City Park - Week 3

City Park Field 1 (6pm)

Purple Cobras (Violet) vs. Girls Love Big Kicks (Red): Comebacks upon comebacks!!! Absolute pandemonium! If this game took place in the playoffs, it would have been an ESPN Instant Classic! The scoring came early and often, with Girls Love Big Kicks having a 4-3 lead after the top of the 4^th inning. That’s when things got crazy--Girls Love Big Kicks exploded for five runs in the bottom of the 4^th inning to take a 9-3 lead. If Joe Newhart of the Purple Cobras hadn’t made a diving catch to end the inning, who knows how long the onslaught would have continued. However, the Purple Cobras stormed back in the top of the 6^th and 7^th innings to take a 12-9 lead!!! How did they do it you ask? I literally have no idea. But Girls Love Big Kicks wouldn’t go quietly into the night—they scored an additional three runs in the bottom of the 7^th inning to tie up the game just as the buzzer sounded. (I know—there isn’t a buzzer in Kickball, but when you have back-to-back-games, you have got to keep things moving unfortunately.) Now, we will just have to wait for the rematch—one can only dream… Purple Cobras and Girls Love Big Kicks tie 12-12.

City Park Field 2 (6pm)

My Kick Gets it Done (Orange) vs. Real Housewives of Greely (Maroon): Talk about highlights! No need to make up stuff in this contest—everything was for real this time around. Joshua “Deathlock” Devine from My Kicks Get it Done started things off in the top of the 3^rd inning: Just as it looked like the Real Housewives of Greely might finally score, Devine saved an in-field home run with an amazing throw to get out the runner right before home plate. Devine could definitely be a future dodgeball star as well…. For the Real Housewives of Greely, Tuss “Ain’t No Fuss” Erickson showed his defensive “skillz” in the bottom of the 5^th inning when he made a tip catch and threw to 1^st for the double play. The most interesting dynamic of the game however resulted from the relationship between both teams first basemen: Taylor “Super Swift” Smith from My Kicks get it Done and Andrew “Super Fine” Miner from the Real Housewives of Greely. Every time one of them ran to first base, it would always be a tie between the runner and the fielder. Which means, they could never get each other out since the tie went to the runner. Could this be a conspiracy to improve their on-base percentage stats…? GO Kickball will be investigating. My Kicks Get it Done wins 5-1.

City Park Field 3 (6pm)

High Rollers (Gold) vs. Kicktease (Old Gold): Once again, Kicktease teased themselves with the potential taste of victory…  Their defense proved solid as Carolynn Grosh had a throw out at home plate, and Adam Johnson even made a no look catch that can be viewed here. Kicktease’s offense was so close as well… Even in the last inning, they had a runner at 3^rd base, but couldn’t bring the person in to score after Kevin Gallant from the High Rollers caught the last two outs. Next time! High Rollers win 5-1.

City Park Field 4 (6pm)

Lunchbox Violators (Daisy Yellow) vs. Oilers SLTI (Irish Green): The Lunchbox Violators were out to make a statement in this game—that they are a legitimate title contender this season. While not playing their best, they did keep things close between them and the defending champs, which bodes well for future games. Both teams had some dynamic individual plays, with former MVP Paul Schwarz from the Oilers SLTI making a diving catch at 3^rd base in the top of the 1^st inning. You can tell that he wants another taste of that championship trophy… Not to be outdone though, Jonny Craig from the Lunchbox Violators did go spread eagle for the final out of the 3^rd inning when he supermanned to make the catch (no cape required). Ultimately, the Oilers SLTI were too much for the still learning Lunchbox Violators sqaud. Oilers SLTI win 8-5.

City Park Field 1 (7pm)

New Kicks on the Block (Kiwi Green) vs. Kickaholics (Charcoal): With their 2-0 start to the season, New Kicks on the Block really wanted to make it 3-0. They got off to a slow start though on the offensive side of the plate, but the defense was solid from the get-go, including a nice double play to end the top of the 1^st inning and an amazing diving catch by Luke Chamberland slightly later in the game. The Kickaholics definitely brought their A-game, with Captain Robin Rathje making a nice pump fake that juked out the runner for the out. It was all tied up 1-1 going into the bottom of the 6^th inning, which is when New Kicks on the Block finally broke through and scored 5 runs! Rathje from the Kickaholics said after the game that she was please with her team’s effort, but that if they want to win next time, “We can’t lose focus for an instant—constant vigilance!!!” New Kicks on the Block wins 6-1.

City Park Field 2 (7pm)

The Ballin Bison (Cardinal Red) vs. Where My Pitches At (Heliconia): The Ballin Bison were forced to play a woman down, but what they lacked on defense, they made up for with a solid offensive effort. Where My Pitches at on the other hand looked to quickly take advantage of the missing Bison players—Spencer Hellwig, an early season MVP candidate, rocketed a shot to right field in the bottom of the 1^st inning that scored a run, putting Where My Pitches at on top 1-0. The lead was short-lived however, as the Ballin Bison really started balling hard after that. Bryan Silvers in particular showed his true baller-nature as he hit a 3-run home run in the top of the 5^th and a bases clearing triple in the top of the 6^th. In fact, when the dust had settled, our statisticians tell us that Silvers hit for the cycle in this contest. Awesome opossum! The Ballin Bison win 12-2.

City Park Field 3 (7pm)

Suck My Kick (Lime) vs. Balls Deep (Blue): In a matchup between kicks and balls, who would win? Balls Deep jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the 1^st inning, and then looked to hold on for dear life. In between though, there were quite a few solid plays: Jared “Iceberg” Aaberg from Suck My Kick made a double play, Nate “The Tank” Sherman from Balls Deep had a really nice diving catch, and Rob “The Blob” Lynde from Balls Deep made a sweet double play of his own. At the end of the game, it appeared that balls were better than kicks, as Balls Deep’s early lead held. Balls Deep wins 5-1.

City Park Field 4 (7pm)

Ballz N’ Dollz (Light Pink) vs. Too Legit to Kick (White): When both of these teams woke up on Wednesday, I doubt they thought that they would be playing 11 innings of kickball later that night… What a marathon!!! This game quickly turned into a defensive struggle, as exemplified by pitcher Tom Torres’ three up, three down performance in the bottom of the 2^nd inning for Ballz N’ Dollz. For Too Legit to Kick, Allen Stefanik had a nifty reflex catch of his own right at home plate in the top of the 3^rd inning as well. But the real excitement came in bottom of the 7^th—the Ballz N’ Dollz were down 2-0 at the start of the inning, but then before you knew it, Stephanie Bucklen’s RBI single had tied up the game!!! In extra innings, the defenses held strong until time became an issue. However, based on the postgame celebration (see it here), I think both teams were happy with a tie. Ball N’ Dollz and Too Legit to Kick tie 2-2.