CENTURY FIELD, GARFIELD, NJ -- It's getting closer to that last minute "race to the playoffs" for the ABL Men's League & tempers were flaring in the Dave Winfield Division between the Young Bucs & Saved by the Balls!

Game 1 was a back and forth between these 2 clubs for who wanted the win the most. 

At the end of 7 innings, it was Saved by the Balls who remained victorious with a come from behind 25-24 win!  As my pen was running out of ink between the 49 combined runs scored, I witnessed several lead changes.  The Young Bucs seemed a bit more consistent, scoring runs in 6 of the 7 innings, including an incredible 12 in the top of 7th inning to take the lead! 

Team Captain Nick Robbins was solid scoring 4 runs, batting .800 with 4 hits (2run Homer).  Cleanup Man Grippo seems to always make contact with the ball regardless of where it crosses the plate & it was evident when he 2 Home Runs in back to back at bats!  Rarely do we see a Pitcher contribute hardcore at the plate but Mr. Clark crushed a 3 Run homer in the 5th.  Kudos!

However, Saved by the Balls were certainly "saved" by the bottom of their batting line up.  A combined 15 runs were scored courtesy of the bottom 5, Jorge, Johnny, Ray, Kevin & Anthony.  The Rally in the 7th inning was memorable. After giving up 12 in the top of the 7th, Saved by the Balls were in trouble, needing 4 to tie & 5 to win.  They made it look effortless with the 1st 5 batters scoring a run, ending the game!  Zach Morris & AC Slater would be proud.

Final Game 1:
Saved by the Balls 25
Young Bucs 24

In Game 2 we started to see some tempers flare up, as words were exchanged between both clubs. Young Bucs fueled their anger into their bats, bombing a total of 4 Homers in this one courtesy of Varon, Robbins, Grippo & Geretta (sorry for the misspelling).  Saved by the Balls made it interesting scoring 3 in the top of 7th, but the damage was done.

Final Score Game 2:
Young Bucs 17
Saved by the Balls 13