A Perfect Season

The Trump Tower Flames capped off a perfect season (7-0) with a thrilling 12-11 victory over, now bitter rivals - The Tribe, and led by clutch hits from Anthony and Ted O. The match was a classic Goliath vs. Goliath battle, pitting the top 2 teams in the division against each other for the Softball C championship crown.

The Flames had their backs against the wall early, falling behind 9-2 after 2 1/2 innings but the never say die team fought back with 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning, courtesy of a towering grand slam HR by Anthony. Then added 5 runs in the 4th inning to take a 11-10 lead.

The solid defensive work the Flames have become known for then took over, holding The Tribe to 2 runs over the last 4 innings.

Controversy struck in the bottom of the 6th inning, as The Tribe alleged that Kristian Borg-Olivier (the Maltese Falcon) touched the actual home plate - a violation of the rules (replays were inconclusive). The dispute almost turned into a bench clearing brawl as Mark Raso defended the honour of his slimmer brother, Joseph, when a Tribe member told him to "shut the bleep up".



The baffling part was that The Tribe did not bring the controversial play to the forefront until the end of the 6th inning. The ensuing scuffle was quickly settled as a crazed Sean Cameron (possibly high on cocaine) charged the field and told his teammates to take the disputed run off the board. Player/manager Ho described the situation, "I watched the Pedro/Zimmer battle a few years ago. I was going to go with a George Bell type karate kick (vs. Bruce Kison)."

The Flames held The Tribe scoreless in the top of 7th inning, then went to bat for the first time this season in the bottom of the 7th inning. Anthony led off the inning smacking a single up the middle and moved to 3rd base on a Teddy E. single. Men on first and third with none out, was quickly wasted by a groundout and then an infield popup by a slumping Mark Raso.

The drama was short lived as Ted O. stepped up to the plate and promptly singled into right field, giving The Flames their first championship and capping off a perfect season.

A game highlight to note was the unusual play where Wael took the unusual defensive position of climbing the hill (aka Green Monster) in right field. The hitter had previously hit a deep HR to the same part of the field but appeared to have been flustered by the brilliant defensive move as he ended up striking out.

Player/manager Ho summed it up, "It's like getting an 800lb gorilla off my back. The pressure was tremendous, from the owners, the fans and the press."

The Flames have been promoted to the Intermediate division for the summer season and kick things off next Monday.

Game Notes: Attendance (8) - season high. Paul Culham was a last minute scratch and will disciplined for conduct detrimental to the team. The final was Derek Daoust's farewell game as he moves to greener pastures.