B North- 8/11/24 Playoffs

[bbozek13]

B North Playoffs

Game 1: Stiff Sox vs Purple Cobras

The first playoff game featured a matchup between Stiff Sox and Purple Cobras with the winner advancing to play Dark Horse in the semi-finals. Stiff Sox had first at bats and jumped out front early on a two-run homer by Nick Purshock. Purple Cobras could not get anything going in the first inning as the score stood at 2-0 Stiff Sox after one. In the 2nd, both teams could not get their offenses going as the score remained 2-0 after two. In the top of the 3rd, Stiff Sox would not score for the second inning in a row. Purple Cobras would turn the offense on in the bottom of the 3rd as they scored five runs on an RBI single by Jose Villa, RBI double by Dan Roman and a run scored on an error to give Purple Cobras a 5-2 lead after three. In the top of the 4th, Stiff Sox would score three runs on an RBI single by Tyler Fornwalt, RBI sac fly by Antonio Almeida and an error to tie the game. The tie did not remain as Purple Cobras pushed a run across in the bottom of the 4th on an RBI single by CJ Brancato as Purple Cobras led 6-5 after four. In the top of the 5th, Stiff Sox would fail to score. Tom Friedman knocked an RBI single for Purple Cobras in the bottom of the 5th as they increased their lead to 7-5 heading into the 6th. In the top of the 6th, Stiff Sox scored two runs to tie the game on an RBI double by Purshock and an RBI single by Jimmy Templeton. In the bottom of the 6th, Purple Cobras did not score as we went into the 7th tied. In the 7th, neither team could score, and we would head to extra innings. In the top of the 8th, Stiff Sox would score on an error to take the lead. In the bottom of the 8th, Purple Cobras came up needing a run to stay alive or two runs to win it. With 2 outs and a runner on, Villa delivered an RBI double to tie the game to bring up Friedman to try and win it. Friedman roped an RBI single as Purple Cobras won a thriller over Stiff Sox 9-8 and moves on to the semi-finals to face Dark Horse.

Game 2: Doc’s Irish Pub vs Pitches Be Trippin

Game 2 featured Doc’s Irish Pub vs Pitches Be Trippin with the winner going on to face Wire 2 Wire in the semi-finals. Doc’s got first at bats and they got off to a slow start as they could not score any runs through the first three innings. Pitches Be Trippin took advantage of Doc’s slow start and scored four innings through the first three innings on an RBI triple by Dave McCauley and RBI singles by Paul Abendroth and Dan Kalonoski as they lead 4-0 after three. In the top of the 4th, Doc’s finally got on the board scoring one run on an RBI sac fly by Brett Keszcyk. In the bottom of the 4th, Pitches Be Trippin was held scoreless as the score stood at 4-1 after four. In the top of the 5th, Doc’s was again held scoreless, and they were in trouble. Pitches Be Trippin added another run in the bottom of the 5th on an RBI single by Tim Graff to give Pitches Be Trippin a 5-1 lead heading into the 6th. In the top of the 6th, Doc’s woke up the bats and scored four runs on RBI singles by Joe Stankovics, Kurtis Brown and Austin Kooker to tie the game at 5. The tie would not hold long as Pitches Be Trippin scored three runs in the bottom of the 6th on a three-run homer by Matt Horn to give them a 8-5 lead with Doc’s down to their last three outs. In the top of the 7th, Doc’s got a couple of runners on, but only could score one run on an RBI fielder’s choice by Stankovics as Pitches Be Trippin defeats Doc’s 8-6 and moves on to face Wire 2 Wire in the semi-finals.

Game 3: Purple Cobras vs Dark Horse

Game 3 is the first of two semi-finals featuring Purple Cobras vs Dark Horse with the winner advancing to the championship. Purple Cobras got first at bats looking to build off the momentum from their earlier win. Purple Cobras started the scoring off in the top of the 1st as they scored one run off an RBI sac fly by Brandon Roman. Dark Horse would answer right back scoring four runs of their own on RBI singles by Paul Ferruzzi, Andy Springer and Jimmy Cooker as well as an RBI sac fly by Ryan Schock as they took a 4-1 lead over Purple Cobras after one. Purple Cobras could not get anything going in the top of the 2nd as they scored 0 runs. Dark Horse would go cold on offense in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th innings as they failed to score any runs and opened the door for Purple Cobras. Purple Cobras could only score one run during this stretch on an RBI single by Cody Runner to make the score 4-2 heading into the 6th. In the top of the 6th, Purple Cobras still could not get the offense going and did not plate any runs. In the bottom of the 6th, Dark horse added three insurance runs on RBI singles by Schock and Springer to give them a nice 7-2 cushion over Purple Cobras heading into the 7th. Purple Cobras offensive struggles continued in the top of the 7th as they only could get one runner on and ended the game with a fielder’s choice and a flyout. Purple Cobras season comes to an end as the offense struggles. Dark Horse moves onto the championship as they defeated Purple Cobras 7-2.

Game 4: Pitches Be Trippin vs Wire 2 Wire

Our final game of the day and second semi-final featured Pitches Be Trippin and the defending Spring champions, Wire 2 Wire. The winner heads to the final to take on Dark Horse. Pitches Be Trippin at the plate first put up three runs on an RBI double by Kris Karaba and a two-run homer by Paul Abendroth. Wire 2 Wire got one run back in the bottom of the 1st inning on an RBI sac fly by Jacob McDevitt as Pitches Be Trippin led 3-1 after the 1st. In the top of the 2nd, Pitches Be Trippin added another run on an RBI single by Harry Horn. Wire 2 Wire would get a couple runners on in the bottom of the 2nd but could not push them across as Pitches Be Trippin continued to lead 4-1 after two. In the top of the 3rd, Pitches Be Trippin struggled on offense, and this continued through the 5th inning as they could not plate any runs across. Wire 2 Wire being a defending champion, made them pay and put up 10 runs in that span on RBI singles by Joe DiMezza, RBI doubles by Derrick Acker, Matt Godfrey and Alex Metz, RBI triple by Sean Butrica and an RBI sac fly by Gene Walczak to put Wire 2 Wire up 11-4 after five. In the top of the 6th, Pitches Be Trippin got the offense going again, scoring two runs on an RBI double by Matt Horn. Wire 2 Wire would be held off the scoreboard in the bottom of the 6th as the score stood at 11-6 heading into the 7th. Pitches Be Trippin down to their last three outs needed a big inning to stay alive and they did just that as they scored 6 runs on RBI singles by Bryce Lerow and Tim Graff, RBI double by Karaba, RBI triple by Matt Horn and an RBI sac fly by Harry Horn as Pitches Be Trippin took a 12-11 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th. Now Wire 2 Wire was down to their last three outs and needed something to happen to stay alive or win the game. Tom Signore led off the inning with a double and Gene Walczak followed it up with an RBI single to tie the game. Ben Vitelli would hit a single to move Walczak into scoring position with 0 outs. Sean Butrica came up next and delivered the game winning RBI single as the defending champs hang on. Wire 2 Wire defeats Pitches Be Trippin 13-12 to go back to the championship. Wire 2 Wire will play Dark Horse in the summer championship.