TRILLIBUM– The SweatSox surged back to a winning record Friday night with a decisive 10-3 victory over the Coyotes at Trillium, lifting them to 5-4 on the season. This game, originally handpicked by Commissioner Bill Beelen to kick off the 2024 NCBL season (Game #1 on the Master Schedule), was delayed due to field issues, but the SweatSox made up for lost time with an electric performance.
The game’s momentum swung in the second inning when the SweatSox turned a brilliant 6-4-3 double play. The smooth fieldwork ignited the team’s energy, setting the tone for a defensive and offensive masterclass that saw contributions across the lineup.
Cory Bond, dubbed the “Greatest Lefty Ever” in the SweatSox ranks, took the mound as the emergency starter and dominated with four no-hit innings. GLE allowed just three walks and one earned run, flirting with perfection in the third inning when he nearly achieved the SweatSox’ first ever immaculate inning, striking out three Coyotes on just 11 pitches.
Eric White came in for the final three innings, securing the save and helping lock down the win. Despite losing the combined no-hitter with a seventh-inning single from Coyotes hitter Tristan Haman, White’s strong relief kept the Coyotes’ offense in check.
It was a total team effort at the plate for the SweatSox, who racked up 10 runs in a dominant display. The (extended) top of the order—Jaspreet Sanghra, Nick Henderson, and Eric White—combined for an impressive eight runs, while the heart of the order delivered six RBIs, thanks to clutch hitting by Trevor Williams, Steve Brown, Mike Pignat, and Larry Pawelek. Andrew Hierlihy, Phil Leduc, and Craig Cornell were also present and rounded out our batting lineup.
Larry Pawelek made his biggest mark on the game with stellar defense, setting a franchise record by assisting on two 3-1 putouts—earning him the honor of Defensive Player of the Game for making what is often considered one of the toughest outs in (SweatSox) baseball, look easy.
Cory Bond, stepping in on short notice to give White an extra hour of rest, was named the Sweatiest Player of the Game. Bond overcame a lingering inner-ear crystal issue to retire the last 11 Coyotes he faced, embodying grit and resilience on the mound.
The SweatSox will look to keep the momentum rolling as they take on the Bats on Monday, back at Trillium.
RANDOM HISTORICAL NOTE: On May 9, 2008, the SweatSox held a practice at McCarthy. This practice was 3 days after a preseason game where Cory Bond hit a monster HR off Diamondback Dave Steffler, and where a wayward foul ball smashed through my rear windshield. Most notably: It was at this McCarthy practice where Josh Ramage nearly collided with Mark Dorrington in the outfield during BP, allegedly.
Final SweatSox vs Coyotes Notes/Thoughts:
- What time is it?
- 5:36.
- But what time is it really?
- You dum sumbitch.
- Shota looks a lot like Wells.
- Mike’s OBP is 1.000 in games that we start but don’t finish.
- Josh’s AVG is .500 in games that we start but don’t finish.
- The Padres aren’t fans of the new Sportsplex tarps (yet?).
- How was it possible Mark’s umbrella had so much water in it?
- Where the hell did Jas go?
- Mark does his calculations on paper, and then copies the totals into Excel.
- If you need any red, black, yellow, or blue lines, get in touch with Mattingly.
- Kent and Steve are the Fist Bumping Burp Brothers.
- Larry gave a pretty good demonstration of how a predator hunts his prey in the wild.
- Josh was an ass in 2016, and every subsequent year thereafter.
- One of Larry’s “empty” beer-can grenade-tosses finally backfired, and he gave himself a facial. He also spilled some of that beer on his face.
- Things Eric has eaten in 1 sitting: 50 wings, a 5 patty burger, a 69 ounce steak, and all the bacon and eggs that one restaurant had, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying, he wanted, and they brought, all the bacon they had.
- “When Bill hands you a beer, you have to drink it” -CB
- Eric really loves eating. This must be why Justine always seems so happy.
- Trevor doesn’t need to wear skates at hockey, he just runs on the ice.
- Josh didn’t get an I love you back from Steve.
- The best types of pens are the fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and the Pen 15.
- 2024 is the 30 year anniversary of the Pivot Table.
- What was going on in the cab? Drunken druggy sex apparently.
- I, Shaun Keay, recently tried potato salad.
- Josh recently tried eel sushi.
- Cory recently tried mozzarella sticks.
- Mike’s new cooler is already very broken.
- Cory’s pickoff still picks.
- Kent sat this one out with the 14-beers-the-day-before flu.
- A radio is always faster than some wackadoo bootleg hockey steam.
- Marc Lett was at least 1/2 against the Vamps.
- The unhealthy nuts go much quicker than the healthy nuts.
- Kent chose to abandon his baseball and golf friends (that were right there), to go visit his bar friends.