KINSMEN PARK — The SweatSox climbed 2 games above .500 with a statement 6-1 victory over the Bats on Sunday afternoon, sweeping the regular season series 2-0 against their longtime rivals in a showdown of evenly matched 7-6 teams.
Once again, it was the masterful right arm of Eric White that carried the day. White tied his own franchise record by striking out 18 batters — matching the feat he accomplished last season, also against the Bats — and was directly involved in 20 of the 21 total outs. Depending on who was holding the pencil, White allowed somewhere between two and five hits, but there was no disputing his dominance over seven full innings to improve to 5-2 on the season.
The turning point came in the bottom of the third. With the SweatSox nursing a 3-1 lead, Steve Brown casually arrived from a day at the ice rink, slipped on a ball cap, and took over the game. Coming off the bench, Brown went a perfect 2-for-2, roping a double, scoring twice, and driving in a key insurance run late. He also secured Defensive Player of the Game honours by making the only non-Eric out of the contest — a routine fly ball in right field that ended the sixth.
“Where would these guys be without me? Probably somewhere under .500,” Brown quipped post-game.
Catcher Phil Leduc, who also caught White’s 18-strikeout masterpiece last season, knew exactly what to expect.
“When Eric’s throwing the pitches I call, good things happen. When he doesn’t, well… we’ll leave that for another day,” Leduc laughed.
Not everyone was thoroughly impressed. Eric’s son Teddy offered a typically dry assessment: “18 strikeouts is good, I guess. But 20 would’ve been way gooder.” Forgive him, he’s still working on his adjectives.
Offensively, Jaspreet Sanghra was the table-setter, reaching base three times (a hit and two walks) and leading the way with two RBI. Larry Pawelek and Cory Bond each collected a pair of hits, while Leduc also reached twice via walks.
The sixth inning rally that put the game on ice began with Josh Ramage lining a one-out double, finally breaking through after a forgettable day up to that point.
“Before that, I’d done absolutely nothing — no hits, no plays in right, no plays at third, threw a garbage bullpen in the second,” Ramage admitted. “But hey, I did have a solid tribal yell in the dugout, and that double felt pretty damn good.”
On the other side, the Bats had a few bright spots. Reigning Pitcher (and Rookie) of the Year Maxwell Rose came on in relief and struck out nine in 10 outs of work, while only Gio Fata and Rose himself managed to avoid falling victim to a White strikeout. Manager Cameron MacDonald, last year’s Sportsman of the Year, was as relentlessly positive as ever despite the loss, keeping his squad upbeat through the final out.
With the win, the SweatSox move to 8-6 and will next face the Aylmer Bulldogs on Friday night under the lights at the Sportsplex. They’ll be without me (Shaun Keay), who was hit square in the back by a pitch on Sunday and is expected to miss 4-6 with a spinal injury.
Finally, the NCBL will also be without umpire Phil Fitzgerald for the next 4-6, as he recovers from Tommy John surgery after ringing up an astounding 30 total strikeouts in this game. “Hey, it’s the price you pay to be part of history,” the former Blind Wolves dummer said with a grin. “My arm may be toast from all the punchings out, but I’ll be bragging about this one for a long time.”
Final SweatSox vs Bats Notes/Thoughts:
- If Josh doesn’t want to read so much about the other team, maybe don’t let the other team do so many noteworthy things!!
- Nobody appreciates a good upper decker more than Cory.
- It takes Jas 5 seconds to pull out.
- Larry’s starting pitching routine starts at 5am, the week before.
- Andrew parties.
- There was an AI generated goat fucker pic posted today, but was it really AI? Regrettably, no.
- Larry skipped the RedBlacks game to play baseball; Kent wouldn’t even skip his regular bedtime to make it.
- When trying to put out the bases, Cory was heard screaming “Where are the holes? I need holes people!!”
- Single flap helmets are illegal, and so are double flap helmets with a missing flap.
- What were the odds Browner would end up wearing #14 before Andrew did.
- Nolan chipped in with a beauty sombrero, fittingly from the #2 hole.
- Whoever is wearing 00 next time we play the Bats is definitely getting one in the back.
- The key to getting a hit off Max Rose is going opposite tortilla.
- When you borrow a helmet, you can’t give it back after you get HBP, you still need it on the bases.
- Trev after a late night is a tarps off guy, Kinsmen after a late game is a tarps on situation.
- If Lil Phil drank beer, he’d drink the whole thing. And if he smoked, he’d definitely not waste half of that either.
- We’re way behind pace on the 2025 Dubble Bubble bucket.
- Larry’s strategy of bringing beer on day when only 3 people drink the team beer is a good strategy.
- Where were the peanuts?
- The SweatSox circle is a “Golden Shower-free” zone. This isn’t a Diddy or R-Kelly party.
- Shoutout to the next “Assistant to the District Supervisor” Ross Hughes!
- Driving in no traffic is way better than driving in traffic.
- The SweatSox will not be hosting “ex-partner night” at the ballpark anytime soon. Too expensive.
#WONTHEHYJINX