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Power Surge

11/27/2017, 1:45pm EST
By Rob Gray

Two deserving teams battled it out in a thrilling championship series, but Bad Hombres rallied back to take the crown in 3.

            Last Sunday morning turned out to be a slugfest between the Young Bucs and the top seeded Bad Hombres for the Kirby Puckett Division Championship.  The two teams came in with just one head-to-head matchup in the regular season.  The result was a split with both teams producing 29 runs apiece.  Both teams swept their way through the first round of the playoffs and into the heavyweight bout.  We had high hopes for an exciting matchup, and we certainly were not disappointed.

            It was a chilly fall day with some big gusts of wind.  This made for a difficult morning for the pitching and defenses.  However, both teams played very well in the field.  There were a minimal number of errors committed.  Unfortunately for both sides though, there is no defense for the long ball.  And long they were.  For a while there, we weren’t sure if Cliffside Park was hosting a championship series or a homerun derby.  The only saving grace was the 6 homerun limit per team, which made for a little more strategy than just brawn.

            Game 1 didn’t start off well for Young Bucs.  Bad Hombres jumped on them early, smashing 7 homeruns in the first 4 innings, including 5 of their 6 allotted over the fence shots.  The power surge was led by Charlie Vargas and Jake Romba, who hit two homeruns apiece over that span and combined for 7 RBI’s.  This amounted to a 19-4 lead heading into the bottom of the 4th, but they may have settled into cruise control a bit too early.  On the brink of a mercy-rule loss, Young Bucs stormed back with 5 runs in the 4th and 6th innings, sandwiching a 2 run 5th.  They staved off the mercy rule with some clutch hitting at the top of the lineup.  Pat Clark lined a 2-out, RBI single that moved the needed run to third, and Lou Mazzella came through with a 2-run double that guaranteed another inning.  Bad Hombres were shell-shocked and caught on their heels, but managed 4 runs over the last 3 innings to take a commanding 23-16 lead into the bottom of the 7th.  However, there was no fear in Young Bucs, who plated the requisite 7 runs to send the game into extras.  Again, it was the 2-out hitting that shined.  5 of those 7 runs came with two outs, capped off by back-to-back homers from Marc Pepin and Robert Grippo.  Those were each their second of the game.  Young Bucs would hold their opponent to just 1 run in the top of the 8th and had their chance to steal the victory in the bottom of the frame.  They would do so quickly.  Two batters in and 2 solo shots off the bats of Mike Slade and Mike Forsthoff later, the comeback stunner was complete.  Game 1 belonged to Young Bucs in dramatic fashion by a score of 25-24.

            Game 2 would be very telling, but not just because of the score.  It’s hard to have your opponent on the brink of defeat like that, only to surrender an incredible comeback and lose in extras.  However, Bad Hombres were, statistically, the best team in the league for a reason.  They once again jumped on their opponent early, this time to the tune of a 20-8 lead heading into the 4th.  They rocked all 6 of their over the fence homeruns in the first 3 innings, and the tone was set in the very first inning.  Robert Grippo led the charge for Young Bucs with a 3-run moonshot to start the game.  They would finish with 6 runs in the top of the frame, feeling pretty good.  Then came Bad Hombres’ turn.  Nick Pellot answered right back with a 3-run blast of his own in the bottom of the frame.  3 batters later, Charlie Vargas tacked on a 2-run homer, and his team would plate 8 total in the inning.  That wasn’t enough though.  After two runs in the second, Bad Hombres would one up themselves in the 3rd with a 9 spot.   The scoring started with a 3-run homer off the bat of Steve Koppel, with Jordan Crowley and Diego Benitez each contributing a 2-run shot to the cause.  As in the first game, Young Bucs had their backs against the wall, but they would answer the bell again.  They’d plate 3 in the top of the 4th, with yet another booming 3-run monster from Robert Grippo, and held Bad Hombres to just 1 run in the bottom of the inning to stay alive.  Young Bucs survived the 4th, but Bad Hombres was done playing games.  They weren’t about to allow another improbable comeback.  Bad Hombres shut out their opponent in the top of the 5th and would give their opponent a dose of their own medicine.  Jake Romba came through with a clutch, 2-out triple to score the second run in bottom of the 5th to satisfy the mercy rule, earning his team the game 2 victory by a score of 23-11.

            Deservedly so, this one was heading to a deciding game 3.  This time, it was Young Bucs who stormed out to an early lead over Bad Hombres.  They’d hop into the driver’s seat, taking a 9-5 lead into the 4th on the back of their own power surge.  Young Bucs would crush 5 homeruns in the first 3 innings, including 4 of their 6 allowed over the fence homers.  Their big inning came in the 3rd, plating 6 runs all via the long ball.  Jason Gareffa led the inning off with a solo blast.  Lou Mazella and Mike Slade contributed with their 2-run homer runs, and the inning was capped off with a final solo shot off the bat of Mike Forsthoff.  They’d be unable to extend their lead in the top of the 5th, which allowed Bad Hombres to cut another run into the lead.  It seemed like Young Bucs had found their answers to the Bad Hombres offense, but boy did that change quickly.  After their lowest output through 4 innings all day, Bad Hombres broke out in a BIG way.  They’d bat around and then some, plating a whopping 12 runs in the bottom of the 5th.  From the outside looking in, it sounds like Bucs may have shot themselves in the foot there, but that wasn’t the case.  Not a single error was committed.  Bad Hombres simply put the ball where their opponent wasn’t, including twice over the fence and two additional homeruns.  They strung together 8 straight hits before their second out.  Jordan Crowley started the streak and the scoring with his 2-run blast.  5 batters later, Charlie Vargas launched yet another homer, this time a 3-run shot, and the scoring was capped off by a 2-out 2-run homerun off the bat of Ross Luppino.  After such a demoralizing inning late in the game, it would have been easy for Young Bucs to quit.  To their credit, they did not.  They scored 2 in the 6th, while holding their opponent scoreless in the bottom of the frame, to give themselves a chance in the 7th.  They’d put the pressure back on and score 4 more runs in the 7th, but that would be all.  We didn’t get a repeat of that game 1 magic.  Bad Hombres shut the door on their opponent, taking the championship with a game 3 victory by a score of 18-15.

            Both teams fought hard, to say the least, and put on a great show for a thrilling championship series for the fans.  Both teams deserved to come out on top, but, unfortunately, there could only be one winner.  Congratulations to Young Bucs on a great season and an excellent showing in the championship round, and congratulations to our Kirby Puckett Division Champions, Bad Hombres!  We look forward to more of these matchups in the seasons to come.

Stay tuned for the Awards Party announcement, a day of celebration in January to commemorate our division champions and individual award recipients, the league MVP, Outstanding Achiever and Manager of the Year!


Congratulations to the 2017 Fall Kirby Puckett Division Champs Bad Hombres!!!

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