by Kev

The Beat Steps Up! 23-hit Barrage Batters the Division Leaders

Some would say it’s how you deal with adversity that defines you. Last week the Beat responded to a 2-game offensive drought with eleven 2-out runs in a must win game; this week the Beat took on the number one team and made a statement to the division…do not look past the Beat. Ronin entered the game with a 4-0 record following a 14-0 bitch-slapping of JMC last week and a 13-3 victory over Old Clamhouse earlier today. The Beat, a full 2 games back at 2-2 had their backs against the wall. A loss would mean a 3 game deficit and would almost certainly spell the end of the Beat’s playoff hopes with only 3 games left. But on this day, the Beat left everything on the field and brought the division leaders back to earth with a solid 13-4 victory that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score. Special K and a solid Beat defense held Ronin scoreless on only two hits for five innings while the Beat offense mounted a devastating 13-0 lead. One more hit in the top of the 5th would have sealed a 15-0 mercy-rule shutout.

Jim races in to snare a shallow fly in the 3rd

Jacq (3-4, 2 runs, 3 RBI) and Rob (4-4, run, 2 RBI) started an outstanding game with back to back singles; the top two would combine for a 7-8, 5 RBI game. Jacque (1-4, 2 runs, 2 RBI) reached on a fielder’s choice forcing Rob and scoring Jacq for the Beat's first run. With two outs, the Beat started a little 2-out lightning again; Jim (2-3, BB, 2 RBI) walked and Brett (1-4) singled loading the bases. Dylan (2-4, 3b, run) singled to left center scoring Q but as Jim headed in from second John James hurled a perfect throw from deep left center to the plate on a fly beating Colletto by a couple feet to end the inning with the Beat up 2-0.

Ronin was missing a couple big guns today with Arch Eller and Joe Tang out of the lineup, but Ronin’s fill-in third baseman got ahead of the count and drove a pitch down the middle for a single to lead off the Ronin first. Lefty pitcher Sands grounded sharply to Donnell at first for the first out moving the runner to second. But James popped a high inside pitch just in front of the plate for Kev to reel in for the second out and a fly to Q in left center ended the inning with the runner stranded at second.

MSG (2-4, 2 runs, RBI) lead off the Beat second with a sharp single down the third baseline that skipped over the bag but a couple quick pop-ups left Mark still at first with two outs. Pete (2-2, BB) and Gunnar (2-3, 2 runs) got the mojo going again with back to back singles and with the bases jacked the Beat was back at the top of the order for more two out lightning. The hot hitting Jacq and Rob show came through with a couple more clutch singles; Jacq drove in MSG and Brian (running for Pete) and Rob brought G around to put the Beat up 5-0 before the side was retired. Brett and Big Daddy joined up on defense to put Ronin down in order in the bottom. Monpeleone popped a 1-0 pitch high behind third but Brett circled around under the ball and pulled it down. Weiss hacked at the first pitch he saw grounding to Brett at short and Conlan made it an inning with a foul ball beyond first that D raced out for with an awesome over the shoulder grab to put Ronin’s defensive right back on the field after only four pitches.

The Beat stumbled in the third with only a single by Jim. Ronin drew a couple walks in the bottom of the third and with two outs and the runners going Sands blooped a ball to shallow left that looked like it would finally put Ronin on the board. Big Jim raced in like a freight train from left and snatched the ball down by his knees for a huge third out preserving the shutout.

Ronin started to feel the pressure in the 4th and the Beat took advantage. MSG led off with a grounder to the shortstop Conlan but Conlan threw it away and MSG advanced to second on the 2-base error. Kev (1-4, run) flew out to deep right moving Mark to third and Brian (2-3, 2 runs, RBI) drove him in with an infield single to short; Conlan made another bad throw and Greenblatt was awarded second. Pete walked and Gunnar singled to load the bases for Jacq and Rob, and again the boys came through with back to back singles for two more runs. This time Jacque joined the hit parade scoring G; Jacq came around to score when the left fielder kicked the ball as Rob and Q strolled into second and third. With two down the Beat did it once again. Big Jim came through with a huge 2-out, 2-run single to put the Beat up 12-0. James led off the bottom of the 4th for Ronin with a sharp grounder back to D at first. D made a diving grab then shuffled to Kev covering for the out; but not without a lot of grumbling from the Ronin bench and a conference of the blues in the field (sorry John, I did touch the bag… ~k). Rupright grounded to the right of second and G made a sliding stop but his throw came up half a step shy giving Ronin only their second hit of the game but two quick popups put Ronin back on defense again.

Dylan led off the Beat 5th with a moonshot over left center for a triple; the only extra base hit of the game. MSG grounded out to second driving in Dylan as the Beat’s 13th run. Kev, Brian, and Pete followed with consecutive singles and for the third time in five innings the Beat had the bases jacked, this time with only one out. Brian, the world’s fastest guero, was on second base representing the run that would set the team up for a 15-0 mercy-rule shutout of the division’s undefeated leader; all that was needed was one base hit. Up steps the G-man, 2 for 2 on the day. Even a fly ball to the outfield scores a run and turns over the line-up to the Jacq and Rob show with runners still in scoring position. Ground ball to Conlan at short, double play, inning over with Jacq and Rob left standing in the wings. Damn! That makes it a beer bitch hat trick for the G-man (3 games in a row) and you’d better include a bottle of good tequila for the double play.

Kev buckled down and put Ronin down in order with another 4-pitch inning, this one highlighted with a nice running grab of a shallow liner by Dylan who was now playing left. Rob got his fourth single in the 6th and with two down D (1-4) moved him to third, but the inning ended with runners stranded at the corners.

Over the first five innings, Ronin had managed only two hits and four baserunners, none reaching further than second base. That streak would end in the 6th as Kev let loose a couple flat ones down the pipe iand Ronin doubled their hit production with singles by the first two batters. Sands chopped a high backspin that fell into no-man's land behind first to load the bases and James came through with a sac fly to Brian in right center to break up the shutout. Two more Ronin hits made it 13-3 before Rob nabbed a grounder with a force at second to end the 6th.

The Beat was retired quickly in the 7th on only one hit; now all they had to do was protect their 10-run lead for 3 more outs to walk away with a huge upset. The first batter chopped one high to right center. Brian and Jacq converged but the ball glanced off Brian’s glove for the Beat’s only error as the runner advanced to second. A single by Watkins scored the run making it 13-4. With one down Ronin’s leadoff hitter drove a shot down the right field line and headed for two. Jacq raced down the ball and threw a seed to Brett at second who tagged the runner trying to go over the top. D put it best, the "play at ss was insane... great play!!!!" Sands hit a sharp grounded to D at first who took it himself to end the game and the Beat walked away victorious.

As Jacq's throw came in short, Brett pulls it in then braces for the runner who goes over the top in the 7th.

I can't emphasize enough how huge this game was. Ronin came in undefeated on the heals of two 10-plus run blowouts and the Beat shut them down. The Beat rolled off 23 hits and again showed some excellent clutch hitting by scoring six runs with two outs. It wasn't all gravy as the Beat stranded twelve base runners including five in scoring position, but those stranded runners equal the total number of base runners Ronin had all game. If you'll remember, this game was supposed to be played last month but Ronin asked to reschedule. There was some controversy within the team as to whether we should honor their request or not. As it turned out, the original game would have come when the Beat was struggling for hits, but the team approved the change and with it came some much needed good karma. Ronin had to play a double header, and the Beat came in on the coattails of a 22-hit clubbing of Old Clamhouse. Good deeds don't go unrewarded.

The game ball went to Rob Villegas who has been on fire leading the team with a .692 summer average. Rob went 4 for 4 with a run and two RBI. Honorable mention went to Special K for shutting down the Ronin offense on two hits through the first five innings. Kev induced 16 fly ball outs and threw two 4-pitch innings. Play of the day is a crapshoot. Jim and Dylan both made great running grabs of shallow flies to left, D made yet another great over-the-shoulder catch in foul territory in the 2nd and a diving stab of a grounder in the 4th, and Jacq and Brett hooked up to nail a runner at second in the final frame.

In other games, Ronin beat the winless Old Clamhouse 13-3 in an earlier game, and JMC got just enough to sneak by Glove 5-4. Next up, the Beat has another shot at Ronin next Saturday at 10am on Jackson 2. This is another big game as the Beat tries to fight their way back. A win would put the boys in a tie for first with Ronin and would even out the division with only a couple games left; a loss would drop them back to the pack two games out with two to go and hoping for a wildcard spot. But just like the spring, the Beat has the hammer the rest of the way. Time to take care of business boys! It's time to run the table.

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