New Lenox, IL - High Voltage came out tonight in the long road to defend their Summer League championship by taking on long time foes Paradise Bay and the Brew Jays in an opening day doubleheader. Game one started out with the Volts jumping out to a 3-1 lead after an inning and pouring on five more in the top of the 2nd inning to open up an 8-1 lead against Paradise Bay. Bay put up another run in their half of the 2nd to cut the lead to 8-2. All things looked like the Summer championship game, except this time, the Volts had trouble scoring runs in the middle frames. After scoring a run in the top of the 3rd, the Volts lead 9-2 and would not score again until the 6th inning. In the meantime, Paradise plated two tallies in the 3rd inning to cut the lead to 9-4 and added six more runs to take the lead 10-9 heading into the 5th frame. Both teams went scoreless in the 5th as Paradise held the one run advantage. The Volts got a lift in the 6th on a Sutes three-run blast while holding Bay down to a run to take a 12-11 lead heading into the final inning. The Volts broke out for a six run binge to take an 18-11 lead and would make an attempt to hold on for the victory in the last half-inning. Bay put its first three runners on board and cut the score to 18-13 before the Volts recorded the first out of the inning. Bay continued the rally with a Patterson RBI single to cut the score to 18-14, which is where the game ended after the rally stalled. Ryno picked up his first win of the season while Jerry Bats took the loss for Paradise Bay.
The second game started out with a bang as the Volts jumped on the B-Jays for a seven spot in the top of the first inning. The Jays answered back with three runs to trail the Volts 7-3 after an inning. The Volts battled back with two runs to open up a 9-3 lead but the Jays would score five times in their half of the inning to tighten the game up at 9-8. Both teams went scoreless in the third inning, and it looked like it would be a battle royale to the finish until the fateful fourth inning. The Volts put their first six men on base with each of them eventually scoring. The Volts batted around the order and would eventually put up eleven runs to take a 20-8 lead. From there, the Volts held B-Jays scoreless in the fourth and fifth inning to end the game victorious 20-8. Ryno picked up his second win of the season while Barta took the loss. The Volts come back next week to play Off The Rails (formerly Deacons) in a 9:30 PM tilt. Next week is Bring Caffeine to the Game Night. Any fan walking in with a cup of coffee, Jolt Cola, energy drink, or uppers will receive free admission to the game.
Noteables:
The Music Must Change - The Tuesday league is down to five teams. Let's hope that softball interest starts to peak before the spring of 2025 or we'll all be doing something else on Tuesday nights.
Six Feet Under - While on third base in the 4th inning of the nightcap and Sutes at the plate, Jay stood sheepishly on the bag with the pull hitter ready to unload and quipped; "I don't want to be my own customer". Things turned out for the good as Sutes drew a walk while never getting the chance to swing the bat.
905 - The combined age of everyone in this picture. Incidentally, Bill$ is telling anyone who would listen about every at bat he's ever taken and why he was safe or out. That one hour game time limit does come in handy at times.
Who Are You - During the second inning of the Paradise Bay game, Lodz hit a long fly ball toward left-center field to which Deb said; "Come on Dennis". Miguel did in fact make the catch and we are happy to report that Dennis was home safely with the dogs.
One Time At Band Camp - ..........Jeff struck out El Capitan'. While on holiday break from softball, the boys take on the 14 year-old youth of the southwest suburbs in a charity Whiffle Ball tournament. The Gazette did not receive a cackling report of the team's success, so we can only surmise that things did not go well for the junk ballers. Somewhat related, Mr. Wingfield is still the all-time strikeout your own team leader having lobbed in 171 K's against his own 7/8 year old Blue Jay team in 2002.
Love Is Coming Down - Not to be outdone in the "What did you do on summer vacation" games, Liz and Miguel celebrated their wedding shower with family and friends. Mike had to miss the Whiffle festivities but did blow in a quote to the home offices. "There's no other place in the world I would rather be today than here with Liz". We thought he was done but the phone call got cut off. When we reconnected, Mike continued; "There's no other place in the world I would rather be today than here with Liz..........and maybe Liz and Bezos. No, make that Liz only. Cut that Bezos part. No, don't cut that Bezos part. Leave that in. No, you know, do what you want with it".
- The Gazette picked up a new subscriber recently. Welcome Barta! He paid for a year subscription and received a toaster. He also received an 0 for 2 at the plate tonight and the pitching loss as a gift from the Volts. Rest easy as you are not even in the top five of softball players we've poked fun at over the years. Leading the pack are all MB/Gnats/Volts......#5 Zlogar. #4 Jimmy Bags. Bags would be higher but he left the team a few seasons ago. #3 Ryno. #2 Sutes. And our #1 target is none other than El Capitan' himself. You win another one Jack, and no, you are not going to get a trophy.
Guitar And Pen - Thank you to Ken for getting this whole album thing going tonight. It's probably better to have you in the dugout, as we have exclusive access to your insights but we've always been close enough down the third base line to get your in-game insights anyway.
Sister Disco - Ryno pulled his mask off and was sporting a new quaff from Kelly his stylist. The girls in the crowd even threw a shout out Ry's way in appreciation for his dapper look. We asked Ryno what the Sister Disco's was like; "Kelly does a great job with my hair but it's hard to see in there with those flashing trash lamps". He's not kidding. As you can see, Ryno could barely open his eyes because of the light shock.
Had Enough - For the second game in a row against Paradise Bay, THE COACH made the last out of the game. Not sure if anyone noticed that as this game was far far less important than the last time these teams met.
Trick of the Light - Things were pretty bright out there in the early game as the sun was pounding in from left field. With five teams and a shortened season, the first game will continue to be bright without any cloud cover. Bring yer sunglasses.
Hat Trick - The team now has 3 Fosters. This foster is Maya as you may remember from the Dog Days Edition. While we are on the subject, here's a
You Can't Make This Stuff Up story for the Ken family and any LWW folks out there: Jake and Krystal brought their foster dog Azalea to meet a family of perspective adopters. The family was looking for a dog like Azalea to play with their dog. Everything was a perfect fit and the family now has four dogs, including the lovely Azalea. A happy ending indeed. So who are the new owners? None other than the sister of Joe Mikoff or Aunt of the LWW grad Nick Mikoff. Get the speed gun Joe!
Remember the Time - I struck you out at band camp?
Tough Crowd - Small crowd on hand for tonight's double-header. The Sutes crew did show up to strengthen the numbers later in game one. The crowd was small but did not lack in enthusiasm or making noise.
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