bdquarterrtsnaacp

THE BIG DANCE
quarterfinals

2 SEED) THE RATCHET THUNDER STUDS (2002)
10 SEED) THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PENCILS (2001)

LINEUPS:
RTS                                  NAACP
1- shelley goodpastor      1- jamie moroco
2- nate tomko                  2- jon olsavsky
3- mark tarkanick            3- sean hood
4- mikey moroco
B- sam lynn

NAACP 9
RATCHET THUNDER STUDS 18
in a battle of the first two sbl world champions, the undermanned naacp gave the studs all they could for the first 5 innings, but were unable to keep up with the sbl's first juggernaut over the final frames.
led by the all-star trio of shelley goodpastor, nate tomko and mark tarkanick, the rts was able to pull away in the late stages of the game, creating a final score that looked far more lopsided than the contest actually was.
tomko and olsavsky squared off in a scrum for the ages on the concrete of ass clown outdoor arena, with tomko eventually getting the upper hand and powering the ball over the line after nearly 3 minutes of action that left both competitors bloodied and exhausted.
from the visiting slot, the inaguaral work champs went station to station, rattling off 3 straight singles to start the game. moroco, normally money in the bank from the double line, missed what would have given the naacp an early lead, and tarkanick pounced on the double play oppurtunity. olsavsky was unable to pick up the slack, as he went for the jugular early with an homer attempt that went in and out.
having escaped unscathed, the studs made the naacp pay in the bottom of the inning. a pair of triples by goodpastor and tarkanick sandwiched a tomko double to give the black-shirts a 2-0 lead. moroco's double attempt was sent back through by olsavsky to slow the rally, but goodpastor and tomko were able to hit doubles before tark missed to make the count 4-0 after 1.
the naacp rebounded in a big way, once again loading the bases on 3 straight shots. this time, they were able to get runs out of it as hood came through with a 2-run double. moroco made up for her first-inning meltdown by swishing through a game-tying double, and olsavsky nailed a solo homer to give his squad a 5-4 lead before the rts defense was able to but the clamps down and end the inning.
facing the unfamiliar situation of playing from behind, the studs were unable to regain the lead as they went down 1-2-3 on 3 consecutive double attempts.
the score remained the same through the 3rd inning as tomko and olsavsky traded double plays to prevent any scoring. the stud defense remained strong in the top of the fourth as well as tomko squeezed a psyche-out from jamie moroco and tarkanick got his 3rd double play in 4 innings. then, in the bottom of the inning, the rts were able to regain the lead when tomko hit a huge 2-out, 2-run homer.
not willing to back down from the challenge just yet, the naacp responded again to retake the lead. olsavsky's second homer of the game, this time a 2-out, 2-run job to bring in moroco, put his team back on top 7-6. though hood's solo attempt would go in and out, both the naacp and rts had now realized that the talent gap between years one and two was not as large as it had seemed as 2001's champs were giving 2k2's premiere team a run for their money.
looking to their bench for help, the studs brought in captain sam lynn in replace of the unproductive mikey moroco. lynn's hot hand led off with a double, and goodpastor plated her with a left triple to knot the score at 7-all. tomko singled home shelley and tarkanick tripled in tomko to give the studs a 9-7 cushion, but that would be all they could muster in the 5th.
the 6th saw the naacp once again tie up the contest. going back to what has kept them in the game, all three batters took singles. this time, however, hood was off the mark with his and tarkanick recorded his 4th double play. while the miss seemed to deflate the male members of the association, moroco was unfazed as she hit the biggest shot of the game thus far, a triple that brought in 2 before olsavsky's miss would end the inning.
burning a timeout, the rts huddled at home plate to try and regain their composure.
whatever was said by taskmaster lynn during the conversation seemed to make an impact as the studs came out swinging. tomko's three-bagger began a rally which saw the studs bang out 7 straight extra base hits, including a pair of homers by tarkanick and a nate tomko assist. when olsavsky's double play on a lynn miss finally gave the naacp their first outs of the 6th, they were in a 15-9 hole. the studs would load the bases with singles from goodpastor, tomko and tark, but back-from-the-bench mikey moroco would miss a homer for the final out of the inning. unfortunately for fans of the naacp, the damage had been done.
the studs would add a few cosmetic runs over the final 3 innings, but it was their defense that really sealed the game, holding the naacp to 2 hits from the 7th on. tarkanick got 2 more double plays in that span and tomko would get one.
for the ratchet thunder studs, who await the winner of the transexual heartbreaker/hoosier daddy matchup, mark tarkanick and nate tomko each tallied 7-hit, 6 rbi lines. tarkanick nailed 2 homers and tipped in 6 double plays while tomko got 1 and 2. goodpastor chipped in with 4 ribbies.
for the naacp, the final 2001 squad to be sent home from the tournament, olsavsky led the way with 3 runs batted in, 2 homers and 4 double plays. jamie moroco drove in a team-high 4 runs.
"what can i say?" jamie moroco sighed after the game. "we ran into a good team tonite, a very good team. but i think we showed that we can hang with anyone. what the hell do i care, anyway? i'm gonna go smoke some dope and have some anal sex"

BACK