| PLAYOFFS, ROUND 2 JULY 27, 2003 AUSCHWITZ GARDENS GONADS & STRIFE/TRANSEXUAL HEARTBREAKERS game 1: HEARTBREAKERS 9 GONADS & STRIFE 14 in the pouring rain of auschwitz gardens, player of the year nate tomko took his team on his back, hitting 12 of his 13 shots with a homer and 8 runs batted in and tipping home 4 double plays to lead his team to the win and an 1-0 series lead. playing without shelly goodpastor, the league's premiere leadoff hitter, and homerun aficianado drew esenwein, gonads & strife looked to it's former role players for support. lee nespor tallied 7 hits and 3 rbi, while adam stainbrook added 3 dp's to the defensive effort of shutting down the sbl's top offense. both teams took a while too warm up in the chilly, wet conditions. nespor crossed the plate in the bottom of the 4th to break a scoreless tie, and in the fifth, g&s's offense got back on track with a pair of tomko three-baggers highlighting the 6-run outpouring. after that, the top seeds never looked back. for the heartbreakers, elysa farrell hit 8 shots in 13 attempts and kurt rodemoyer added 4 double plays. game 2: GONADS & STRIFE 11 HEARTBREAKERS 19 unlike the other three teams to lose their first playoff game, the heartbreaker didn't abandon the fort and head for the hills, instead choosing to grind out a tough 19-11 decision to level the series at 1 game apiece, and in the process, turn the tide of the series. i say "tide" aliterally, cause auschwitz gardens had so much freaking water on it, their were actually waves, pirate ships, and a couple portegeuse man-o-war.. after playing much of the contest as they had in their first game loss, the heartbreakers finally found the stroke that mauled pj & the ladies in round 1, scoring 16 runs in the final 3 innings to lead a momentous come from behind victory after trailing by 7 as late as the 6th. jared clayton and kurt rodemoyer sparked the offense, driving in 7 and 8 respectively, while each hitting 7 shots and a homer. clayton had a big game on the glass, tipping in 7 misses for double plays. tomko hit 8 of 12 shots and split 6 double plays with adam stainbrook, who drove home a team-high 5 runs. game 3: GONADS & STRIFE 18 HEARTBREAKERS 21 in one of the prettiest baseketball games ever played under some of the worst conditions imaginable, the transexual heartbreakers knocked off the top seeded and heavily favored gonads & strife to advance to the sbl world championship. with the thunderstorms only strengthening and daylight a distant memory, jared clayton and nate tomko waged an epic battle that pitted the league's two best players against each other for their postseason lives. clayton finished with 12 runs batted in and a homer on 9 of 17 marksmanship with 2 double plays, while tomko countered with 13 of 15 batting with 11 runs batted in, 3 homeruns, 2 assists, and 3 double plays. more importantly, however, clayton's heartbreakers were able to stave off tomko's gonads for the three-run win, and clayton left only one runner on base while tomko left 3, the difference in the game. as for the players who remained in the shadow of the two big guns, adam stainbrook hit on 8 of 15 shots, but missed a grand slam with two gone in the bottom of the ninth that would have won the game. it should be noted, however, that had it not been for stanbrook's 4 dp's, the gonads wouldn't have been within striking distance at all. on the flip side, elysa farrell killed the team that traded her away in the preseason, nailing 14 shots in 17 attempts and driving home 5. kurt rodemoyer chipped in with 4 dp's. with the win, the fourth seeded heartbreakers knocked out of the playoffs the biggest threat to win the left-eye, and advanced to the finals to take on the up and coming weenises strike back. HEARTBREAKERS DEFEAT GONADS & STRIFE, 2 GAMES TO 1 |