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21 players and hangers on swarmed into J.R. Macs after Tuesday’s game. Erin, who had gone home after expecting another poor chalk talk turnout, had to be summoned back to serve the unruly throng. Gary and Joann helped raise our spirits on a night we got pounded by the ringer-laden Mother Goose team 29-15. Centerfielder Tom Scheck made the defensive play of the game, an outstanding running catch to stop the bleeding in the 6th.
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It was a historic night in St. Paul. 17,000 saw the event, tens of thousands more waited in line to see the action at Battle Creek Field 3. And they were not disappointed. MPR led a close game for much of the night, but allowed the Grand Old Sluggers hope in the bottom of the last. Trailing by one with a runner on and two outs, the GOS’s slugger came to the plate and hit a towering smash to left. Rookie Chris Danforth’s running snow-cone catch preserved the 11-10 victory. Mason, Chris Bjork, and Ward stroked three hits each for MPR.
2nd baseman Jill Riley later lamented chalk talk attendance; some MPR-ers claimed distraction from a frivolous sideshow in the downtown area.
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A tip of the cap to all the players and fans who showed up and stuck around through the hail and rain delay before Thursday’s game. While our seventh inning rally fell short, getting the game in at all was a victory over the elements that we have battled all spring.
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Many a taunt has been heard on the softball fields of the world, but I’m willing to bet that Johann Pachelbel’s masterpiece has not been used to signal displeasure with an umpire before Tuesday. However, when the umpire is Fred Child and the taunters are classical music staff, it seems that the worst thing you can suggest is that the popular, but arguably hackneyed, Canon in D will get programmed in retaliation. Calm eventually prevailed, and presumably Performance Today escaped a descent into triteness. Meanwhile, the team pulled out a victory, overcoming an inning-from-hell scare in the seventh with Jenner tagging out an over-eager runner trying to score on a hit to Gus in centerfield.
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I know you all have friends and family and other things going on in you life, but softball needs to be the top priority. Case in point, Thursday’s loss to the Capitol Offenders which I blame on Brian and Tom. They have clearly been concentrating more of their energy primping for the TV cameras, than mentally preparing for softball. Brian was obviously pondering his next piece of political punditry as he stood motionlessness while strike two landed on the carpet. And you could tell that Tom was mentally selecting the tie he would wear on his next appearance on “Almanac at the Capitol” as he made the last out of the game. Sure, he had already driven in six runs in the game, but we expect more.
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Our team has barely seen the sun this year, but last night it was right in our hitters’ eyes. Perhaps that’s why we managed only 7 hits and 2 runs. On the other hand, our opponent, OBBs, had little trouble seeing the ball as they knocked it around for 22 runs. The sun was no excuse for the poor turnout at the bar. Only 4 lonely souls showed up to drown their sorrows. We can do better!
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A tip of the hat to Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller for ending today’s floor session by 4:00. This enabled our opponents, The Love Gloves, a team made up of Senate staffers, to leave the Capitol in time to play ball. Mason, Cliff and Randy all hit home runs to lead MPR to a 16 to 4 victory. The winning continued at the bar as Jeff Johnson pulled a $150 pull tab. Mary Greenly made the night even more special by arriving with a delicious assortment of cookies.
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The rain stopped falling just before game time and the bats warmed up as the evening wore on, providing just enough offense for a 14 to 13 victory over Alary’s. The lead changed hands several times during the game and the tying run was on third base in the 7th inning when Suds calmly snagged a hot shot and threw out the runner to end the game. Maria and Jill burned the Alary’s outfielders with impressive drives. At least three people drank Guinness at the bar.
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It may not be the biggest trophy we’ve ever won, but it’s the one with the important word on it… Champions. After playing in this tournament for 20 years and finishing second the last two years, we finally won it all on August 4th, 2007. The championship team went 5-0, beating the Love Gloves, Alary’s, Had Our Shots and the Capitol Offenders (twice). We had timely hitting, but it was the defense, led by Johnny Rothman, Gus Liepitz and Rebecca Apel, that continually demoralized our opponents with spectacular plays in the field.
Our other entry in the tournament started off by beating Explosive D, a team that went a long way in the loser’s bracket, before succumbing to the Capitol Offenders and OBB’s.
Having two teams in the tournament was another first for us. Thanks to everybody who came out to play. I hope you had fun. Running this team has been an honor and a pleasure for me.
-Jim
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…at the bar. A big crowd turned out at the chalk talk to celebrate the end of the regular season. There was an early scare when the beer taps started failing, but the Summit never stopped flowing.
The play of the game occured when Chris struck out Joe Mansky of the Capitol Offenders, an unprecedented occurence according to his teammates.