SFRC

Blurry, but SEXY!

The Gusto Guys lost their Schlitz uniform virginity last night.  Numbers don’t lie.  The Schlitz Gusto Guys have never lost whilst wearing their Schlitz uniforms.  Worth noting, at least 90% of the squad looks sharp, svelte and dare I say, SEXY, in their new uniforms.  She was chilly and breezy for the 8pm and 9pm games on Cinco de Mayo, 2010.  But the Gusto Guys have never let the conditions dictate their play.  They simply persevere.  They fight.  They battle.  And on Cinco de Mayo on Skyline Fighting Red C Memorial Park (SFRCMP), they WIN.

Game #1 vs. Edina Realty BCO

Leading off for the Schlitz Gusto Guys is a badge wearing Schlitz Gusto Guy member (Pub Krull).  Worth noting, Pub Krull was also the Schlitz Gusto Guy of the month for March, 2010.  On the first pitch of the game, on the first swing in a Gusto Guy jersey, BAM, a homerun to centerfield.  This was the second week in a row that Pub Krull started the SGGFRC night off with a homerun.  Numbers don’t lie.  That immediately put the opposition on their heels.  The Schlitz Gusto Guys kept the heat on kept hitting and running and scoring and hitting and running and scoring and hitting and running and scoring.  All 10 leaders hit well and everyone had either two or three hits as the team accumulated 26 total hits, scoring 23 times.  Matty also had a “no-doubter” over the fence in left-center.  Pauly was a solid 3-3 and had a nice sac too.  In the field nice plays were made by Niehaus, CW, Ryan and Brain turning a double play.  Sans recorded another strikeout on the mound.

Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 23 – Edina Realty BCO 6 (five innings)

Last out: There is a 15-run rule after five innings.  In the bottom of the 5^th, the run to go up 15 scored, then the run to go up 16 scored and then the run to go up 17 scored.  The rally stopped when Ryan smoked a line-drive to third for the final out of the inning.  As we were taking the field, the ump let us know the game was over by the 15-run after five mercy rule.  In theory, Ryan should never have batted in the inning, the game was already won.  However, a team-rule is a team-rule and Ryan got the last out of this offensive explosion of a game.

Game #2 vs. Celts Pub

We simply started where we left off in Game #1…Hitting, running, scoring…hitting, running, scoring…again and again and again.  We batted around in the first inning, the second inning and the third inning.  At one point in the first inning the Celts Pub pitcher asked, “Is there a 20 run 1^st inning rule?”  I think he was serious.  Ryan had two triples to revenge his last out of the first game and Pub Krull had another homerun enroute to a 4-4 game.  Niehaus was also 4-4 in Game #2.  Sans was ripping the ball all evening.

Defensively we were solid with only one error on record.  Al made two nice defensive plays on the same ball throwing to first and then jumping off the mound to cover first as the ball went by Pub Krull.  Kurty also made a couple of nice plays in the field.

Final Score: Schlitz Gusto Guys 27 – Celts Pub 4 (five innings)

Last out: C-W

Fan of the night: Braving the cold in a hood, blanket and coffee…BRANDI

Quote of the night: “I screwed myself and I didn’t have to leave my house.”

A few things worth noting:

• The 2009 Schlitz Gusto Guy Sportsman of the Year (Brian Niehaus) started the year on fire going 7-8 with a double on the night.
• As a team wearing their Schlitz jerseys, the Schlitz Gusto Guys are batting .591 and averaging 25 runs/game.
• #35 didn’t have an error in two full games.  That may be the first time in years (of course he was catching too).
• 

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It was 71 degrees, not a cloud in the skies and winds from left to right.  It was absolutely “Mrs. H” for a season opener.  Without question the SFRC were in mid-season form.  Physically and mentally.  That only happens in Week #1 when teams spend 12 months a year together.  This only happens by running the SFRCP hills in January and keeping the chatter going watching pitches in the cage in March.

Game #1 vs. H-Bomb

There are a few certainties in SFRC softball.  One is “numbers don’t lie.”  The other is that Pub Krull will have grass stains by the end of the evening without exception.  In 2010 this happened on the first batter of the game.  It was a blooping pop up to shallow left.  Pub Krull got a good jump on the ball, used his world class D/E speed and made a nice diving effort on the ball.  A single.  The first inning looked promising for Ol’ 35 at short, making two putouts in two attempts (it went downhill from there).

How many times do you see it?  How many times do you see a guy dive for a ball (and miss it) in left field to start a game, then lead off the top of the 1^st for the home team?   How many times does said left fielder lead off the bottom of the first and the first AB for the 2010 FRC watch the first pitch and then hit a HOME RUN?  Hey, there aren’t many firsts for the SFRC anymore (we’ve been going strong for 20 years), but I think it is safe to say Pub Krull’s 2010 leadoff HR is a SFRC first.  This does not happen by taking HGH in early April.  This only happens when HGH is used as your daily vitamin.  Pub Krull has been sharing his secrets as the FRC hit FOUR homeruns in Game #1.  In addition to Pub Krull, T-Mac had 1+ (more on this later) and the FNG (Silkey) had a HR for an out.

As mentioned earlier 35 made the first two plays hit his way after taking a bad hop in the fact last week.  After those two plays, the flood gates opened.  We had another SFRC first.  Three straight errors on three straight batters.  All by Ol’ #35.  Not exactly how someone wants to go down in the SFRC record books.  These errors allowed the H-Bomb crew to stay in the game.  H-Bomb had a two run lead heading into the bottom of the last inning (6^th inning due to time).  Per the norm you did not hear “we need two to tie.”  Not on this team.  Not in the SFRC dugout.  Rather, a number of guys were making the “We need three to win!” call.  Truly a sign of winners.

Brain led off the inning with a solid hit.  Matty followed that up by smoking a ball to left center.  Being the aggressive base-running team that we are, Matty went for three and had Brain making a late dash for home.  Everybody safe.  The FRC now were down one with a runner on third.  T-Mac stepped to the plate hoping to get the “Mr. No Clutch” hex off his back.  He managed to hit a wind aided game winning HR.  Oh wait, even though H-Bomb had hit a HR the rules say you both have to hit two HRs before either team can hit another one.  “Mr. No Clutch” came through again with a HR for an OUT!  No matter, the SFRC don’t have quit in their vocabulary.  Ryan got on with a game-tying RBI single.  CW got on base on a fielder’s choice.  Runners moved over to set the stage for 2’s (aka CP).  2’s came through with a walk-off RBI single, scoring CW.

SFRC WIN!  SFRC WIN!  OOOOOHHHHHHHH SFRC WIN!

The FRC are nothing if not dramatic.

Final Score: SFRC 17 – H-Bomb 16

Play of the game (aside from the open grass stained Pub Krull): Ol’ #22 with the walk-off game-winning single.  As someone stated later in the evening, “CP was huge tonight.  And he hit well too.”

Last out: Ryan on a fielder’s choice hit by CW

Game #2 vs. Televent DTN

The FRC started where they left off.  The hits came early and often.  We scored two in the first, a couple more in the second a few more in the third, and so on.  In what turned out to be the last inning, the FRC went Peter North on the opposition en route to 20+ runs.  After batting around multiple times heard from the opposing bench was, “No damage done, let’s go.”  I guess that’s true if you define “damage” as the mess left in the Biffy prior to Game #1 by one of the SFRC faithful.  We locked them down in the field ending the game with a double-play.

Highlights of the game: Pub Krull swinging and MISSING on two straight pitches for a K (I’d like to say this is a SFRC first – hitting a HR and swinging and missing twice in the same night, but I don’t think it is).  Also, Pauly being the team player taking two walks.

Lineup call: I have written about how much I love softball.  Here is an excerpt:

There are countless reasons to enjoy softball.  Being outdoors, the laughing and joking during and after the games, the chance to be competitive and maybe the greatest thing is hearing the lineup called for each inning.  Playing with the same guys for a number of years usually ends up in calling each other by their nickname.  A lineup could read: Moose, Hollywood, Pig, Shooter, Flash, Shorty, Deuce…

Based on names from a friend’s squad, their lineup could read: Cozzie, Moore, Moore, Byrnes, Whipple, Uber.  Or, it could read: Moore, Cozzie, Uber, Bush, Moore, Whipple, Byrnes… Read that fast like you are calling out a lineup.  You can’t make stuff like that up.  Just fantastic. If you don’t see the humor in that lineup, well, stick with book club and avoid the softball field.

Well on 04-28-2010 if you listened carefully you would have heard something like this: Steve, Greg, Sampson, RON, JEREMY, Alex, Sprout, Eric, etc.  There is something to be said about a lineup that can provide a stick like RON, JEREMY.

Final Score:  SFRC 27 – Televent DTN 4

Last out: Ryan (twice in one night – ouch)

A shout out to the FNG for catching two straight games.  Silk and Mauer are generally known as the two best catchers at calling a game.  The calls from behind the plate led to multiple strikeouts thrown by Sans.  All of the Schlitz Gusto Fighting Red C Gusto Guys hit well.  Moving Brain over to short definitely increased the reliability of the team in the field.  It’s worth mentioning again, the SFRC were in mid-season form on their chatter.  Check out some of the best on the Quotes page.

Fan of the night:  We had a very solid showing on Week #1.  Mrs. CW was present, Patsy and friend, Merrie (Pauly’s sister), TO, et. al.

He’s our Darrin Nelson, our Barry Sanders, our Billy Simms, he’s Brian Schmoll.  What do they have in common with the 2010 version of the SFRC?  2-0 describes them all perfectly.  The Schlitz Gusto Fighting Red C Guys have never lost.  Never.  “Numbers don’t lie.”

We are already looking forward to “Cinco de Mayo con Cinco.”

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