The Zeppelins turned up the juice against the Governor’s Office “Capital Punishment” squad last night at Perkins Road Park, sparking an 11-1 victory and clinching a playoff berth as the team moved to 4-3 on the season. “You realize this win officially doubles last year’s wins,” Paige Ovens reminded everyone. It felt good and the smiles were showing everywhere.
Hey, don’t they work at the Capitol? And what was with the Captain America shirts? One of the Zeppelins noted that it was really nice of them to put a target on their shirts for us.
Updating the record books, LED fielded 14 players and notched 24 hits, three of them doubles and one a triple. The offensive player of the game accolades go to Russell Richardson who went 3 for 3 with a triple and four (count them!) RBI’s. That was a monster effort at the plate and a record which might prove hard to beat. Following closely on his heels was Chelsea Harris who also went 3 for 3, knocking two doubles and scoring two RBI’s on three hard shots down the left field line. Eddie James went 2 for 3 with a double, and Gary Beadle and Eric Burton both went 2 for 3 with two RBI’s a piece. Jayson Newell went 2 for 3 with an RBI while Chris Stelly, Paige and Katie Richardson all went 2 for 3. Katie hit a beautiful shot over the short fielder’s head, her best hit of the season so far. Steven Grissom, Matthew Wattigny and Jeffrey Bashaw all went 1 for 2. Jeffrey shocked everyone when he legged out a single to the infield with a burst of speed no one anticipated. Jeffrey had a solid first effort as a Zeppelin and if he can get out of future late-night meetings at the office he might just be the answer to the team’s loss of former Bucknell track star Sarah Vanden Broek who provided many fantastic pinch runs in prior seasons.
On defense, the Zeppelins played outstanding as well, putting up two double plays (both led by Paige) and a lot of back-handed grabs, while holding the Governor’s Office to a single run. Eddie is still waiting for the shut-out from the mound, but was happy with the Zeppelin’s performance anyway. Paige and Eric blanketed the middle infield, making it tough for the opponents to build any momentum. The defensive play of the game came in the top of the fifth inning when the Punishment’s toughest hitter blasted a shot that hit the ground right at Eddie’s feet. He made an outstanding scoop and threw to first, where his throw landed just before the outstretched foot of Steven. Steven’s awesome scoop locked in the out and put the cherry on top of the two-scoop treat.
Super fan Mills Richardson arrived at the field and immediately discovered two little boy’s dreams. The first was an open culvert that he could roll a ball through back and forth at will. The second was a new best friend who spent nearly the entire game playing ball with him outside the fence (Paige’s boyfriend David - what a nice guy!)
In an interesting note Shoeless Joe, the Punishment’s shortstop, actually played without shoes. Coach Regira offered to loan him a pair of cleats which he declined. He probably should have accepted because both of his would-be hits resulted in double plays by Paige.
Team spy Russell Richardson texted from Zippy’s that he was watching the Punishment’s licking their wounds and drowning their sorrows with pitchers of beer after the game. How sweet it is!
Since Coach Regira has now moved herself to the injured reserve list with a multitude of old-age infirmities, she was able to add a new element to her normal multi-tasking role as the head of an awesome LED team:
• Showing up at least one hour early in the stifling heat (97 degrees with a heat index of 106) to reserve a field while trying not to melt
• Lugging the equipment out to the field while trying not to pass out
• Developing a Moneyball line-up (believing in EVERYTHING Brad Pitt says)
• Calling the plays during the action (like yelling to Katie Richardson, “Three, three, three” – meaning throw it to third base – as she threw it to shortstop, “or to that guy.”)
• Reminding the team of the out-count
• Keeping the book
• Encouraging the players and cheering mightily
• Seeing and hearing everything that might be good additions to the news articles
• Cracking super funny jokes
• Playing head games with the opponents
• Writing top-notch articles on game highlights
• Taking pictures (see below) !!!!!
!!!! Denotes best role.
The Zeppelins will have a week off to rest, and then will take on the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness team in a rain-out make-up game on Tuesday, August 20 at 6:00 at Independence Park.
Singles: Paige (2), Eddie, Chelsea, Gary (2), Eric (2), Chris (2), Russell (2), Jayson (2), Leigh Ann, Katie (2), Matt, Jeffrey, Steven.
Doubles: Eddie, Chelsea (2).
Triple: Russell
RBIs: Chelsea (2), Gary (2), Eric (2), Russell (4), Jayson
Many thanks to all who STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE for LED.
PLAYERS: Chelsea Harris (Communication & Marketing), Chris Stelly (Entertainment), Christian Pennington (Business Incentives), Eddie James (Business Development), Eric Burton (Business Incentives), Gary Beadle (IT), Jayson Newell (Business Development), Jeffrey Bashaw (SEC), Katie Richardson (Russell’s wife), Leigh Ann Burton (Eric’s wife); Matthew Wattigny (FastStart), Paige Ovens (Business Development), Russell Richardson (Business Development), and Steven Grissom (Deputy Secretary).
FANS: Mills Richardson (Russell’s son) and David (Paige’s boyfriend).
