All-around attack, 69 inspiration, and Ramage dominance fuel 15-5 win
SOUTHGATE, ON — The SweatSox offense exploded for the second straight game, delivering a 15–5 mercy-rule win over the Siempre Tequila Barons in just five innings Wednesday night at Southgate. It was the second consecutive shortened victory for the surging ‘Sox, who climbed above .500 with the win to improve to 5–4.
It was a true team effort from the SweatSox, who scored in every inning, capped by an 8-run fifth that left no doubt. All 11 players who stepped onto the field scored at least one run — except for starting pitcher Josh Ramage, who once again proved he’s still not quite fast enough to score from anywhere but third.
Ramage, making his fifth start of the season, was solid again, giving up five-hits, zero earned runs, with a walk, a strikeout, and a pickoff to boot. He improved to 2-3 on the year. Eric White mopped things up in the 5th with an inning of defenseless relief, striking out 2.
“I did my part,” Josh said after his four innings on the mound. “But let the record show: I only got seven runs of support. Eric shows up for one inning and suddenly we’re scoring eight? Seems rigged.”
The TSN Turning Point came midway through the game when Barons Manager Josh Primeau made a pivotal announcement: “#69 Nathan Aborameh is entering the game.”
“We didn’t know what the score was at that moment, or even who he was subbing in for,” said first baseman Larry Pawelek, “but when we heard sixty-nine, everything changed. We were inspired. We were united. We were unstoppable.”
Primeau took the unusual move in stride: “I’ve got nothing but respect for the SweatSox,” he said postgame. “Their vibe made me realize I needed a 69 jersey on the roster. We just need to make sure we’re channeling that 69 energy inward next time, and not letting it power up the other guys.”
At the plate, the SweatSox were fueled by multi-hit performances from Craig Cornell, Phil Leduc, Andrew Hierlihy, and a surprisingly nimble Josh Ramage. One of Cornell’s hits, a ground-rule double, halted Ramage at third — a detail Josh continues to insist cost him a run.
“I was definitely scoring on that,” insisted Ramage. “Ask Kent…”
We almost lost outfielder Kent Johnston between innings, literally, when he vaulted the center field fence and darted off in pursuit of what his bird app described as a rare Velvet-Throated Beakwhistler. “I did happen to find Craig’s ball while I was out there, but not the bird, so I came back.”
“Oh, and Josh was never scoring on that one”. Johnston reported.
Also earning offensive mentions were Trevor Williams, who dropped a perfect bunt for a hit — described by teammates as “the most perfect bunt in SweatSox history” — and Jaspreet Sanghra and I (Shaun Keay), who were both hit by pitches for different but clearly obvious reasons.
On the defensive side, third baseman Mark Bond delivered the play of the night in the third inning, racing into foul territory to snare a real tough popup with Barons runners threatening. But after shifting to shortstop for the fifth, Bond’s game took a… Roger Dorn-esque turn.
“I made 4 errors in that inning on purpose to test Eric’s mental strength,” Mark clarified postgame. “But I swear to you: I was going to make the fifth play. And if not that one, 100% the sixth. No question.”
Despite this historic meltdown, SweatSox Manager Cory Bond stuck with his brother.
“I definitely felt the pressure to pull (or cut) him — the players were looking at me, the fans were shifting uncomfortably — but I had a hunch he was going to come through,” said Cory. “And he did. Big two-run single minutes later, and then scoring the mercy-clinching run. Sometimes you’ve just gotta believe in your guy… even when your guy is Mark.”
Elsewhere, Phil Leduc was quietly solid in right field, flawlessly handling all three balls hit his way. “Didn’t leave a single doubt,” noted Craig Cornell on the bench.
The Barons had their moments too. Jason Hogan set the tone early with a sliding catch that robbed Eric White of a leadoff hit. Kyle Pelkey led the O with a scorching double to deep left-center. Starting pitcher Griffen Courtice pulled off a perfectly legal pickoff to third, leaving the SweatSox bench, baserunners, and coaching staff so baffled that all we could do was yell “balk” and hope the umpires bailed us out — they didn’t. Meanwhile, Nathan Rutter showed impressive hustle at third base, chasing down a foul ball purely to boost his step count.
Special mention goes to Bini Kanungo, a certified Good Guy™ Hall-of-Famer who paid his respects to the SweatSox media czar (I, Shaun Keay) for his Opening Day blog shoutout. No need to thank me again next game for this one, but I know you will.
Noticeably absent from the action Wednesday night was Barons stalwart James Cloutier, sidelined by what he described as a “mild case of the Ramage-flu.” Said Cloutier from home: “If White was starting, I’d have gutted it out and raked. But Ramage? Nah. I wasn’t feeling that.”
Home plate umpire Neal Phadnis earned kudos for his mental stamina and subtle showmanship, somehow surviving a full game behind the plate with both Ramage and White on the mound. He also managed to preserve one of our three game balls, tucked away untouched.
“You’re welcome,” Phadnis said, handing the pearl to a grateful SweatSox team. “Save it for a rainy day, literally.”
UP NEXT: The SweatSox return to action this “Sunday Sunday Sunday” — Father’s Day — at Trillium against the Rockets, where we’ll most certainly face the man who’s made us call him “Daddy” since the mid-90s: Mike Bayley. Ugh.
Final SweatSox vs Barons Notes/Thoughts:
- If I’m sitting, I show up early. If I’m playing, I show up late.
- Kent finally dropped an accurate weather forecast: “Possibly playing through a bit of rain…”
- If Teddy wants more runs, Teddy gets more runs.
- What does the right fielder do in a pickle? Nobody knows.
- Larry was so distracted at 1st base, he could only play half a game.
- Anyone would make a bunch of errors with shoes that bright.
- The Barons had it 14-4, we had it 15-5, lets split the difference and call it 14.5-4.5.
- Trevor doesn’t need a beer, but he’d like a beer.
- It’s okay to come back from a diaper change with a different outfit on the baby, just don’t come back with a different baby.
- The Ravens are aggressive parkers.
- Andrew would like a new jersey: “00 is not a real number”.
- Eric keeps TP in the car just in case he has an accident.
- Mark is not allowed to play SS in the 5th inning any more, or in innings 1 through 4, or innings 6 through 68. Anything else is okay.
- What’s up with Chuck’s new shoestring pheasant ribs?
- As soon as Geoffrey broke out Lucille, it was over.
- We may be getting new jerseys, long-sleeved golf shirts, and hoodies, and hoodies, and hoodies.
