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“If you believe you’re playing well because you’re getting laid, or because you’re not getting laid, or because you wear women’s underwear, then you are! And you should know that!”
– Crash Davis, Bull Durham

Rituals are a part of baseball/softball and since we have an undefeated season going on we must not mess with our rituals. I mean, last game, Scott, Wimer, and myself totally screwed up our ritual and we only won by one run, with a comeback win in the bottom of the 7^th inning.

So let me explain our ritual for a game that starts at 9. I have to go over to Wimer’s & Scott’s at about 7:30 – 7:45. Upon arriving I throw my gear in the back of Scott’s truck and proceed to March Westin Pre-Game headquarters. I say my “Hey what’s up?” and make my way to the deck. I go get myself a glass of water with a lot of ice (this will come into play later).

We go sit out on the deck and eat sunflower seeds and peanuts (doesn’t matter what brand, or does it??), discarding the remains in the yard. Sunflower seeds must be spit into the yard. Now, if you are eating peanuts, you must flip the shell out into the yard to see who has the longest distance (by the way Scott holds that record for flipping the longest peanut shell, ironically its about the same distance Coach Tom hits a softball).

This goes on just about until approximately 45 min until game time and at that point Wimer must be the last person to get ready (this isn’t so much a requirement as it is a fact of life). Upon his return, we take the glass of water and each of us takes an ice cube. We then toss the ice cubes at a tree in there yard to see who tosses the ice closest to it. This helps to get the competitive juices flowing. Lastly, as we go to the game Wimer must sit in the front seat while I am in the back seat. Yes, it may seem like a lot of work but when you are 7-0 you gotta do what you gotta do.

It’s not that strange when you think about it. Of course you have heard of the obvious rituals, don’t wash your socks/jersey, don’t touch the chalk when you run on the field, or eating the same pre-game meal.

I mean look at Turk Wendell formerly of the New York Mets, clearly one of the most superstitious out there. He used to have his contract end in all 9’s, and he also wore number 99. Turk also brushes his teeth and chewed licorice between every inning.

Wade Boggs would only eat chicken before a game. One time Ken Griffey Jr. sold a Mercedes that he drove to games in because he would never get a hit whenever he drove it.

So what do we have to learn from all this, other than don’t buy a Mercedes if you are a baseball/softball player?

Well, to quote Mr. Crash Davis from Bull Durham again “You don’t f— with a winning streak.”

If you were among the many fans that made it out to Thursday night’s game, you picked a good one. By far the closest game of the season for MW, who was forced into a 7th inning comeback to regain the lead and take home another W.

After a 5 run first inning MW failed to continue their run production, producing an average of only 1 run per inning while Summers slowly chipped away at the early MW lead. By the end of the 5th inning Summers had tied the game.

A shell-shocked March-Westin team was forced to recompose as they entered the late innings of the game without their usual comfortable lead.

But as you would expect from a veteran squad, MW refused to go without a fight. Entering the bottom of the 7th with a 3 run deficit and the top of the order stepping to the plate March-Westin reminded everyone that their undefeated record is no fluke.

Jackson, Tom, and then Johnny all reach base on singles, scoring Jackson. However, Tom got overly greedy and ended up getting picked off at second base, but it would take more than that to stop the now rejuvenated offense.

Nick, who is rumored to be under investigation for performance enhancing substances, singles to left field putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Dave then doubles, scoring Johnny and moving Nick to 3rd.

Jonathan would then get his own double, scoring Dave and Nick and giving March-Westin their 7th win of the season.

Jody reaggravated a hamstring injury during the game, he is listed as day to day, but then again, aren’t we all?

The scorebook from Thursday’s game can be viewed here.

Chasing Bonds Update: Nick-3, Jackson-1, Tom-1, Amie-1

March-Westin is on a 14 game winning streak from last season.

MW has an off week this week, but will return to action on Monday, June 5th as they face Mylan Express. Game time is scheduled for 7pm.

hard-core - adj. Intensely loyal; die-hard

March-Westin left little doubt that they are the team to beat this season after the much anticipated matchup with Morgantown Honda which ended via mercy rule in the 5th inning.

Honda was last years single-A champions and was forced to move up to division double-A (AA). “They man-handled us last year” said Tom, a well known expert on man-handling. It was also overheard, but not confirmed by mwball.com, that it was Morgantown Honda’s first mercy rule (10 run rule) loss.

Dave, Scott and Jackson all went 3 for 3, one of which Jackson stretched a relatively routine base hit into an in the park homer.

Although Scott had much success on the offensive side of things he was not his sure-handed self in the field as he let a fly-ball go over his head that you would normally expect a golden-glove candidate catch. “Not only did I get a bad jump on it, but I just simply misjudged it” said Scott of the error. Scott’s play has been under close watch since he replaced local favorite Nick in left field a couple weeks ago.

Randy struggled defensively as he was moved to 2nd base when Jonathan was unable to attend his second straight game. Wimer returned to the lineup in right field after missing Sunday’s double-header due to a scheduling conflict.

Number two hitter Tom had zero bases on balls, a sure demonstration of the poor research done by Honda. And by comparison James had another impressive performance on the mound, severely limiting the number of base runners compared to the same matchup last season.

March-Westin walked away with an upset victory over Morgantown Honda by a final score of 13-3.

Chasing Ruth Update: Nick-3, Jackson-1, Tom-1

The lovely Allison filled in for Amie, our regular scorekeeper, as always the scorebook can be viewed by clicking here.

March-Westin continued their productivity in their second game of the Sunday double-header as they faced Colasante’s restaurant. MW had a very strong first inning as they couldn’t help but get the runs from what Colasante’s was serving up.

Jonathan was unable to continue play for the second game of the afternoon so Jody stepped in at the second base position and delivered a solid performance. Jody is another one of the newcomers to the March-Westin team which is now a variable cornucopia of talented players.

Jody has returned to the lineup after a preseason ankle injury that forced him to miss 3 weeks of play.

MW actually played their first full game of the season as Colasantes refused to go down without a fight, not only avoiding a mercy rule defeat but closing the gap to two runs in the final inning. But when the dust had finally settled MW had once again walked off the field with wining-streak in tact.

MW looks to continue it’s best start in franchise history as they face Morgantown Honda Monday night. Motown Honda was last years Single-A champion and also moved up to division AA play. Gametime is at 6pm.

Chasing Ruth Update: Nick added two blasts uping his total to 3, all others remained at their respective positions.

The scorebook for sundays second game can be found here.

March-Westin came away with another victory Sunday afternoon after a sluggish start. Due to a series of rainouts which has plagued the Boparc league MW had not been on the field for nearly two weeks and there was no question it took its toll. “We looked rusty, but a couple rounds through the order and everyone started to look more comfortable” said Koon.

However once MW got the bats going everything started to click. The newcomer Randy had a very strong offensive performance as he went 4-4 with a triple and a home run. The other rookie Tyler also had a solid performance highlighted by his grand slam home run.

March-Westin only scored 5 runs in the first four innings, but then went on to score 13 in the 5th and 6th innings.

Carl joined the team to replace the Wimer who was unable to attend the game due to a prior obligation.

Scott again replaced Nick in left field. The team reports this is due to Nicks nagging injury and the poor field conditions, but there are rumors that Nick might have just lost his position as Scott has failed to error thus far while in the traditionally active position.

Jonathan suffered a pair of elbow injuries as he was hit by a throw as he was heading to home and then again as he was rounding second base.

Once Westin got rolling in their first game they not only were scoring at will (as previously mentioned) but they were able to shore up their defense as well, allowing zero runs in the final three innings of play.

March-Westin defeated Finish Line Motors with a final score of 18-6.

The scorebook for Sunday’s first game can be found here.

After struggling to try to create some idea for a column, I looked around trying to get ideas but nothing came to me. I asked friends for idea’s, I tried to think of everything softball related but nothing. Like Tom’s next homerun, my next column might be a long ways away. A long ways away? Long shots? How about I do a column on what I think are the odds of March Westin employee’s hitting homeruns? Who has the best odds of entering the “Chasing Ruth” sweepstakes? I mean seriously, if Tom can do it anyone can right?

So let’s start by saying who we know can hit it over. I’ve seen Jackson, Johnny (in practice), Jonathan (snowball tournament), and Tom (??No idea how??), and myself hit one over the fence. I’ve seen Randy hit one over the fence, only foul. Does that count? Well, I’ll give him credit since it was foul by just a few feet and I want those who haven’t stepped up to the bar to order their favorite drink… JACK, to sweat it out.

That leaves Dave, Wimer, James, Scott, and Tyler left to go deep. Excuse me while I snicker at the weaker athletes. Do these guys not know that “chicks dig the long ball”?

My question is this: Who would be the next person to go deep? So below is my list, and just like a NCAA bracket, I have some underdogs. Here they are in order of most likely to hit a homerun next: James, Wimer, Dave, Tyler, and Scott.

Yes, James folks. It’s true that he is more likely to foul out than hit a homerun but I’ve seen some that he has hit that I thought was going to go over the fence. The logical choice would be Dave or Wimer seeing as how I know they can rip the ball but this isn’t about logical. This is about picking the winner.

Maybe we could start a money pool. Chip in ten bucks for the guy you think will hit it over first and if they do you win the money. I know we have some gamblers on the team who would love this idea. I got ten bucks on James.

Am I going to be wrong? Let’s just say that I’m sure this article might inspire a few to dig a little deeper, totally blowing my predictions. I clearly don’t condone swinging for the fences; March-Westin’s winning ways are not based on the long ball. It’s based on pure, unadulterated, fundamentally solid, “will the bleeding ever stop”, beat downs. So let’s focus on winning first, let’s get that 15-20 run lead and then go yard. Winning comes first.

P.S. Swing for the fences James, I got money riding on this…

Tonight’s game against Prime Thyme has been postponed due to inclement weather and poor field conditions.

The rescheduled date has not yet been determined.

Stay tuned to MWBall.com for more details.

March-Westin continued to dominate and prove that they are the team to beat this season as they disposed of Panrell Construction 22-7.

MW once again showcased virtually unstoppable hitting. Nick had three doubles in spite of his nagging injury. Jackson with his lighting speed turned in two in the park home runs. Even Coach Tom managed to knock one out of the park (see also: Shot Heard Round the World). In fact the number 2, 3 and 4 batters went a combined 11 for 11.

Even with the thin brisk air MW was able to hold down the number of extra base hits through their disciplined fielding. March-Westin is averaging 24 runs per game while limiting their opponents to an average of 7. Overall MW is outscoring their opponents 73-23 with an average margin of victory of 17 runs.

The scorebook for last night’s game can be viewed here.

Chasing Ruth Update:
Jackson, Nick and the newest addition to the race, Tom all have one out of the park homerun so far this season.

March-Westin will face Prime Thyme next Monday (5/15) at 6pm.

There are some things I have learned throughout my softball career. Things like: Its REALLY never over until the last out, Jackson will show up 2 minutes before the game starts, and at some point during the season I WILL get hurt.

However, on Monday May 8^th, the unthinkable happened. If anyone said they expected it or saw it coming, I can show you a liar. Tom, the same guy who had a swinging bunt in the first game, hit one over the fence. Yes, I will repeat: Tom, the same guy who hit the ball a total of 3 feet in our first game, hit one over the outfield wall.

Give that a moment to soak in.

Maybe it was the cold night; the ball was flying a little better. Perhaps the Mexican food he ate before the game. Who knows? All I know is that Tom has entered his name into the “Chasing Ruth” sweepstakes.

Yes, this was a great accomplishment but one has to question the way the homerun came about. No, this part of the story isn’t going to contain a reference to steroids, have you seen Tom? Clearly not a steroid related homerun.

As the game began, Tom was overheard telling Jackson not to waste the homerun/double being the leadoff hitter. So Jackson, being the TEAM player, not concerned about individual stats keeps the ball in the park. Tom comes up to bat next and you guessed it March-Westin fans, Tom goes yard.

What happened to saving the homerun/double? Was this a plan just to enter his name into “The Chase”? Was Tom being statistically selfish or just a fluke display of “power”?

I know what I choose.

So here’s the “Chasing Ruth” update:

Jackson – 1
Nick – 1
Tom (yes, Tom) – 1

There are some things in softball I have yet to learn, let alone understand…