Week Two: Crush hold off Has-Beens, pick up first win

GAME TWO:

……..VS………….

The Orange Crush etched out a  9-to-4 victory over the Royal Has-Beens on Saturday, September 19, gaining a very important first-win for the improving squad.

WIth three new faces joining the group in just the second weekend of action, the personality of the Crush team had yet to fully emerge on the field.

A closely contested match-up against the Has-Beens, however,  shed some light on how this loose yet goal-oriented Orange squad conducts business between the foul-lines.

GAME RECAP:

The Royalty struck first in the morning affair, plating a first-inning run after a few early Crush miscues.

The Crush responded in the top of the second, as a lead-off walk to Mark Guthrie ended up costing the Has-Beens the lead after a few passed balls.

The Orange plated three more runs to take the lead in the third-inning. TJ Morgan propelled the rally with a one-out single that moved Brian Strom to third. Strom reached base on a rare base-on-balls and scored the go-ahead run on a passed-ball.

Crush debuting catcher, Harry Yeakel, continued the attack by lining a shot to left-center, scoring Morgan. Last week’s Offensive Player of the Game, Tim Rastetter, followed with a bouncer to third which plated Yeakel for the third Crush run of the inning.

Scott Kramer, the second debuting catcher for the Crush on the day, regained the Crush momentum in the fourth-inning. Kramer stood in for the HBP to lead off the fourth before swiping second-base and scoring on a Strom single down the third-base line. A TJ Morgan walk moved Strom into scoring position before a pair of passed-balls brought home the second Crush run of the inning.

The Royalty responded with one run in the bottom half of the fourth and two more in the fifth but couldn’t quite string together hits off the strong pitching of Mark Guthrie and Dan Morgan.

The Crush tallied up three more runs over the last three innings. TJ Morgan manufactured one in the seventh with a single and two stolen bases before a Schuyler Sheaffer sac-fly brought him home.

A double and a stolen base from Rastetter plated one in the eighth. Smart base-running from Dan Morgan plated the final Crush run in the ninth.

GAME NOTES:

- TJ Morgan earns this week’s “Offensive Player of the Game” honors with an incredible 3-for-4 performance at the plate. He finished with four stolen bases, two runs scored, a walk and an RBI on the day.

- Pitcher’s Dan Morgan and Mark Guthrie earn this week’s “Co-Defensive Player of the Game” honors. The pair kept the Has-Beens rally at a minimum despite a few Crush errors on the day. All-said, the duo struck out 12 on the day.

- Strom finished 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored.

- Guthrie ended up 1-for-3 at the plate with a single, a walk and a run scored.

NEXT GAME: Double-Header

The Crush head to Pie Traynor field in North Park next Saturday, September 26, to take on the Red Tide in a double header at 9:30 am and 12:30 pm.

We have a few people missing once again so please notify Head Coach Brian Strom if you can’t make it this week.

Time to roll-over the Red Tide!