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chat_bubble Falcons End 2016 In Disappointment
Friday, 7:00 pm: Direct Elevator at Falcons
Direct jumped to an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but the Falcons got one back in the bottom half. After allowing another 4-spot by Direct in the top of the third, and another run in the fourth, the Falcons found themselves in a 7-3 deficit with only 3 innings to play. There must have been an explosion of smelling salts on the bench in the bottom of the fifth, because the Falcons burst out for 10 to take a 13-7 lead. Direct came back in the top of the sixth for 2, but it wasn't enough. With the Falcons up only 14-9 after the top of the seventh, they had to take their home bats in the bottom half to try to maximize their run differential in case of a tie in the round robin standings. Singles by Million Dollar Bill and Shizz set the table for Dinner, who walked them off with a monster 3-run shot (of which only 2 counted).
Falcons 16, Direct Elevator 9.
Saturday, 12:00 pm: Falcons at A's
Did the ump have a watch? Or his wits about him? Or the ability to exit foul territory for any reason? All of these questions remain unclear. The umpire tried to start the game 10 minutes early, and as usual, the Falcons bench was short. By the time the real game time rolled around, the Falcons had 12 players and they were ready to go. The bats were alive early, as the Falcons scored 3 in both the first and second innings. The defence came to play and held the A's to only 2 in the same span. Two more for the Falcons in the top of the third, and they took an 8-2 lead into the bottom half. That's when the skies opened up. We've seen this movie before, and it never comes out the Falcons' way. The A's put up 7 in the bottom of the third, and though the Falcons added one in the fourth, the defence couldn't shut the A's down. Calls started becoming one-sided. The A's scored 2 in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth, and their defence shut out the Falcons the rest of the way. After cuing a ball off the tip of the bat, Big Cat removed himself from the game. The diagnosis later showed serious finger injury. Before leaving for treatment, Big Cat tried to fire the Falcons up in way that is truly his own, but it was all for naught.
A's 13, Falcons 9.
The Rain: Once the rain started during the A's game, it never really let up. The Falcons' next game in the crossover elimination against the Devils was scheduled for 4:00 pm on Saturday. With Big Cat now out due to injury, the Falcons playoff roster only showed 10 names. Here's where things get crazy, and frustrating: President George determined that the fields were deteriorating rapidly, and were not looking like they'd get better. He proclaimed that the games currently in progress would be completed, and the rest of the games for Saturday would be moved to Sunday morning. Early morning games suck, but what are you gonna do? The Falcons' crossover game was moved to Sunday morning at 8:00 am on K1. Presented with this new schedule, the Devils took all of a half-second to announce they were defaulting, citing a lack of players on Sunday morning. Based on this information, President George cancelled the scheduled umpires for that game because the league can't be paying the $9.50 (EACH!) to umpires to show up for a game that doesn't take place. The Devils THEN said that they'd work on it over Saturday evening and try to get the ONE MORE player required for them to play the following morning.
At 4:15 PM (!!), TWO FALCONS arrived in the parking lot asking "Hey, you know, we playin'?" The answer, of course, was no, BUT BUT BUT if the game had not been re-scheduled, the Falcons' 2016 WMSPL Playoff Tournament hopes would have ended RIGHT THERE, because we would have only had 8 Falcons on the bench when the 15-minute buffer expired and the umpire would have awarded a default victory to the Devils, who were there, ready to play. Think about that!
Crossover Elimination: Sunday, 8:00 am: Devils at Falcons
FOG! After all the rain the previous day, and the diamonds being a slightly lower elevation than the surrounding neighbourhoods, both K1 and K2 were engulfed in a thick fog at game time. After a 1-hour fog delay, the 9-man Devils took on the 10-man Falcons for the privilege to play Bradley in the Quarterfinals at 11:00 am. The Falcons scored 6 in the bottom of the first and ran away the rest of the game.
Falcons 22, Devils 11.
Quarterfinal: Sunday, 11:00 am: Falcons at Bradley Motors Shifters
Down to only NINE Falcons (IN THE PLAYOFFS!) on the bench, the team took the field against a Bradley team against whom they'd held their ground this season. The season series ended tied at 2-2, with the Falcons holding a slim +4 run differential. Bradley scored 4 in the bottom of the first, and built up an 8-2 lead after 4. A three-spot by the Falcons in the top of the fifth closed the gap to 8-5, but Bradley put this one to bed in the bottom of the fifth, scoring 4 and cruising to a 7-run victory.
Bradley 13, Falcons 6.
Direct jumped to an early 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but the Falcons got one back in the bottom half. After allowing another 4-spot by Direct in the top of the third, and another run in the fourth, the Falcons found themselves in a 7-3 deficit with only 3 innings to play. There must have been an explosion of smelling salts on the bench in the bottom of the fifth, because the Falcons burst out for 10 to take a 13-7 lead. Direct came back in the top of the sixth for 2, but it wasn't enough. With the Falcons up only 14-9 after the top of the seventh, they had to take their home bats in the bottom half to try to maximize their run differential in case of a tie in the round robin standings. Singles by Million Dollar Bill and Shizz set the table for Dinner, who walked them off with a monster 3-run shot (of which only 2 counted). Falcons 16, Direct Elevator 9.
Saturday, 12:00 pm: Falcons at A's
Did the ump have a watch? Or his wits about him? Or the ability to exit foul territory for any reason? All of these questions remain unclear. The umpire tried to start the game 10 minutes early, and as usual, the Falcons bench was short. By the time the real game time rolled around, the Falcons had 12 players and they were ready to go. The bats were alive early, as the Falcons scored 3 in both the first and second innings. The defence came to play and held the A's to only 2 in the same span. Two more for the Falcons in the top of the third, and they took an 8-2 lead into the bottom half. That's when the skies opened up. We've seen this movie before, and it never comes out the Falcons' way. The A's put up 7 in the bottom of the third, and though the Falcons added one in the fourth, the defence couldn't shut the A's down. Calls started becoming one-sided. The A's scored 2 in each of the fourth, fifth and sixth, and their defence shut out the Falcons the rest of the way. After cuing a ball off the tip of the bat, Big Cat removed himself from the game. The diagnosis later showed serious finger injury. Before leaving for treatment, Big Cat tried to fire the Falcons up in way that is truly his own, but it was all for naught. A's 13, Falcons 9.
The Rain: Once the rain started during the A's game, it never really let up. The Falcons' next game in the crossover elimination against the Devils was scheduled for 4:00 pm on Saturday. With Big Cat now out due to injury, the Falcons playoff roster only showed 10 names. Here's where things get crazy, and frustrating: President George determined that the fields were deteriorating rapidly, and were not looking like they'd get better. He proclaimed that the games currently in progress would be completed, and the rest of the games for Saturday would be moved to Sunday morning. Early morning games suck, but what are you gonna do? The Falcons' crossover game was moved to Sunday morning at 8:00 am on K1. Presented with this new schedule, the Devils took all of a half-second to announce they were defaulting, citing a lack of players on Sunday morning. Based on this information, President George cancelled the scheduled umpires for that game because the league can't be paying the $9.50 (EACH!) to umpires to show up for a game that doesn't take place. The Devils THEN said that they'd work on it over Saturday evening and try to get the ONE MORE player required for them to play the following morning.
At 4:15 PM (!!), TWO FALCONS arrived in the parking lot asking "Hey, you know, we playin'?" The answer, of course, was no, BUT BUT BUT if the game had not been re-scheduled, the Falcons' 2016 WMSPL Playoff Tournament hopes would have ended RIGHT THERE, because we would have only had 8 Falcons on the bench when the 15-minute buffer expired and the umpire would have awarded a default victory to the Devils, who were there, ready to play. Think about that!
Crossover Elimination: Sunday, 8:00 am: Devils at Falcons
FOG! After all the rain the previous day, and the diamonds being a slightly lower elevation than the surrounding neighbourhoods, both K1 and K2 were engulfed in a thick fog at game time. After a 1-hour fog delay, the 9-man Devils took on the 10-man Falcons for the privilege to play Bradley in the Quarterfinals at 11:00 am. The Falcons scored 6 in the bottom of the first and ran away the rest of the game.Falcons 22, Devils 11.
Quarterfinal: Sunday, 11:00 am: Falcons at Bradley Motors Shifters
Down to only NINE Falcons (IN THE PLAYOFFS!) on the bench, the team took the field against a Bradley team against whom they'd held their ground this season. The season series ended tied at 2-2, with the Falcons holding a slim +4 run differential. Bradley scored 4 in the bottom of the first, and built up an 8-2 lead after 4. A three-spot by the Falcons in the top of the fifth closed the gap to 8-5, but Bradley put this one to bed in the bottom of the fifth, scoring 4 and cruising to a 7-run victory.Bradley 13, Falcons 6.