We wasted no time getting baserunners. Jim led off for us with a single, followed by another from Rob. Billy Masson's double scored them both. Billy A. followed with a single but we left two baserunners stranded and put on the gloves for defense. In the bottom of the inning they were able to muster a few hits and a single run and the game moved to the second inning with a 1-run advantage for our side at 2 - 1.

Not much to say about our second inning offense 'cause we didn't have much. Sammy managed a single but was tagged out trying to stretch it to a double, as we only sent 3 batters to the plate. Our offense was solid, though, in the bottom of the inning, shutting them down handily to preserve our 1-run lead at 2 - 1.

The third was a lot more fun on offense. Bob O. got things started with a single, followed by singles from Melanie and Sharon. Back-to-back-to-back doubles by Rob, Bob F. and Billy Masson had Insult'ers crossing the plate with every batter. When it was over we had scored 5 big runs to pad our lead and challenge them to compete. But compete they couldn't. Our iron-clad defense came up with play after play to squash their attempts and hold them scoreless again. So we went to the fourth with a comfortable lead at 7 - 1.

It was Zarah who got our offense started in the 4th. Sammy followed with his second single of the game. Zoraida doubled to score Zarah. Bob O. then lashed a (rare) homer over the right fielder's head to clear the bases and our lead was growing quickly. We were Insult'ing them pretty well on defense as we held this "explosive?" offense scoreless for the third straight inning and took a big lead to the fifth at 11 - 1.

Jim started the fifth for us with a walk (second time this season I believe). Rob followed with his third hit of the game. Billy Masson followed Rob with his third consecutive double and we were scoring again. Billy A. launched a homer to clear the bases. Louie started us anew with a double. Zarah, Sammy and Zoraida hit back-to-back-to-back singles and, when it was over, we had added 5 more to our total. We must have eased up some on defense, though, as we allowed them to score 1 run before we could get them out. So, with two innings to play, we had an intimidating lead at 16 - 2, wondering exactly why this team had the best record in the league.

In the sixth Jim got a single and Rob tripled to score Jim to add 1 more to our score. On defense, we were pretty relaxed and they looked resigned to their fate. They scored another run but no-one cared and we moved to the seventh leading by 14 at 17 - 3.

Billy Masson opened the 7th with a long homer to right (it's a personal thing) and Billy A. singled to complete our offensive effort for the night. On defense, they managed another run on a couple of flukey plays but we didn't care. We won the game handily; the final score was 18 - 4.

This was another superbly played game both offensively and defensively. The team seems to just get better with each game we play. Offensively we scored in every inning except the 2nd. Defensively, there were some great plays (the Jim to Billy Masson to Bob O. tag at the plate, a double play, lots of precision work in both the infield and outfield). We held them scoreless for 3 consecutive innings and never allowed more than one run in any inning (and this against a team that had scored almost 20 runs per game this season). Whenever they looked like they were going to get some offense started we came up with a big play to ruin the effort. Offensively, Billy Masson (3 doubles & a homer) and Rob (3 doubles & a triple) went 4 for 4, Sammy went 3 for 3, Billy A. went 3 for 4, and Jim, Zarah, Zoraida & Bob O. went 2 for 3. Pretty impressive.

Bob F. did an outstanding job on the mound. Bob O. handled the duties behind the plate.

The victory didn't come without a price, though, as Zoraida was hit on the hand with a ball to short field and Bob F. got nailed in the left thigh with a hard-hit ball to the mound. Both were real troupers and stayed in the game.

We had lots of fans for this entertaining contest. Thanks to Sammy's wife Deval and her sister and the return of our old "Super Fan" Patsy Fagans. And, cheering from the nursery, were Amanda Anderson and Nisha Desai. And a big "Thank You" to Jo Larson for handling the scorekeeping duties.

After the game we hung around the cooler for a while reliving and enjoying the victory. Then a large contingent of players and fans headed for Palumbo's for some pizza and more beer, more talk about the game and conversation that had something to do with "24 ounce cups".

We've now moved our record to 9 - 3 and are in a 3-way tie for the league lead. We just beat one of the teams we're tied with, and we finish the season against the other. With 2 games remaining, our fate is in our hands.

We get a week off to rest prior to playing our final two league games. We deserve it.