GAME 22 – “You Got Ginger’d”
Heading into the final stretch of the regular season, our playoff hopes weren’t looking very promising as we sat in last place. After careful study the current standings, as well as the remaining Tier 2 schedule, we figured out what needed to happen to clinch a spot in the postseason. It was pretty simple actually; we just had to:
-Beat the Mudd at the Sportsplex
-Beat the Expos at the Sportsplex
-Win #Protest2014 vs Winchester
-Beat Winchester in Winchester
-Win the continuation of #Protest2014 vs Winchester
-Get some help from the Expos, River Rats, and Braves
So ‘Step 1’ in #StayingAlive2014 was coming out on top vs the Metcalfe Mudd. Fortunately, that task was made a bit easier when Martin Trepanier, who we hadn’t seen since the Brewers tournament, returned from a trip south of the border and took the hill for the SweatSox.
The Wizard wasted little time making up for lost time, throwing a complete game, while striking out 14 batters and giving up just 2 runs. While that stat line was impressive, the question was did the SweatSox score more than 2 runs to secure the win? Incredibly, we did, barely.
The SweatSox took a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning off a Kent Johnston 2RBI single. A 3rd run was added in the 6th off a John Groves RBI single, and we were up 3-0 heading into the 7th. Perhaps it was the weight of carrying our pitching rotation all season, but the Wizard finally showed weakness in the final inning, giving up 3 of the 6 Mudd hits, as well as both their runs. But a SweatSox loss just wasn’t meant to be; with the tying run at 3rd, and the go-ahead run at 2nd, Trep recorded his 14th strikeout to end the game.
For his complete game 14K performance, the winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award was Martin Trepanier. This was the 4th A&W of Trep’s career, tying Bill Freeman, Chris Chapman, and Stefan Lavictoire on the all-time list. This was also the first time this season the A&W was physically handed out, thanks to its recent discovery somewhere inside the Marc Lett household. Honourable mention goes to Mark Dorrington, who can finally say he witnessed a win this year.
I don’t remember much from the Après Baseball Hyjinx, but that’s probably because I drank so much to try and forget the fact that Cory Bond sat me for the whole game yet again. What ever happened to equal pay for equal play
It’s probably safe to say that after the parking lot portion of the Hyjinx, we made our way to Summerhays where we undoubtedly learned something new about one of our teammates.
GAME 23 – “Who Doesn’t Love Blowjobs?”
After 9 full days of rest since the Mudd game, it was time to work on ‘Step 2’ of #StayingAlive2014: try and avoid the season sweep vs the Expos. Thanks to the extended layoff, Martin Trepanier was available to throw this game as well, and once again he didn’t disappoint.
The Wizard had a perfect game going through 4 innings, but a leadoff single in the 5th inning put a stop to history. SweatSox defense then stepped up and recorded a double play, which was followed by 4 more straight outs, meaning through 6 innings Trepanier retired all 18 batters he faced.
With the SweatSox up 7-0 heading into the 7th, the Expos made it interesting by loading the bases, but 7 runs was a lead not even the 2014 SweatSox could blow.
For the 2nd straight game, the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP award goes to: Martin Trepanier. The Wizard gave up just 1 hit, 1 walk, and 1 HBP in the complete game shutout, and also contributed offensively with 2 hits, a double, an RBI, and a stolen base. Curiously though, after being handed the A&W, Trepanier gave it right back to Cory. Was it a metaphorical rejection of the big SweatSox awards (like the Dorion) for only making it to 10 games this year and that GLE was a more deserving recipient, or was it simply because he knew he wouldn’t be at any more games this season?
The Après Baseball Hyjinx featured one of the most heated debates in recent memory: why someone wouldn’t enjoy fellatio, even if the giver were wearing a French Weather Channel-style outfit. OMS was so outraged by the thought of anyone defending this point, he just stood there frozen:
Mark Dorrington’s nightmare continued when he finally sat down and reached for a beer in the cooler. What he assumed was one of the Mooseheads, turned out to be a ginger ale, which he didn’t realize until he took a sip:
Eventually, to nobody’s surprise, we ended up at Summerhays for some of their famous $0.43 wings. What was a surprise was my bill at the end of the night, which had whole bunch of extra beer on it that I didn’t order. I later learned that while I was in the bathroom, our “guest” who may or may not be allowed to fraternize with NCBL players, had a few extra drinks thrown my way. Lucky for me, I’m rich so it hardly made a dent in my thick wallet, so no hard feeling, I won’t post the pictures of you making out with that chick.
GAME 24 – “Toilet Paper Napkins”
After nearly 3 weeks without a #Protest2014 decision, we went to bed the night before our final regular season game, ironically vs Winchester, still clueless about what was happening behind the scenes. Assuming the league would wait until the result of that game was known before ruling, we were pleasantly surprised to learn early on gameday that the protest was upheld, which meant our playoff hopes were still alive.
Next up on the #StayingAlive2014: beat Winchester in Winchester, unfortunately Winchester had their own plan: beat Mr. Winchester in Winchester…
The winner of the 2004 A&W Kamloops International Baseball Game MVP Award is: John Groves. OMG pitched a one-two-three scoreless 4th inning, which was more than enough on that night to capture his 19th career A&W, passing Denver Hunt on the all-time list. Honourable mentions go to Eric White, who recovered from a plethora of injuries at exactly the right time to play in this must win game, and to Cory Bond, who apparently still hasn’t gotten the point across to the rest of the team that if a game is cancelled he’ll let us all know right away.
The Après Baseball Hyjinx got off to a “quick” start, literally…
The Après Baseball Hyjinx ended with a stack of Royal Oak napkins getting a very different type of substance on them than they were originally manufactured for.
Stay tuned for our next post “coming soon”, which will break down #Protest2014 from the very beginning to the very end.
#WONTHEHYJINX