Week 3 has come and gone, and the top of the Goofball division is like a Jackie Treehorn ‘Logjammin’ movie title.  Tigers, Muckdogs, Rangers and Piggies are all teams at 4-2, and have week to try and figure out how to separate themselves from The Big Lebowski.

Tigers – 13  vs  Ironpigs – 19

Captain Eusay had his Shalom League Bayou Bengals foaming at the mouth to take a bite out of the Piggies.  Top 1 and the Tigers were ferocious at the plate hanging 6 runs on the Piggies D.  They used both sides of the field and ran the bases brilliantly as the boys in red had no real defensive answers, just questions about how in the world to stop this onslaught.  

The little pigs could only score 1 with a Mr. 21 dinger, and the home team was in big trouble to start the 2nd.  The Tigers had no mercy as they could smell Pig blood in the air, and they wanted to finish the game with a statement!!

Beasley Mode started the bottom 2 with a much needed base knock and was standing on second after the play was over.  Rookie JZ smashed a ribbie filled single, followed Brink, Cbass and 2 Guns all solid base hits, capped off with yetanother Mr. 21 RBI at bat.  El Capitan Marauder, early season fav for Piggies offensive POY, hit a “Ho-Hum-Homer” to push this game back into an actual contest.  Peter Hustle and Smalls get in on the fun as they both find themselves talking to the first baseman after their hits.  Beasley Mode bookended the second with hits that produced, the rally, a run and a McRibbie.

The Tigers DID NOT QUIT, as they had yet another giant inning, batting the lineup and finishing with 7 runs.  Tiger King himself, Joe Machado, belted a Granddaddy of them all to pull the game even in the 5th inning. 

Punch drunk yet again, the Piggies staggered to the plate in the bottom of the 5th needing to find their footing once more.  JZ, un-phased, rifles a laser shot to LF, and Brink loses a ball on the homer side of the LF fence for his first Ding Dong of 2020.  2 Guns takes a BB, followed by yet another Mr. 21 Tater.  Peter Hustle and Smalls maneuver their way on to the base paths to create a bases loaded scenario for another Beasley Mode McRibbie, which was the final run for the Piggies at 19 and an Ironpigs Victory.

Ironpigs – 15  vs  Royals – 20

As many of you know, this game was Ruckless as perennial All-Star Matt Ruckel was lost for the season just 2 days before in a freak vacation accident.  Rallying for the torn up knee of Ruckel, the Royals were not going to let the day go by without a victory. 

11 - eleven, once, onze, elf, odinnadtsat; whatever language you prefer to see the word eleven written in, that how many runs the Royal Blues scored in the first inning. 

After being clobbered by the bats of the Royals, in true IRONPIGS fashion, the Piggies started to climb this Everest of a task one hit at a time.  Douggie Fresh found himself trucking down to first base after hitting a ball between Anders and Criswell.  Doug’s hustle created a base runner, hope and a rally!!  Again, JZ came through with another base hit and so does Brink.  Up steps Cbass.  The pitch.  The Swing. The Hit.  A majestic shot off the CF wall, all of 2 feet from being a 3 –run, first time ever, Homer. Instead, Cbass had to settle for a base clearing double, a shoulder shrug  and a giant smile of “Almost.’  Not to be outdone, El Capitan Cova finished off the scoring in the top of the second with an “Over the Trees and through the Woods, To Granny’s house we go.”  That’s right folks, an all you can eat McRibbie sandwich.  

Nothing going for the Piggies in the 3rd, and the Crowns kept on swinging the Blues, pushing the lead to the tune of 18-10.

Trying to hang with all the haymakers,  Cbass started a 1 out rally in the 4th, and the Pigs capitalized on a couple defensive errors to get Peter Hustle to the plate.  Peter did not have to hustle after his swing, because the ball went very far, and every player on base got to score, pulling the Pigs within reach, 18-15.  Bottom four had other plans for the Pigs as the Royals plate 2, and extend the lead once again.

Always fighting, the little Piggies down 5 with 2 outs and three minutes to go in the game, see JZ with yet another hit on the day.  A Brinkman followed up with a double, and Cbass who has yet to be retired comes to plate.  The pitch.  The swing.  The hit........ And the catch.   Cbass who had been on fire all day, just missed connecting on the sweet part of the bat.  Sometimes a player’s best day at the plate comes up just a bit short…

Royals win 20-15 in a Ruckless effort, and made their skipper proud!!  Congrats Royals and a speedy recovery Matt Ruckel!!!