard for miles in each direction!!! Pretty much, the play was on equal footing with this gem from Roger Federer during the US Open. As per usual though, the Odd Balls showed great tenacity with Danielle Schleppy displaying great effort as she dove into first base in an attempt to beat the throw. Unfortuately, she was still out. Muddy Wing Tippers wins 6-0. 

KickTease (Red) vs. Social License to Intoxicate (Carolina Blue): With Swift Kick in the Grass joining ranks with KickTease for the Fall 2014 season, they thought they would be unstoppable… That is, until they ran into Social License to Intoxicate! This game was tight until the end, as both teams turned in some great individual plays. The catcher for Social License to Intoxicate, Angela Garman, had a couple “sneak catches” from just behind home plate. Angela “sneak attacks” people by seemingly hiding in plain view, and then swooping in to make the catch when the opposing team tries to bunt or fouls it off. Meanwhile, for KickTease, 2nd basewoman Kathryn Crampton turned in the “best inning of her life" during the 3rd by assisting on all three outs. Unfortunately for KickTease, with the good plays came some bad ones too, as an anonymous player struck out/fouled out twice during the course of the game, thereby tying the all-time GO Kickball record for most strikeouts in a game. Social License to Intoxicate wins 4-2.