Nutty Finish
Final Playoff Recap
Thu, Sep 9, 2010
And then there were none.
The MCSN 2010 season wrapped up Saturday with four teams left in the final round of playoffs to play for the Championship title. The exciting day left the #1-seeded Carter Administration on top of the heap, grabbing the coveted title.
In the early game, Carter Administration sailed past the upstart 7th-seeded Punishers 11-4 to secure their spot in the Championship Game at 10 a.m. For the first time this season, the Carter Administration caught a whiff of forfeit fever that swept through the league this summer as only five team members attended batting practice; by game time there were nine. However, manager Chris Carter was glad all the lady Administrators showed up.
“The trio of girl power Kerr, Tuiner and Anderson that has come through all season for us shined in the playoffs with big hits and solid defense all day long, including a triple by Lindsay Anderson,” he said.
Punisher manager Scott Lilly also pointed to Anderson’s performance for the opposing team’s win.
“I'm guessing people will be drafting Jim Anderson just to get Lindsay on their team after her big power performance against us,” he said.
The Carter Administration showed their bench depth, as all players made strong contributions. Carter picked a good time to smack his first over-the-fence home run of the season, and he pointed to Tim Kerr’s and Jim Anderson’s outfield performances, as well as assistant-to-the-manager Bill Van Tuinen’s general effort.
“Scott Lilly was overheard several times repeating Bill Van Tuinen, Bill Van Tuinen, Bill Van Tuinen," he recalled. "I think he was in awe or in a trance, regardless the Bill show was in full force Saturday morning. Even with a sore oblique there were triples, leaping catches against the fence, and even a rare slide into second. It was definitely an MVP day for Mr. Van Tuinen.”
Throughout the game, the Punishers, missing one of their top players in Nate Crozier, played their hardest and only trailed 7-4 going into the bottom of the 5th but offensively could not get past the stingy Carter Administration defense.
“The Punishers played poorly and the Peanuts performed profoundly," said Lilly. "We were simply outplayed.”
Lilly added he’s looking forward to a rematch next year, as long as the Carter Administration changes its name.
“We're looking for a more original team name from Chris next year,” he said. “If he goes with Carter Admin next year, we're going to call them the Goobers! The whole trend of eponymous team names is getting out of hand. At least [Tsunami manager] Sammy Baturoni rejected the "Bat-aronis.”
At 9 a.m., Global Warming met the Smithereens to determine the second Championship contender. After an impressive battle, Global Warming outslugged the Smithereens 16-12, beating them for the first time this season.
Part of Global Warming’s edge may have been fielding more than nine players for the first time since their third game of the season.
“We needed every player to squeak out a win against the (Mat) Smith-less Smithereens,” said Global Warming manager Ovi Tisler. "The Smithereens put up a good fight but Mat still has a lot to learn about the managerial art of smack-talk. Van Tuinen coached me all off-season, and I know that's why we went to the Championship Game.”
Global Warming started off with five runs in the top of the first inning, including a home run by center fielder Jon Thornton. They were a scoring-machine as they racked up runs in every inning except for one. Global Warming’s defense was just as serious as their offense, highlighted by a reflex snag by pitcher Simone Halpin off a scorching line drive from Smithereens acting manager Juan Cruz.
According to Ovi Tisler, his co-manager Andy Tissler began strategizing for the Championship Game after hitting his third over-the-fence home run of the season mid-way through the game. Andy Tisler’s planning proved a bit too early as the Smithereens cut the lead to two going into the last inning, easily scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth. According to Tisler, were it not for the five-run per inning limit, the game might have turned out very differently. Global Warming got back in the game, adding a couple insurance runs in the top of the seventh inning and shutting down the Smithereens 1-2-3 to end the game.
This win made Global Warming’s winning streak reach the fever pitch of five wins, carrying them straight into the Championship game. Yet, after the strain of beating the Smithereens, Global Warming couldn’t find their groove and lost both the game and the title to the Carter Administration 11-2.
“Global Warming's potent concoction of hitting, fielding, and pitching that was so effective in the semi-finals proved to be junk science against the inconvenient truth of the Carter Administrations' bats in the Championship,” said Van Tuinen.
Global Warming showed signs of fatigue early, not scoring any runs in their first inning, a stark contrast to their scoring bonanza just an hour before. Tisler thinks he may have jinxed his team with pre-game shenanigans.
"I gave our lineup to [Carter Administration player] Brad Hansen at the start of the game as stipulated in rule 37a paragraph B,” Tisler reported. "I 'helped' him out by just filling in five runs for us in the first inning. Maybe that fired them up or something.”
The well-rested Carter Administration scored three runs in the first inning, which actually would be all they would need to win the game, but they kept it going from there.
“Our offense also got a big lift from Chris Cormier,” said Carter. “After competing in the Chicago Super Sprint Triathlon and placing 44th overall, he rushed across the street to make the Championship Game. He blasted a two-run shot through the trees. That put a stake in Global
Warming like a melting ice cap to a polar bear cub.”
“We're looking for a more original team name from Chris next year.”Carter also pointed solid defensive performances from first baseman Brad Hansen and outfielders David Cho, Jeremy Huntington and Josh Hall for keeping Global Warming to only two runs.- Punishers' Scott Lilly on the trend of self-named teams
"Its kind of tough to win a softball game when you only score two runs," added Andy Tisler. "Our 3-6 hitters went 2-for-12
with 0 RBIs. In a word: ouch."
Second-inning drama interrupted the game when Carter Administration pitcher Joshua Hall made the last out of the first inning and then lead off the second inning. Global Warming player Anthony Halpin appealed the batting-out-of-order to umpire Jerry Hodge. However, Hodge allowed the change since Carter Administration player Lindsay Anderson had to step away from the game to answer a call from her boss, Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, causing the snafu.
“The change-up caused Halpin some internal heat, but it turns out that he was just upset that Blago wasn’t found innocent on all counts,” explained Carter.
In response, Tisler stated, “The leniency of the umpiring crew should lead to calls for ethics reform from the "shady" Administration.”
There’s always next year.
In the end, Halpin's fiery cries were not enough to lift the bats of his team, and they lost the game. When asked for final comments, Carter yelled, “It was a great season and we wished we could have had our full squad with us for the Championship. In the end, there’s just one thing left to be said…..’GO NUTZ’!”
See you next year!
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