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chat_bubble 2021 WMSPL Playoff Tournament Recap
Round Robin Game 1, Friday, 9:00 pm: Falcons at Storm
Storm, delightfully bitter from not winning the President's Division for a sixth straight time, was out for blood to begin the playoff tournament. The Falcons, on the other hand, began the game with an at-bat representative of how they played the entire regular season: Miner Leaguer struck out looking on a strike that landed dead centre on the plate. Then it got worse. Storm threw up a fiver in the first, and a six-pack in the second. The Falcons got within three after a WMSPL-Mercy Six in the third, but Storm yelled back their answer with six in the fourth, and three more in the fifth to go up 20-8 after six. To their credit, the Falcons scored nine of their first ten batters in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't nearly enough. Storm batted in the bottom half and easily scored enough to reach the maximum seven-run margin of victory.
Storm 24, Falcons 17
Round Robin Game 2, Saturday, 10:30 am: Falcons at A's
Going up against the newly-crowned WMSPL President's Division Champions, and a team the Falcons had gone 1-5 against in the regular season, things didn't look nearly as good as the diamond, with its bright, white lines. But weekend morning games are the Falcons' jam. Four in the first and two more in the second spotted the visitors to a 6-0 lead before the first coffee (or Caesar?) had taken effect. Indeed, the Falcons never trailed in this game, and the A's couldn't seem to string any hits together... They didn't send more than five batters to the plate in any inning. A couple of decent insurance innings gave the Falcons an eleven-run victory.
Falcons 15, A's 4.
Round Robin Game 3, Saturday, 1:30 pm: Falcons at Broadway
Good thing the weather was nice, because this game wasn't if you're a Falcons fan. The Falcons actually won the first inning, scoring five and holding Broadway to four, but the second inning wasn't as positive. Broadway's short stop took care of business scooping two grounders and snagging a liner and holding the Falcons to a delicious doughnut. Then they answered with a six. Ugh. Undeterred, the Falcons sent everyone but Cowboy to the plate in the third and maxed out their run potential. Broadway managed three singles to tie it up at elevens after three. The teams exchanged fours in the fourth, and that's where it turned ugly for the visitors. The Falcons only managed two more runs the rest of the way, while Broadway put up six in the fifth, and a killer nine in the sixth to win what ended up being a laugher (unless you were Brad. No laughs.)
Broadway 30, Falcons 17.
Round Robin Game 4, Sunday, 9:00 am: Hanet at Falcons
A beautifully groomed field welcomed the Falcons, first-time home team this weekend, to finish off the round robin portion of their quest for glory by hosting Hanet, against whom the Falcons dropped four of six in the regular season. The Hanet team bus was packed solid on route to the field, and they numbered 15 on the scorecard. That's the good news. The bad news is that it took until the fourth inning for John, batting 15th, to see a pitch. But Hanet's defence is stellar, and despite taking four innings to bat the whole order, they led 7-5 after four! The Falcons would be eliminated by defeat, and clamped down, allowing only two more Plastics to cross the safe line the rest of the way. Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Falcons trailed 9-7 and needed some magic to keep going. Six straight singles tied the game, and the winner crossed on a sacrifice fly, the only out recorded in the inning. Falcons moved on, by the sweat of their asses.
Falcons 10, Hanet 9.
President's Bracket Semi-Final, Sunday, 1:30 pm: A's at Falcons
Thanks to Storm beating the A's in the final round robin game, the Falcons were unexpectedly the #2 seed in the elimination bracket, and hosted the A's in the semi final. And it was a classic. Lots of offence, great defence, even a reluctant intentional walk! Intensity was the name of the game: no one got on base for either team in the first. Justin's home run for the A's put them ahead 2-0 after the top of two, but the Falcons knotted it back up with three hits from the heart of the order. The A's answered with a MAX6 in the top of the third, but guess what? The Falcons answered right back with a MAX6 of their own. It was like a shouting match, but with baseball bats. Jon's Duncan gave the A's a slim one-run lead after the top of the fourth, and the Falcons couldn't respond, going 3-up, 3-down. The teams exchanged singletons in the fifth, and tensions were high. The A's scored two on three hits in the top of the sixth to go up 12-9, and the Falcons needed a statement inning. After Dunner grounded out to start the bottom of the sixth, Goliath was taken down after getting on by an SLF fielder's choice. But the Falcons staged a "guts" two-out rally, scoring six in a row before Grahambo grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Now leading 15-12, the Falcons had to hold if they wanted to advance... It didn't happen. The A's sent twelve to the plate, scoring seven of them and their defence held the Falcons hitless in the bottom half. Season over.
A's 19, Falcons 15.
Storm, delightfully bitter from not winning the President's Division for a sixth straight time, was out for blood to begin the playoff tournament. The Falcons, on the other hand, began the game with an at-bat representative of how they played the entire regular season: Miner Leaguer struck out looking on a strike that landed dead centre on the plate. Then it got worse. Storm threw up a fiver in the first, and a six-pack in the second. The Falcons got within three after a WMSPL-Mercy Six in the third, but Storm yelled back their answer with six in the fourth, and three more in the fifth to go up 20-8 after six. To their credit, the Falcons scored nine of their first ten batters in the top of the seventh, but it wasn't nearly enough. Storm batted in the bottom half and easily scored enough to reach the maximum seven-run margin of victory. Storm 24, Falcons 17
Round Robin Game 2, Saturday, 10:30 am: Falcons at A's
Going up against the newly-crowned WMSPL President's Division Champions, and a team the Falcons had gone 1-5 against in the regular season, things didn't look nearly as good as the diamond, with its bright, white lines. But weekend morning games are the Falcons' jam. Four in the first and two more in the second spotted the visitors to a 6-0 lead before the first coffee (or Caesar?) had taken effect. Indeed, the Falcons never trailed in this game, and the A's couldn't seem to string any hits together... They didn't send more than five batters to the plate in any inning. A couple of decent insurance innings gave the Falcons an eleven-run victory.Falcons 15, A's 4.
Round Robin Game 3, Saturday, 1:30 pm: Falcons at Broadway
Good thing the weather was nice, because this game wasn't if you're a Falcons fan. The Falcons actually won the first inning, scoring five and holding Broadway to four, but the second inning wasn't as positive. Broadway's short stop took care of business scooping two grounders and snagging a liner and holding the Falcons to a delicious doughnut. Then they answered with a six. Ugh. Undeterred, the Falcons sent everyone but Cowboy to the plate in the third and maxed out their run potential. Broadway managed three singles to tie it up at elevens after three. The teams exchanged fours in the fourth, and that's where it turned ugly for the visitors. The Falcons only managed two more runs the rest of the way, while Broadway put up six in the fifth, and a killer nine in the sixth to win what ended up being a laugher (unless you were Brad. No laughs.)Broadway 30, Falcons 17.
Round Robin Game 4, Sunday, 9:00 am: Hanet at Falcons
A beautifully groomed field welcomed the Falcons, first-time home team this weekend, to finish off the round robin portion of their quest for glory by hosting Hanet, against whom the Falcons dropped four of six in the regular season. The Hanet team bus was packed solid on route to the field, and they numbered 15 on the scorecard. That's the good news. The bad news is that it took until the fourth inning for John, batting 15th, to see a pitch. But Hanet's defence is stellar, and despite taking four innings to bat the whole order, they led 7-5 after four! The Falcons would be eliminated by defeat, and clamped down, allowing only two more Plastics to cross the safe line the rest of the way. Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Falcons trailed 9-7 and needed some magic to keep going. Six straight singles tied the game, and the winner crossed on a sacrifice fly, the only out recorded in the inning. Falcons moved on, by the sweat of their asses.Falcons 10, Hanet 9.
President's Bracket Semi-Final, Sunday, 1:30 pm: A's at Falcons
Thanks to Storm beating the A's in the final round robin game, the Falcons were unexpectedly the #2 seed in the elimination bracket, and hosted the A's in the semi final. And it was a classic. Lots of offence, great defence, even a reluctant intentional walk! Intensity was the name of the game: no one got on base for either team in the first. Justin's home run for the A's put them ahead 2-0 after the top of two, but the Falcons knotted it back up with three hits from the heart of the order. The A's answered with a MAX6 in the top of the third, but guess what? The Falcons answered right back with a MAX6 of their own. It was like a shouting match, but with baseball bats. Jon's Duncan gave the A's a slim one-run lead after the top of the fourth, and the Falcons couldn't respond, going 3-up, 3-down. The teams exchanged singletons in the fifth, and tensions were high. The A's scored two on three hits in the top of the sixth to go up 12-9, and the Falcons needed a statement inning. After Dunner grounded out to start the bottom of the sixth, Goliath was taken down after getting on by an SLF fielder's choice. But the Falcons staged a "guts" two-out rally, scoring six in a row before Grahambo grounded into a fielder's choice to end the inning. Now leading 15-12, the Falcons had to hold if they wanted to advance... It didn't happen. The A's sent twelve to the plate, scoring seven of them and their defence held the Falcons hitless in the bottom half. Season over.A's 19, Falcons 15.