Slashers Scoop NBC Action News

Sorry there wasn’t an update last week. We’ll break it down in 4 sentences or less.

Down 9-4 going into the last inning vs. Chiefs. Rally caps work and we tie 9-9 to push it to extra innings. We hold in our half so all we need is one run and we win. Ogre scores on a hit by Grunts but is called out at home because the ump said he had to slide at home on a close play (even though that’s not in the rules) and we tie 9-9. Lame.

Now on to this week that saw the Slashers take on NBC Action News. Our luck ran out as we lost the coin toss for the third time in four weeks so our bats were up first.

It’s been pretty common for the Slashers to start hot on offense and this week was no different. PJer scored on DeShawn’s RBI double. Coacherson knocked in DeShawn and The Truth on his own RBI double making it 3-0. WRAM and Hembo both had base hits with WRAM scoring on MeShell’s sacrifice and Hembo scoring on Jason’s RBI single.

The Slasher defense set the tone early holding NBC scoreless by ending the inning on a sweet running catch by Ogre in left. First inning score: 6-0 Slashers.

The 2nd inning started pretty but didn’t go quite as smoothly offense. PJer led the inning off with a solid double to center. DeShawn plated him with a bomb to right center field for the first Slasher outside-the-park homerun of the year. Coacherson followed that up with an in-the-park homerun of his own when he slid safely into home while opening that nasty gash on his shin for the 3rd time this season. Gross.

NBC got some clutch hitting, bringing home 4 runs to make it a ballgame. A nice catch by Misty on a foul ball held it to 4 in the inning. 2nd inning score: 9-4 Slashers.

The 3rd inning started with a bang with Hembo hitting a ball into the right field gap and coming all the way around to score on the Slashers 3rd homerun of the game. Some solid NBC defense forced our next 3 players to get out, ending our half of the inning.

The defense was once again solid, highlighted by a couple nice connections by PJer and Beardo to hold NBC to no runs in the 3rd. 3rd inning score 10-4 Slashers.

The bats were again extremely quiet for the next two innings as the Slashers saw only 1 run come in in both the 4th and 5th innings. Julie scored on DeShawn’s double in the 4th with Hembo coming in on Ogre’s single in the 5th.

NBC added three in the 4th but scored none in the 5th. 5th inning score: 12-7.

The Slashers needed some runs in the 6th to put the game out of reach and they did just that scoring 5 runs to open up their lead in the top half of the 6th. Julie scored on DeShawn’s RBI double. Reality knocked in The Truth and DeShawn with a single to right field. Coacherson redeemed himself by ripping one into right field and then scoring on Hembo’s single and the Slashers lead was pushed to 17-7.

NBC scored two runs of their own but it wasn’t enough as the Slasher’s record improved to 3-0-1. Final score: 17-9 Slashers.

Guy MVP: Hembo – 4-for-4, narrowly missing hitting for the cycle and remaining undefeated on the mound.
Gal MVP: The Truth – 3-for-4 with the solid outfield play she puts out every time we take the field.
Camo Beer Pop-up of the game: This was a no-doubter. Coacherson sent a ball to the sun that came down to the shortstop with the bases loaded to end the 4th inning.

Big props to Julie and Misty for filling in for us. You two rock. Pat on the back for Reality for pushing the first baseman down in defense of MeShell. MeShell also gets props for playing through the pain of a softball off the knee last week. Thank you to Pits for keeping the book. Pits’ friend Jamie and Smashlee for cheering us on.

Next game vs. Saepio @ 9:00 p.m. Wednesday. Be there to slash with your blades.

Slashers' win NOT featured on radio.

Week 2 saw the Slashers take on 810 sports radio in ad league softball action. There were quite a few lineup changes this week as Hembo was on the hill returning from anniversary, year one. Ogre graced us with his presence after bailing out last week. And Frisk and Reality turned in their V cards from Legally Blonde the musical to assist in the quest for victory.

Once again we came out on the short side of rocks, paper, scissors and were saddled with the role of visitors.

The first inning saw the Slashers continue their recent hot offensive streak. A nice two-out rally saw Coacherson, WRAM, Ogre, Reality, Hembo, MeShell, and PJer get seven straight hits to plate seven Slasher runs for a more-than-solid first inning. 810 got three runs of their own on an absolute bomb to center field, but the defense held for the rest of the inning. 1st inning Score: 7-3 Slashers.

The second inning went much like the first as DeShawn started the inning with a two-bagger and came home on Coacherson’s RBI double. A nice play by 810 on WRAM gave the Slashers two outs with only two runs in. But 2-out-rallies were on our side as Ogre, Reality, Hembo, MeShell, and PJer all scored to bust the game wide open. It could have been worse but DeShawn’s home run trot on a not-so-homerun hit only got him a double to keep the Slashers from scoring two more. 810’s hitting and the Slasher’s lack of communication on defense (sorry Frisk, our bad) brought seven runs home. 2nd inning score: 15-10 Slashers.

Bad things usually come in 3’s and the third inning was no different. The offenses for both teams completely shut down. Coacherson scored the only Slasher run on Ogre’s popup to left. 810 didn’t fare much better as a pop fly and a nice inning-ending double-play by Coacherson ensured another inning would be played. 3rd inning score 16-10 Slashers.

The bats reappeared in the 4th as MeShell, PJer, Paula, DeShawn and Coacherson all scored to make it an 11 run lead and an almost assured ad league win. 810 came back with just one run of their own and the Slashers walked away with a 2-0 record to begin league play. Final score: 21-11 Slashers

Guy MVP: Coacherson – 4-for-4 and scored each time he came to the plate. Also had a very nice double play in the 3rd.
Gal MVP: MeShell – 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and a walk.
Camo beer of the game: DeShawn for his skyscraping pop-up that didn’t reach the outfield.

Also, big thanks to Pits for keeping score. Smashlee, Babby, and Baby Babby for Fanning us on. And Grunts and Beardo for not being dicks about us not getting you in the game. Again, our bad. Won’t happen again.

Next game vs. Chiefs @ 7:00 p.m. Wednesday. All you fans of the slash be sure to be there. Or else.

New Season Begins

Change comes with every new season of Ad League softball and we'd be fooling ourselves if this season was going to be any different. There's usually a few new teams. There's almost always a new umpire (since Bill isn't umping anymore). And there's always, ALWAYS, roster additions and subtractions. But this year, there's also a big change with our team name -- this season we're called the Slashers. New name + new additions on the roster = new results? Like, maybe, a championship? Time will tell.

So, last night the new season of Slasher softball started against our cross-Crossroads/Downtown rival, NK. We have a very storied history with NK, not just in softball, but in kickball, too. To say that we were amp'd for the first game of the season against them would be a tinsy lie.

The Slashers lost the coin toss so they were designated the away team. Coacherson issued the lineup and it was time to play. There were a lot of new faces in the Slasher lineup with Smashlee, B, and Meshell making their collective softball debuts.

This is where the facts get a little murky as the scorebook is not in front of me so this is how it may or may not have played out.

Much like last year, the slashers started off the first inning with a bang. 7 straight hits to begin the inning put the Slashers up 7-0 on MeShell’s sacrifice RBI. McShit quickly followed that up by driving in another run to make the score 8-0. Only a leaping catch by NK’s shortstop on a liner by PJer could slow down the offense and end the top half of the first inning.

A few first inning jitters and some leaky defense led to NK plating 9 runs in their half of the inning to go up 9-8 in what could only be described as a defenseless first inning.

The Slashers came back with 3 runs in the top of the second, two of which came on Coacherson’s 2 RBI sac fly that plated The Truth and DeShawn. Historical fact: This is the first documented 2 RBI sac fly in Slasher history. Beardo’s Heath Kennedy-style (falling on his ass) catch allowed NK to only get 4 runs of their own to give them 12-11 lead after two innings.

The 3rd inning was the turning point in a pivotal stretch in the season’s first game. The bats stayed alive with McShit, Smashlee, PJer, The Truth, and B all scoring to give the Slashers 5 more runs in the top half. Some stellar defense, including an over the shoulder catch by PJer held NK to just 1 run and gave the Slashers a 17-13 lead going into the final inning.

McShit helped himself out leading the inning off the 4th with the first round-tripper of the year, making the score 18-13. 2 more runs came in and built the lead to 20-13 that was nearly more as WRAM drove 3 foul balls down the third baseline that were just barely foul.

Needing 7 runs to tie, NK came out swinging. The first 2 runners in the inning scored as the nerves set in for everyone except The Truth. A running, shoestring catch by the veteran outfielder got the Slashers their first out. A double by NK scored a run and made the score 20-16. The next batter dribbled one to short for the second out that put the Slashers one out away from their first victory of the season. A deep drive into center field looked like trouble but The Truth would not be denied and made a leaping catch to end the game and secure the W.

So the Slashers are 1-0 and will take the field against a TBD opponent at a not-so-specific time next Wednesday night. Congrats to all and special thanks to B and Smashlee for filling in and doing a kick-ass job.