Week 8 – Redrum vs Grim Reapers

Week 8 turned into something a little different.

Before the new game even started, we had unfinished business. Back in Week 1, our game against the Grim Reapers was tied in the bottom of the 7th—two outs, runners on first and third—when the lights went out. The game was ruled a tie, with the understanding we’d finish it when we met again.

Seven weeks later, here we were.

We decided to load the bases intentionally, setting up a force at any base. The pressure was on Brian Cox to hit the plate, but Anthony Gallagher had other plans. He jumped on the first  pitch and ripped it straight down the third base line.

I was at third—mainly because Jorge was still somewhere in the parking lot.

Everything happened fast. I don’t even remember if I dove or fielded it on a hop and fell, but I scrambled up and broke for third to get the force. Problem was, Lazott was flying down the line and beating me there. With no play, I spun and fired to second, hoping to get that force instead.

Dave Bair stretched for it—bang-bang play. Half the field thought safe, half thought out. The umpire called him out, and that was all that mattered. Game over. We stayed undefeated… at least for one more game.

Then we immediately rolled into the regularly scheduled matchup.

If we thought that play would carry momentum, we were wrong. The Grim Reapers came out swinging and put up five quick runs in the first. We answered with two, but they kept the pressure on. The second and third innings tightened up defensively on both sides, but we just couldn’t quite close the gap.

In the fourth, both teams traded runs again, and it felt like we were chasing the whole time. Then came the fifth—Redrum finally broke through with a five-run inning sparked by consecutive hits from Rick Chriss, Dave Bair, Jesse Nunez, Ray Short, and Coach Maxwell. Jason Dreas capped it with a two-RBI single, and suddenly we were right back in it.

But the Reapers answered again with five of their own while we got close by adding 4.

Going into the sixth, we locked things down defensively and held them, giving ourselves a chance. We scratched across a run thanks to a clutch hit from Brian Cox, setting up a seventh inning tie once again. 

Defense held strong. Jorge—who finally found his way in from the parking lot—handled two big plays at third, firing across to first where Rick Chriss, battling a sore hamstring, stretched out to make key catches.

We went into the bottom of the seventh needing just one run.

Byron led it off, and that’s always a good sign. He crushed one into center—automatic double. Then he saw the slightest bobble in the outfield and didn’t hesitate. He took off for third. The relay came in to Lazott, who fired it toward third, but the ball got loose.

Byron never stopped too damn fast. 

Half the team was yelling “go,” the other half yelling “no,” but it didn’t matter—he crossed the plate standing. Walk-off win.

Final score: Redrum 16, Grim Reapers 15.

Defensively, Redrum did what it always does—kept us in the game when the bats weren’t quite there. The outfield locked it down, with Scott and Trevor each making clutch third-out catches with runners on.

One of the biggest moments came when we intentionally walked Lazott with guys at 2nd and 3rd we wanted to load the bases again for a force. Kevin Sutton followed and crushed a ball deep to left-center that looked like it could clear the bases—but Byron tracked it down and made the catch to stop a huge inning.

At the plate, Cox, Jorge, Maxwell, Byron, and Rick all had three hits and drove in runs. Scott Goldberg added a beautiful opposite-field two-run homer. Rick, coming back from a hamstring injury, hit absolute lasers all game and even legged out a double. Dave Bair delivered two clutch line-drive RBIs when we needed them most.

Another battle with the Grim Reapers. Another one-run game.

And this time, no tie.

The real hero of the game? Jesse.

But we’ll keep that story in the clubhouse.