The Juice: A Softball Blog
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SEPT. 10: JUICE VICTORIOUS
Hell of a game last night as the boys in orange triumphed over Los Perros 17-7. The Juice are now 1-1 in the new season.
Exclusive Pre-Game Chat With Juice Pitcher Devin Barry
- Juice Report: You gearing up for this game tonight?
- Barry: Oh yeah, drilling the sidewinder.
- Juice Report: Last week, we saw a different lineup in Wells' absence. What can we look forward to tonight?
- Barry: I think we've got a little more confidence in our offense. Look for us to score more than ten runs in tonight's game. Whether or not the defense will make that enough remains to be seen.
- Juice Report: And as far as the lineup itself?
- Barry: I think DeGroot and Gould will convince Wells that the shakeup was a good thing and he'll [Wells] go along with it.
- Juice Report: Is it too soon to start talking about possible shakeups for next year's season?
- Barry: I don't think so. I think the front office is going to want to make some moves. We've obviously got a few positions that need to get filled. I think possibly a middle reliever and a number three hitter. But we're also going to be developing the talent we have. I see a lot of potential that just needs to get drawn out.
- Juice Report: And how do you respond to rumors of dropping down into a less competitive league?
- Barry: I really can't comment knowledgeably on that. I'm not sure what the powers that be have in store for our team. What I can say is that no matter where we play next season, we're going to be competitive.
- Juice Report: Great, thanks.
- Barry: Thank you.
June 24: Juice vs. Slump-busters
Let’s get ‘em.
Top 1st
Miller leading off, grounds out to short. LaMonica up next, flies out to center. Tenney up, grounder to short, close play, safe at first. Chris singles up the middle. Wells up, nice single and drives in Tenney. Juice up 1-0. Alex up, singles and drives Chris in. Juice 2-0. Devo up, grounds out.
2-0, Juice.
Bottom 1st
Devo on the mound, first batter, grounds out to second. Next batter, singles… error, sneaks to second. Next batter singles, CLOSE play at home, safe, batter advances home. 2-1, Juice. Single almost caught, just over Ian’s glove; one scores. 2-2, tied. Grounder up the middle, close play at second but safe. Men on first and second, one out. Grounder to short, bad hop, single. Bases loaded. Single to shallow center, one scores. 3-2, Slump. Weak grounder, Chris on it, can’t make the play; one scores. 4-2, Slump. Fly to right center, nice catch by LaMonica. Runners held; 2 outs. Grounder, great play by Devo, out at first.
Top 2nd
DeGrootius up, foul flies out to third. Eric Gould singles. Ian up, error, gets a base. Lee up, force out at second, error, one scores. 4-3, Slump. Miller up, grounder, force out at second.
4-3, Slump.
Bottom 2nd
First batter singles to left center. Juice looking to turn two… batter singles off Chris’ glove. Walk, bases loaded. Deep fly to left, DG has it, one scores. 5-3, Slump. Juice turn two to get out of it!
5-3, Slump.
Top 3rd
LaMonica up, grounds out tot short, almost beats it. Tenney up the gap, beats it. Chris singles. Wells up, flies out. Alex gets a piece of one, force out at third.
Bottom 3rd
Shot to left center, near-catch by DG, gets two bases out of it. Walks. Shallow right, one in. 6-3, Slump. Single to right, two in, batter to second. 8-3, Slump. Single, just off Ian’s glove. Men on first and third, fly to left, Miller down, one score, AMAZING throw in from LaMo. 9-3, Slump. Single, one more comes in. 10-3, Slump. Men on first and third; popped up, Chris nabs it. Walks one. Flies out to center, DG has it, one tags up; DG thros it out of play, another scores. 12-3, Slump. Flies out.
Top 4th
Devo up, grounder, safe. DG forces Devo out. Eric G grounds out. Ian singles, but DG is thrown out at home.
Bottom 4th
Deep shot to left, that’ll be a homer. 13-3, Slump. Up the middle, GREAT stop by Tenney; single. Another single. Shallow fly to center, single; bases loaded. Two runs come in. 15-3. DG is talking to the ump, now Alex is. Another single, another comes in. 16-3, slump. Deep shot to right, that’ll be a homer. 19-3, Slump. Devo Ks one. Grounder, error at first, makes it to second. Some more talk with the ump re: an illegal pitch. Deep fly to left. Two down, man on third. Single, one comes in. 20-3, Slump. Fly caught by LaMo.
Top 5th
Lee’s up, grounds out. Miller up and ingles. LaMonica up, grounds out. Tenney does some shit, sneaks to second. Lots of chaos, kinda lost track. Chris is out, BALL GAME.
Juice Report for May 27.
This guy talks a lot.
The Juice report for May 20: Juice vs. Slump-busters
The Juice-ettes celebrate
The Juice are Loose
Boys in orange snap losing streak with 10-6 victory
This night was marked by predictions come true.
All season long, Juice fans have been predicting that the team would find its groove. Last week, Juice team captain Mike Wells predicted bringing home a W. Ten minutes before game time, Juice pitcher Devin Barry predicted he’d throw two strikeouts.
They were right.
Slump-busters. Rematch. Vengeance. The Juice came out of the gate strong, with solid pitching from Barry in the first. The Juice went up 3-0 on their first at-bat. They would lead the rest of the game.
It seemed as though every player on the Juice came out to do what he does best. Star centerfielder Joe LaMonica was a veritable black hole, with four grabs in the outfield (including one to close out the game). Second baseman Ian Gould, who’s always looking for extra bases, was aggressive as ever on the base path. Third baseman Chris roped a huge triple to drive in two runs in the fourth; he would come home on the next at bat on a single from Wells. The first of Barry’s aforementioned strikeouts came in the top of the third.
But it wasn’t a cakewalk by any stretch. Despite trailing by 8 runs in the top of the sixth, the Slump-busters refused to go quietly into the night. They would rally that inning, ultimately scoring 4. They then held the Juice scoreless.
Luckily, the boys in orange had not juice, but ice water in their veins this night. Barry threw his second strikeout to kick off the seventh inning. A few plays later, and it was all over.
The Juice were completely comfortable on the field all night. They were even more comfortable being on the winning team. Something tells me this is only the beginning.
May 20, 2008: JUICE WIN. Details to follow.
The thrill of victory. (Photo by Bowditch)
