Against All Odds

In a monumental upset, the Trump Tower Flames advanced to the Thursday Intermediate Spring Softball championship game with a 19-14 victory over the Billabong Bombers – who finished in first place in the regular season.

The Flames got off to a good start, scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the first, led by a 3 run HR by Anthony.

The Bombers began the game shorthanded with only 7 players and threatened to turn the game into a free for all when they attempted to use what appeared to be a homeless/street person as a catcher in the 4th inning who clearly was not on their roster and had been watching from the stands. After angry objections from manager Ho, the Bombers rescinded the new player and play resumed.

The Flames busted the game wide open in the bottom of the 6th inning by scoring the maximum 8 runs and taking a 19-9 lead going into the last inning. A comedy of errors in the top of the 7th inning allowed the Bombers to score 5 runs. The Bombers then loaded the bases with 1 out but were not able to bring home any more runs.

The Flames will face the Bat Wings in the championship game this week. This marks the 3rd consecutive season the Flames have advanced to the championship game, in their short 3 season history – winning their first 2 attempts.

The two teams faced each other in a shortened season ending doubleheader with the Bat Wings winning both games, showing spectacular hitting power. The Flames will be in tough to make it 3 straight championships and will have to play their trademark defense to have a legitimate shot at glory and possibly a spot in TCSSC history.

Notes: Mark Raso returned to the lineup after a short assignment in Europe. Sean Cameron is expected to return to the lineup for the final game of the spring season after missing the last 2 weeks.