Go Figure

I don't think I saw this coming as it definitely wasn't an inspiration for the team's name.

Standings Updated (6/26)

Saturdays Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Triple Threat 18 2 0 .900 -- 227 80 Loose Cannons 11 9 0 .550 7.0 147 134 Griffins 10 10 0 .500 8.0 132 118 Blackloud 9 11 0 .450 9.0 127 201 Techzillas 7 13 0 .350 11.0 139 178 Last Call 5 15 0 .250 13.0 112 173

Sundays Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Predators 15 1 0 .937 -- 187 54 Darkside Dragons 10 4 0 .714 4.0 117 72 Clutch 10 6 0 .625 5.0 137 97 Takeover 10 6 0 .625 5.0 119 108 Clippers 8 8 0 .500 7.0 108 144 Cyclones 7 7 0 .500 7.0 97 79 Commission 7 9 0 .437 8.0 84 108 Los Lobos 7 9 0 .437 8.0 111 116 Vipers 7 9 0 .437 8.0 116 143 Retro 6 10 0 .375 9.0 98 104 Softball Fellaz 6 10 0 .375 9.0 90 128 Hit n Run 1 15 0 .062 14.0 91 202

Lucky 13

Wow! It's been a while. My apologies for not recapping the previous two weeks. So here's a quick summary of them.

At 7-1, your Predators swept Softball Fellaz easily. Their pitching lacked, and their defense was worse. Am I being tough? Of course. Something positive? They looked good in their uni's! Wearing the San Fransisco Giants, in full set - matching pants and shirt. Final scores were 13-1 and 10-4.

Now 9-1, and the Memorial Weekend had passed, we lucked out playing the last place team - Hit n Run. Not that we took them any lighter than any team previously...we had guys who simply didn't show up. Ben was a bit erratic, throwing his shortest stint ever, and giving up eleven runs while doing so. With the game tied, the Predators finally were able to shut things down in the first game. Dennis was brought in to seal the leak, and the defense followed suit. Offensively, we would score 13 runs to end the long, dusty game with a 24-12 win. In game 2, we were able to continue our strong defense and won 10-2. Ben looked to return back to old form, as he came in to relieve Dennis and blanked Hit n Run in the final two frames for the win.

At 11-1, our scheduled brought was Takeover. Takeover walked into Sunday in second place at 8-4. They swept Clutch (last season's Division champs) on 5/2, so we needed to step up bigger than ever before. In the first game, it was a pitcher's duel through 3 innings. Ben was spectacular. Mixing change ups with fast balls - Takeover simply couldn't figure him out. In the 4th inning, the duel ended with Frankie leading off with a walk, I reached on error and Big Brian crushes an RBI single. With the team up 1-0, Bill continued his hot hitting with an RBI-single himself. It would take another two innings for the Predators to score again. This time we put up 4 runs. But, the story of the game was Ben - as he completed his first shut out of the season.

Rather than starting Dennis, I decided to have Ben start the next game. It only made sense after a strong start which didn't require a ton of fast balls to win. Much like the first game, Ben continued to blank Takeover. Mowing down one after another, he would have 13 consecutive shutout innings before the bottom of the seventh inning. Rain and all, Takeover narrowed the team's 4-0 lead to 4-3. The end result was the same though, as the Predators win their 13th consecutive.

Game 1's Offensive Stars: CLee, Brian, Bill (2-3-4 in the lineup): 6-9, 6 Singles, 5 RBIs, 4 Runs Scored

Game 2's Offensive Stars: Brian (2-3, 2 Singles, 2 RBIs, Run); Matt (2-3, 2 Singles, RBI)

Ace of the weekend: Ben - 2 Wins, 13 consecutive shutout innings, 3 Runs Allowed

SATURDAY Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Triple Threat 15 1 0 .937 -- 176 62 Griffins 9 7 0 .562 6.0 92 80 Loose Cannons 8 8 0 .500 7.0 116 114 Blackloud 6 10 0 .375 9.0 91 155 Last Call 5 11 0 .312 10.0 91 131 Techzillas 5 11 0 .312 10.0 108 132

SUNDAY Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Predators 13 1 0 .929 -- 148 45 Darkside Dragons 8 4 0 .667 4.0 101 62 Clutch 9 5 0 .643 4.0 130 89 Takeover 8 6 0 .571 5.0 97 94 Vipers 7 7 0 .500 6.0 107 104 Cyclones 6 6 0 .500 6.0 89 71 Retro 6 8 0 .429 7.0 84 82 Commission 6 8 0 .429 7.0 76 101 Los Lobos 6 8 0 .429 7.0 103 108 Softball Fellaz 6 8 0 .429 7.0 80 112 Clippers 6 8 0 .429 7.0 94 134 Hit n Run 1 13 0 .071 12.0 81 188

Standings - As of 5/23

Saturdays Teams Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Triple Threat 11 1 0 .917 -- 121 47 Griffins 9 3 0 .750 2.0 79 44 Loose Cannons 5 7 0 .417 6.0 80 90 Last Call 4 8 0 .333 7.0 61 77 Blackloud 4 8 0 .333 7.0 62 114 Techzillas 3 9 0 .250 8.0 68 99

Sundays Teams Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Predators 9 1 0 .900 -- 104 28 Darkside Dragons 6 2 0 .750 2.0 72 42 Clutch 7 3 0 .700 2.0 111 79 Takeover 6 4 0 .600 3.0 80 73 Vipers 6 4 0 .600 3.0 88 75 Commission 5 5 0 .500 4.0 48 59 Cyclones 4 4 0 .500 4.0 71 51 Los Lobos 4 6 0 .400 5.0 73 78 Clippers 4 6 0 .400 5.0 68 99 Retro 3 7 0 .300 6.0 47 71 Softball Fellaz 3 7 0 .300 6.0 49 88 Hit n Run 1 9 0 .100 8.0 62 130

Commission makes things interesting...

After taking the first loss of the season in week 1, there really hasn't been another team that put us into the next gear. Don't get me wrong, the teams we've played between week 1 and this afternoon have been fun, but none could stay with us long enough to make things interesting. Is that ego? Is that cockiness? You bet. The Predators have the best defense that I have ever played with (23 runs allowed in 8 games). With a strong offense to go with it, I feel that this team can win the championship.

Today, the Commission put us into the next gear. In Game 1, we jumped on them early as we have done every previous weeks. Up 1-0, Commission posted one. In the second inning, we tack on two more, one more in the fourth, and one more in the fifth. But again, Commission decides to play a different game and gets two more in the fourth and fifth!  With a bunch of donuts in the sixth, the two teams entered the seventh tied. That's when the Predators kicked it up and shut things down. Sal, Al, and Danny singled. CLee sac-flied one home while another scored on a throwing error. Brian hits an RBI-single, and Bill singles himself. Jon and Matt sent two more home. George, Frankie and Dennis kept it churning. Sal would bat again and double in two. 9 Runs on 10 Hits all in one inning. Commission brought in two more runs before it all came to an end. Final Score: 14-7.

In Game 2, we stayed with the theme of shutting things down and literally mercied Commission with a 12-0 win. Dennis struck out four and made a handful of solid defensive stops from the mound.

Game 1 - Offensive Stars: Bottom of the lineup -- Frank, Dennis, Sal and Al combined for 9-16, 4 RBIs, 6 Runs.

Game 2 - Offensive Stars: Everyone

Ace of the weekend: Dennis - 6 IP, 0 Runs Allowed, 4 K's

Saturdays Team Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Triple Threat 9 1 0 .900 -- 95 43 Griffins 7 3 0 .700 2.0 60 40 Last Call 4 6 0 .400 5.0 57 58 Loose Cannons 4 6 0 .400 5.0 65 75 Blackloud 4 6 0 .400 5.0 58 88 Techzillas 2 8 0 .200 7.0 53 84

Sundays Team Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Predators 7 1 0 .875 -- 81 23 Vipers 6 2 0 .750 1.0 78 55 Darkside Dragons 4 2 0 .667 2.0 52 32 Takeover 5 3 0 .625 2.0 60 56 Clutch 5 3 0 .625 2.0 91 69 Commission 4 4 0 .500 3.0 43 55 Clippers 4 4 0 .500 3.0 58 79 Cyclones 3 3 0 .500 3.0 54 31 Softball Fellaz 3 5 0 .375 4.0 44 65 Retro 2 6 0 .250 5.0 43 66 Los Lobos 2 6 0 .250 5.0 44 69 Hit n Run 1 7 0 .125 6.0 53 101

Sat/ 5/15

10:00  Loose Cannons  vs  Triple Threat  Charles 2/ Triple Threat won 2/ 6-3, 7-2
12:00  Last Call  vs  Blackloud   Charles 3/ Split/ Blackloud 4-3/ Last Call 8-3
12:00  Techzillas  vs  Griffins  Alley 1/ Griffins won 2/ 10-1, 5-1

 5/16

12:00  Los Lobos  vs  Softball Fellazz  Conduit 1/ Los Lobos won 2/9-7, 8-2
12:00  Darkside Dragons  vs  Retro  Cunningham 19/ Darkside Dragons won 2/ 10-2, 7-2
1:00   Clutch  vs  Clippers   Kissena 9/ Split/ Clutch 14-10/ Clippers 12-11
1:00   Vipers  vs  Takeover  Cunningham 18/ PPD/ Vipers win 2/
1:00   Cyclones  vs  Hit n Run  Flushing Meadow  13/ Cyclones won 2/14-2, 20-4
1:00   Commission  vs  Predators   Kissena  7/Predators won 2/14-7, 12-0

Standings - As of 5/5

Saturdays - ASL

Team Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Triple Threat 5 1 0 .833 -- 62 28 Griffins 3 3 0 .500 2.0 25 28 Loose Cannons 3 3 0 .500 2.0 52 38 Blackloud 3 3 0 .500 2.0 41 57 Last Call 2 4 0 .333 3.0 22 43 Techzillas 2 4 0 .333 3.0 41 49

Sundays - ASL

Team Won Lost Tied Pct. GB RF RA Predators 5 1 0 .833 -- 55 16 Takeover 5 1 0 .833 -- 42 28 Commission 4 2 0 .667 1.0 36 29 Vipers 4 2 0 .667 1.0 58 45 Clutch 4 2 0 .667 1.0 66 47 Softball Fellaz 3 3 0 .500 2.0 27 40 Clippers 3 3 0 .500 2.0 36 54 Darkside Dragons 2 2 0 .500 2.0 35 28 Retro 2 4 0 .333 3.0 39 49 Cyclones 1 3 0 .250 3.0 20 25 Hit n Run 1 5 0 .167 4.0 47 67 Los Lobos 0 6 0 .000 5.0 27 60

Sat/ 5/1

10:00  Griffins  vs  Loose Cannons  Charles 2/ Split/ Loose Cannons 11-10, Griffins 8-5
12:00  Triple Threat  vs  Last Call  Alley 1/ Triple Threat won 2/ 16-4, 12-0
12:00  Techzillas  vs  Blackloud   Alley 2/ Split/ Techzillas 11-8/ Blackloud 6-5

Sun/ 5/2

12:00 Commission vs Los Lobos Cunningham 19/ Commission won 2/3-1, 11-2
1:00 Clippers vs Retro Kissena 7/ Split/ Retro 14-4/ Clippers 9-3
1:00 Darkside Dragons vs Predators Kissena 9/ Predators won 2/ 7-1, 5-1
1:00 Cyclones vs Softball Fellazz Cunningham 18/ Softball Fellazz won 2/ 9-4, 6-2
1:00 Clutch vs Takeover Flushing Meadow 13/ Takeover won 2/ 11-7, 7-6
3:00 Vipers vs Hit n Run Charles 3/ Split/ Hit n Run 18-6/ Vipers 13-10

Tack On Two More

Game time was 1pm. Today's temperature? Try 90 degrees. Any trees to hide under? Negative.

Thankfully, the jerseys arrived just in time for this hot, summer day. The jersey is a moisture-wicking material, with the Predators logo on front, McNulty's Tea & Coffee on the left sleeve, and the brand (Easton) logo on the right.

Being 3-1, the team wanted to keep a strong push to remain at the top of the standings. Ben was almost flawless. Pitching all seven innings, and giving up only one run. There wasn't anything wrong with the Darkside Dragons - as they had runners in scoring position multiple times. Unfortunately, the Predators' defense has been their strength. In six games, the team gave up only sixteen runs, which is the least among the entire league. The big stars on defense goes to Matt (SS) and Brian (RCF). Bill (1B) as usual, is the infields' safety net on any bad throws. Offensively? Matt crushed a solo blast in the forth. Danny, brought one home in the fifth. George picked up two in the sixth. And, Matt slugged a 2-RBI single in the seventh for a 7-1 win.

Game 2 sang the same song. With Dennis on the mound, he kept pace with Ben in giving up only one run. The team put together five runs in the second, and that's all it took to win the game. Hitters 5 through 10 provided much of the offense. Jason would lead off with a single. Matt added a RBI-triple to his offensive stats. Jon doubled Matt home. George would single. Ben sac-flied. Dennis singles Jon home. And CLee singled home George. 5 runs on 6 hits. Defensively - Jason picked up his part on defense at third base, and Danny (LF) took control in the outfield. Final score: 5-1 win.