Mustache Bashers reach comp league finals

They had a regular season rife with ups and downs, finishing on a low note, dropping the final two games and finishing in last place. They carried that downward slide into the post-season, losing in the first round but then things changed. I don’t know if it has something to do with hot bats, tight defense, on-base percentage, steroids, or what, but the Mustache Bashers appeared to have turned it on. Stash Me owned the Bashers all season long, beating them every time including in the first round of the playoffs. But Monday night was Bashers night. Stash Me struck first—actually Scott Sanders of Stash Me struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Sanders won the Ball Bash home run derby title this past weekend and continued on his long-ball assault with a solo shot in his first trip to the plate Monday night. But that was it for Stash Me, for a while. The Mustache Bashers turned their entire season around in the top of the second inning connecting for eight base hits to score eight runs. Willy Coburn opened it up with a base hit. Rhett Yarborough and Dalynn Trujillo followed with RBI base hits, Gabe Martin dropped a two-RBI triple in shallow right and Katherine Oliver roped an RBI single. Emma Vosburg joined in the attack with an RBI single and Nick Catmur and Coburn capped it off with RBI base hits for an 8-1 Mustache Bashers lead. The Bashers fortunes continued into the bottom of the second inning. The lead off Stash Me hitter struck out, Coburn chased a pop fly into shallow centerfield for an over-the-shoulder grab and then things got weird. Drew Stichter crushed a line drive to right field. Vosburg reached out for the grab and made it but dropped her glove in the process. Remarkably, the ball stayed in her glove—that is, never touched the ground—and Stichter was ruled out to end the inning. I will let the barstool umpires discuss… Props out to Stash Me though, while they did raise a stink about the call, and rightfully so, they collected themselves as a team and moved forward. Defense was the name of the game for the next two innings before Coburn stroked a two RBI double for a 10-1 Mustache Bashers lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning. Stash Me then hinted at a comeback when Sanders and Katherine Long tapped base hits and Mike Neustedter jacked, and I mean jacked, a towering three-run shot over the netting in left centerfield. Neustedter followed that by turning a 6-3 double play in the top of the fifth inning and it appeared Stash Me was back on track. Stichter was robbed once again, this time legitimately, when Erica Canada “Eh?” chased down a ripping line drive down the right field line for a reaching grab but Stash Me proceeded to follow that with a two-out rally. Barb Winter singled and scored on a base hit by Luis “Professor Longhair” Goldsmith. Jess Ladwig walked to load the bases for Sanders, and Sanders struck again crushing, and I mean crushing, a grand slam home run off of town hall to pull Stash Me to within one of the Mustache Bashers. They held the Bashers scoreless in the top of the sixth and then tied the game 10-10 heading into the seventh inning and, once again, it appeared Stash Me would get the best of the Bashers. Coburn led off with a solo shot for an 11-10 Bashers lead and then fate intervened as Stash Me committed two uncharacteristic errors to keep the Bashers alive. The Mustache Bashers made them pay for their erroneous ways, using the first one to set up Martin for a two-RBI double and then scoring three more runs off of the second error for a 16-10 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh. But the Stash Me bats were showing life and while six runs is a decent lead, there are three hitters on Stash Me who can go yard when needed. Conversely, the Bashers defense can bring their gloves when needed and that proved to be the difference maker. Goldsmith led off for Stash Me with a single and Ladwig cracked a line drive but Canada “Eh?” made yet another charging, reaching grab to deny an RBI hit. Sanders stepped up and everyone is thinking downtown. Instead Sanders drove a base hit to right field and the Bashers defense did the rest. Vosburg chased the ball down and hit Coburn at the cut-off spot. Coburn turned and fired to third and Abe Fisher scooped up the ball on the short hop and made the tag in one motion at third. Long stepped up in the hot seat with two outs and slapped a single and Mark Bortolin did his part, driving in two runs with a double but Kyle Anderson caught a fly ball to left field for the third and final out, sealing the 16-12 Mustache Bashers win.