Season 1
Season 2
Season 3
Season 4
Season 5
Season 6

Season 7

Season 8
Season 9
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12

Step away from the beer pitcher. If a fish head orders a Seven and Seven, what is it ordering? Do you know the garnish? Is the garnish on a rolly pole?

One of the great plagarisms in cinema history was made by Seven:

Tears, please don't start

The team says goodbye to Melissa, who will continue to sub when the horn is sounded three distinct times, the last an upnote with three chirps.

Melissa played just two full seasons with us and each night she brought a vacuumous aura to our 2B area. We'll miss the way she approached home plate with the respect of a samurai.

Behold those bringing tissue to dry our eyes

The team welcomes Amber, Connie and Fitch. Excuse me, it should read Ron. Crazier things have happened when alphabetizing names but you'll find no examples here. Summer is for travel and nobody enjoys the pressure of finding subs. So the team expands.

Softball Science Beatdown
A great equation from high school to remember is: PV=nRT. Pressure x Volume = mass x R (a constant of the gods, give it whatever value you like) x Temperature. Do we have any science teachers on the team?

Courtney says: "Our collection of players follows laws of nature that when heat and/or pressure is added to the team, the team expands. Pressure to the team, a player, the brain or heart is bad. That is why we eat when under pressure: to expand reducing our pressure. Some silly people enter saunas thinking they'll get smaller!

For extra credit from the teacher, do you know why water expands and causes cans to explode in the freezer? Why isn't "n" an "m" since n stands for moles of gas (similar to mass)?"

Positions
Amy will continue as our onsite sub and scorekeeper. For now she feels best calling pitches behind the plate and Sarah will miss several games with her travel.

Amber, Connie and Ron join Jamie in utility spots. Nothing is known about Amber except she proudly says "I think you guys will appreciate my "softball" attitude for sure." Amber coaches softball and "likes working on turning double plays from second", just like Connie. If we have a safe lead, that'll be Andrew pitching an inning with Ron at SS while Jason whispers sweetness in the dugout into Amy's ear.

Looking at who carries a can of whoop ass for us

Aside from The Band-Aids, we won't know anybody. Two of the teams, Butter Up (5-2) and #4 Warriors (3-4), played last season with the Band-Aids on this same field last season. Last season The Band-Aids lost 16-15 to Butter Up and 22-14 to Warriors.

In the playoffs, #2 Butter Up won 17-16 and then lost 14-5 in the second round. Warriors lost 8-7 in the first round, as did the #8 Band-Aids 16-9 to the eventual champion.

1st Round Draft, Big Ballas, Finish Strong and High Rollers didn't play in Tempe last season. Will be nice adding to our library of teams and patheon of great opponents.

Game to circle: Sun May 31st vs 1st Round Draft. It'll likely be 100 F at 6pm when we play. This team could be our loong lost little brother team, unless they beat us. Let's break bread and tap seals with a new team for no other reason than they have a worthy name.

Ignore whoop ass, become the softball

Mr. Wonka had too many wonkacandies and veered from the basics. Use the regular season to develop new skills in time to play sturdy defense and offense come playoffs. That's the only formula to remember for softball, besides E=mc^2:

                Empty = me chugging with the power of two.

The Oompa Loompa will be mad if Seagrams Seven isn't mixed with 7-Up. If it's missing a lemon wedge, it'll hurl the drink back at you gouging your eye into which it'll plant a chocolate lollipop. Don't stick the lemon on a little umbrella or sword.

In Mr. Wonka's freezer as water gets colder, water in a glass initially gets smaller. But when it turns to ice, it forms a rigid lattice structure that forces water molecules to be farther apart. That why it expands. And "n" stands for "number of moles."

Standings
 (Avg Runs For/Against)
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  1st Round Draft
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  Band-Aids
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  Big Ballas
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  Butter Up
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  Empty Pitchers
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  Finish Strong
0-0  (  0 / 0 )  High Rollers
0-0  (  0 / 0 )   Warriors

This Week's Games

Butter Up @ Warriors
The Butter Up Warriors were the tagteam champs of mudwrestling's version of G.L.O.W.

1st Round Draft @ High Rollers
Boozers vs stoners. Babe Ruth vs Doc Ellis, who pitched a perfect game on a hallucinogen. The list is long of those who didn't pitch well on hallucinogens.

Big Ballas @ Finish Strong
I know you have better jokes than I do on this game. Yet my mind is pure, and I think of Michael Jordan as the biggest of the ballas and he said once in a commercial "it's not how you start but how you finish. "

A Tibetian Mountain Monk speaks:
"MJ is not afraid to stumble as he learns along his journey.. very wise unless quickly moving down mountains. "

Tibetian Mountain Monk picks:
"I like Butter Up, High Rollers, Finish Strong and The Pitchers!"

---

Elsewhere this season
Dawson NE
GT Bombers and AZ Devils butt heads

Dawson NW
Plan B, RamRods, Donkey Fire, Black Sox and T.G.F.T.W. will match up against Like We Care, the #5 seed who won their tournament and Balls & Dolls, the 1# seed on the SW field who lost in the championship.

Dawson SW
Saki Bombers on their own with all new teams.

On Deck: The Band-Aids

0-0    7 pm - Home

History:
Season 3 - L 19-5
Season 4 - L 13-5
Season 5 - L 17-11

AWOL: None ( ),

The season starts with the Pitchers facing perhaps their biggest rival, The Band-Aids. We even play for a trophy.

The last time we saw The Band-Aids, it was Scott, Jamie and Courtney meeting them at Peter Piper Pizza back on Oct. 27th.

Scott retells:
"I know for sure there was no inter-team air hockey played... and I'm fairly sure the same goes for basketball. Not sure why that was... perhaps we wanted to keep our rivalry on the field? :) "

T-Rex (Amanda) is gone and The Band-Aids spent last season breaking in a new pitcher, Natalie. Most of their key players remain with the team but the talent they faced must have been tougher.

After last season's 1-6 record, you can be sure they'll be exacting revenge on all in their path and we're first on the slate, tethered to the rock, unable to move from this scheduling spot. Or is this a trap?

Each season we play for a trophy
Except last season. There was no trophy. Nor in seasons one thru four. The game's victor will be take custody of the Band-Aid Pitcher Trophy. It isn't the Stanley Cup, but that's because it's a trophy - totally different but you can drink from both.

Scott memories from a front porch rocker: "Fond memories, eh? Other than all the homeruns from their certain favorite player? Haha, not really anything specific to share, other than them being fun to play and good peeps."

Pre Gameplan: Dos Gringos at 7pm on Priest just south of Elliott. Lauren of the Band-Aids will be there with the pitcher trophy for us to drink out of. She may be alone... she may have her teammates there.

We'll square up on Ptack's pop-up collections. These people need to bring these amounts: Ted $6, Ruthie $3, Jason $2, Courtney $2, Andrew $1 and Keith $1. Don't get too drunk before the game.

Gameplan: Arrive somewhat sober at the southeast field by 8:35 to warm up arms and bats. Big Ballas and Finish Strong will be playing and they are our next two opponents for anyone who wants to scout a bit. During the game have fun. Don't get too caught up listening to the music between batters. Don't get a song stuck in your head as the ball comes sailing at you.

Apr 26th,'09 - 5 innings:
Empty Pitchers 16, Band-Aids 4
BA:    0   0   0   1   3   = 4
EP:    6   0   1   9    x   = 16

With a 9pm start time and a serious lack of socializing last season, the team proceeded to Dos Gringos to meet up with several Band-Aids players two hours before first pitch.

Sadly, Dos doesn't sell beer by the pitcher but the teams came prepared with the Band-Aids Pitcher trophy, into which we poured our bottles of $2 Miller Lite (happy hour ends at 7pm).

Arriving at the field, Amber made her first official appearance with the team with Connie and Ron getting called up full time this season.

The Band-Aids looked poised to make one of their famous hot starts. The Band-Aids got several runners on base but Jason was able to retire infamous Pitcher-destroyer, Noel, on a hard liner to Andrew, who was backed into shallow LC to end the inning.

The top six of the EP order all scored to grab an early lead but over the next couple innings only the Pitchers were able to add a run. Solid defense kept the Band-Aids scoreless until the 4th when Noel unloaded a shot hitting the fence.

In the bottom of the 4th, the bottom of the order got the ball rolling as Keith, Ruthie, Jason and Amy loaded the bases for Ted. After a towering OF pop-up in his previous at-bat, Ted lined a shot to the gap and could have had the grand salami had he not been held at 3rd, drawing boos from the dugout.

Andrew added a homerun and Ron had the best headfirst in team history as the Pitchers batted thru their entire lineup. With the big lead, Jason grabbed some pine as the team's reliever, Andrew, made his pitching debut and issued no walks. The Band-Aids had some well-placed hits to score a few more runs but the trophy ultimately began its new residence.

Notes: During the current six-game win streak stretching back to last season, Jami is batting 19 for 21; one walk from Jason; Andrew struck out the first batter he faced and pitched his way out of a couple 3-1 counts; Anna did a great job with the pictures; 4 fans in the stands, including a fan of Amber's.

About the stats below: Have fun at the plate. Do not focus on your numbers. If an individual can contribute in two of three areas: defense, dugout attitude or offense, the team should have a good chance to win while we have fun. Everybody slumps, everyone gets hot. Don't get excited by the numbers.

Box Scores
Ted	2-3, 2R, 3RBIs, 1pu
Connie	1-3, 1R
Andrew	3-3, 3R, 2RBIs, HR
Courtney	2-3, 1R, 2RBIs
Jamie	2-3, 2R, 2RBIs,
Jami	3-3, 2R, 2RBIs
Ron	3-3, 1R, 2RBIs
Amber	2-3, 0R, 1RBI
Keith	2-3, 1R
Ruthie	2-3, 1R, 1RBI
Jason	1-2, 1R
Amy	1-2, 1R

Key: Walks are counted as hits, fielders choices are outs,
pu = stinky pop up

May 4th,'09 - 5 innings:
Empty Pitchers 11, Finish Strong 7
EP:    0   3   2   0   6   = 11
FS:    3   0   0   0   4   = 7

EP revealed nerves early in their first game on the road, which was represented by us using the other dugout.

Finish Strong started strong despite only 9 players, converting the ol' 6-3 double-play holding us scoreless in the 1st while placing three runs of their own on the inactive scoreboard.

If anything outshone the aforementioned relays tonight, plays at secondbase by both teams commanded the spotlight. Finish's strongest may be their 2B who dropped into RC when a hitter looked ferocious. If a ball was hit within 20 feet of her glove, she was there in the blink of an eye with the ball already consumed by her glove. In fact, every out in the stats below were her doing.

Also setting the defensive tone was Andrew and the outfielders. His first relay, turned from Ted, landed perfectly in Sarah's lazily propped glove, catching the runner by a footstep at home. The next relay home wasn't as successful due to a bad hop while a third relay, this one to 2B via Courtney - Andrew, may have lost Connie indefinitely. After a quick catch and turn, her hand was smashed by the head of the headfirst diving baserunner, who ended up safe on a questionable call.

Coach Buttertuso then sent Connie to the dugout to ice up.

The game was filled with debateable calls by the blues, notably a "missed tag" by Jami after a wide throw and two "high" pitches late in the game that were no more than a beer pitcher above the batter's head (there's a 12 ft limit and the batter Jason faced was under 10 feet).

Offensively, the team took it's first (in recent memory) 2-out walk in the 2nd. After three unhittable pitches to Keith, Ruthie automatically took firstbase to load the bases for Ron. Smooth single for two runs. In the deciding 5th, Andrew cleared loaded bases with his second homerun of the game with a shot over the 2B/RC's head.

Finish Strong finished with a nice burst netting four runs, taking advantage of defensive gifts before Jason closed the book with a force at 2B. With the C's and SS's friendly banter, add this team to those we enjoy playing.

Notes: Ten of twelve players scored; Andrew is 6-6 this season with 3 HRs; only one game in the next three weeks, after which game temps will be hot... we may be drinking like Buttertuso in the pic above; 4 fans in the stands.

Scouted: FS pitcher didn't appear to throw curves. Just good accuracy. Leftside of their defense rarely made mistakes. None of their hitters tested the outfield's backpeddling skills.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
pu = stinky pop up

Box Scores
Ted	2-3, 1R
Amber	1-3, 1R, 1pu
Jason	2-3, 1R, 1RBI
Courtney	1-3, 1R, 1RBI
Andrew	3-3, 2R, 5RBIs, 2HR
Connie	2-3, 1R
Jamie	3-3, 1R
Jami	1-3, 0R
Keith	1-3, 1R, 2RBI, 1pu
Ruthie	1-3, 1pu
Ron	1-2, 0R, 2RBIs
Sarah	1-2, 1R

May 17th,'09 - 3 innings:
Empty Pitchers 23, Big Ballas 3
BB:    0     1   2   = 3
EP:    15   0   9   = 23

The year's first monsoon clouds arrived hours before first pitch, blocking out sun that had been cooking us since the early morning with temps 100 degrees (that's 37 C). Those clouds brought both late-afternoon shade and heat-trapping moisture (humidity), setting up Mother Nature's chosen handicap for our game.

While the stray lightning bolt flashed to the south of us among distant visible downpours, the sun god, Ra, directed his remaining rays of hot, glaring sun from the west into the eyes of our fielders stationed at SS, 3B, LF and LC.

Big Wins in EP History 26-1 vs Los Diablos 's3 23-1 vs Jagerbombers 's4 23-3 vs Big Ballas 's7 15-1 vs Massage Envy 's5 Our Own Ugly Losses 5-19 vs Band-Aids 's3 5-16 vs AZ Devils 's6 10-21 vs GT Bombers 's5 GT Bombers are only team since start of season 3 to score 20 or more runs against us.

Now that our scene is set, Courtney started the game off racing in for a shallow pop fly to leftfield. Like the shuttle manuevering to dock with hubble, the ball disappeared into the bay of her glove. Then the Ballas began ballin', getting every batter onbase. But EP's interior refused to allow runners beyond Melissa's guard at 2B and the Big Ballas took the field scoreless.

The EP factory rolled-out 17 of their first 18 batters to the basepaths in the first inning, the lone exception being Jamie with his $1 pop-up to the catcher. Everyone but Amber batted twice in the first inning and the first six each scored twice in the inning. For now, that's a rarity. At the end of one, it was 15-0.

The 2nd inning passed quickly for both sides, though the team made a rare defensive move calling the bullpen after just one inning. Jason was forcibly removed from the mound in favor of Ron's fresh free agent arm.

The Ballas were eager to help Ron by swinging back into contention at anything close and by the time they had two outs, they had scored a run and loaded the bases. The potential for a rally ended as the only hit to be mustered was a grounder to SS, resulting in a force at 3B, now manned by Jason.

Ron returned to the mound in the 3rd inning as the BallaBats continued to awaken. They managed a couple more runs while giving Ron the opportunity to showcase his defensive skills on the mound, gloving a sharp bouncer to his left and making the difficult turn to 2B for the force (which Keith was already in position backing up).

It was a long day in the outfield, and we're not talking about errors or lots of activity. Jamie and Keith were fighting for any grounders up the middle while Amber and Connie shared peaceful time for pensive thoughts in RF, nothing disturbing their zen until they had to return to the dugout. Only Courtney in leftfield saw semi-consistent work scooping up shots dropping past the infield.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Amy lead the parade of five straight batters scoring before Amber was forced at 2B to record the first out. The run on runs then continued until Melissa and Andrew scored, forcing the umps to call the game.

Gone (sub): Sarah (Amy); Ruthie (Melissa); Ted (None)

Notes: Unofficial records set: Most runs in an inning (15), shortest game (3 innings); Ted missed the game attending a fan's birthday (his sister, Marlee); Andrew had an off night, likely due to the distraction of his personal photographer and his dog eating rare chicken that had defrosted on a kitchen counter; Andrew was scheduled to pitch the 4th and 5th innings; Courtney had the two-out walk option, chose to swing and crushed a shot into the OF; Courtney also reached 3B twice in two at-bats after throws home to catch Ron scoring bounced wildly; hungry and thirsty EP's visited Fuddruckers post-game and enjoyed a variety of shakes, sauces to dip potato wedges and a very rare burger that was ordered medium-rare by Jami. It was more red than our throwback jerseys!

Scouted: Not much to report on since nothing special was shown at the plate or in the field. Their pitcher throws very basic pitches. They have talent and used to play in a doubleheader league in Phoenix before the leagues were contracted. Art is the manager - he's interested in scrimmaging between seasons.

May 17th,'09 - 3 innings:
Empty Pitchers 28, 1st Round Draft 20
EP:     2   6   8   5   7 = 28
1RD:   1   1   8   8   2 = 20

Up 16-2 and taking the field in the bottom of the 3rd, it looked to be another team-stat-padding game. Then, two things happened.

1st Rd Drft started dropping shots where we weren't and they started lining shots where the sun glared into our eyes.

There's no way we'll credit Andrew with 15 errors when the sun was handicapping him. The sun messed with most of our team, whether it was an OF relaying to a cutoff or Jason on the mound trying to find the plate.

The sun was so tough that Jason walked back-to-back guys with two outs, meaning two girls also got free bases.

But the Pitchers are resilient and Jason would rebound with precision strikes while Andrew & Co. prevented extra bases on several hard shots late in the game.

Only in the first inning did we score less than five runs. Amy had her second 3-4 game, clubbing several shots easily into the outfield grass. Ruthie must have distracted the 1st Rd Drft pitcher because she drew 3 walks and Connie could easily have been 5-5 if the 3B hadn't grabbed those lasers, while Andrew hit for the cycle, his near homerun being thrown out at the plate technically a triple.

Gone (sub): Sarah (Amy); Amber (None)

Notes: Twenty eight runs scored is two more than our previous record; the teams combined scored 48 runs; the sun was to blame for Amy's only out by blinding the ump looking from 2B towards 1B; three pitchers struck out within a ten minute span: Jason, 1st Rd Drft's pitcher and early in the next game former Plan B-now-Butter Up pitcher, Corey; six fans in the stand, five for Ron and Connie; $2 Miller bottles (team collected $2 in popups tonight), decked out nachos and bean bag toss at Dos Gringos post game; way to go, Ted, challenging some girl and guy, then using Jason as your ringer to improve the team to 2-0 tonight.

Scouted: They have two players who can jack the ball to the fence; they'll play three guys in OF including corners; right side of infield gives up baserunners; 3B girl is quick with strong, accurate arm; good P who can mix up pitches; OF is good but sometimes play too shallow.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
pu = stinky pop up
BB = walk

Andrew's Lineup & Box Scores
Keith	1-3, 2R, 2RBIs
Ted	2-2, 2R, 1RBI
Ruthie	3-5, 3R, 1RBI, 3BBs
Ron	2-5, 4R, 3RBIs, 1pu
Connie	3-5, 3R, 1RBI, 1BB
Andrew	5-5, 2R, 8RBIs
Courtney	3-5, 2R, 2RBIs
Jamie	4-5, 3R, 4RBIs, 1pu
Jami	3-5, 2R, 3RBIs
Jason	4-5, 3R, 1RBI
Amy	3-4, 2R, 1RBI

June 7th,'09 - 5 innings:
Empty Pitchers 16, High Rollers 0
HR:   0   0   0   0   0 = 0
EP:   6   1   4   5   x = 16

The High Rollers truly were high rolling, or at least still rolling back from Vegas. With half the team returning from birthday celebrations in Vegas, the team played with just four regulars and short one in the OF.

EP never knows any other choice but playing their brand of ball and came away with their second shutout in team history, the last a 4th season 9-0 win over Doc & Eddy's.

Jason took some pine in the fifth as Ron finished the game on four pitches, a good omen as he will take over pitching duties in week 7 against the Warriors and in our first round playoff game.

At the plate, Jamie, Keith and Ted went 8-for-8, scoring 5 runs. Andrew and Jamie combined for 3 homeruns.

Newton's 3rd law of physics tells us for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. We had four batters strikeout.

What about his other two laws of physics applied to the game?

His second law says the relationship between an object's mass m, its acceleration a, and the applied force F is F = ma. If you swing a heavier bat or find a way to accelerate it faster (wrist snap, hip movement, etc), you'll hit the ball with more force. Accomplish both and ZOINKS!

Lastly, his first law warns an object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it. If a ball is screaming towards you in the field, it'll stay screaming unless a gust of wind or a soft patch of ground slows it down.

Web gem: Andrew took a relay and zeroed in on Sarah's glove to catch the only Rollerrunner to make the turn past third base. Andrew has thrown out at least three players at home this season.

Gone (sub): None

Notes: Amber was robbed in her final at-bat by a cheating OF, which the blues missed.. the team didn't miss it and credits her with a hit; Andrew has 13 runs batted in over the past two games; no walks given up by Jason, who pitched five games this weekend; Ron fouled 5 balls over the first base visitor's dugout; Jamie missed a grounder by over a foot under his glove at 3B; excluding last week's 28-20 victory, we have outscored our opponents 66-14 this season.

Scouted: With only four regular players playing, who knows who was really on their team and of the four if they were in their normal spots. Pitcher threw good pitches and could field. Their LF made a nice diving grab on Jason's initial shot; High Rollers took spring season off but has finished as high as 2nd place in previous seasons.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
BB = walk
HR = homerun
pu = stinky pop up
R = run
RBI = run batted in

Box Scores
Jason	2-3, 1R, BB
Ruthie	0-3, sleepy
Ron	2-3, 2R
Connie	2-3, 2R, 2RBIs
Andrew	2-3, 2HR, 2R, 5RBIs
Courtney	2-3, 3R
Jamie	3-3, HR, 3R, 2RBIs
Jami	1-3, 1R, 4RBIs
Keith	3-3, 1R
Amber	1-3, 2pu
Ted	2-2, 1R, 2RBIs
Sarah	0-2, over-travelled

June 14th,'09 - 5 innings:
Empty Pitchers 27, Butter Up 14
EP:   8   8   2   4   5 = 27
BU:   4   5   0   1   4 = 14

The Empty Pitchers broke out the microwave, not the saucepan for Butter Up.

Fans watched the game's first 7 batters cross the starboard plate as EP unloaded a mix of singles and doubles to start the game. Butter Up hoisted its sails responding with exactly half in the inning's hull.

Ditching the boat references and back to the butter, EP sizzled in the second splattering 8 more across on another parade of singles and doubles, just as the head chef ordered.

Butter didn't place a short order cook out there to serve pitches. They hired Corey, formerly of Plan B, to pepper the plate with greasy pitches. Down 16-4 and without a hairnet, Corey led the charge as 5 of their first 6 runners scored to close the gap to 16-9.

However, that was the closest the game would get. Corey finished the game 2-3 at the plate, scoring twice and perhaps a little bummed at the way we devoured his pitches without savoring any part of them. It didn't help that his wait-staff was dropping trays in the field.

Butter Up's players seemed friendly with a sense of humor and an appreciation for the temperature of our bats. They were playing a few subs so who knows how things will go in a rematch.

Web gem: Keith to Andrew to Jamie just in time to apply the tag on a buttery sliding baserunner. Score it 9-6-5.

Web phlem: Of eight playable balls to Jamie at 3B, he only converted two outs, a dismal .250 fielding %. Two under the glove, two grounders off the glove, one wide throw and a liner off the glove... chalk up six errors for our thirdbaseman.

Gone (sub): Sarah (Amy)

Notes: Last week Amber was robbed of a hit, this week it was Keith who would have been 4-4; Ron pitched the first two innings with ease walking just one as Jason and Amy helped another softball team find a championship; buttery bliss for Andrew 5-for-5, Ron 4-4 and Amy 2-2.

Scouted: Lauren's preview was spot on. Their left side is stronger than right side of their defense. All their women have power to put it hard on the ground.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
BB = walk
HR = homerun
pu = stinky pop up
R = run
RBI = run batted in

Box Scores
Ted	3-5, 3R, RBI
Amber	1-5, 3R, pu
Andrew	5-5, 2HR, 4R, 8RBIs
Ruthie	2-5, 2R, 2RBIs, pu
Ron	4-4, 3R, 2RBIs
Courtney	3-4, 3R, 2RBIs
Jamie	3-4, 2R, 3RBIs
Jami	2-4, 2R, RBI, pu
Keith	3-4, 2R, 4RBIs
Connie	2-3, 2R, RBIs
Jason	1-2, R
Amy	2-2, R. 2RBIs

June 21st,'09 - 5 innings:
Warriors 14, Empty Pitchers 12
WA:   0   4   1   4   5 = 14
EP:    7   2   1   2   0 = 12

Band-Aids.
AZ Devils.
GT Bombers.
Plan B.
Final Round RamRod.

Of the 30+ different teams played, these five stand out because they yanked victories or defeated us in ways reminding us of our softball mortality.

We add the Warriors to that list.

Congratulations.

Perhaps EP got a little confident with it's 7-0 lead heading into the 2nd inning. Here's what happened:

First give credit. The Warrior hitters kept getting hotter as the game progressed. They never lost their cool, never got cocky but built on their mid-game success.

The Warrior pitcher had excellent control working both the inside and outside of the plate, getting EP to chase pitches leading to six popups. When did we start adding $ signs to the scoresheet?

Their shallow RC enticed some of our guys to hit over her head, leading to overzealous swings and the above mentioned pop-ups. The rest of their defense played well enough to catch us in two tagouts (though Amber was safe at 3B in the first inning).

Don't forget Ron's pitching performance for EP. He gets credit for keeping us in the entire game with Jason gone, yielding no walks and making every play defensively.

Then make excuses. The median for number of plays goofed in the field tonight per player was two, higher than our season average of zero. But chances are if you're not making an error on Sunday night, you're either traveling or not involved with a team.

Perhaps we got overconfident with a 7-0 lead, a perfect season so far and an 11-game win streak, especially against a talented team like the Warriors. Perhaps, and most likely, the team was just not the same without Amy, Jason, Sarah and Ted.

Web gem: Last week a 9-6-5 force at thirdbase after a line drive to the outfield. This week it was Justin leading an 8-6-5 and Connie, Amber, Jami with the 10-4-3.

Gone (sub): Ted (Justin), Jason (none), Sarah (none)

Notes: The old streak ends at 11 and a new one begins; standing up to the Warriors: Ron 4-4, Justin 3-3,

Scouted: Just like last week, Lauren's preview was spot on. Their left side is stronger than right side of their defense. All their women have power to put it hard on the ground or over the infield.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
BB = walk
HR = homerun
pu = stinky pop up
R = run
RBI = run batted in

Box Scores
Ron	4-4. 2R, 2RBI
Connie	2-4, 1R, 2RBI
Andrew	2-3, 2R, 2RBI
Courtney	2-4, 2R, 1RBI, pu
Jamie	2-4, 1R, 1RBI, 2pu
Jami	2-4, 2RBI
Keith	0-4, 3pu, portrait
Amber	2-3, 1RBI
Justin	3-3, 2R, 1RBI
Ruthie	2-3, 2R

Is that a portrait of Keith or Kenny Loggins coaching 3B?

June 28th,'09 - 3 innings:
Empty Pitchers 21, Big Ballas 1
BB:   0   1   0 = 1
EP:   4   9   8 = 21

The ol' Pitchers flip last week's total of 12 runs score to end the early game mercifully under an oppressive hot, muggy early summer night.

The sun didn't seem to affect the left side of our defense as in previous weeks and Ron found no difficulty locating the plate.

The Ballas scored their only run on a bases-loaded deep grounder to 3B, which Jamie scooped and then stomped to get the sure second out of the inning. The next batter's grounder ended the inning.

The Pitchers had threatened to blow the big ballas bubble earlier in the first by loading the bases only to have consecutive batters fly out. Keith, off an 0-4 portrait the week earlier, delivered the big two out hit to give the Pitchers a cushion before taking the field in the second.

Keith continued was the big RBI man for the night with four while going 3-3. Ron's night of perfection, his last of the season as he and Connie travel on the 12th, included turning 4 doubles into 3 triples with aggressive baserunning (and speed).

The gameball goes to Jamie's little glove, which Ron had to use while his glove was in a top-secret shop.

Web gem: After several long weeks, Jamie goes errorless at 3B, participating in three of the nine outs. Ron recorded four and Andrew the other two with Jami.

Gone (sub): Ruthie (Melissa), Jason (none), Sarah (none)

Notes: Big Ballas manager Art is alright - we'll be scrimmaging with them before next season; Courtney's first two singles went a combined distance of 28 inches, eventually scoring on both; pterodactyriffic: Ron 4-4, Andrew & Keith 3-3.

Scouted: Tough to scout since the Ballas batters each only batted once; good 1B; outfielders didn't get a chance to get under many of our hits though relays were a problem which Ron took full advantage of.

The ball and plate know if you're thinking about stats while batting. Walks are counted as hits. Reaching on errors and fielders choices sadly aren't counted as hits.
BB = walk
HR = homerun
pu = stinky pop up
R = run
RBI = run batted in

Box Scores
Ron	4-4. 3R, 2RBI, 3 triples
Connie	2-3, 2R, 2RBI
Andrew	3-3, 3R, 2RBI
Courtney	3-3, 3R, RBI
Jamie	2-3, 2R, 2RBI, pu
Jami	2-3, 2R, RBI
Keith	3-3, 2R, 4RBI
Amber	2-3, 1R, 2RBI
Ted	2-3, 2R, 3RBI
Melissa	2-3, 2R, 2RBI

All three games tonight were won by one run. If it weren't for the blazing excitement, people would likely have noticed the inferno 115+ degree heat even more.

#1 Empty Pitchers     21 #8 Big Ballas               1 #4 Tappa Kegga Brew   11 #5 Warriors                       7

#1 Empty Pitchers        12 #4 Tappa Kegga Brew 11

Championship Game #6 1st Round Draft 19 #1 Empty Pitchers 18

#7 Finish Strong     13 #6 1st Round Draft 12

#2 Band-Aids         8 #7 Finish Strong   10 #3 Butter Up              7 #6 1st Round Draft   9

Gone (sub): Ruthie (Melissa), Courtney (Amy), Ron (none), Connie (none)

July 12th,'09 - 7 innings: Empty Pitchers 12, Tappa Kegga Brew 11 TKB:   0   1   0   0   1   4   5 = 11 EP:      4   0   3   0   2   2   1 = 12 Box Scores Jason 3-5, 2R Melissa 2-5 Andrew 4-5, 2R, 1RBI Jami 3-4, 2R, 2BB, 1 pu Jamie 3-4, 2R, 1RBI Amber 2-4, 2R, 1RBI Ted 4-4, 2R, 3RBI Amy 1-4 Keith 2-4, 4RBI Sarah 0-4 Notes: Ted's parents convinced some 1st Round Draft players to participate in a six-person wave and cheer us on. Andrew and Jamie tumbled onto the field to open a playoff game. This tradition began last tourney. Both were worried about injuring themselves and held off before the championship game.

Semifinal Recap: Top Teams Tangle Empty Pitchers started the night with good karma by allowing TKB, the northwest field's champ, to use their SS not on the playoff roster. The blues knew their SS had played all season so we let him play - unlike when Ted had to sit during season five's playoffs. Amy grabbed RF, Melissa 3B and Jamie shuffled to LF. This alignment held them to 2 runs through five innings despite our opponent getting 11 runners on base. Most shots went up the middle or to left, where Jamie dove for four balls, coming up empty each time. The sun couldn't be distracted from focusing its rays on our game but Andrew kept converting key plays whether it was a shallow pop-up or a force at any base or plate. Both teams showed some rust at the plate from the week off and the 6pm heat. TKB showed why the won their league with a 6-1 record by scoring 9 runs in the final two innings to tie the game. Could the Pitchers avoid extra innings? Keith (bothered by a premonition in his head) and Sarah (used to only batting cages the past two months) were both unable to reach base bringing Jason up with two outs. Many miles away something flies above the surface of a dark Scottish lake. Jason and Melissa used their wings to leg out gritty singles. With Jason at 2B and Melissa on 1B, this season's MVP stepped to the plate, surveyed the field and tattoed a shot directly over the 1B's head. It was clear as it sailed over there would be be no chance catching Jason at home and EP secured its second straight trip to the championship. TKB is full of competitive yet fun players. They held up on a number of throws, partly to avoid wild throws but also for opposing player safety. Add them to the list of team's we enjoy playing.

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