by Pete

The Beat Survives Scare From HGA Beatniks blow 11-1 lead, rally to overtake Grimies in sudden death, 14-13

Win sets up showdown with Hammertime on May 15

Fortunately for The Beat, the tale of two games had a happy ending. The first part was indeed a party as The Beat jumped all over what's left of the Huge Grimy Assholes for an 11-1 lead at the end of 3 innings. At the time it looked like a laugher. Derisive remarks could be heard all around from The Beat bench as the HGA defense fell all over itself early.

The game started off on an upbeat note after a sharp practice on Wednesday. After all, this was HGA. This was an excellent chance to get back in the win column after a disheartening loss to Nicoya the prior week. In view of the Beatniks' 18-4 thumping of the Grimies on opening day back in March, there seemed no way they could lose to them. Karma was rising. It was the day of John Palmer's return to the team after a 3-year hiatus.

Indeed JP came back with a bang with a 2 for 3 day that featured a double and some typically adventurous Palmer baserunning. Chris Young, in place of "Cottonmouth King" MSG in the 3-spot in the lineup, singled in 2 runs to get it started in the bottom of the 1st. Jim Colletto topped off the 1st inning hit parade with a Will Clark-like opposite-field home run to left to make it 6-1. The rout was seemingly on. In the home half of the 3rd, the team coasted out to a comfortable 11-1 lead. Highlights in that inning included Greg Lukoski's exciting around-the-bases jaunt on a deep-fly that popped out of the left-fielder's glove, Mike "Pizza Man" Weiss' RBI double, and Brian Arcuri's RBI single.

The defense and pitching was solid early. Despite 3 walks, Kevin got out of the first with only 1 run scored on him with a K and 2 flyouts. The K-man notched his 2nd strikeout, a backwards job to end the second, and shortstop Brian made the Anchor Steam "Play of the Day" to end the 3rd ranging towards the middle to cut off a grounder by the leadoff hitter Seybold, pirouetting Vizquel-style, and gunning it to Jimbo at 1st.

That was the first part of the tale.

The second part seemed to take The Beat by surprise. Shaky defense led to 4 runs (3 unearned) in the top of the 4th. Mike "Don't Call Me Joey" Buttafuso saved the game, at the time, from spiraling out of control by starting an inning-ending double play with a catch of a line-drive screamer from 12-hitter Mullins followed by a rifle throw to Donnell at third. This was especially sweet for D. Exactly four batters earlier, Richardson had hit a high-hop grounder that rang Big Daddy's bell(s). The sight of the fearsome "Enforcer" doubled over in agony had disturbing overtones for a Beat squad that didn't yet know that things were turning ominous.

In the bottom of the 4th, The Beat was robbed of a run when, with runners on 2nd and 3rd, the umpire ruled that the HGA 1st baseman Rusty had pulled his foot off the bag on what had appeared to be the final out of the inning on Big Jim's grounder. In a bizarre sequence in which the two teams started to run off the field, the blues called both squads back onto the field and returned all runners to their respective bases. The Beat argued that Moody had scored from 3rd, but it was for naught. With the bases loaded, Palmer grounded out to end the threat.

As the gale force winds turned Jackson #2 into an Oklahoma-like dustbowl in the top of the 5th, Kevin lost control and labored trying to make the knuckler and curve find the plate in the HGA 5th. Eight runs scored on 7 hits as the Grimies blooped hit after hit to all fields. It had the unmistakeable feel of 1998 when one bad inning regularly undid the gray and black. OB was home in Humboldt nursing a sore foot so he couldn't be called upon to change the momentum. Beat gestalte was rising in their collective throats. Indeed the rally was capped off on a weird play in which the Beatniks had appeared to get Penner to ground into a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded. In a play reminiscent of Chuck Knoblauch in the 1998 world Series, Palmer, having replaced Colletto at the top of the inning at 1st, stretched into a split as the blue ruled the runner had beaten the throw. As confusion reigned, two runners crossed the plate unchallenged to complete the HGA comeback to make it 13-11. Facing the bottom of the order, Kevin then got the pitcher Johnson to fly to Pizza Man and struck out Mullins to end the onslaught.

It was surreal. Chaos churned around the official scorekeeper as no one on the Beat bench could believe the Grimies had actually taken the lead. Even the Grimy manager Bob Finney was incredulous as he checked the official score with the home team. The home-plate blue declared "3 minutes." Looking at The Beat bench, he admonished, "Win it now or don't." Or something like that.

Then the Beat went to work. BJ Bateman led off with a fly ball that looked catchable but dropped beside the right center rover. The speedy Beej legged into second for a double. Pizza Man (3 for 3 and now 4th on the team in hitting with a .583 average) dumped a sharp single in to score BJ and cut it to 13-12. EP Pete Wenner worked the count to 3-2 before lining a single up the middle to plate Pizza and tie it up. Sporting his new canary-yellow sweats, Gunnar-man was intentionally walked without Johnson ever throwing a pitch before Brian waited out another walk to load the bases.

The Grimy Ones, somewhat disheveled on defense all day, conferred haphazardly before deciding to play the infield and outfield in. The hemorrhoids bulged, assholes clenched. Sensing the spirit of self-sacrifice, Kevin Austin looked to win it with a fly ball somewhere over the infield far enough to score the slow-footed Wenner. He cranked up; he swung and creamed a Johnson pitch deep over the left fielder's head as Wenner walked home with the winning run in sudden death. The Beat breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"This team doesn't understand the meaning of quit," said Pete during the quiet post-game party. "We've obviously got a lot of heart and probably wouldn't have won this game last year. Good teams win games like these. We just need to get back to the good defense we displayed the first three weeks. Pitching and defense are going to have to be key for us from here on out. The offense will take care of itself."

This year's model Beat is cranking at about the same offensive pace as the vaunted 1995 team that went 8-0 in the Summer season.

The Beat, now 4-1 on the Spring season and tied for 1st with Hammertime, which had beaten Nicoya earlier 11-5, had dodged a potent bullet. Had they lost in such humiliating fashion after blowing a huge lead, the season could have spiraled out of control. Some of the veterans recalled the Summer of '96 when The Beat charged out to a 3-1 record, only to lose its final 4 games to end the season 3-5. Now this upstart club faces its 1st meaningful late season game in 2 seasons as Hammertime awaits on May 15th. The Beat won the 1st meeting 13-10 and faces the Las Vegas odds against doing it twice. Nevertheless, the moral of this story is don't bet against the underdogs.

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