Game Recaps: Competitive Day 2

Now sporting a 2-0 record, The Dave Easley Zach Morgan Project to be Named, Fuckers (project) only had one more team to beat before they could truly be considered favorites to win the PMRNHDWBL. In Competitive Day 2, the Naming Project was scheduled to take on perhaps the most offensively gifted team in the WBL, the Stiff Bats and Hollow Balls.

Stiff and Hollow won the toss and elected to bat last. Matt Hunter took the mound, and immediately fell behind Morgan 3-1, eventually giving up an opposite field flyball double. Hunter then upped his velocity, and struck out Easley on three pitches. With the new-found velocity came a lack of control, as Hunter walked the next two batters on eight straight pitches outside of the zone. He rallied, however, to strike out the next two batters and get out of the inning with a scoreless frame.

In the bottom of the inning, Hunter lead off against Morgan and flew out on the first pitch. Morgan then struck out Squire on three pitches, before walking Hunter on four. Squire then hit a ground ball double, and Hunter also doubled to drive in two runs. Morgan got out of the inning, however, when he made an amazing grab to deny Squire a triple on a hard hit line drive back to the pitcher.

Not to be outdone, Stiff and Hollow replied with an amazing defensive play of their own, when Hunter showed great range in the outfield and laid out to catch a fly ball to opposite field. This play took on extra significance, as Hunter may have injured his throwing shoulder on the play. Next, Squire struck out Easley to put the Naming project firmly in the hole. They responded, however, with a line drive triple by Morgan, a homer by Easley, and another triple by Morgan. Easley then hit a soft grounder, which Squire could not field, to score the third run of the inning and take the lead. Morgan would send a double down the right field line before Squire got Easley to ground back to him again, this time scooping it cleanly to get out of the inning.

The Naming Project entered the bottom of the inning up one, with their ace on the mound, but Stiff and Hard immediately put Dave Easley under pressure. Hunter hit a grounder into left, which Morgan mishandled to allow the runner to advance to third. Squire then singled in the tying run with another grounder into left. Hunter popped out to the pitcher, but Squire and Hunter hit back to back doubles to push the lead back to two. Easley would strike out Squire and walk Hunter before Morgan tracked down a deep fly ball to end the inning.

With a scoreless inning already under his belt, Matt Hunter came out to protect the two run lead full of confidence, despite complaining about pain in his shoulder. He walked Morgan, but grittily stuck out Easley, despite the blood soaking through his sock. The wheel's came off, however, when Morgan doubled, and Easley tripled to tie the game at five. Morgan walked once more, but Easley struck out on a foul tip. Morgan walked for the third time in the inning, causing rumbles to start in the Stiff and Hollow dugout about a pitching change. The injured Hunter grittily/stubbornly refused to be taken out. With the bases loaded, Easley hit a double that scored three runs when Squire misplayed the bounce in the outfield. Morgan blooped a single the other way, and then Hunter badly misplayed a comebacker to the pitcher for an error of his own. Morgan doubled once more, before Easley hit a home run to put Matt Hunter out of his misery with the mercy rule. In this half inning, Morgan was not retired a single time, and Easley provided just enough power with a triple and a homer to put up a 13-5 lead on the still dangerous Stiff Bats and Hollow Balls.

Despite having given up three runs compared to Morgan's two, Easley returned in the bottom of the third inning to protect the eight run lead. This time he was dominant. He struck out Hunter by drilling a ball through the corn toss hole, and then also struck out Squire looking before getting Hunter to ground back to the pitcher to end the game.

With an explosive comeback win against an elite team, The Dave Easley Zach Morgan Project to be Named, Fuckers (project) has made a strong statement over the first two Competitive Days, firmly positioning themselves as front runners in the PMRNHDWBL. It will be interesting to see how Stiff Bats and Hollow Balls handles their bullpen in future high leverage situations.