Week 5 Recap

Rough Riders 8, TPC 1
Rough Riders captain Brad Brickhouse took on 2011 Smoltzy winner Johnny Smith. Brad was on, striking out 13. Despite allowing his first three runs of the season to the TPC, with run scoring singles in the 3rd and 5th and a run off a double in the 4th, Brickhouse continued his Smoltzy caliber campaign. Johnny didn't seem to have his best stuff and the Riders get on the board with 5 in the 2nd and 3 more in the 5th. Rider bats found a rhythm as Ian, Archer, Brickhouse and Spear all connected with big flies in the 2nd, the one Archer hit went to the Moon. The TPC hit Brad better than anyone else this season but even with 6 hits off the hard throwing righty they couldn't mount a comeback against the Rough Riders ace. 

TPC 1, Riders 0
Daniel Foster from the TPC has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the league, and, with legitimate Smoltzy numbers through the first 4 weeks, D-Frost led his team against Rough Rider rookie all-star pitcher Stephen Archer. It was one for the ages- the kind of excitement that the Wiffle ATL is good at creating was on display. Archer pitched a gem allowing 4 hits, 2 walks and striking out 12 against the best hitting team in the southeast Region. However, it was Daniel Foster that took the spotlight in this one. Rider bats went silent as the big man from the TPC shut them down, scattering only 5 base runners over 6 innings, all on walks.Archer took a shutout into the 6th, but perennial MVP candidate Kevin Smith stepped up to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 6th. Although I didn't actually see the swing and the hit, when I heard the sound of the ball off the bat, (smack!) I knew Kevin had done it again: Walk Off City. Daniel pitched his first no hitter, and, allowing only 5 walks, he moved the ball around and used three or four different pitches to just dominate Rider hitting. Even though I [Blaine] played and was on the losing side, it was one of the most entertaining games I've been witness to in the WATL. TPC moves to 7-1 on the season to stay atop the Briarcliff.The Riders move to 7-3, keeping their Druid Hills lead.

Pirates 0, NBC 4
The Pirates and a Sam-less NBC squared off for two games. In game one, aces Jordan and Ken threw some very good pitches at the board when the other team was standing next to it, and some were strikes, some were balls, but they were mostly good pitches. Ken, however, had more good pitches than Jordan did and came out on top, 4-0. As a matter of fact, it was only Ken who did the damage to Jordan, dealing two home run balls over the fence in right. Jordan, in his turn, was the only person to get on base against Ken. Overall, an entertaining game, but Ken was totally lights out. 

NBC 7, Pirates 2
In game 2, Scott went up against Grant. Grant immediately allowed the bad guys to score three runs in the first inning, mostly on ground outs. Actually, most of the runs the NBC scored were ground outs. Seriously, at least 5 of the 7 runs they scored were from plays that were outs. Anyway, Jordan answered that three-run inning with a "solidly hit" (read: hardest ball he's ever hit) homer to left to bring the Buccos to within one. However, that's all they would get, as the NBC shut us down and were very patient against Grant. Seth was the star of game 2- he took several hits and what would have been an important home run away from the Pirates, in addition to having a fairly solid bat there in game 2. So, try as they might, the Pirates come away winless for the weekend by turning in a 7-2 loss for the NBC. 

Wiffle House 19, Swamp Donkeys 6
So much for the lefty-lefty matchup giving the pitcher an advantage. Brian Donegan homered in each of his first 3 at-bats against the league's only lefty pitcher, and the route was on. The Donkeys were able to get back in the game with homers from Chuck and Chad, but Wiffle House was able to pull away late. MVP award for the game goes to young Vivian Riggs, who was consistently adorable.

Wiffle House 16, Swamp Donkeys 3
I'm not sure this is the exact score, but its something close. Chris Haisten has been practicing over the off-week, showing much better control from the mound and crushing 4 homers in the game (6 total on the day) as Wiffle House ran away with another game. Chuck started out well for the Donkeys, but was done in by back-to-back-to-back homers from the House, along with a Hobbs grand slam that landed inside of the looming backhoe beyond the fence to complete the Wiffle House power display. The team combined for 14 home runs on the day, and each player hit at least 2.

Duct Tape Hillbillies sweeps Isotopes
The Hillbillies sweep the Isotopes in the only meeting between the two rookie teams for the year. More info coming.