Real Dirt III Winter Wiffleball League

Playoff Recap

 

 

LAGERS BRING HOME THE BACON

Spellman, Boomer, Leahy and Stevenson with the dough

 

 

 

From The Commish: If you didn’t see the highlights on SportsCenter you wouldn’t believe what took place at Strike One on Tuesday night.  Every playoff game had a twist before the final score was tallied and the drama didn’t end in the Championship Finals.  The Lagers captured the Real Dirt III title but not without two amazing games.

 

Real Dirt III Championship Finals

 

Game 1: Lagers (5) defeated Dream Team (4) in 6 innings

Game 2: Lagers (1) defeated Dream Team (0) in 6 innings

 

GAME 1 RECAP

Lagers (5) defeated Dream Team (4) in 6 innings

 

This contest featured the dynamite pitching matchup of Dreamer Glenn Watson vs. the Lagers Boomer and it didn’t disappoint despite some unforeseen circumstances.  While most would expect this game to come down to an extra inning bases loaded walk both teams touched up the opposing pitcher to the tune of 9 total runs.

 

Boomer on the hill for the Lagers

 

The game went scoreless for the first three innings before Dream Team broke the ice with a single run in the top of the 4th frame.  Dreamer Rob Thomas unloaded an absolute bomb high over the net off Lager Boomer to make the score 1-0.  The blast seemed to awaken both teams (the game started at 12:21am on Wednesday morning) as the Lagers responded in the bottom of the inning with a run of their own on an RBI double by Boomer to make the score 1-1 after 4 innings of play.

 

Thomas went big fly shocking the stunned crowd

 

The teams went scoreless in the 5th inning and headed to the 6th where the bases begin loaded for the playoff format.  Dream Team seemed to take control of the contest adding 3 runs to their tally on a 3 RBI triple off the bat of Rob Thomas however the #1 seeded Lagers were not going to be denied as they headed to the bottom of the 6th.  Lager Eric Stevenson doubled in 2 runs off Dream Teamer Watson to creep within a run at 4-3 and Boomer secured the win with a walk-off double of his own to give the Lagers the hard-fought 5-4 victory.

 

Boomer’s game winning double secured a 1-0 game lead for the Lagers

 

GAME 2 RECAP

Lagers (1) defeated Dream Team (0) in 6 innings

 

The second game of the series matched up Dream Teamer hurler Paul Atkinson with Lager fireballer and Real Dirt III MVP Pat Leahy.  Both pitchers had command of their nasty pitches firing strikeout and strikeout.  The two competitors blanked their opposition for 5 solid innings before heading to the bases loaded 6th frame.

 

Leahy pitched the Lagers to a Real Dirt III Championship

 

The Lagers pushed across the only run of the game on a walk to Boomer to head into the bottom of the inning with a slim 1-0 lead.  Leahy was up to the task however as he struck out the side to secure the championship for the Lagers.  The final pitch of the Real Dirt III Championship was thrown at 3:11 am.

 

PRELIMINARY PLAYOFF GAME BLURBS

 

9:30pm #2 Dream Team vs. #7 No Expectations – Dream Team downed No Ex 10-0 via the slaughter rule.  No Ex was a no-show as only John Stokes made the trip to Danvers (his other teammates decided not to show).  Stokes fought hard but had no chance against the Dream Teamers as they pounded out hit after hit in the wide field.

 

9:30pm #3 Playboys vs. #6 Dozers – The Playboys notched a 2-0 victory in this contest to earn a spot in the second round of the playoffs.  John McFarland paced the Playboy offense with 3 hits while Brian Sandler limited the Dozers to just 1 hit on the night.

 

10:20pm #4 Spades vs. #5 Pyros – Easily the game of the night as these two teams battled for 10 innings of scoreless ball before the Spades emerged victorious on a bases loaded walk.  Spade Steve Urquhart and Pyro Matty Griffin (8 innings pitched after relieving John Hazell) locked horns for a marathon contest.  Both pitchers worked out of jams all game long before the dam burst in the 10th frame.

 

10:20pm #2 Dream Team vs. #3 Playboys – The Dream Team secured a place in the Championship Finals with a solid 5-0 win against the Playboys.  Dream Teamer Paul Atkinson shut down the Playboys for 4 innings to earn the win.  Glenn Watson paced the Dreamer offense with a double and 3 RBI.

 

11:10pm #1 Lagers vs. #4 Spades – The Lagers earned their spot in the Championship Finals with a narrow 1-0 win against the Spades.  Pat Leahy blanked the Spades for 4 innings although Spade Matt Bethoney held his own before allowing a walk-off bases loaded walk in the 4th inning.

 

 

Real Dirt III All-Star Team

 

Brian Sandler (Playboys): 3-1, 0.24 ERA, 1 ER, 38 K, 12 BB

Mark Spellman (Lagers): .390 AVG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 12 RBI

Pat Leahy (Lagers): .426 AVG, 8 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI/4-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 ER, 51 K, 17 BB, 1 HA

Paul Atkinson (Dream Team): 3-2, 2.20 ERA, 50 K, 9 HA

Glenn Watson (Dream Team): .429 AVG 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 13 RBI/2-2, 1.67 ERA, 5 ER, 27 K, 3 BB, 7 HA

John Hazell (Pyros): 2-2, 2.12 ERA, 6 ER, 30 K, 6 HA

Chris Gagnon (Dozers): .296 AVG, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI/3-2, 2.29 ERA, 51 K

Steve Urquhart (Spades): 3-2, 0.95 ERA, 5 ER, 48 K, 17 BB

Matt Bethoney (Spades): 2-3, 2.53 ERA, 47 K, 19 BB

 

 

Real Dirt III “Dirtiest Players of the Week”

 

Week 1 – John Hazell-Pyros (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 9 K in 2-0 win vs. Lagers)

Week 2 – Brian Hartnett-Spades (3-6, 2 2B, Grand Slam GW HR vs. Dozers)

Week 3 – Brian Sandler-Playboys (2B, 2 RBI/4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 7 K in 6-0 win vs. No Expectations)

Week 4 – Mark Spellman-Lagers (7-11, 5 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI in 2 games)

Week 5 – Matt McCarthy-Dozers (3-10, 2 2B, 2 RBI/4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 11 K in 2 games)

Week 6 – Pat Leahy-Lagers (3-9, 2B, HR, 2 RBI/3.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 10 K in 2 games)

Week 7 – Matty Griffin-Pyros (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 12 K vs. Dream Team/GW HR vs. Dream Team)

Week 8 – Paul Atkinson-Dream Team (4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 11 K vs. Spades/2-4, 3B, RBI)

Week 9 – Pat Leahy-Lagers (6.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 17 K/9-17, 4 2B, 3B, 7 RBI in 2 games)