Club Tap Flexes Its Muscle
Team’s Collective Muscle Approximately Equal to Network’s,
as Tap Splits Double-Header with Second-Placed Team
A tired but confident Club
Tap team took the field twice Friday night riding a franchise long two-game
winning streak. Though it faced the
intimidating second-placed Network, Club Tap had an ace up its sleeve in the
form of Mike “Orange Crush” Barse.
The boys of Tap got the
night started as they always try to, by drawing a walk. After the leadoff walk to Slash McLeod, both
the J-Beasts, Hanley and Riebe, took free passes. “The walks immediately got to Network,” said McLeod. After two more walks in the inning, Network
pulled its starter and brought in veteran Whitepants. Whitepants held Tap to only two runs in the first, but the table
was set for a victory.
After Barse set Network down
scoreless in the first inning, Tap got back to work again in the top of the
second. Helping his own cause, Barse
laced a single into right field. McLeod
and Hanley again drew walks and set up a towering grand slam for J-Beast Riebe
to put Tap ahead 7-0. The Tap would
cruise from there.
Barse continued to mow down
Network, surrendering only 2 runs through the game’s first two innings. Pianolegs Hanley added a two-run triple in
the sixth inning, and Club Tap grabbed a 10-2 lead. After a two-run bottom half of the sixth and scoreless top of the
seventh, which saw Nate Adams’ first career triple go to waste, the boisterous
Club Tap crowd of two grew anxious.
However, Barse and the superb Tap defense would seal the deal in style
in the seventh. Following a leadoff
walk, the next two Network batters hit the ball into shallow left but a fine
over-the-shoulder catch by shortstop Hanley and a great diving catch by
leftfielder Riebe prevented Network from doing anything. Club Tap held on comfortably and extended
its winning streak to three games.
“Holding that team to four
runs in seven innings was unbelievable,” said Hanley. “Everyone stepped it up on defense, and we played a near flawless
game.” Unfortunately for Club Tap, the
enthusiasm did not last long, as it suffered a tough loss in game two.
The Tappers changed fields
after the game and seemed to come completely unraveled on defense. Holding a 7-6 lead through three innings,
Tap hit the wall and gave up an embarrassing twelve runs in the fourth inning on
countless errors. Club Tap would claw
back into the game with seven runs of its own in the next two innings, but the
team simply did not have enough to overcome its miscues in the fourth. The surging Tap offense, which featured a
4-4 performance by on-base-machine Matt Christel and a collective 12-16 with 11
runs, 10 RBI, 5 doubles, a triple, and a home run from its 1-4 hitters, scored
16 runs in the six-inning game.
Altogether, the boys of Tap
had a great day on the diamond. Local
Inebriated Funnyman Chris Carlson, who fought a nasty hangover and 80-degree
heat the entire night, summed up the games by thinking to himself, “Damn, we
all should get some Blatz!” Indeed, Mr.
Funnyman. Indeed.
Club Tap, now 4-8, will end
its season next Friday in a double-header against Icehouse. Come show some support people!