LED and Department of Insurance Battle in the Blazing Heat

The LED Zeppelins battled for two hours in 95+ degree heat against the Department of Insurance Regulators Tuesday evening at Independence Park.  LED fielded 14 players and racked up 7 runs on 19 hits, with 6 different players plating RBI’s. 

WOW, major offensive production! Was there something in the water?  Something in the Corona punch?  Something in the treats being devoured in the dugout?  It was probably the fans, who were out in numbers and bolstered by two extremely vocal cheerleaders – Caroline Collins (Larry’s daughter) and Raven Moore (Melissa’s daughter).

After borrowing a glove and helping her dad warm up before the game, Caroline decided her cheering skills were badly needed.  She recruited Raven and the rest is history.  Armed with a few homemade cheers, the girls were tireless in their efforts to boost the team.  “A hit or a homerun, it doesn’t matter, either one will do.”  “Single, double, triple, home run.  It doesn’t matter, just have fun.”  And on a swing-and-miss by Anne Villa, “Eye on the ball, eye on the ball.”

Kathy Blankenship arrived at the field dressed to play with glove in tow, but said she was only going to play if we didn’t have enough players.  Anne arrived the same way but went straight to the bleachers and had a seat.  “Aren’t you going to play?” asked Coach Regira.  “I haven’t played before,” she replied, “and I’m scared you’ll get mad at me.”  Does Coach Regira have a bad rep?  “Get in the dugout Anne,” Regira growled.  Anne got the starting nod at catcher and did a respectable job in her first Zeppelin appearance. 

The Zeppelins came out strong on offense at the top of the first, with consecutive hits by Victor Moore, Alicia Ardoin, Eddie James (who got the first RBI when he drove Victor in), and Linda Regira.  Melissa drove in Alicia and Eddie to become the only multi-RBI player, and putting the team up 3-0 on the Regulators.

The Zeppelins also came out strong on defense in the bottom of the first.  Larry made an unassisted double play at first, snagging a line drive and beating the runner back to the bag in his first outing as a Zeppelin.  Eddie nearly single-handedly mowed the Regulators down at the bottom of the second, raking in two line drives and putting a third batter out at first.

LED was up 3-1 at the top of the third and scored two more runs off of hits by Katherine St. Onge and Chandra Williams, who were plated by Victor and Alicia, respectively.  After a swing and miss by Coach Regira, she announced that she had already indulged in some Corona punch while on the bench.  The Regulators, who remembered the punch from last season, advised Regira to swing at the one in the middle.

The Regulators came back to within a run after scoring three in the bottom of the third, despite a double play by Victor from short stop.   LED then added two more “insurance” runs in the top of the fourth off of hits by Johan Salen and Jayson Newell, who were plated by hits from Katherine and Chandra.  After Johan sped across the plate Sandy Granata remarked from the stands, “Johan, you are playing great this year.”  His reply, “I played great last year too.”

Up 7-4 in the bottom of the fourth, LED had a bit of a defensive melt-down, giving up four runs and the lead.  The Regulators tacked on another at the bottom of the sixth to make it a 9-7 DOI victory.

KC is apparently trying to oust reigning champion Coach Regira from the coveted “Most Spills on the Field” award this season.  She tallied three in her first time out as a Zeppelin (one at the plate and two in left field).

A few Regulators joined LED for Corona punch after the game.  Brenda Guess, joining the team from the bleachers this season, made off with the leftovers, indicating that she had worn herself out cheering for the team.

After a week off for the July 4^th holiday, the Zeppelins will face off with the Public Systems Association (Legislative Computer Staff) on Tuesday, July 10.  Hopefully by then Chandra will take herself off the injured reserve list, where she placed herself this morning, and her knee will stop “dinging” when she goes up and down the stairs.

Singles:  Victor, Alicia (2), Eddie, Linda (2), Melissa, KC (2), Matt, Anne (2), Johan (2), Jayson, Katherine (2) and Chandra (2).

RBIs: Eddie, Melissa (2), Victor, Alicia, Katherine and Chandra.

Many thanks to all who STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE for LED.

PLAYERS:  Alicia Ardoin (BDS), Anne Villa (Undersecretary), Chandra Williams (SEC), Eddie James (BDS), James Caldwell (BDS), Jayson Newell (BDS), Johan Salen (BDS), Katherine St. Onge (SEC), Kathy Blankenship (Deputy Undersecretary), Larry Collins (BDS), Linda Regira (Policy & Planning), Matthew Wattigny (FastStart), Melissa Moore (BI) and husband Victor,

FANS:  Sandy Granata (Undersecretary), Pattie Pipes (SEC), Brenda Guess, Susan Collins (Larry’s wife), Lauren Villa (Anne’s daughter) and her two friends, Beth Richardson (Jayson’s fiancé), and the two best cheerleaders in the Capital Complex League – Raven Moore and Caroline Collins.

TREATS:  Anne brought water, Gatorade and brownies, Katherine (the team mother hen) brought a delicious brownie-Oreo-cookie dough squares, and Sandy brought Corona punch.

Brownie-Oreo-Cookie Dough Squares Recipe:  Gather some chocolate chip cookie dough, some double stuffed Oreos, a family-sized brownie mix for a 9×13 pan, and some hot fudge chocolate topping for good measure. Line a 9×13 baking dish with wax paper and spray with cooking spray. Whip up your cookie dough and spread it in the bottom of the pan. Cover with Oreos and pour on brownie mix batter.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Add fudge topping, cut into squares and serve.

Chandra and Jimmy Williams Steal the Show in Thursday’s Matchup with DOTD

The LED Zeppelins faced off with the DOTD Roadkillers in Thursday night’s game at Perkins Road Park.  DOTD is sporting three separate teams this season, and LED is set to play all three.  The Zeppelins fielded 11 players and recorded 9 hits in the game.  The Roadkillers had 12 players and garnered 13 hits.

Chandra Williams arrived at the field (quite stylishly attired again) and informed everyone that she had learned how to catch on Sunday and planned to learn how to bat during warm-ups.  She got a private lesson with hubby Jimmy “Barry Bonds” Williams, but admitted she probably needed a bit more work.  She did a solid job at catcher for the Zeppelins.

Sandy Granata whipped up a batch of her delicious (but dangerous) Corona Punch in the parking lot and Matthew Wattigny graciously carried it out to the field.  There was water available, but nobody seemed to want any.  Katherine St. Onge arrived with a batch of homemade Rice Krispy treats that included liberal amounts of chocolate and white chocolate chips added to the traditional recipe.  They were fabulous.  Jimmy pronounced the pair as “the breakfast of champions,” and he could be seen finishing off a treat every time he took the field.

Alicia Ardoin got the first hit for LED at the bottom of the first.  Joining her in the hit column were Jimmy, Katherine, Melissa Moore, Jacob McConnell, Steven Grissom who got hits in the second and seventh innings, and Dennis Barbier who got hits in the first and seventh.  The game was tied at 0 – 0 until the top of the third when the Roadkillers managed to score a run.  They added a few more during the course of the game.  The Zeppelins hung in until the last pitch, making a great comeback effort in the bottom of the seventh.  Dennis, Steven and Melissa loaded the bases with consecutive singles, but the Roadkillers escaped the inning without allowing a run.

Dennis gave a great effort from the mound, throwing 10 foot curve balls that dropped fast through the strike zone.  His pitches caused numerous swings-and-misses throughout the game and resulted in strike outs from two of their strong hitters.  He also attempted an awesome trick play in the top of the fifth.  With runners on first and second the batter hit a line drive up the middle.  Dennis snagged the ball and, without turning around, threw the ball behind his back to second base in an attempt to catch the runner who was off the bag.  Since nobody knew he was going to do it, the trick play didn’t work.  It probably will the next time though.

Jimmy was a one-man defensive machine at shortstop, covering half of the left side.  It’s easy to look good playing behind Jimmy – he catches everything.  But by the fifth inning he was beginning to sweat (apparently something he doesn’t normally do), and he suggested that maybe Corona Punch and softball don’t mix at the same time.

There were several controversial calls during the game, one of which resulted in some serous smack talk between the two team speedsters, Jimmy for LED and Jaubert Ambeau for DOTD.  Ambeau is a former Southern University track star and currently runs with the US Express adult track club.  The race was on when Jaubert ran to second on a hit up the middle that Jimmy snagged.  The faster Jimmy beat Jaubert to second but Jaubert refused to accept that he was out.  After much discussion LED decided to let it go and give Jaubert the bag.  Due to the controversies arising this season, the Zeppelins will definitely need LED Legal for protection.

After the game the Zeppelins shared some Corona Punch with the Roadkillers.  As always, the leftover punch has to find a good home at the end of the game.  Chandra and Jimmy made off with the extras for a party at their house tomorrow.

The Zeppelin’s will face the Department of Insurance on Tuesday, June 26, at 6:00 at Perkins Road Park (Kenilworth).

Many thanks to all who STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE for LED.

PLAYERS:  Alicia Ardoin (BDS), Chandra Williams (SEC) and husband Jimmy, Dennis Barbier (Equipment Manager), Jacob McConnell (BDS) and wife Jessica, Katherine St. Onge (SEC), Linda Regira (Policy & Planning), Matthew Wattigny (FastStart), Melissa Moore (BI), Steven Grissom (Deputy Secretary)

FANS:  Sandy Granata (Undersecretary), Patti Pipes (SEC), and Larry Ardoin (Alicia’s husband) who kept the scorebook and did such a good job that he has been hired on permanently.

LED Battles with DCFS in Tough Season Opener

The Zeppelins opened the 2012 softball season against a new opponent, the Department of Children and Family Services.  Despite garnering multiple hits, including two doubles, and getting four runs into scoring position, LED came up empty crossing the plate.  According to Zeppelins coach Linda Regira, this was one of the toughest opponents the team has ever faced,  “Their defense was on par with ours, but their bats were stellar.”

LED fielded 12 players including 6 new faces this season.  Bringing new talent to the team were Melissa Moore (BI) and her husband Victor, Chandra Williams (SEC) and her husband Jimmy, as well as Jacob McConnell and Jayson Newell (both BDS).

Eddie James and Sarah Vanden Broek both tapped out doubles in the game; Sarah’s after a single by Jacob, and Eddie’s after a single by James Caldwell.  Victor added another single to the mix. 

On defense, the left side of the field was kept pretty busy.  Danielle Clapinski snagged her first fly in left field and the BDS combo in left and right center (McConnell and Newell) added additional put-outs for the Zeppelins.  Jimmy made several great grabs at short, and Linda put a few out from third.  Victor and Melissa played first and second well, both having to scoop a short throw to make the out.  Eddie and Victor shared the pitching role and Eddie snagged a few from the mound, including a scorcher up the middle.

The Zeppelins did not ultimately win the game, but a good time was had by all.  Chandra won the fashionista award for being the best dressed on the field, from her matching top and loose capris, to her braided pigtails topped off with a baseball cap. 

The Zeppelin’s will face one of DOTD’s three teams, Gangs 42/51, on Thursday, June 21 (time and location TBD).

Singles: Victor Moore, Jacob McConnell, and James Caldwell.

Doubles: Eddie James and Sarah Vanden Broek.

Many thanks to all who STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE for LED.

PLAYERS:  Chandra Williams (SEC) and husband Jimmy, Danielle Clapinski (Legal), Eddie James (BDS), Jacob McConnell (BDS), James Caldwell (Student), Jayson Newell (BDS), Linda Regira (Policy & Planning), Matt Wattigny (FastStart), Melissa Moore (BI) and husband Victor, and Sarah Vanden Broek (SEC).

FANS:  Jessica McConnell (Jacob’s wife, who looked quite fashionable in the stands as well).