Zeppelins Bring Down The House

In a nail biter at Perkins Road Park last night the Zeppelins defeated the House of Representatives 7-6, moving to 3-1 for the season.  It was quite a wild ride with the lead going back and forth, until the dramatic finish in the bottom of the 7^th left LED still up by one run.

Where to begin?  So many exciting things happened it is difficult to find a starting point.  The top of the 1^st will have to do.

Chelsea “Welsee” Harris started a hitting streak with a single up the middle, followed by a Jayson Newell double.  With runners at second and third, Paige “Dottie” Ovens drove a double into the gap, tallying the RBI as Chelsea scored.  A few bats later, on a Gary “Wild Thing” Beadle single, Jayson turned on the gas and scored from second base.  Danielle Clapinski followed up with a single of her own and logged an RBI when Paige scored.  The Zeppelins were up 3-0.

In the top of the 2^nd the Zeppelins struck again. The stage was set by consecutive singles from Devin Harrison and Rick “ROI” Ward, and a fielder’s choice from Michael Pernici which moved Devin and Rick into scoring position. Steven Grissom knocked out a single to score Devin and bring the Zeppelins up 4-0.

On defense, LED had two complete sets of 5-men squads so the defense swapped out each inning.  The “odd squad” had Will “He Hate Me” Marshall in right field, Gary in right center, Eddie James in left center, Eric Burton at shortstop and Steven at first.  The “even squad” had Jayson in right field, Russell Richardson in right center, Gary at left center, Michael at shortstop and Devin at first.  Paige played second base, Chelsea played third base, Stephanie Harrison played left field and Danielle Clapinski played catcher.  Rick pitched for both squads for 6 of the 7 innings.

The squads held the House scoreless in the first two innings.  With a runner on first base, Michael put up the first double play on a grounder near second base where he touched second and threw the batter out to Devin at first.

In the bottom of the 3^rd the House finally answered back, scoring 3 runs, and then passed the Zeppelins in the bottom of the 4^th with a 3-run homer from – you guessed it – Daniel Waguespack.  Can LED rehire him in Fiscal?

A little down (6-4), but definitely not out, the Zeppelin defense rallied back starting with a spectacular diving catch in left center by Russell to end the inning.  Color announcer Will “Rounding 3^rd” Day labeled the play as “a jackknife with a clean entrance” and awarded it “a 2.8 degree of difficulty.”  Russell’s son Mills, who was in the dugout offering dad sage advice, was ecstatic with the performance.

With bases loaded and unable to score in the top of the 5^th, the Zeppelins had to dig deep to avoid defeat.  In the top of the 6^th Steven led off with a single to left center.  Eddie followed with a double to left center.  Jayson then added a single to load the bases.  Russell tapped out a single, scoring both Steven and Eddie.  Gary followed up with a single to left center, scoring Jayson.  Russell somehow got caught in a rundown between second and third.  After realizing he was fully trapped, he just laid out along the baseline waiting to get tagged out and end the inning.  Mills thought this was hilarious, and so did the LED fans in the stands.  Russell’s wife Katie could be heard saying something about an old man.  But the damage had already been done.  LED was now up 7-6.

At the bottom of the 6^th, Russell made a leaping catch in right center to get the first out.  Will labeled it “a full plié with a pirouette.”  It certainly wasn’t smooth like Baryshnikov, but it was exciting to watch.  The next batter foolishly hit the ball to Gary in left center and he immediately threw the batter out at first, showing off the Wild Thing “gun.”  The third batter went down easily on a play by Michael at shortstop.

It was still neck and neck going into the final inning.  LED was unable to score in the top of the 7^th and still had to face the meat of the House lineup.  Daniel started out the bottom of the 7^th with a blazing line drive to Gary, who contained the ball and held Daniel to a single.  The next batter hit a line drive toward Gary, who had to make a running catch.  Gary then whipped the ball to first, catching Daniel off the base, to complete the double play.  Will called this one the “encore gun.”

The Zeppelins still needed a final out to clinch the win.  The third batter popped up out of bounds toward the first base dugout.  Danielle darted from catcher but was unable to get to it.  Will reported that she “simply refused to layout.”  On the next pitch the batter popped up again, this time right over his head.  Danielle snagged this one to end the game and ensure the win.

Up next for the Zeppelins is the Department of Children and Family Services.  DCFS is one of the strongest teams in the league, so all the fan support available is needed.  The game is set for 6:00 on Wednesday, July 30, at Perkins Road Park.

Singles:  Eric (3), Gary (2), Devin (2), Rick (2), Steven (2), Chelsea, Jayson, Russell, Danielle, Stephanie, Will Marshall.

Doubles: Eddie, Jayson, Paige

RBI’s:  Russell (2), Gary (2), Paige, Danielle

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

PLAYERS:  Chelsea Harris (Communications & Marketing), Danielle Clapinski (Legal), Devin Harrison (Business Development), Eddie James (Business Development), Eric Burton (Business Incentives), Gary Beadle (IT), Jayson Newell (Business Development), Michael Pernici (Lead Development), Paige Ovens (Business Development), Rick Ward (Business Development), Russell Richardson (Business Development), Stephanie Reed Hartman (Small Business), Steven Grissom (Deputy Secretary), Will Marshall (International).

FANS:  The fans played a big role in helping the team pull off the win.  Alicia Ardoin, Susan Bigner and her puppy Tinkerbell, and Christian Pennington (who arrived late, saw how many players were in the dugout, and decided to be a fan) were representing LED.  Additional fans included Paige’s mom Sue Ovens, Russell’s wife Katie, son Mills and daughter Libby, Chelsea’s beau Brandon Dufrene, Rick’s wife Nancy, Eric’s wife Leigh Ann, and Will Marshall’s dog Sugar.  Paige’s fiancé David Carter coached first and Anne Villa sent the drinks with Russell.  And Rick lugged the equipment bag off the field.