U2 said it best.  Sunday Bloody Sunday. That described the Tarpons this crisp fall morning. It was not for a lack of effort though. Our entire team was there by 7:15, warmed up properly and ready to go.  Unfortunately we ran into a buzz saw in the Bulls.  Brumley cemented himself as one of the top pitchers in the league.  He was painting corners all morning.  Behind him his defense played lights out.  From unshakeable Doc “Hoover” Levy making all 6 plays at 3b, to Scott Lawrence robbing one at the fence, to Hap Burden making plays in RF and painting that same line with the bases loaded to burn the Tarpons captain, they were just the better team. They made every play, even a silly bosom buddy play where a ball was smashed in the gap between RCF and RF, went off Scott’s glove right into the waiting arms of Hap.  The Tarpons just couldn’t muster up enough offense to compete (the wind didn’t help but then again both teams played with the same wind).  We are looking forward to meeting this team again and exacting some revenge. 

Final score Bulls win 12-3.

Next game was vs the Muckless Rubber Ducks. We were seeing red from the previous game and came out hot and quick.  Holmes lead the way with a leadoff walk, and 2 singles later Driggers has 2 quick RBI’s.  Peter Hogan lead the way today on offense and this inning he hit his 2b, driving in Driggers. Thiele capped off the 5 run 1st with a blast to Centerfield. 

The bottom half of the inning the Ducks got 2 off a blast by Reed but that was it as Thiele kept their bats quiet.

The 2nd inning was highlighted by Jay Swank. With 2 outs, his hustle play sparked a 4 run inning which was capped by a Driggers moon shot over LCF fence. Hustle is what this team is about and it was on full display this inning. 

After a goose egg in the bottom half of the 2nd, the Tarpons could smell blood in the water.  We batted the entire lineup and plated 6. Peter Hogan started us off again, followed by 3 straight walks, a base hit and first RBI as a full timer for Ted Hogan, and then Papa Hogan got into the action with his own hit and RBI.  This was a very Hogan inning. Jorge Rivera and Jay Swank got into the action as well with their own singles but the rally fizzled back at the top half of the lineup. Still, we were leading 15-2 at that point and should have had a lead that was close to insurmountable.  However, this is the Shalom Softball League and anything can happen.  And it did. The Ducks plated 9 guys, then held us to 1 run the rest of the way.  They chipped and fought hard and eventually walked us off, earning the victory 17-16.  Kudos to them for never quitting.  The Tarpons never quit either, we were just on the wrong side of victory 2x.  We will bounce back and look forward to the challenge next week.

Outstanding Performance from Peter Hogan.  This Tarpon hit for the CYCLE on the day and drove in 3 while playing excellent defense all day.

Congrats to Ted Hogan for driving in his first official RBI as a full timer.

Hats off to Jay Swank for his hustle and positive attitude. Those attributes lead to a big rally and cannot be understated.