Challengers score 12 in first inning en route to 15-2 rout

YAWN: Challengers crush another opponent, ride 12-run first past over-matched Hunters

One thing about having a baby is that you really don't get to sleep that much anymore. So it was an oddly pleasant feeling I had Saturday morning when it seemed as if I had gotten to sleep quite a lot. Of course I knew I hadn't overslept because my alarm was set for...wait a minute, my alarm is set only to go off on weekdays. Crap. So I actually HAD overslept, but was nonetheless able to make it to the field a mere 25 minutes late...or to put it another way, still about an hour before Juan did.

Coming into Saturday's games against the Hunters, I wasn't really all that concerned. The last time the two team met, the Challengers won both games by mercy-rule (I'd missed that game due to stomach issues). After Oli Christen retired the lead-off batter on one pitch, it looked like he was set to cruise to another victory. The Hunters, however, seemed to have other ideas. The next batter singled, then stole second. With the runner taking off again for third, the following batter hit a ground ball to second for an easy out. However, Daiki Sato took his sweet time throwing the ball over to first (not really, I'm just giving him crap...perhaps he could've charged the ball a bit, that's all) and the runner - who never slowed down - managed to slide in ahead of Juan de la Rosa's throw from first. A walk, HBP and single later, and the Hunters had both a 2-0 and the Challengers' attention.

Unfortunately for Thun, that would be the high point of their outing. In the bottom of the first, the Challengers sent an astounding 16 men to the plate, scoring 12 runs on 7 hits (and helped out by 4 absolutely atrocious Hunter errors). Nine men came to the plate before the first out was even recorded. It was really quite a spectacle.

Per usual, Kurt Kovac got things started off with a walk and then promptly stole second. After a wild pitch, Yusuke Azuma singled home Kovac to make it 2-1. After Azuma stole second (getting beat by the throw but managing to avoid the tag), Renzo Falcone singled and then pulled off a double steal with Azuma to put runners on second and third. De la Rosa drew a walk to load the bases, and then the Hunters got generous: Adderly Sarmiento sent an easy grounder towards third, which should have resulted in an easy force, but the throw home was wild and everyone was safe. Sato followed with a sharp single, bringing in Falcone and de la Rosa, making the score 4-2 Challengers. That brought Nick Lehmann to the plate who, per usual, couldn't be bothered to move out of the way of an inside pitch, which struck him in the left shoulder, reloading the bases and giving him yet ANOTHER bruise/bodily ache to whine about (serioiusly, the guy complains more than I do, which I didn't think was possible).

Next up was left-fielder Alex Gordon who was looking to extend a streak of having reached base in 7 consecutive plate appearances (mostly because people keep hitting me with the ball). With the count 2-2, the Thun pitcher somehow managed to fire a pitch a good foot and a half BEHIND Gordon, allowing Sarmiento to score from third and raising Gordon's blood pressure to a critical level. The pay-off pitch caught Gordon in the foot despite his best efforts to hop out of the way (I used to be a lot more athletic when I was younger. I don't know what the heck happened). At this point, it was 5-2 Challengers, the bases were re-loaded and there were still no outs.

Michel Romang, the 9th batter in the inning, got jammed on an inside pitch and lofted a soft fly to first. While the correct call should have been infield fly, the umpire neglected to do so. As a result, Sato was caught between third and home and was tagged for the first out of the inning. That brought Kovac to the plate for his second at-bat of the inning, and he crushed a double over the center-fielder's head. Lehmann and Gordon scored easily, with Romang holding up at third (he might've been able to score too, but my hip-flexor only allows me to run about 3/4 speed...I am basically disintegrating at this point). Three more runs scored on an error, a double and a single, and by the time Sarmiento was thrown out on an ill-advised steal attempt, it was 12-2 Challengers. When Lehmann's line drive to center was caught by the Thun fielder, the inning was mercifully at an end. The Challengers would tack on 3 more runs in the third, highlighted by Lehmann's 2-RBI single, which accounted for the final 15-2 score.

Aside from that...not too much happened this game. Oddly enough, for someone who allowed only 4 hits and had 7 strike outs, Christen really did not pitch particularly well - at least not in comparison to his most recent outings. Almost from the very beginning he struggled with control, starting most of the batters off with Ball 1. While this didn't end up being a problem against an embarrassingly inept Thun lineup, it certainly could have against better competition.

The funniest moment of the game - not counting Romang's unintentional comedy when he asked whether it would be better for him to use the bathroom inside or wait for me to come out of the one nearest the field (I mean...do you even need to ask a question like that?) - came in the top of the 6th when, after a brief rain-delay, Lehmann came on in relief of Christen. With one out and a runner on first, Nick threw one pitch...and got a 5-3 double play. Now that's some Swiss efficiency for you.

The second game was called on account of rain in the top of the 2nd, with the Challengers already leading 2-0, but by that point it was almost a foregone conclusion that Thun was out of its depth. On this particular day, only acts of god were going to stop the Challengers from winning.

by Alex Gordon