In a battle of formidable foes, two of the premier pitchers in the NABA faced off at Joe Graff a.k.a. Volunteer Field. I have been playing baseball for a long time and this is one of the best games I have ever been apart of. The Ducks of old would be proud as we committed 0, that’s right 0 errors. Not even Berdine could Faff it up. Tish was a master on the mound against a great Hurricane lineup and our offense picked up where it left off and gave him a huge early cushion against a very good pitcher.
The top of the first went smoothly, Tish didn’t allow a baserunner until the 5th. The Ducks faced off against Rafalski throwing from the top of Mt. Everest and kept up the hot bats, scoring 4 of the first 5 to come to the plate and 6 overall in the bottom of the first. Lipp lined a ball in the hole to lead it off, advancing to second on T.J.’s single up the middle, and ending up at third after a botched ball by the Hurricane’s third baseman. I guessed right and started early to send a fastball to the left centerfield fence to score two and end up on second.
After watching this video I sent Gwin the following text…
July 25, 2011 12:46 PM I think we we win 2-0 berdine hits a bomb with flip on
With Flip on third, Berdine demolished a 1-0 slider over the high right centerfield at Volunteer into the trees, I got a chub. The feathered ones of South Oakland didn’t stop there. With two outs Ben “Benedict” Gwin rifled a single into right followed by Kenny Cool and then Tim Lipp’s second single of the inning, finally scoring on a Raflaski walk to Zarewicz.
- Ben Gwin’s Senior Yearbook Photo
Ducks 6 Hurricanes 0
The second inning only saw three batters a side, but in the third the Ducks broke through for our 7th and final run. I hit the ball harder for an out to start off this inning than I did for my double in the first so I can’t be too upset, and only Fletch saw that the throw was offline and my lack of hustle cost us a baserunner… I owe him laps. Baumgartel and Berdine stayed hot with singles and Gwin wore a 90 mph fastball on the right shoulder to load the bases with 2 outs. Kenny Cool worked a fast ball count and swung early, sending a spinner out in front of the mound, Rafalski bobbled, fondled, and juggled the ball for a hustle E-1 and another Duck run.
Ducks 7 Hurricanes 0
The rest of the game was dominated by pitching and Duck defense. The only runner to reach second was Rafalski after a two out double, and one of the Hurricane’s 4 baserunners was thrown out at second on a strike em’ out, throw em’ out double play in the 6th. The last out was recorded as Holloway grounded out to Tish and the Ducks shutout the Hurricanes for the third time this season.
Some important facts about the Ducks this season.
-We shutout teams 12 times this season
-Elliot is second with 7
-We have outscored our opponents 22-0 in our two playoff games
-With 45 posts last time I checked, the last post was the most popular I have ever seen and it was a blurry playoff bracket and large Duck penis reference.
The Bulldogs beat us 14-1 and tore Whalen’s leg open in the first game of the year, they have outscored us 14-2. Pitching will be key, defense will be imperative, offense will be crucial. If South Oakland plays the way they have in the last two games, we won’t need a game 3. The bark of the Bulldogs vs. the quack of the Ducks this Saturday, venue and time TBA. Rob Cool is still gay.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 