Volts Slice Up Beggars

New Lenox, IL - The first round of the playoffs saw High Voltage taking on Beggars in a rematch of last week's game that ended with the Volts winning a 13-3 run rule shortened game. The weather was hot and emotions were high on "Pink Out" night in support of the real captain of the Schoenhofen ship, Kathy.  Beggars started out the game auspiciously with a leadoff walk but the Volt defense, which has been the stingiest unit in the Summer league, continued its brilliance with a nifty fielders choice to record the first out of the game and snuffed out the inning with a 5-6-3 double play.  High Voltage started the scoring when Stapes knocked in Jay on a SAC fly, and was followed by a Sutes solo homerun to cap off the inning ahead 2-0.  Beggars clawed back into the game by scoring two runs in their half of the second inning.  Volts came roaring back when Jake led off the bottom of the inning with a legged out double and was knocked home on a Noah triple.  Jeff followed up with a SAC fly to put the Volts ahead 4-2 after two innings.  Beggars hit the ball hard in the third inning but could not muster more than two sharp hits.  Noah made a nice catch on a bullet hit off of the bat of Greyshirt Grayshorts and was soon outdone on a Jeff defensive gem robbing Lefty Puffums on a laser beam that looked like it was past the second baseman but somehow gloved for the out.  High Voltage started to inch away in the third inning when Koz tripled with two outs to score Stapes and Zlogar to increase the score to 6-2.  Noah brought home Koz with an RBI double, and was followed by a Jeff RBI single to cap the score at 8-2 heading into the fourth inning.  Neither team scored in the fourth inning, and Beggars continued their futility by not scoring in the fifth inning to give the Volts a chance to finish the game early if they could score four runs for the slaughter rule 10 run winning margin.  High Voltage could only manage two runs when Noah drove in Stapes and Sutes with a double to the gap.  Beggars went out in the sixth inning with a 1-2-3 effort to give the Volts another opportunity to end the game early if they could put up two runs.  The bottom of the sixth saw the Volts leading 10-2 with two outs and Pratl still standing on third base after a leadoff triple.  Jay stepped to the plate with a chance to be a hero and drove the first pitch over the left field fence to walk Beggars off the field like it was a procession, thus leading the Volts to a 12-2 playoff win.  The win tonight against Beggars was the third of the Summer league, and the third time the Volts won by run rule.  High Voltage outscored Beggars this year 23-9, 13-3, and 12-2 to dominate their rival and move on to the next round of the 2024 Summer League playoffs.  Game time next week is at 6:30PM versus Chuck's Mokena Fratboys.

Noteables:

Let's Run It Back - For those of you who wore pink tonight, thank you for wearing pink.  For those of you who didn't wear pink, find something in the drawer or closet and we'll make it pinker than ever next week against Chucks.

I Like These Guys - Thanks to the tipsters who brought this nugget to our attention.  Corona Jackson left this lineup/scouting report in the first base dugout tonight, which shows some thoughtfulness as well as motivational material.  Yeah, it's only a Tuesday night softball league but it's way more fun to win than lose, and the road to winning starts with a positive mindset and hopefully a good plan.  Corona did not end up beating Chucks but they outperformed their record and ended up beating the point spread.  Keep an eye out for these guys next session.

Purina One Defensive Gem - The Volts continue with suffocating defense.  The infield unit is making routine plays, flashy plays, and turning demoralizing double plays.  The outfield is everywhere making plays and giving the opposing offenses very few holes to poke softballs through.  The play that stands out tonight is Jeff's diving stop of a line drive in the third inning that appeared to be on its way to right field, only to be caught for a near double play.  Hats off Jeffster!

                                                                                                                           

Modelo Drive of the Game - Although the Gazette is still currently boycotting Budweiser products, and yes, Modelo is among them, they put in a special request for sponsorship for tonight's drive of the game.  Lo and behold, the Modelo Drive of the Game goes to none other than Jay Modelski for his game ending home run.  I'd rather have a Modelski than a Modelo but have a drink nonetheless Jay, congrats!

Summer Vacation - Both teams shake hands tonight while the Volts bid adieu to their arch rivals from across town until the fall.

SRO - Even the High Voltage players came out tonight to watch the game.  The standing room only crowd marks the largest attendance in the history of the Lions Den.  The win on the first base line dugout also dispels any thoughts that not playing in the third base dugout is a jinx.
 

Two and Oh - Deb extends her coaching record to 2-0 with the victory tonight. She is seen here recruiting a new third base coach after giving the team a pep talk at the end of the contest.  

Girls Night Out + 1 - The girls all strategize over where to have dinner after the game.  It may have also been mentioned that each would dive behind Argus if an errant ball came their way.

Milling Around - The crowd mills around after storming the field to celebrate the Volt win.  The rains earlier yesterday had a positive impact on the infield, as it was in great shape for a rare time this summer.

Tough Crowd - Ken walks by the stands as Lauren  leads the ladies in pink to a round of heckling the retired third baseman. 

 

By The Numbers

Jack       0/4

Jay         2/4    2 runs    2 RBI    1 HR

Stapes    1/1    2 runs    1 RBI              1 BB

Sutor      2/3    2 runs    1 RBI    1 HR

Zlogar    1/3    2 runs    

Koz        2/3    2 runs    2 RBI

Noah      3/3    2 runs    4 RBI

Jeff         1/1    2 runs    2 RBI              1 BB

Dylan     0/1                                          2 BB

Pratl       1/3     1 run

Foster     0/3

Congratulations to the offensive player of the game, Noah, for going 3 for 3 with 4 runs batted in and 2 runs scored.  More importantly, congratulations to Noah on your recent engagement!!!