2014 Stats Have Arrived !!!

Year 2014 anno domini was fruitful for the OBI crew. Two league championships were brought home! The first and last (Seasons 1 and 6) ended with tournament victories with the latter capping an impressive year of OBI Softball.

The 6 seasons of play were filled with 97 games on the green grass and concrete-like dirt that are the Victory Lane Sports Park ball fields. OBI finished 20 games above .500 at 58-38-1 actually calcs out to .603. The attached statistics give a good sense of the offensive efforts however do not truly tell the tale of OBI.

First things first,,, Larry is one of the best pitchers I have ever played alongside. His accuracy and strategy is understated, even when he is having a bad day, his pitching suffers not. Play for a team with a pitcher who hits the plate on occasion and you will get a true sense of the teammate we have in this 57 year old Lil' Lefty...

Secondly, the Defense is not to be toyed with. Our outfield has blossomed into a shut down crew. Our leather, speed, youth, and tenacity allowed us to play a 5-man infield at times during Season 6. This was more fun than it should have been. Spillane is back to being Spillane. Nuta has completed his second year with us and fields a good LF. Newcomers Paul and Jakob have melded into the unit as if they played their entire lives among these fields. And first-full-year addition Jayse,,, cannot say enough about his ability to track down a ball in the alley... And I mean any alley as Jayse (like Jakob and Spillane) is a defender you can build an outfield around.

In the infield is my partner in crime, Clint. He complains every time I turn around about his defense and all I can do is laugh. There is only one other person I would consider replacing him with and he is currently busy playing SS.

I agree with Steven's philosophy on hitting. If I get three pitches that ain't worth swinging at, take the walk... My mantra is "I pay to play defense,,, anything you get from me offensively is simply a bonus".

2015 looks promising with John and Matt patrolling the right side of the infield and Steven as our spare part. In addition, J.R. has earned our respect with two consecutive excellent outings on the mound. D1 play is underway for us and I think we are showing we belong...

Enough with the pumping up already,,, here are some 2014 stat highlights:

• Matt played 95 of 97 games. Larry, JR and Spillane all played 92+
• Matt lead both AB and Hits categories (186-317) while Clint and Spillane both also finished in the top 3 in these categories.
• DC easily wins 2014 Batting Title at .673
• Steve's 33 walks topped Michael's 31,,, this boosted him past DC to take the OBP Title at .672
• Spillane and Michael finished Top 3 in Runs, RBIs, Doubles and Triples
• DC had 31 HRs in 51 Games
• J.R. and Michael topped Sac Fly category with 10 each
• OPS was all DC (darn HRs anyways) with 2.030
• 10 players met the minimum Plate Appearance qualifications (awesomefull !!!)

2013-2014 Combined Stats coming soon !!!

OBI Falls to The Heights Sports Bar in Two Close Games

2-2 OBI battled hard against 4-0 The Heights Sports Bar in two late (9:15 & 10:15) and chilly (hoodies recommended) games but came up short losing both games. Both The Heights and OBI were happy to be playing but happier when the cold night was over.

As moral victories go, OBI won two by taking it on the chin by scores of 7-12 and 7-10. We were in both games but seemed unable to have the big inning that has defined our run of late.

Game 1 was close throughout with The Heights outscoring OBI 7-2 over the final 3 innings to break a 5-5 tie after the first 3 innings. Offensively, Clint, JuanR and Jakob scored 2 runs a piece with Larry tallying the only other run we could muster.

Clint and JuanR both scored in the first and third innings as JuanR blasted a first inning Big Fly and followed with that with a two-run third inning single. Spillane and Michael singled to push JuanR across to tie the game at 5.

Jakob scored on Steve's 4th inning Sac Fly and the inning ended as Jayse tried to make it a two-run play by scoring from second base on the play. Jayse's own Sac Fly scored Jakob in the final inning but hits by JR and Larry rolled us over to the top, but OBI was not able to take advantage.

Game 2 was a closer affair as we fell 7-10. Unfortunately, we could not push any crooked numbers across until the 5th and 6th innings. Only Clint's RBI Double scoring Steve provided any offense thru the first four innings.

Larry's Double pushed across both Jayse and Jakob in the 5th. A four run explosion(?,, well, it was on this night) in the top of the 6th inning started well with Clint, Michael, JuanR, and Spillane starting things rolling. However, a double play all but ended the threat and led to a game ending DP in the top of the 7th.

Again, I stress this was as positive as one can be while losing two games. The Heights is the top D1 team and has been for several seasons. We will get another chance to excel against their bravado.

The 2014 Final Stats are coming in a following article. But, here are the 2015 Season 1 stats thus far...

OBI Eases into 2015 Season 1 D1 Play with 2 Victories

OBI continued their consistent play with a steady offense and stingy defense upon our return to D1 level play by winning two games against familiar opponents. In Game 1, Midlife Crisis was held to 2 runs as OBI won in 5-inning run rule fashion home team fashion by a count of 13-2. The late game against Warning Track Power was another low scoring affair 8-3.

Game 1 winning pitcher J.R. was aces as his defense made good plays to thwart even the semblance of a swing in momentum.  Single runs were scored in the 2nd and 3rd. That was it, 'nuff said. OBI D' was solid especially by Clint at 3B and in the outfield (you know who you are)...

Offensively, we scored two runs in the second inning following a 3 pitch walk by Steven, Michael's single and a run-scoring Paul Double followed up with a Jayse Sac Fly.

With the score tied at 2 in the bottom of the third, a game altering 8 run inning was forged and Midlife Crisis was unable to recover. Larry went 1-2 as 13 men came to the plate. Juan had a 2-run Double, and everyone but Michael had either a hit or an RBI in the inning. Jakob's single traveled a good 5-10 feet in the air before settling into the hard pan infield to drive in the 6th run of the inning. Talk about your LDS at bats,,, aka, Lawn Dart Single... Spillane's 4th inning triple put the game into run rule territory.

Game 2 was a defensive battle won by excellent defensive plays by Jayse, Spillane, Clint, and Michael. The 8-3 victory was impressive to say the least as WTP is an offensive juggernaut on most nights. The OBI offense was took the game off except for the first and sixth innings where 4 runs were plated in each half inning.

Jakob led off the game with a double and then JR, Matt, JuanR, and Spillane followed up with hits. Clint drove in a run on a 4-3 fielders choice. Good hitting and productive outs were a key in this inning.

The top of the 6th was the inning of the Big Fly!!! Larry, yes Larry,,, led off the inning with an Inside-The-Park variety HR. After Clint Doubled, JuanR lined a shot to the RF corner that just cleared the wall. Not to be outdone, Spillane crushed a big fly to LF to round out the scoring in back-to-back HR style.

Up next is the top D1 Thursday night team, The Heights Sports Bar. This will be an opportunity to see how far we have come from our last foray into D1 early in 2014... Let's go have some fun OBIers...

No stats this week. I anticipate info on the jerseys, 2014 full year stats, 2013-2014 combined stats, and Season 1 stats all to be available by next week.

Split City No Mo',,, OBI Rolls to Season 6 Tourney Title!

The Split City moniker was overcome during the 2014 Men's Thursday D2 Tournament in grand fashion. #2 seed OBI outlasted #3 seed Diamondback Pools in the semi-finals 15-10 and then scored two Touchdowns (14 runs) in the top of the first of the Championship Game versus #1 seed Mamma's Boys. The hammer kept down, OBI raced to the title by winning 27-11 in 5 innings.

The 42 runs scored in the tournament double header were the most runs pushed across the plate in any week during 2014. The D2 Title is OBI's second in 2014 as Season 1 also ended with a Tournament Championship.

As title's go, this one was especially pleasing for a few reasons:

• All 12 players on the roster were present. No ringers needed...
• The 6-run answer in the bottom of the first inning took a bit of the wind out of Diamondback Pools' sails after their 5-run outburst.
• A Championship Game 14-run opening salvo was sweet.
• A Championship Game 4 inning 13-run follow up to the 14-run opening salvo was sweeter.
• Having most of the Giving being by our Opponents' defenses was deflating to their own momentum.
• Winning a second title in 2014 just feels good.

There were many highlights in both games, here are a few:

Game 1's answer in the bottom of the first was a key to the evenings results. After Matt and Spillane singled, and two outs were in the book,,, 6 consecutive hitters reached base with Steve and Jakob each doubling. Jayse, John, Paul and Nuta racked up hits and each drove in a run.

Not to be outdone,  Inning 2 was another 6 run affair that pushed the score to 12-7. OBI batted around with the highlight being Steve's line drive Big Fly to Left Centerfield. Clint and Michael even singled in this inning, while Jayse tripled and scored following Steve's blast on John's single.

OBI was quiet in the bottom of the 3rd and 5th innings, but pushed across 3 runs in the 4th on three singles with two outs. Michael walked, Jayse singled,, then John, Paul and Nuta each had run scoring singles (am noticing a theme)...

With the score 15-10 going to the 6th and final inning, OBI's defense led by Larry's pitching and some fine leather work, shut down the vaunted DBack offense one last time... Oh, have just been informed that this was not the DBack's that play downtown,,, ok, still a good effort. Ummm, onto the Championship Game I say...


Two Touchdowns were scored before Mamma's Boys knew what hit them... 14 Runs scored in an inning was the most by OBI in 2014 and probably the most timely since scoring 17 in the top of the 7th to comeback and win 23-22 against BMW back in 2013 Season 1.

In the "2 TD Inning", as it is now known (ok, am still working on the name ;~),,, the first 15 batters reached base. Okay, ok,, so Jakob's base hit was actually an out at it was a single thru the pitchers box, but who is counting.

Everyone hit, everyone played good defense,,, all OBI roster players are returning as we move up to D1 for 2015 Season 1... Here are the highlights:

• On the night, Steve took two courtesy swings and achieved positive results swinging on the next pitch. Miracles never cease...
• Again, the defense was solid as Larry pitched well (when doesn't he) and the defense gave very few outs away. We are human after all.
• After 3 total extra base hits in Game 1,,, Matt (2), Spillane, Steve, Michael, and JR all garnered doubles. Well, Michael almost had two, if I was faster, younger, and didn't get thrown out by 10 feet.
• John was 3-4 as he completed an impressive offensive season and won the Batting Title. Competition was high for the Season 6 Batting Title as 6 players hit .600 or better...
• Nuta, JR and Larry rolled it to the top by achieving an impressive 11-11 with a Sac Fly.
• Michael was 4-4 in the game giving our lineup 5 players without an official Out in the game. And finally,,,
• Matt polished off his season with a 5-5 performance. After slacking off his first at bat and simply delivering a single,,, Matty stroked two bases loaded doubles, to go with two run-scoring singles, and totaled 9 RBIs for the game. This also pushed him over the top for the season 6 RBI title...

The 2014 stats will be posted later this week. Here are the Season 6 Championship Season stats: