After watching Mars hang on to upset first place Nicoya 12-11 The Beat "still had play" in week 7 of the summer season. This is what loquacious Cool Dudes pitcher "Slick Vic" reminded the sweating Beat manager when the game was tied 2-2 in the 4th.

Wenner didn't have to be told. Coming in at 3-3 and 2 games behind in the division race, The Beat had been given new life by the team they had pummeled the previous week 18-8 when the long-slumbering bats came back to life. A win over The Other Guys, whom the Boyz in Gray had dispatched in 4 prior C-league matchups, would give the team hope heading into the final week. It would also be a chance to take a measure of revenge against a team that had come back to shock The Beat 12-10 in week 3 with the help of some "talent" that had been recruited before the game.

The offensive resurgence was shortlived, however, as the Beatniks went back to their old summer ways, killing rallies with 17 flyballs or pop-ups on Jackson #1 where the wind and heavy air rules. Another excellent pitching performance by Kevin Austin was wasted.

The Old Guard Pete, "Special K", "Gym", and O.B.

As Beat manager Peter Wenner said after the game, "It's a damn shame. When you give up less than an average 10 runs a game in softball as we have, you should be dominating the division, not struggling to stay at .500. But we haven't been able to hit in the clutch this summer. Me included."

Indeed, the top of the order was shut down by the Other Guys burly pitcher Katz in the 7th after a lightning-strike OGs' comeback had tied the score at 4-all. The OGs proceeded to win the game 5-4 in sudden death fashion. This after The Beat had gone ahead 4-2 in the top of the 6th as the bats started to stir. With Austin's dancing knuckler keeping the OG bats flailing into the turgid air, it had looked like an invigorating Beat win in the making.

Instead, "It was another heartbreaker," said a downtrodden Austin in what might be the understatement of the year.

Typical of the summer season for the boyz in gray, it was an exciting, efficiently-played game by both teams. Austin and Katz matched wits in an unsoftball-like pitchers' duel. But the storyline was that the Beatniks missed at least 10 opportunities on offense and defense to take control of the game against a pitcher it had battered for 34 runs in the Spring.

In the visitors' half of the 1st, the Beat tried to strike quickly with 2 outs when after a single by "The Cottonmouth King" Mark St. Georges, Donnell "Big Daddy" Moody launched a thunderous blast into right center field. The fly, which seemed routine at first, picked up momentum and height as it headed toward the fence, dead into one of the trees above the chain-link fence. Moody, who had landed on 3rd after MSG had crossed home plate, was sent back to 2nd and St. Georges was returned to 3rd. In the first of what would be a frustrating day of near misses, both runners were stranded as team hitting leader Dave Maxion flied to left center.

In the Other Guys' half of the 1st, Special K got the leadoff-hitting manager Sommers on a foul-ball strikeout. The 2nd baseman Rei then grounded a hard shot at the shortstop Max, who momentarily dropped the ball before gunning an accurate throw at shoulder-height that bounced off the top of Big Daddy's glove at 1st. In what would be a harbinger of what was to come on defense, Rei scored from 2nd on a long flyout by the rover Backus, who blasted an opposite-field shot that Mike "Pizza Man" Weiss ran down near the fence in deep right center. A strong throw by the 2nd base cutoff man, Brian "The Rifleman" Arcuri, almost got Rei at the plate as the ball got away from catcher Javier Urdiales when the runner slid into a huge cloud of dust at the plate.

After the Beat went down quietly in the top of the 2nd, Katz led off the OGs' half with a single up the middle. With 1 out, the aging outfielder McCord hit a high fly to right field that looked playable, but as the crowd passively turned its attention out to right, the usually ultra-reliable BJ Bateman was seen doubled over protecting his head as the sun blinded him. The runners cruised into 2nd and 3rd as the ball dropped in for a double. A sacrifice fly by Pair made it 2-0 after 2 innings.

The Beat struck back in the 3rd to make it 2-1 on a tainted run scored by Brian after the latest shortstop in the curiously revolving OG's infield threw the ball away on what looked like a routine grounder by Kev.

Austin settled into a groove for the next 3 innings as he kept the OG's hitters off-balance on 7 flies or pop-outs. Meanwhile the Beatniks chipped back to make it 2-2 after 4, but wasted a chance to get more as Wenner and Arcuri lined out hard to 2nd and 3rd respectively with the Pizza Man left standing at 3rd to end the inning.

All the Young Dudes... "G-Man", "Lucky Luki", "B.J.", "Pizza Man", "The Thrill"

In The Beat 6th, Gunnar "The Splendid Stump" Rosenquist and Pizza Man singled and Gunnar scored on an overthrow to 3rd. Greg "Luki" Lukoski plated Weiss with a sacrifice fly to right center. With 2 strikes Wenner grounded a chopper up the 1st base line that hit the bag and squirted into short right. Pete thought about going to 2nd but got out of the box slowly as he was off-balance during the swing. The decision was made to be conservative in a close game. Another "what if" had occurred as Greg ran for Pete and proceeded to get stranded at 3rd after an Arcuri single.

That set the stage for the Other Guys in the home half of the 6th. Austin got the 1st out by inducing the Santa Claus-like catcher Creary to fly to Gunnar in left. Sommer singled and came around to score to make it 4-3 when Backus, who had clouted 2 long fly balls earlier, finally struck oil when he tripled off the right field fence as BJ gave chase. Backus himself scored when Rohaly dunked a single in front of the sliding G-man in left to tie the score.

Fast forward to the bottom of the 7th after The Beat went down meekly in the top half. McCord singled with 1 out. Pair followed with a single to right center. As McCord steamed toward 3rd, Pizza came up throwing and almost nailed him on a strong peg to MSG that was just a split-second late. With runners at 1st and 3rd, the Beat drew the infield and outfield in. Instead of walking the 50-something Ibalio, who had singled earlier, Kevin decided to pitch him carefully hoping for a shallow pop-up. But the diminutive infielder tomahawked a high pitch over Luki's head for the winning run. The entire Beat team stared in disbelief before going en masse to shake the OGs' hands. It was a bitter loss that dropped The Beat to 3-4 and allowed Nicoya to clinch their 2nd C-7 title. Despite an intense battle, the Beat had its destiny in its hands but couldn't deliver.

The Beat sat and watched as old nemesis The Rhinos stunned The Fellaz, which had been tied with the Dudes going into this weekend, to hand the Cool Dudes yet another title in C-6. On the way out, several Beatniks walked over to the fieldhouse patio to congratulate Nicoya and the Dudes. Everyone was gracious with smiles all around. As the Beatniks trudged off, Jorving Munoz's barbeque grill was crackling and Slick Vic was talking smack as yet another summer season wound down.

Join us next Saturday for The Beat season finale against the Renegades and see who MSG decides to award this year's Brass Beat award. It'll be more than a game for pride, it could be the difference between 2nd place and last for The Beat in the 5-team division.

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