New Faces, New Result
Tap Overcomes
Early Deficit and Pulls Out First Victory in Extra Frames
Clüb
Tap found itself on unfamiliar ground Friday night. Tap was forced to start with just nine guys, three
of which had not played this year. It
also started five players at positions in which they had not played this
year. The most noticeable change was on
the mound, where Pianolegs Hanley made his first career start. Hanley’s first inning was a dubious one. Clearly showing jitters, he walked the first
batter of the game, igniting a six-run first inning for rival Joey’s
Mobscene. Finding itself in an
all-too-common hole, the resilient Tappers decided they had had enough.
Tap
started its comeback in the top of the second, when Triebs laced a perfectly
placed double over third base. Two
batters later, Eric Kent sent a line drive over a charging left fielder’s head
to drive in Triebs. With some
imaginative baserunning,
Pianolegs
Hanley settled down in the bottom of the inning, as his trademark KY Ball
started to deceive the Mobscene hitters.
Following a scoreless bottom half, Clüb Tap again went on the
attack. Rookie Dave Boritzke, the
19-year-old wonder who was playing in his first career game, led off the top of
the third inning with a towering home run over the fence in left field. Now sensing that the game was theirs to win, the
Tappers exploded for five runs in the third, capped off by another 2-RBI line
drive over the charging left fielder by Eric Kent. From there, the Mobscene players simply lost
their cool.
Now
with a 7-6 lead, manager Pianolegs Hanley handed the ball off to closer Don Wadewitz,
who had arrived at the game just minutes before. Wadewitz’s arrival meant that the Tap
defenders could return to their more normal positions. With Wadewitz throwing bullets and the Tap
defense playing flawlessly, Mobscene was held scoreless for the next four
innings. The innings were not
uneventful, however. The play of the
game occurred in the bottom of the fifth inning. With Tap still clinging to its one-run lead,
Mobscene had a runner on first with two outs when a burly Mobscene slugger
ripped a ball off the left field fence.
Hanley, now playing in his usual stomping grounds, fielded the ball and
rifled it in to Eric Kent. As the runner
from first was reaching third base,
Wadewitz
and the Tap defense’s wizardly lasted until the bottom of the seventh inning,
when two Mobscene singles plated a run, tying the game and sending it to a
decisive eighth inning. It was the first
time in franchise history that Clüb Tap had played an extra-innings game.
Facing
a best case scenario of a tie if they did not score in the inning, Tap sent
Funnyman to the plate to lead off the eighth.
Funnyman simply refused to be stopped from scoring the winning run. After bluffing drawing a walk, he sent a 2-1
pitch into center field for his first single of the game. Wadewitz followed with another single to
center, and Funnyman motored all the way to third base. Looking for his fifth RBI of the game, Eric
Kent deliberately chopped a ball towards the Mobscene shortstop. Funnyman, who was off on contact, scored
without a throw.
Again
with a one-run lead, the Tappers would not allow a repeat of the seventh inning
to occur in the eighth. They continued
to play seamless defense en route to a quiet bottom of the eighth and
unbelievable victory. “This was probably
the most exciting game we’ve ever played,” the exuberant Tap manager said
following the game. “We haven’t been
privy to too many wins the past few years.
To win one like this is a [expletive] pleasure. Our defense was exceptional.” A good time was
had by all at the Clüb Tap following the victory.
Clüb
Tap will take on Fit N’ Feather at