Talk of the Town takes opening playoff win

Circumpolar

By Than Acuff

Here we go again, it’s playoff time in the Tuesday/Thursday town softball league and the question is, always and seemingly forever, will the Pitas empire win another title? They currently have 11 titles, six in the Tuesday/Thursday league, and they enter the post season in first place with a record of 9-3. But Elevate is right there as well with a record of 9-3 while the Eldo is nipping at their heels in third place at 8-4.

The two wild cards, in my opinion, are Psycho Rocks and the Talk of the Town which combined for a total of 168 runs when they played each other three times in a row to close out the regular season. Including one game during which the Talk of the Town racked up 46 runs. Those are Hills Brothers numbers and if you don’t who the Hills Brothers are, ask RTA bus driver John Covelli. On the plus side, that’s a lot of offense. On the minus side, that’s not a lot of defense, and while offense scores runs, defense wins games so, hit the cutoff.

As for the Hares, well, I have no idea what’s going on there. It seems like they are as solid as always but for one reason or another, only won one game all season, so far. But it’s the playoffs where anything can happen and Tuesday, July 18 at Gothic Field, something did happen.

The Hares won? No, not yet. Something else.

Something almost happened though. It almost rained. But almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Well, the Olympics too, apparently, because if you’ll remember, probably not, one guy tied another guy in the high jump in the last Summer Olympic Games and that’s about as almost to almost as you can get so they each got a gold medal. That’s not almost lame, that’s entirely lame.

I would add that to the growing list of signs of the apocalypse. Trump, TikTok, the decimation of the bee population and ties in Olympic events. Two swimmers tie, swim off. Two runners tie, run off. Two jumpers tie, jump off. Two teams of rhythmic gymnastics tie, rhythmic gymnastics off. Actually, never mind that one. Although, rhythmic gymnastics is mesmerizing.

Sure, soccer matches can end in ties, but not the important ones, and say what you will about penalty kicks, at least the game doesn’t end in a tie.

There was no tie Tuesday night at Gothic Field but, there almost was.

The Talk of the Town opened ready to avenge their two previous losses to Psycho Rocks racking up 10 runs in the top of the first inning. While I could list off everyone who got a hit, it would be quicker to list those that didn’t get a hit, Grant McBride. Which is weird because that guy always gets a hit, oftentimes a home run. Just not this time. 

Basically, the Talk hit the ball where the Psycho Rocks weren’t, and Psycho Rocks hit the ball where the Talk was through the first inning. Then no one really hit the ball in the second inning except for Jason Keener who doubled and scored off a single by Dakota Wiggins for Psycho Rocks’ first run.

The Talk of the Town scored three more runs in the top of the third inning as Robbie Vandervoort singled to center and scored when a routine base hit by Mikah Ryan flustered the Psycho Rocks defense and it turned into an RBI triple. Erik Ervin drove another run in with a sac fly RBI and McBride did what he typically does to stroke a high fly RBI double for a 13-1 Talk of the Town lead.

Yet even a 12-run lead in the third inning is not as much as it seems, and Psycho Rocks proceeded to start chipping away at it starting in the bottom of the third inning. 

Ben Hayes looked to spark the comeback with a deep shot to centerfield but Talk centerfielder Ed White had other plans as he made a leaping grab at the warning track to rob Hayes of the hit. Claire Bartholomew picked him up with a single though, Will Mixon followed with a single off the netting in left field and Alie Leiberman loaded the bases with another single. Keener and Wiggins came through with a double and triple respectively to drive in four Rocks and one last hit scored Wiggins to pull Psycho Rocks to within seven runs heading into the fourth inning.

Hayes and Mixon combined to score two more Psycho Rocks runs and despite an inside the park home run from Ryan, Psycho Rocks was looking to reel the Talk in for good in the bottom of the fifth.

Unfortunately, a twisting grab by Pete Basile in centerfield robbed Keener of a base hit and McKinley Lenker was denied a hit as well much to her surprise. Wiggins then slapped a shot to deep centerfield but White made the grab and Psycho Rocks remained six runs down.

Like I said, defense wins games.

The Psycho Rocks defense did their part as well to hold the Talk of the Town hitless in the top of the sixth and then tacked on two more runs on hits from both Rosa Mixon and Will and we were dangerously close to almost with Psycho Rocks down 14-10 heading into the seventh inning.

The Talk of the Town hitters then started hitting where Psycho Rocks weren’t again though as Dave McGuire and Basile each reached safely and scored on a single by Hollywood. Kelly McGuire cracked an RBI double down the third base line, Nate Meier scored two more runs with a double and after Barb Winter and White connected for RBI base hits, the Talk of the Town had rebuilt their 10-run lead.

There was still a chance as the game was not done, just almost done, as Psycho Rocks stepped to the plate in the bottom of the seventh inning. Granted, it was a seemingly insurmountable task but certainly not out of the question and Psycho Rocks started catching fire.

Wiggins and Carter Brock kicked it off as they both crushed two-run home runs. Bartholomew and Will then both hit RBI singles, Keener and Dayna Regan did near the same and when the next two batters walked to load the bases, Brock returned to the plate with Psycho Rocks down two with two outs. Brock got a hold of a pitch, and it was almost a game-winning home run but fell short as Psycho Rocks almost won 23-21, or rather, the Talk of the Town won 21-19. 

Like I said, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades, and the Olympics.