Softball Week in Review: Week 13; July 15 - July 21

Softball Week in Review: Week 13; July 15 - July 21

July 16, Monday
6:00P at FoD: Toyota of Clifton Park vs. The Goodfellas. With a final score of 24-6, one might think this game was a laugher from beginning to end--exactly what should happen when a good team plays a struggling team. Such a thought, however, is a mistake as the score belies the schizophrenic nature of the game. Through the first four innings, the score was 5-3 in favor of The Goodfellas with Toyota having problems in the field and at the plate. The official count of three errors doesn't fully capture Toyota's defensive futility that also included some poor routes on fly-balls. Defensive futility, on the other hand, was completely overshadowed by Toyota's offensive ineptitude as they collected only four hits over the span. "His head was ready to blow off..." noted the ever alert Deron S regarding Toyota manager John C, adding "I could see the veins bulging in his neck...he was ready to blow..." "The poor defense was one thing..." said manager John C, "but not hitting and the constant chasing of his blooping high pitch...wow. Tough to watch."

Then, like shifting from Park to Drive, Toyota remembered who they were in the top of the 5th and pasted 13 runs on the hapless Goodfellas. Toyota followed their big offensive inning by dropping a 1-2-3 goose egg on The Goodfellas in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the 6th, the offense picked up where they left off and scored another 8 runs. "You knew it was going to happen..." said Toyota 3B Jim C, "...sometimes it takes a few innings before we get rolling." John C was less than sharp after two long innings on the bench when he went to pitch the bottom of the 6th, but the damage was minimal as The Goodfellas could only plate 1 run despite loading the bases. "I should've went to the pen..." said John C, "The long layoffs eventually iced me, I was done. I need to monitor that better in the future." Regardless, in the end, Toyota amassed 22 hits--7 for extra bases and 7 walks. Offense was the star of this game. 

Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 10-0, Remain in 1st place in Lynn's Sunday League

Dirty Pirates: 8-5, A win and a loss drops the Pirates to 6th in the North

EYS: 10-1, EYS maintains their grip on 1st place in the Media League

Anarchy: 10-1, 2 wins moves Anarchy to 2nd place behind Farm Family in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 10-1, Despite identical records with the Domincan All-Stars, Toyota drops to 2nd inn Andy's League Men North

Softball Week in Review: Week 12; July 08 - July 14

Softball Week in Review: Week 12; July 08 - July 14

July 02, Monday
6:00P at FoD: Sun Devils vs. Toyota of Clifton Park. Billed as the game of the night, a couple of top Northern teams set out to rearrange the division landscape. In the end, however, the battle ended as an 18-3 5 inning mercy rule rout for Toyota of Clifton Park. John C, who has had some control problems as of late, struggled only in the 3rd when he had trouble locating his fastball; ultimately this lead to the only 3 runs the Sun Devils would score. A strike-out and a weak pop to Dan R at short truncated the Sun Devils' only rally as Toyota hung zeroes on them for all other innings. The Toyota offense proved a mark of consistency, scoring in four of the five innings. Every Toyota batter reached base at least twice while Mike H was a perfect 4 for 4. Overall, Toyota racked up 18 hits--five for extra bases--and took 8 walks; a lethal combination of power and patience. "That's what this lineup can do..." noted Toyota manager John C. Toyota also played solid, if not stellar defense with impressive work all around. This was another important victory over a competitive division rival that will help set up Toyota's hopeful playoff seeding down the road.

Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 9-0, Remain in 1st place

Dirty Pirates: 7-4, No game leaves the Pirates at bay

EYS: 9-1, EYS maintains their grip on 1st place

Anarchy: 8-1, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 9-1, the win moves Toyota into 1st for the moment in Andy's League Men North

Softball Week in Review: Week 11; July 01 - July 07

July 02, Monday
9:00P at Bleecker: Toyota of Clifton Park defeats Toyota of Clifton Park II, 9 - 0, to take the first ever Toyota Cup. A well played game by both sides that featured a combined 56 plate appearances, no walks, 1 HBP, 2 ROE, and 2 K's. Brevity was the order of the night as the game lasted a bit over an hour. John C was dominant in the circle facing 5 batters over the minimum in 7 innings of work. He issued one free pass when he hit Dave B on the derriere in the 6th. Dave B was also the only Toyota II base-runner to reach 2B. A good FB and effective use of off-speed pitches had Toyota II off balance all night that combined with stellar defense stunted the Toyota II attack. Despite the notoriously choppy infield at Bleecker, Toyota played fault free. Bob S was impressive at 1B ranging deep to grab 2 pop ups--one in the 1st and one in the 4th--and hoovering several scorched grounders. "Plays like that are huge..." said manager John C, "they shorten the innings and deflate the other team. He had an excellent night over there." The OF also stifled any hope for Toyota II. Pete G, Mike H, Garry S, and Brian S clairvoyantly roamed the OF--always standing where Toyota II placed the ball. Despite having only 30 PA over 6 innings, Toyota made efficient use of their 13 base-runners in plating 9 of them. Fred C added some pop for Toyota with a 3 run shot in the 4th.

July 06, Friday
6:00P at FoD: Toyota played its second game of the week on a dusty and blistering hot Field of Dreams against old nemesis Balls Deep. It's been several years since both teams have played each other when Balls Deep embarrassed Toyota in a regular season fall game. This time Toyota would distance themselves from ugly history and grind out a staunch 15-11 victory behind the sturdy pitching of John C. Despite his slow start, John C collected himself, minimized damage and gave his team a chance to win. "After warming up, I was light headed and queasy. I couldn't throw with any velocity, so I started out exclusively throwing off speed. Not really a recipe for success..." noted the pitcher. The sun baked field also created some interesting defensive situations. "The OF was so hard, the ball just takes off..." said Steve F, adding "It was ridiculous." But after two innings of posting goose eggs, Toyota's offense started to heat up posting a run in the 3rd, 2 in the 4th, 2 in the 5th and finally tying the game at 8 with 3 in the 6th. After exchanging 2's in the 7th with Balls Deep, Toyota finally broke it open in the top of the 8th with 5 runs capped by a 2 run blast by Pete G. Offensive production was littered throughout the lineup with the majority of Toyota batters collecting 2 or 3 hits. Brian S got off the snide with a game winning 2 RBI hard bouncing double that pounded through the infield. "It wasn't a pretty game..." said manager John C, "but I was proud that we never quit and continued to grind especially in that kind of heat. The aesthetics of the game may have been lacking, but it was an impressive team win."

Toyota plays the undefeated Sun Devils next Tuesday, July 10 in a game that has major implications for the North standings.    


Records and Standings

Dirty Pirates Sunday: 8-0, Remain in 1st by 1/2 a game over Bourbon St Reloaded (7-0)

Dirty Pirates: 7-4, Another loss drops the Pirates to 7th in the North

EYS: 8-1, Their 8th win moves them 2 games up on Fiscal Hitters

Anarchy: 7-1, Despite the win, Anarchy remains in 3rd place in Lynn's Rec AL

Toyota of Clifton Park: 8-1, another week and another pair of wins moves Toyota up to 3rd in the North