24 April 1997: HOMERS 23, Roving Marauders 2

[Name that episode: whoever first names the episode alluded to throughout this Homers report gets to choose his or her position next week.]

With weather nice enough for a mid-summer barbecue, the Homers opened the 1997 campaign in mid-season form with a 23 to 2 victory over the Bruisers. Defensively,

  Jeff      C 1B  - 1B 2B 2B  - 
  Ron       P  P  - OF  P OF  -
  Sue      OF 2B  -  C  C  C  -
  Scott    OF OF  - OF SS  - OF
  Tim      OF SS  - OF 1B  -  P
  Annette  2B  - 2B 2B OF  - 2B
  Tony     OF  - 1B 3B  -  -  -
  Evora    3B  - SS SS  - 1B 1B
  Cheryl   1B  - OF OF  - SS SS
  Richard  SS  -  P  P  -  P  C
  Amy       -  C  C  - OF OF OF
  Kevin     - OF OF  - OF OF OF
  Holly     - 3B 3B  - 3B 3B 3B
  David     - OF OF  - OF OF OF
  Sheila    - OF OF  -  -  -  -

Maybe I'm amazed not only at the excellent turnout in players but also at the number of Homer fans! Cheryl brought Samantha, Isabelle, their friend Taylor, and their dog Bernie, while Amy assumes responsibility for her fiance Lance as well as JPLer Greg/Barney. Cheryl and her brood joined Annette, Tim, Jeff, Richard, Ron, and Sue for dinner at Round Table afterward.

Though the Bruisers believed themselves at the top of the food chain, having consumed the remnants of the Marauders, the Vas-Y Bears, the Asterisks, and other parts usually found in hot dogs, the Homers prevailed, thanks in part to a couple of new players, Tony and Sheila Ganino. Tony hit the only solid home run of the day, a line drive to right-center, while five others got the cheap kind: Tim, Richard, Ron, Scott, and David. David's dinger in the bottom of the sixth put the Homers ahead 21 runs and ended the inning via the double-mercy rule. Defensively, Holly earned the Play of the Day. With the Bruisers threatening to trim the lead to less than three touchdowns, she turned a hard grounder down the third-base line into a game-ending 5-3 double play. Annette made two nice flips from second to short for force outs in the first inning; Evora brought the gun in her stint at shortstop in the third; and Cheryl made two putouts and an assist at shortstop in the sixth.

Our next game is Thursday, May 1, against the Cyclones on field H2, the same as this week. I could come up with some motivation to play hard, but let's face it - we're just going to spank every team we play.