OBI Drops 2 to MidLife Crisis, Finishes Season 3 as 8th Seed,,, No Film @ 11...

OBI finished Season 3 as the 8th Seed at 5 wins, 9 losses. That puts us 3 games out of first place as Team Wear It's 8-6 record topped Division 1's regular season. OBI will be given the opportunity to prove we belong in D1 in the season 3 tourney as we will face off against Team Wear It in Game 1 this Thursday.

OBI was knocked to the canvas after giving up 6 and then 3 more runs in the top of the First and Second innings of Game 1.  However, getting back up and pushing across a 9-spot in the bottom of the Second to tie the game at 9 was needful and impressive.

Michael opened the inning with a 4-pitch walk (leads team with 4). Jakob and J.R. both singled to load the bases prior to Paul unloading on a pitch and drove in all 3 with a Triple thru the LC Fielders glove. Larry singled in Paulie, followed by Hanshaw staying out of a Double Play with hustle to first. This was important since after Lucas flied to LC,,, Matt, Nuta, Nick, and Spillane each singled to bring the score to 9-6 with 2 outs and bases loaded. Michael stepped up and promptly drove the first strike to the warning track in LC.

Fortunately,  the ball was lined to the wall (on a hop) annnnnnd the outfielders were all playing at about Larry depth. Obviously, they were unaware of the new bat and upgraded confidence Michael was feeling holding said bat. Bases cleared and Michael made it all the way to third on the throw to the plate, Triple (leads team with 4).

Unfortunately, MidLife Crisis scored 5 more twice, in both the 3rd and 4th innings to achieve their 19 run total. This overcame Larry's 2-run Bomb,, errr Rocket,,, ummm Line Drive that snuck down the RF line for an inside the parker in the bottom of the 3rd. After Spillane drove in Nick from first with his own single in the bottom of the 4th, J.R., Paulie, and Larry each single in the 5th to tally the final 14 run total as OBI came up a nickel short.

Split City remains in hiding,,, again, as a pitchers duel ensued in Game 2. After OBI scored 4 runs in the top of the 1st and one more in the second,,, no further damage was done by our offense. In fact, only two base runners advanced to Second Base during the final 5 innings. There were 7 singles put into play during that time.

Hitting stars for this week include J.R. and his 6 for 6 effort, Larry had 4 hits and drove in 4 runs including a 3 for 3 effort in game 1, and Michael with his new bat making one official out (on a diving catch in Centerfield, Jayse-style.)...

Special thanks this week to Matt Hanshaw, Lucas and Nick. Without these three individuals we would have had to pick up 2 other individuals at game time just to have 10 Players.

After next week, along with full Season 3 stats, we will get a look at the Mid-2015 YTD Stats. Here are the stats thru Season 3 Week 7,,,

June is Vacation Time, Split City takes the Week Off...

5-7 OBI held off bitter rival Murphy's Law twice in glorious fashion this week. Two close wins, 9-6 and 10-8, were on tap with essential 2-out hits and ever-present consistent defense. And of course,,, the infamous doubled up back-to-back Sac Flies...

OBI opened Game 1 with a 4 run outburst in the Top of the 1st,,, all scoring with 2 outs. After Matt's lead off single and then Out #2, a John Backwards-K, hits by Spillane, Michael, Nuta, Jakob, and Jayse made it happen. John redeemed himself with his own 2-out hit in the second to make the score 5-1 after the Top of the 2nd.

After a quiet 3rd, 4th, and 5th innnings,, bases were loaded after scoring a run to make the score 6-1 when Matt and Paul both hit Sac Flys, back-to-back fashion. John followed with another two out hit and the score was 9-1 going to the bottom of the 6th. Murphy's Law made it close by scoring 3 and then a pair in the bottom of the 7th.

Murphy's Law continued their hot hitting and scored 4 in the top of the first in Game 2. OBI answered back with 3 of their own,,, again, all scoring on 2 out hits after Matt and Paul singled when John and Spillane drove them in.

The game was taken over as 4 then 3 were scored in the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd innings, respectively. Nuta, Jakob, Jayse, and J.R. started the 2nd with hits and Matt finished off the inning run scoring with another hit.

The lead was then stretched to 10-4 as John and Spillane singled, followed by a Michael Walk and Nuta single. Topping off the inning were Back-to-Back Sac Flys by Jakob and Jayse.

The OBI offense could be counted on for NoMoRuns and the defense was again steady enough to hold off Murphy's Law late comeback bid,,, which ended up to low and they did not win the auction,,, so to speak.

The 10 runs in the second game were pushed across by only 15 hits. Game 1's 9 runs were courtesy of 20 hits.  Hopefully, the offense can continue the consistent output as we head into Week 7 of Season 3 contest against Midlife Crisis on field 2... 815/915 Games,,, ooohhh yyyaaaaaa

Runnin' Fools Start with 8, Give Up 13 in Bottom of 1st...

On June 18, Split City started the evening off with a Lucky 13 by sending 18 to the plate who mostly took advantage of the 8 man defensive start for the Runnin' Fools. Withstanding an 11 run top of the 4th inning, Split City held on to take Game 1 18-13.

Matt collected a hit in the first inning for his only single of the game. It was not necessary for him to carry OBI on his back this game as the remaining 9 in the lineup stroked 28 hits in the 5 innings.

Highlights include Jakob's 4 for 4, Spillane's 2 Doubles and 3 RBIs, 3 hits each by Clint, John, Michael, Paul and Nuta.  Nuta's 2 Doubles and Infield Triple impressively drove in 7 runs.

Split City went quiet for Game 2 by collecting only 9 hits and scoring 4 runs in the 6 inning game. Highlights were few and far between. As offensive OBI was in Game 1, opposites attracted and only John and Michael had 2 hits in the game.  Michael's unexpected triple over the 3rd base bag was an interesting moment (still not happy I had to run out a sticking triple).

Defense remains a specialty of the OBI squad and kept us in Game 2 until the final inning when RFools pushed across 5 runs to earn the 11-4 final.

Next, Split City takes a week off...

OBI Fails to Capture the Split City Glory Against Team Wear It

After giving up 19 runs in Game 1's Top of the 2nd inning, a 24-10 loss was not toooooo bad. However, Split City was unable to hold onto the lead in the final inning of Game 2 after scoring 4 in the top half. Thus, OBI is OBI and Split City will wait to be referenced again in a future blog post.

OBI scored 10 runs in 5 innings at bat in Game 1 by scoring run(s) in each inning. Clutch hitting was rampant as all 7 runs scored thru the first four innings touched home plate with 2 outs. There were 8 runners left on base as OBI pounded out 19 hits in the losing effort.

Matt and Fill-ins Travis & Leo each stroked 3 hits. Nuta, DC, and Leo each scored 2 runs. And Doubles were frequent to the tune of 5 in the game as Spillane, DC, Michael (2), and Jakob took the extra base.

Interestingly, everyone had 1 RBI in the game with only two exceptions,,, Matt had none and Michael had 2 (RBI hog). Both J.R. and Larry had Sac Flies,,, and J.R. to a Called Third Strike (being unable to stay this past week for post-game festivities, I have not been able to confirm if massive quantities of beverages were consumed as celebration of said taken pitch,,, someone please chime in to let us know)...

Game 2 was a tale of 3 Games:
-- OBI off to a fast start, led 7-5 after 2 innings.
-- TWI quietly took the lead in the middle 3 innings, outscoring OBI 5-0.
-- OBI puts up a 4 spot in the Top of the 6th (last) inning.
-- Only to have TWI push across 2 in the bottom half for the 12-11 victory.

Jakob complained and played his way out of future lead off opportunities with a 1-4 performance in Game 2. Matt was 1-2 in Game 2 before taking off for Little League practice (not sure what the age limit is in that league, but some coach is gonna check his birth certificate).

Leo again had 3 hits and joining him on the Game 2 hit parade was DC and JR. It is possible initials and shorter names may positively affect batting outcomes, thus the lineup may be written as such for upcoming games thru the end of Season 3. Could just be the heat talking too, not sure yet...

Extra base hits in the game were highlighted by this seasons first Big Fly,,, this was a pop up by DC to LC field. The lunging swing was sweet enough to tie the game at 10 in the top of the last inning. Larry had a 2 run Triple in the top of the 1st to cap the 4 run inning. Michael's Triple was thanks to the RC fielders glove inability to close at the proper time allowing a jog for the full 210'. JRs 3rd hit of the game put us in the lead for a short time... Leo also stroked a double...

 This week we once again take on Runnin' Fools on field 6. This time it will be 110 degrees, yay us... Jayse requires another week to recover from his back injury and JR is unable to make it. Fill ins will help us out and Split City will make a return,,, I have a good feeling about this.

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to This Weeks Softball Game,,,

2-4 Split City opened up a can of whoop ass in the bottom of the 4th inning during Game 2 against Coyote Towing this past week. Netting Double Digit Innings is nothing new to the OBI crew, however, scoring in only one inning per double header certainly is.

4-1 Coyote Towing felt supremely confident moving into Game 2 as their 10-0 victory in Game 1 was won going away after scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning. On a day when the winds shifted and came in from dead center field on #4, so did this softball battle shift to a pitchers duel. After OBI's 10 run home 4th outburst, a Travis-to-Michael-to-J.R. double play ended any threat mustered and the twin bill ended in two 10-0 victories,,, one by each squad.

Here are the highlights, interesting as they may be,,, kinda painful to look at:

-- Coyote Towing scored only 3 runs through 4 innings.
-- OBI scored 0 runs in 5 innings :~(
-- OBI raked it for 5 hits in 5 innings :~(
-- OBI's biggest threat was DC hitting a 2-out single fairly deep into CF that was perfectly played to get Nuta at home 9-6-2.
-- Fill in SJ ran down a deep fly to CF in the bottom of the first that easily travelled 320'.
-- J.R. pitched well, including into the 5th inning.
-- Michael and Clint realized they need to confirm that game time changes are understood by all as both Spillane and Larry were both all set to arrive at 7:15 game time.

-- Game two was an unadulterated pitching duel, won by OBI on the strength of fill-in Jim's consistent and constant change ups.
-- OBI had 8 hits in the first 8 innings at the dish.
-- OBI had 11 hits and a Base on Balls in the bottom of the 4th inning of Game 2.
-- Clint scored twice in the inning, becoming the only multi-run scorer of the night.
-- DC was 3-4 in his first game played since,,, ummm, last time he played.
-- Travis hit his second triple of the season and it cleared the bases pushing the lead to 7.
-- The outfield was burned on a couple of occasions early, but great running catches were made in Game 2 by Nuta (running into fence running down third base line) and Paul from RC running to catch a ball that ended up directly behind DC in RF.
-- Jayse was supposed to make the plays that challenged Matt's hold on 1B. Instead, it was J.R. that caught line drive after line drive to make us all take notice.

Best wishes go to Jakob, who we missed this week after his involvement in an automotive type accident. Get better soon, Jakob!

Ok, 'nuff said about this week fo'sho' !!!

Split City Takes it on the Chin and Settles for OBI tag against Mamma's Boys

Game 1 was all about consistency. OBI was all that in the first four innings and raced to 14-10 lead. Then, with an opportunity to put the game away in the top of the 5th after Jayse and Jakob led off with a single and double, respectively,,, three straight outs opened the door for 3-1 Mamma's Boys.

MBoys took advantage of a couple defensive miscues and scored 5 runs to take Game 1. In Game 2, the air seemed to be gone from Split City's bubble in an unspirited 6-10 loss. Defensive lapses will occur from time to time, as do OBI's offensive inconsistencies, the good news is that we will continue to improve as the season goes along. There have been several players who have made the same positive comments about the early Season 3 play that you have read in the blog. 

Now, if people would stop taking every other week off, going to DBacks games, being unable to avoid other drivers on the streets of Phoenix, and,,, maybe most importantly, keep their priorities in order and play less Tourney ball. Sheeeeeeesh !!!

Game 1's loss was a heart breaker. However, did anyone else notice that J.R. seems to be on a roll offensively and on the mound? (He even caught a line drive at 1B on Tuesday night,, Wh, Wha, Whaaat !!! I know right?) J.R.'s Big Fly put us up momentarily 9-8 in the top of the third inning. And I believe was the catalyst for the 5 run fourth that Almost sowed up the game.

Hitting was impressive as everyone had at least one hit and either scored a run or drove one in... Jakob lead the way with a 4-4 game, while Matt and Clint both had 3 hits at the top of the order. Jayse also raked it for 3 hits.

Game 2 was a rather lackluster affair and OBI lost (as stated above) 6-10 in 7 innings. John and Lucas had 2 hits a piece, while Clint and J.R. each had 3. Blah, Blah, Blah... We need more offense and our Shortstop needs more emphasis on the Stop in his position name. Just sayin'

This weeks games have been moved up and we have a 6:15 start. We will be playing Coyote Towing both games... Cya Tonight!

Season 3 stats are in Da' Hooouuuussee!!!

Season 3 Opens with Split City Coming From Behind on the Launching Pad

After Matt made the final out with the tying run on base in a close 9-10 loss to 2-0 Rimmer Construction to end the Season 3 opener on Field 3 (aka The Launching Pad), he calmly stepped up to the plate in the nightcap's home half of the 7th versus 0-2 Midlife Crisis and delivered a walk-off single to plate the winning run in Split City's 12-11 victory.

Run-on sentences aside, May 21st was a step forward for our OBI squad. Consistency at the plate was evident in greater fashion than in the first two seasons of 2015. Both games would have been walks in the park sans for our hitting into 2 Double Plays in Game 1 and leaving, ohhh, just shy of a Billion Runners on Base. The positive sign is that we actually were able to generate threats nearly every inning during both games.

Rimmer Construction has moved from Monday league play at Victory to Thursday. They are a solid ball club and OBI battled well in our close loss. With the score tied at 7 in the top of the 5th, OBI left the bases loaded after loading them with one out. RC scored 3 in the bottom of that inning for the winning margin.

Defensively, play was as consistent as ever,,, even with players in different positions. Nuta teamed up with Matt on a Line Drive to SS to 1B double play. And Jakob picked up 2 OF Assists as Michael collected the ball at the plate and threw behind a runner at 3B and 2B to cut short RC rallies.

Newcomers Travis and Lucas both played and hit well. Lucas discovered his softball swing and is quickly becoming an OF regular. Travis gives us the luxury of an additional infielder/pitcher combo. Besides these two, Nuta, Paul, and the aforementioned Matt were tops at the plate in Game 1.

Game 2 had a brutal start to go with Matt's late inning heroics. Midlife Crisis scored 10 in the top of the first and held 10-0 lead going to the bottom of the 2nd. Travis, Larry, and Lucas singled setting up an RBI Walk by Matt. This was followed up by RBI hitters Jakob, Michael and Spillane. Jayse singled in front of Nuta driving in the 6th run of the inning.

The score remained 10-6 MC until the bottom of the 6th inning when OBI pushed across 3 runs on a Michael Double and Spillane single. MC scored one to push their lead to 2 at 11-9 going to the bottom of the 7th,,, totally setting up Split City for:

-- 3 consecutive singles by Nuta, Travis, and Paul.
-- Bases Loaded Sac Fly by Larry cut the lead to 1.
-- With one out, Lucas singled in the tying run.
-- With Paul on third and Lucas on first, Matt did his thing driving in the winning run.

'Nuff Said, SPLIT CITY it is then !!!

Stats will be available with Week 2 posting that will be made later this afternoon.