Boston takes the wind out of the Hurricanes 18-6

Kicking off Pool play in the 2023 World Series, the Renegades traveled to Norman, Oklahoma for their 21st World series in their history.  An 8:30 am start and clear blue skies would kick off the game with temps starting in the 80’s and would climb to the 90’s as the game progressed.  These two teams faced off in 2022  with the Renegades eliminating the Hurricanes from contention by twelve running them 18-5 in five innings. Houston, in their second year had learned a lot.  Boston started the game as the home team as Bryan Grillo and Jason Lenicheck took the filed with the defense.  It was expected to be a high scoring affair as the fields were lightning fast.

First inning

For Houston, they would deploy a pitching rotation of two pitchers, Kyle Burris and John Gonzalez.  Each pitcher would have his set of hitters in the lineup.  The game started with Burris on the bump and four swings and 4 misses by Tim Syphers as he kicked off the series with a whiff.  Blake Boudreaux, the former league president was next and with four consecutive foul balls drilled a line drive down the third base line.  Shayne Cantan hit the ground late, as the ball got under him. Joe McCormick sprinted over and hit the ground sliding a good ten feet past the ball as Blake drew first blood.  Cantan would be charged with an error on the play.  Jason Walters would strike out on 4 pitches and that would bring John Gonzalez to the mound to face John Marquez.  Gonzalez really brings the heat and Marquez hit a dribbler up the middle to a charging Rob Dias.  Dias charged, slid on his knees and lost the ball under his legs.  By the time he picked up the ball, Marquez was safe as Dias made the second error for the Renegades in the inning.  This brought up Roy Hutchins, who joined the Hurricanes just a few weeks prior when his team, the BCS Outlaws chose not to attend the series after two family members on their team suddenly passed away.  Playing with a heavy heart, he struck out to end the first.  Three whiffs, but two runs in and Houston led 2-0

Joe McCormick would lead off for Boston and would follow the pattern that Houston set as he swung and missed 3 times, took a pitch for timing and then whiffed against Ron Cochran.  Shawn Devenish was next and on the second pitch hit a dribbler down the third base line that Jason Walters gave chase to and Devenish won the foot race to score the first run of the 2023 series for Boston.  Joe Yee, who had been mashing all season earned the three spot as his cousin, Peter Connolly came to the mound to pitch.  Yee had a similar at bat to McCormick as he swung and missed twice, then took a pitch to calm down, fouled off a pitch back to the catcher and struck out.  Shayne Cantan was next, facing Connolly.  Shayne would work the count to three strikes and hit a bouncing grounder to the left side and would score.  Luis Rodriguez was next and on the first pitch from Ron Cochran hit a weak fly ball to the left side and slammed his body into first base and the ground for the go ahead run.  This brought Drew Crook to the plate, pinch hitting for Guy Zuccarello and on the first pitch, he hit a laser up the middle of the field for the 3rd consecutive run of the match.  McCormick would come back to the dish and he fouled tipped the first pitch but would have the same end result, a whiff to end the inning.  After one full inning, Boston led 4-2.

Second inning

Heading into the second inning, Chris Kimball would replace Drew Crook and would head to the right shorty position.  Doug Biggins, hitting out of the six hole would lead off and hit a line drive up the middle which screamed by a diving Devenish and McCormick sprinted to his right, dove and made a nice play deep in the defense for the top stop of the game so far.  Syphers and Boudreaux would whiff to end the inning as Boston would hold a 4-2 lead after one and a half innings.

Devenish would lead off the bottom of the second but before he could bat, Houston took out Blake Boudreaux who injured his wrist.  PJ Navarro would replace him.  Devenish would hit a line drive up the middle of the field sending Doug Biggins on his horse. Devenish missed third base but still had time to come back and hit it for the first run of the inning.  Yee was next with Connolly back on the mound.  They connected on the first pitch on a grounder to the left side.  It got past a sliding Walters and rolled out to the third layer and Biggins laid out but missed it as Yee got on the board for his first World Series hit since 2019. Cantan would hit the first pitch as well in the air to the left side and score the third straight run.  Luis Rodriguez was next and also hit the first pitch off Cochran to the right side but was stopped by John Marquez but may have been safe if not for the banana line he took going to the base.  Chris Kimball was next and hit the first pitch hard to the right side and scored running toward first base, blowing up the base.  Kimball was slow to his feet after the play as he was attended to by the Renegade medical staff.  McCormick then hit the second pitch in the air to the left side and beat the play out, but the play was called foul and they started over.  Mac then hit the next ball on the ground up the middle and scored running toward first base.  Devenish came back to the plate with a 9-2 lead.  Devenish hit a dribbler up the middle as he beat Walters to the base for his second run of the inning and third of the game.  Yee would hit a line drive down the third base line.  PJ Navarro angled back from the third base side, dove and made a terrific play to stop Yee from scoring for the second out.  Cantan then hit a grounder up the middle and yelled late base as he ran to first. His base running was off line and that cost him the run as Boston led 10-2 after two frames as the team headed into a mandatory time out (the umpire did not award him a late base).  Two bad base lines may have prevented this game from getting into the twelve run rule in the second inning.

Third inning

Heading into the third inning, Jason Walters would lead off for Houston with his pitching wedge.  He hit a line drive up the middle past a diving Devenish and a diving McCormick for a run.  Marquez and Hutchins would strike out for the 6th and 7th time for Houston in this game.  Doug Biggins was next, hitting out of the six hole. He lofted a fly ball to right center over Devenish and Luis Rodriguez dove at the ball, as it hit him in the chest and rolled out of his reach as Houston had their fourth run of the game.  Syphers ended the inning with his third straight whiff and the 8th for Houston in this game.

Luis Rodriguez would lead off in the third against Cochran and hit a first pitch dribbler up the middle.  However, his base line was much better and this time he scored with his speed.  Drew Crook re-entered for Kimball and on the first pitch found the newly substituted Alex Quick who came in for Josh Perry in the right short slot.  Crook would get the ball off the top of his bat to Quick and Quick got the ball up in time to stop Crook.  McCormick was next and hit a grounder to the left side.  McCormick took off to first base but his line took him to the left of first base as he slid by it and missed it.  By the time he corrected  himself, Navarro made the stop.  This was actually a trend at this point as there was a wall which was bouncing the sound off about 20 feet from the base.  Many of the players had to adjust for it, but Mac struggled on this one becoming the third player (Rodriguez and Cantan) who struggled with the base.  Devenish dropped his yellow ball on the on deck circle and came to the plate.  He hit a fly ball to the left side and scored his fourth run of the game.  Yee would strike out to end the third.  After three, Boston led 12-4.

Fourth inning

Boston would replace Drew Crook with Guy Zuccarello in this inning as Guy took the right short spot.  PJ Navarro would make his first plate appearance of the day.  He hit the first pitch from Gonzalez to the right side.  Zuccarello missed it and the ball bounced off Rodriguez and he scored with ease to first base.  Walters would strike out for the second time. Marquez would then hit a dribbler up the right side.  Zuccarello charged in, slid on his knees and picked it clean for his 399th defensive stop of his career.  Roy Hutchins was next and on a full count hit a grounder off a diving Zuccarello’s knees.  Guy got off his left side quickly to recover and make the stop against the speedy Hutchins.  Guy became the first renegade to make 400 defensive stops in his career!  Boston led 12-5 after three and a half frames.

Shayne Cantan would lead off the 4th inning, with his sleeves rolled up to help with his tan line.  He hit the first pitch down the third base line for his third run of the game.  Luis Rodriguez hit a grounder to the left side and scored running toward first as he slammed into the base and the ground for the second time in this game.  Zuccarello stayed in the game as the Kimball was ruled out of the game with headaches after he hit the ground earlier in the game (Concussion protocol).  Zuccarello hit a line drive past everyone on the right side to score his first run of the series to make it two straight and a 14-5 lead.   McCormick then hit a 41 footer up the middle and beat it out with his speed for his second run of the game.  Devenish was next and on the third pitch hit another weak grounder up the middle.  Quick and Walters could not get it up in time and Boston was owning this game with their speed in this inning as the smallest player on the team hit the best ball till this point.   This also sent the game into the 12 run rule meaning Boston would not  hit the rest of the game unless Houston could tie it up.   This brought David Sanchez off the bench to hit for Yee against Connolly.  Sanchez would foul off the second pitch but would swing and miss three other times in his first World Series appearance.  Elana Regan would come off the bench next.  Regan would face Cochran and would not make contact as she went down on strikes. Luis Rodriguez was looking for his 4th run of the game as he was having his best game of the season to date.  On the 5th pitch of the at bat he hit a shot into left field and scored with ease toward first base for his first four run game of the season.  Doug Biggins would be removed from the game after this play and would be replaced by Willie Harrison.  Zuccarello then hit his first pitch to the right side and Alex Quick would make the stop.  Boston would end the 4th up 18-5 and the teams would take a mandatory 10 minute break.

Fifth inning

As Boston took the field, the lineup looked different.  Elana Regan stayed in the game to play first base.  Drew Crook came back into play third.  Willie Harrison would lead off the 5th against Gonzalez and would strike out.  Syphers would collect the Golden Burrito with his forth strike out of the game.  PJ Navarro would then hit the 5th pitch of the at bat rolling past the 40 foot line and Zuccarello charged it and made his 401’st stop of his career.

Sixth inning

In the 6th inning. Weissman Subbed in Ivan Rodriguez and Melissa Hoyt and took out McCormick and Devenish.  This would be Hoyt’s first series appearance since 2017.  Jason Walters would lead off the 6th and hit his sand wedge straight up in the air to about 60 feet on the field.  Rob Dias would make the stop in time for his first of the game.  Marquez would strike out for the second time and the second out bringing Roy Hutchins up.  He would hit a ball to the right side.  Zuccarello hit the ground and missed and Elana Regan did not appear to hear the ball or the call as she barely moved and Hutchins was on the board with his first run.  Willie Harrison would end the game with a strike out as the Hurricanes bats created a lot of wind and 13 whiffs in the game.

Wrap up

This would be the 21st time Boston had plated 18+ runs against an opponent in team history.  This was the 17th time the team had batted .600 or greater in a game. It was also just the 21st time the Gades had a run differential of 12+ runs in team history.  It was the third 12 run rule victory of the season and the 37th 12 run rule of all time.   The players of the game here were Shawn Devenish with his first 5 run game of the season in a perfect 5-5 performance.  Luis Rodriguez also had a big game with four runs of his own.  Defensively, Guy Zuccarello paced the defense with three stops.  Houston’s player of the game would be PJ Navarro who scored one run and led the team with 2 stops on defense.  Boston would stay put and prepare to play the St. Louis Sirens as the Hurricanes vacated the bench to play the San Antonio Jets.

 

Renegades silence the Sirens

The Renegades would face the St. Louis Sirens in the second game of the series.  This was the first match up between these teams and the second game of the Series as Boston had just beaten Houston 18-6 in a 4 inning twelve run rule.  The Sirens lost to the San Antonio Jets 13-1 in a one inning twelve run rule.

First inning

Boston would have to change its plan as Chris Kimball was supposed to be the leadoff hitter in this game but he was ruled out at the start of the game on offense by the medical staff after headaches started to creep in after he hit the ground in the first game of the day. We wanted to play it safe.  This meant Joe McCormick would lead off instead as the designated hitter.  He would step in against Ron Cochran.  Mac would get four swings and miss all four times for the first out of the game.  Drew Crook was next. With three strikes, he hit a weak grounder to the left side.  Lauren Morales would make her first World Series stop and the Sirens had two down to start the game.  David Sanchez was next with Peter Connolly coming to the mound.  Sanchez lofted a high fly ball up the middle and plated the first run of the game.  Shayne Cantan was next and hit a line drive up the middle of the field and would score with ease.  Guy Zuccarello was next and would ground out to Kim Blumenthal, who was the key driver in starting this historical team.  Boston led 2-0 after the first half of the inning.

Boston would start this game with Peter Connolly calling the right side and Jason Lenicheck calling the left side as Bryan Grillo would get some rest.  Klarah Bloomer would start off the same way McCormick did with a four pitch whiff.  This brought Amy Sweigard to the dish.  She hit a grounder up the middle that narrowly passed by a diving Guy Zuccarello’s feet.  Guy called Shayne Cantan up, but he crawled to the ball, picked it up and dropped it as Cantan picked up an error.  The umps decided to talk this over on their own and Sweigard had her first ever World Series run.  Corey Turner was next and hit the first pitch up the middle as Guy Zuccarello made the stop.  Kim Blumenthal was next as she dug in against her daughter, Mari who was on the mound.  Unofficially this may have been the first ever mother/Daughter battery in league history.  She hit a line drive past Zuccarello.  Drew Crook made no attempt to get to the ground and left it to Sanchez.  Sanchez was late to the ground and then he went after it and kicked it for the second error of the inning as the Sirens screamed with excitement tying the game.  Kaitlyn Overshiner was next and hit a ball that just dribbled over the forty foot line.  Chris Kimball ran in, slid and over slid it.  He then got back up and made the play in time for his first out of the 2023 World Series,  After one, the game was 2-2.

Second inning

Elana Regan would lead off for the Renegades in the second.  She hit a pop fly to the left side and Kaitlyn Overshiner made her first stop of the World Series two steps before Regan reached first base.  McCormick should not have been in this game at this point, but was left in because he whiffed in the first.  His at bat was equally as frustrating to him as he swung and missed at the first three pitches, took a pitch got a foul tip and then struck out for the second time.  Drew Crook then hit a first pitch high fly ball and scored to give the Renegades a lead.  Sanchez would end the inning with a strike out.

Lauren Morales, the six hitter would strike out to lead off the second.  Klarah Bloomer would then hit a short fly ball about 55 feet down the third base line.  Zuccarello scooted over to make the stop.  Sweigard battled but eventually struck out to end the second.

Third inning

Leading off the third would be Shayne Cantan and he would whiff on four pitches.  Zuccarello was next and made contact on the second pitch and put the ball in the air to the left side as Overshiner made the stop.  This brought Elana Regan back to the dish as the Sirens cheered her on.  She hit a short fly ball to the right side, ran to first, slid and missed it.  There was a thought she may have hit the base but replays show she missed it and the umps got the call right as Corey Turner had her first put out of the Series.  After two and a half Boston led 3-2.

Boston would make changes heading into the bottom of the third as Rob Dias replaced Chris Kimball and moved to the left shorty spot.  Guy Zuccarello slid over to the right short spot and Melissa Hoyt came in for Cantan to play mid field.  Corey Turner would hit a grounder up the middle to lead off the inning.  Rob Dias slid and the ball went under him and he decided to go back after it instead of calling Hoyt for help.  Dias and Hoyt both went for the ball but neither could get it up in time as Dias would be charged with an error and Turner scored, tying the game as the Sirens screamed loudly living up to the name of their team.  Blumenthal would strike out and Overshiner next hit a ball that just passed the forty foot arc to a waiting Guy Zuccarello.  Morales would whiff to end the inning but after three, the upstart Sirens were tied up with the Renegades.

Fourth inning

Heading into the fourth, Boston needed to wake up.  Joe McCormick would lead off and on the second pitch would hit a grounder up the middle through the defense for his first run and giving the Renegades the go-ahead run.  Crook hit a laser to the left side that hit the fence in deep left field which was deemed an automatic run.  Sanchez could not keep the momentum up and struck out for the second straight time.   Joe Yee came in to pinch hit for Melissa Hoyt and hit a line drive off his cousin, Connolly to the right side on the first pitch for an easy run.  Zuccarello then hit the first pitch off Cochran to the right side that was foul almost all the way up the line, but slowly rolled closer to the line and landed right on the line as it came to rest before the base which is a fair ball and Guy scored.  Elana Regan was next as the Sirens cheered her on again.  She hit a dribbler to the left side.  Overshiner came in on it and bobbled it as Regan slid safely into third base.  McCormick asked his way back into the lineup, looking for a good hit and he struck out.  Crook was next and hit a hard grounder through the defense for his third run and the 9th for the Renegades.  Sanchez then got off the Schnied and hit a grounder through the defense for his second run of the contest.  Joe Yee would stay hot and hit a fly ball to the right side and score his second run of the game.  Zuccarello would keep things going and would score on a grounder up the middle for his third run of the game.  Elana Regan was next and hit a pop fly-coffin corner shot to the left side and scored with ease running to third base for her second run of the game.  This brought Joe McCormick back in a spot where he should have been getting rest for the week.  He then got the hit he was looking for as he hit a line drive into right field.  He took a bad line to third base, slid and was safe easily.  However, he was still on the ground and needed to be attended to.  That was the end of his game.  Drew Crook then hit the second pitch of the at bat on the ground to the right side.  He stood at home plate for three seconds before running to first.  Corey Turner made the stop to end the inning.  Boston scored 11 times in the frame.  This was the second biggest inning in team history as Boston plated 11 runs in 2007 in the first inning against Stockton and 16 runs in 2105 in the first inning against Tyler.  Boston was one run away from putting this into the 12 run rule but losing McCormick was the bigger concern.

Heading into the bottom of the fourth, more changes for Boston.  Bryan Grillo would replace Jason Lenicheck as the caller on the left side.  Shawn Devenish would also enter the game to replace Drew Crook and Joe Yee stayed in the game to play defense.  Klarah Bloomer would lead off with a grounder down the first base line which Zuccarello charged and picked up.  The Sirens went to their bench to Whitney Marin.  Marin hit the second pitch to the left side and Rob Dias charged it for the out.  Turner struck out to end the inning.  After four frames, Boston led 14-3

Fifth inning

Ivan Rodriguez would hop off the bench to hit for David Sanchez against Peter Connolly.  Looking for his first ever run, he would strike out on four pitches.  Joe Yee stayed hot hitting another line drive to center and scored easily for his third run of the game.  Zuccarello would strike out for the second out of the inning after fouling off three pitches in the at bat.  The Boston energy rose for Elena Regan.  She hit the first pitch on the ground up the right side and scored her first ever three run game.  This brought Chris Kimball up who was cleared to play as his headaches subsided.  He hit a ground ball right at Overshiner who made a nice play to end the inning.  Boston led 16-3.  If they could stop the Sirens in the 5th, the 12 run rule would be invoked.

Boston would sub back Melissa Hoyt into the game in the 5th inning.  Kim Blumenthal could not connect off her daughter, Mari.  Overshiner also struck out to start the fifth.  Lauren Morales then put her first ball into play but it went to Zuccarello for the out.  This put the game into the 12-run rule.

Sixth inning

Katherine Warren pinch hit for Sweigard and slammed the first pitch up the middle.  Melissa Hoyt charged it and over ran it.  She hit the ground on her knees, got up, pivoted ran backwards and picked up the ball for her first ever World Series stop.  This stop tied Pam Love for the all-time lead in defensive stops by a Renegade female player!  This would be it for the Sirens as Marin and Turner struck out to end the game.

Wrap up

This would eventually be one of the best games the Sirens played all series as they plated three runs in this match and did not score more than two the rest of the week.  They were in the game for the first three innings and played well.  The 13 run differential would be the 10th time the Renegades had ever beaten a team by 13+ runs.  In this game, Guy Zuccarello set the Renegade all-time record for most games played, playing in his 204th game of his career.  The stars of the game for the Renegades would be Elana Regan with her first ever three run game, Joe Yee with a three run game, Melissa Hoyt with her first World Series stop and Guy Zuccarello with 2 runs and 5 stops on defense.  For the Sirens Kaitlyn Overshiner led the defense with three stops while Amy Sweigard, Corey turner and Kim Blumenthal plated runs.  Boston would pack up and head to the adjoining field to take on the San Antonio Jets.

 

Jets take off on Renegades in just two innings and win 22-8

Both teams entered this game 2-0 in pool play and both these teams finished top five in the 2022 World Series as the Jets took 2nd and the Renegades took 5th.  Boston had 14 players on its bench and the Jets had just six players on their roster for this game.  Boston would win the coin toss and select home team.  This would be one of the few things they would win in this game.  This game would be played with a fence out near 200 feet and if the fence got hit it would be an automatic run.  Bryan Grillo and Jason Lenicheck would call in this game and lead the team to the field for the first inning.

First inning

Zack Arambula would lead off the game with a strike out.  David Smith was next and he would make history, becoming the first opponent to ever hit a Home Run against the Renegades as he blasted one to deep left field with a three strike count.  A home run in beep baseball counts as two runs.  Axel Cox then hit a line shot up the middle of the defense that landed past Shawn Devenish and split the defense for an easy run and the Jets led 3-0.  This brought up Aaron Almanza who hit a hard grounder to the left side.  Joe Yee dove and missed it but Chris Kimball line it up and picked up the ball.  The play was ruled safe and after contesting it, the call stood.  Ricky Castaneda was next and would strike out for the 2nd out of the inning.   This brought up the six hitter, Hector Lara.  He hit a fly ball that Joe Yee lined up and it hit him after the first bounce in the legs, but the ball rolled away and Yee could not get it in time and the inning would continue.  Arambula was next and would score as would David Smith.  Axel Cox then hit a weak fly ball down the third base line that landed about 75 feet.  Dias scrambled over but could not get the ball in time to beat Cox to third.  Almanza would strike out to end the inning.  Boston could not get an out in the inning as all three outs came by strike out.

Ron Cochran would take the mound with Shawn Devenish leading off for the Renegades in this game.  He would hit a weak fly ball that landed just over the forty foot arc.  Arambula and Castaneda rushed in and Arambula would make the stop.  Luis Rodriguez would be hitting second and with three strikes hit a sharp grounder down the third base line and scored.  Joe Yee was next and on the second pitch off his cousin, Peter Connolly hit a grounder to the  left side but took 2 steps to third when first went off.  He corrected and was able to reach base and score despite the struggle hearing the base with a slight breeze.  David Sanchez would bat next off Connolly and would add to the breeze with four straight swings and misses.  Chris Kimball was next and would hit a first pitch grounder down the third base line sending Arambula to chase it.   Kimball missed first base as he slid to the right of it and Arambula had the stop to end the frame.  After one inning, the Jets led 8-2.

Second inning

The second inning for the Jets would be a record setting inning, and not in a good way for the Renegades.  Castaneda led off with a dribbler to the right side.  Zuccarello came in and had time but he bobbled it for an error and the Jets were on the board.  Lara would hit a high fly ball to the left side.  Rob Dias was there but it bounced three times and Dias could not get the handle as Lara scored.  Arambula then hit a line hugging grounder down the third base line.  Dias angled toward it but gave way to Yee.  Yee was playing too deep for this ball and hit the ground too early and it was three straight runs for the Jets.  Smith, the Home Run hitter (who had hit two home runs so far on this day), hit a line drive up the gut past a diving Devenish for another run.  Axel Cox gave the Renegade defense a break as he struck out.  Almanza hit a grounder that Dias slid to his left on and hit the ground as it went under him.  Yee hit the ground too soon and missed it as well and Almanza scored.  After the play, Yee was getting dizzy and was taken off the field as the temps were at 104 degrees.  Drew Crook would enter the game to replace him.  Castaneda lifted a fly ball to the middle of the field and Devenish dove, the ball got under him and the run scored.  Hector Lara kept the pain going with a line drive up the middle past a diving Devenish and a diving Kimball as five runs were in.  Arambula lofted a high fly ball to left field.  Crook was there and picked it on the second bounce but the speed of Almanza was too much and he scored.  Smith then hit a dribbler that froze Dias.  Dias recovered, took a bad line to the ball, dropped before the ball and then could not get it clean and Smith scored.  Boston called a time out down 12-2 with just one out.  Guy Zuccarello would be taken out of the game at this point and Elana Regan would enter the game and go to first base as Luis Rodriguez moved to Rover and Chris Kimball moved to right shorty.  Cox hit a grounder up the middle, Devenish missed it, Regan dove and missed it and the run scored.  Almanza was next and hit a high fly ball to the right side.  Chris Kimball ran in, hit the ground but could not get the ball up in time as he lifted it right after Almanza hit first base.  Castaneda then hit a weak grounder to Kimball who took three steps to his left and the ball was to his right, he hit the ground and it went under him for the run.  Lara then hit a grounder down the third base line, Crook laid out but the ball went by his out stretched fingers and the run scored.  Arambula was next and he struck out as every out in this game was by the way of a whiff as Boston could not make a stop.  Smith hit a bomb up the middle where nobody was and scored with ease.  This brought Axel Cox to the dish.  He hit a bouncing grounder to the left side.  Dias laid out and knocked it down and recovered to make the stop as the Renegade bench cheered that they got out of the inning.  Boston let up 14 runs in this inning and recorded just one put out.  This would be one of the worst defensive innings in team history.  The previous record was 12 runs allowed against the Indy Edge in the 3rd inning of the 2017 World Series.  The Jets also put up 11 in the 2nd inning of a game between them in pool play during the 2019 series in Tulsa.  Oklahoma was not being kind to the Renegades in these Jets match ups! The Jets led 22-2 and unless Boston could score 8 runs the 12 run rule would be invoked.

Elana Regan would be the lead-off hitter in the second.  She would hit a weak line drive to the left side and Arambula would stop her.  At this point, Christian Thaxton would come off the bench.  He was taking BP between games and had about 20 pitches.  They were the first pitches he had since 2021 off Teigan Weissman and the first pitches he saw off Cochran since 2019.  He fouled off the first pitch which helped with his confidence on his timing.  The third pitch was grounded up the middle past everyone and Thaxton scored his first run since 2019.  Weissman would go to the bench and switch Rodriguez’s as Ivan pinch hit for Luis.  Ivan would go down swinging.  Shayne Cantan then came in to pinch hit for Crook and he would follow suit with a strike out.  After two full frames, Boston was down 22-3 and the 12-run rule was invoked for the third time in the 2023 season (Bayou City and Philly accomplished this as well in this season).  Boston had not been 12-runned three times in a season since 2008.

Third inning

The third inning would have David Sanchez lead off.  He hit a line drive into the second layer of the Jets defense.  Axel Cox made a nice stop for the out.  Chris Kimball then and hit a line drive up the middle right back to Cox who made his second straight stop.  Regan would go three strikes deep and hit a flare to the left side and Arambula stopped her for the last out of the 3rd inning.  The Jets led 22-3 as the Renegades threw up a donut.

fourth inning

Thaxton would lead off the fourth inning.  No stranger to being a lead-off hitter, Thaxton was enjoying the batting practice as he loves to hit.  He hit a high fly ball to left field but did not get all of it and scored.  Ivan Rodriguez was next and hit a grounder to the left side.  He lost his balance and ran almost 15 feet toward the pitcher before correcting himself.  Arambula put him out with plenty of time.  Shayne Cantan was next and struck out after fouling two pitches down the third base line.   David Sanchez was next, giving Connolly three hitters in a row.  He lofted a fly ball down the right side and took off toward first.  Sanchez demonstrated some serious speed on this play and scored with ease.  Kimball hit a fly ball up the middle and Arambula stopped him in time but Kimball was upset as he missed the base (though he was out anyway)  The Jets led 22-5.

fifth inning

Elana Regan would lead off the 5th and ground out weakly to Castaneda on a grounder up the middle.  Thaxton would step up and foul tip two pitches before striking out.  Ivan Rodriguez would get 4 pitches, swing and miss four times and head back to the bench for the last out of the 5th.  However, the scorekeepers did not have the score right and allowed the Renegades to hit again as Shayne Cantan ripped a hard grounder into left field to score.  Sanchez then ripped a line drive into right field and scored.  Guy Zuccarello came into pinch hit for Kimball.  He hit a grounder up the middle. Arambula slid over, dove and missed it and got back up to pick up the ball in time for the out.  The Renegades got four outs in this inning and were down 22-7 (note, the Renegades rookie scorekeeper was unaware of this til the game was over).

Sixth inning

Elana Regan would lead off the 6th and hit a grounder to the left side. Arambula would stop her for the first out of the inning.  Christian Thaxton was next and would make some noise with an absolute bomb that went foul.  He would strike out on six pitches.  Ivan Rodriguez was next;  He would also battle. He saw 7 pitches and hit a nice ball foul down the third base line.  He would strike out for what should have been the last out of the game.  Again, the umpire gave the Renegades another out (and again, the Rookie score keeper did not notice till after the game).  Shayne Cantan then took advantage of that and hit a laser into left that hit the fence for a run.  Sanchez would strike out (the 4th out of the inning) and the game mercifully ended with the Jets winning 22-8

Wrap up

This game would be all sorts of bad for Boston setting all-time lows in team history that included:

• Worst inning ever – 14 runs
• The third time the team was 12-runned in a season – most since 2008
• Least amount of stops on defense (1) only done three other times – last time it was done in a loss was in 2002 vs the Kansas All stars.
• Worst Defensive percentage at 4.5% beating the 2002 Kansas All star game which was 5.9%
• the Tenth time the team had allowed 22+ runs in a game – last done in 2019 vs the same Jets – TWICE!
• 14 run differential was just the 7th time overall it ever happened and the last time was in 2018 vs the Indy Edge when we allowed 15 runs in a loss.

The player of the game for Boston would be Christian Thaxton.  He shook the rust off and scored twice in this game.  For the Jets Arambula scored three times and had 8 stops on defense.  David Smith also scored six times with his Home Run to pace the Jets.  There was a big difference between these two teams.  The Jets entered the double elimination bracket as the two seed with their 3-0 start.  The Renegades would be the 9 seed with a 2-1 start.