Remember that Memorial Day...

.. when it rained and Andy hit two dingers in the top of the first??

I remember it like it was this morning, because it was. 'Twas a rained-shortened affair, but Andy put on a good ole hittin' show in the first inning: leading off the game with a solo homer, and blasting a three-run shot for good measure two outs later.

That would prove enough for the visitors as they rolled to a 4-inning, 4-1 victory.

Andy, Brent, Don, Kurt, Matt - 4 runs, 9 hits
Adrian, Brian, J.D., Peter - 1 run, 6 hits

HR: Evans 2 (2)

Remember That Day In May...

...when it rained and Kurt gave up all the runs???

I remember it like it was yesterday. Oh, wait a minute! It was yesterday.

There were nine wifflers, wet conditions and the pitchers dominated through the whole affair.  Except when it was raining hardest and Kurt was pitching and the other team scored 2 runs.

No one surrendered a run in any other inning.

Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. 2 runs. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown. Shutdown.

The pitching rotations included the 2015 debuts of Kevin and Brian and the rookie debut of Ryan, son of Mark.

Adrian, Brian, Kurt, Matt - 0 runs, 10 hits
Hansoo, Kevin, Mark, Peter, Ryan - 2 runs, 12 hits

HR: None

The eerie quiet

The signs were all around us.

After a long, tense night of tropical smoothies and Jones Cream soda...

clothes strewn across the school lot...

it was clear that the unrest in Oakwood was overwhelming the local authorities' ability to manage the situation.

"It's safe to say," one official was heard to utter, "that Oakwood is no longer the orderly place it once was. We're just managing collapse."

But to preserve the integrity of the wiffle season, the Commish declared that the game WOULD proceed, but without fans in attendance.

So, the wifflers played in the eerie quiet of an empty Nance Bradds Field - for the 384th consecutive game.

The bats started off quiet, too, as Hansoo, Adrian and Eric combined to no-hit Pete and Matt through the first three innings.  The no-no disappeared on Adrian's second time on the mound, when Stats and the Commish broke through for 4 runs. That would prove to be enough as the home boys twirled an eight inning shutout, ending the final two innings with double plays.

Adrian, Eric, Hansoo - 0 runs, 11 hits
Matt, Peter - 10 runs, 21 hits

HR: none.

P.S. The tag rule was used today, and evoked more confusion than elan. We'll be looking at this more in the future.

Clowns and Elephants

An epic game of wiffle ended in a 4-4 tie, today. Don't believe a tie can be "epic?" Read on.

Kurt Mosser probably believes that he, by dint of his dominant pitching in the bottom of the sixth, preserved the even game for the visitors. In fact, Kurt is both right and wrong. And not for the first time, I suspect.

You see, in reality Kurt preserved the tie game in the bottom of the first inning as an outfielder.  With 2 out and the bases loaded, pitcher Matt Lindsay was on the ropes. Batter Peter Berwald hit a solid liner that in a just world would be a double.  Instead, Adrian Zamaron stretched out got a hand on it... and tipped it up... into the waiting hands of Kurt Mosser. Third out; no runs score.

A circus catch, the likes of which have never before been seen on the asphalt in the post-mural era. See? I told you it was epic.

Adrian, Kurt, Matt - 4 runs, 13 hits
Hansoo, Peter - 4 runs, 12 hits

HR: none

Myth Busting

If you will indulge your blogger for a few lines, I will take this moment to dispell a few myths.

1. MYTH: Peanut Butter Pop-Tarts are delicious. 

Despite what the corporate tools at Kellog's might try to tell you, kids DO NOT like peanut butter Pop-Tarts. If you in fact ask teenagers what they think of peanut butter Pop-Tarts they will tell you that they are, "dry."

Dry is basically a death sentence for a breakfast pastry - toaster or otherwise

2. MYTH: Hansoo Ha is not the wiffler he used to be.

Contrary to popular "wisdom," built mostly around the fact that his fastball has less giddy-up, it is clear (especially today) that Hansoo is an elite wiffle talent in this League. Not only does he trash talk the Cardinals, and slash hits at a .571 clip, he still mows 'em down from the mound.

Hansoo is basically a death sentence for opposing batters - two-handed or otherwise.

Today, Ha faced 10 batters and struck out 9 of them.  The other was a pansy bloop opposite field hit into the meadow. By some reckonings, such hits shouldn't even count. Oh, and when he didn't have the ball in his hand he was going 8-for-14 at the plate with 6 of his team's 12 RBI. And he hit for the cycle, because, you know, he can.

Adrian, Hansoo, Kurt - 12 runs/20 hits
Eric, Mark, Matt - 2 runs/11 hits

HR: Hansoo (1)

Scorer's Note: The visitors also had an opportunity to employ the new Tag Up rule, but didn't. Kurt hit a fly ball with the bases loaded and one out.  It was caught but they did not send the runner.  As one can see, they didn't need the run, anyway.

OW&AC Opens Spring Training: Where we're all just working on "stuff"

With all of 2015 ahead of us, six wifflers played in the first Wiffle Spring Training game today on the asphalt at Nance Bradds Field.

Three of the players scored ten runs; the other three scored six runs. None of what happened counts in any possible way you could even make up. So I'm not going to tell you about anything that happened.

We were all working on squaring up the ball, mastering the release points, working up new pitches and getting some "reps" in. See? The cliches are the same.

Oh, and some guy brought bag pipes. No joke.

Wiffies: February 20, 2015

BE THERE!