Boston Takes 6th at its first ever Indy Thunder Beep Baseball Bonanza tournament
In Boston’s first ever trip to play in the Indy Beep Baseball Bonanza. They traveled with nine players and five coaches. The Renegades are a team that loves to get everyone into games and take advantage of everyone’s skills. This would be a test without five players including Joe McCormick, Drew Crook, Hot Tub, Melissa Hoyt and Ivan Rodriguez. Additionally, the team would be giving Gina Devenish and Teigan Weissman the call to spot this tournament, with a combined 3+ games of experience in their career. The team’s flight was delayed and they pulled into the hotels just after 10:00 at night. It was going to be a tough start.
Teigan Weissman, Fran Regan and Gina Devenish would all have their biggest roles as coaches in their Renegade career on this day
Bayou City Heat come out smoking and route Renegades 13-2
The Boston lineup would look a bit weird in this game because a few players had limited BP through the season. David Sanchez would start on the bench. Shayne Cantan would bat sixth. These two big bats hit over .500 each during the 2022 season.
The Renegades would lose the coin toss and bat first. Boston had hopes of getting up on Bayou City early. The Heat were very thin depth wise bringing just six players and a player/coach for their lineup. Unexpectedly (to the Renegades), Tanner Gers made it to the tournament. When that name appeared on the lineup card, Coach Weissman knew the team had an uphill battle.
First inning
The game would start off terribly. Shawn Devenish lofted a line drive up the middle of the field and took off to third. Off the bat, it looked like a sure run, however, Devenish did not trust his line and he missed the base for the first out. as Brandon Chesser corralled it in left center. Rob Dias hit the first pitch he saw on the ground and was stopped by Jacory Wiley. Chris Kimball, who was making his first game back after a crushing injury in the series last year, was starting at DH. As a way to get him comfortable again, he did not have to worry about playing in the field, especially a field with bleachers set up so close to the home run line in right field. Kimball hit a grounder and scored the first run of the season with his speed. Zuccarello hit the next pitch on the ground, Richie Flores bobbled it but was able to make the play in time. Boston had eight pitches in the inning off Ron Cochran and only swung and missed once. It looked like a solid start at first, if not for the base running blunder.
On defense for the Renegades, Teigan Weissman was making his first appearance as the starting caller. His previous experience consisted of a few innings in the 2021 season, never completing a game. Gina Devenish was on the right side as she had just three games of experience in 2022 against Long Island and Palm Beach. A very green crew that would get tested out of the gate. Tanner Gers brought his golf swing to the plate and tested Weissman on the first pitch. He blasted his sand wedge way up in the air. Weissman called a five and the ball landed in the five zone, Dias dropped to the ground and it spun into the six zone. Dias struggled to beat the elite speed of Tanner Gers. The game was tied. Jacory Wiley and his elite speed were next and he hit a dribbler to the left side. Dias slid in and made the play look easy for the first defensive play of the game. Joe Fleeks was next, three big golf swings in a row for the Heat. With three strikes, Fleeks hit a grounder down the third base line that passed the base and rolled into foul territory. Joe Yee was there to make the play, but he was not aggressive enough and Fleeks beat the play out. The call may have frozen him as the call sounded like a short call. Brandon Chesser was next. The long time Austin Blackhawk changed teams for the first time in his career. He laced a line drive into right field. Luis Rodriguez turned his back to home and chased it. He dove, picked up the ball a split second after Chesser hit third base. Luis played the ball perfectly, there was no way he could make this play any better. The Heat had three runs in. Richie Flores lofted a weak pop up to the middle of the field. Gina Devenish called it but both Dias and Guy were there. It was Guy’s ball, and he picked it clean for his first stop of the season on his quest to 400 career stops. Lee Rodriguez stepped up next as the player coach. Boston went into their big left handed pull shift for Lee and they laughed that he said he could hit to left. With the challenge on, Lee hit a weak grounder to the right side and Zuccarello picked it with ease.
Second inning
Luis Rodriguez would lead off the second inning. Nobody on the Renegades has put more time in on their swing in this season than Luis. The question was if he could focus on staying calm and not amping himself up. On the first pitch, he chopped slightly at the ball and grounded it up the middle. Tanner Gers, playing up front on the right side made the play with ease. This brought Shayne Cantan to the plate. As expected, without much live BP this season, Shayne struggled to maintain his mechanics, he had more swings and misses (3) in this at bat than the previous five hitters combined and struck out. Devenish would have the opposite at bat as Shayne, fouling off three pitches before missing. Boston whimpered to a 1-2-3 inning and put up a big bagel. After one and a half innings, the Heat led 3-1.
Gers led off the 2nd inning with a shot into left field down the third base line. Boston called for a dead ball, but the ball was clicking. This was the second ball the Heat had in this game where the defense really had no chance to make a play. Gers was on fire for the heat. This brought up Wiley, who was not wearing a game shirt and was wearing some sort of back brace/vest. Wiley blasted a bomb to the left side. Weissman called a four and the defense took off to the middle of the field, when the call was closer to a two. Yee charged the ball, Shayne barely moved and it was an easy run for Wiley. Fleeks then hit a short fly ball that landed around 60 feet. Another spinner hitting the ground and spun possibly two zones. Zuccarello could not make the play. Chesser then hit a weak flare with spin to the right side. Gina made a great call, but the ball bounced and Zuccarello could not get it in time. Richie Flores then grounded down the line on the left side, Dias slid and stopped it with ease for the first out of the inning. Lee Rodriguez then hit another grounder to the right side to Guy Zuccarello. Tanner stayed hot and on the second pitch blasted another high sky ball that bounced once and he hit the base giving the Renegades no chance to make a play. Wiley would strike out to end the bleeding. Bayou City plated five runs to take an 8-1 lead after two innings.
Third inning
Boston needed to answer or it was going to be a likely 12-run mercy rule soon. Rob Dias laced a line drive spinner to the right side. Tanner Gers angled back to his left and to the line to make the play look easy. Dias struggled with his line and slowed down making the play easier than it should have been. Chris Kimball then struck out after fouling three balls off. Guy Zuccarello then hit a lazy liner to the right side and Jacory Wiley stopped him. Seven straight outs for the Renegades. Things were looking bleak.
Fleeks would come up with two runs in the game to lead off the third. He hit a 70 foot grounder down the third base line. Dias should have gone head first, this little nuance made it hard for him to get the ball up in time as Fleeks plated his third run of the game. Chesser who had two runs in this contest then hit a grounder to the left side. Dias missed it, Yee missed it and Chesser had his third run of the game. Flores then grounded to the left side, ran to the wrong base, but Dias would have stopped it either way. With three strikes, Lee Rodriguez hit a lazy fly ball into the teeth of the shift. Yee had the ball bounce off him and Rodriguez was safe. Tanner then hit a grounder up the middle. Devenish laid out, but the ball went 5 inches by his feet. Gers was a perfect 4-4 on the day. Wiley then hit a grounder right at Dias, Dias had the ball go under his diving arms and Wiley was safe. Boston needed a time out to reset. It may have broken the mojo as Fleeks struck out. Chesser then hit a flare to the right side, Gina Devenish made a nice call and Guy chased it down for the out. The Heat put the game into the 12 run rule with a 13-1 lead.
12 run rule
Boston would limp its way to the finish line and get everyone into the game. Devenish would hit a weak liner and score for the only other run the Renegades would score in this game. Shayne Cantan would hit nice fly into left field but would miss the second base of the day for Boston. This was not the start that Boston wanted. The team definitely struggled with two missed bases. Teigan Weissman also had his first look at these golf swings and as hard as they were, we could not make any plays on them. Gers scored four times with Fleeks and Chesser pitching in three and Wiley having a pair of runs. The top four guys killed Boston. Guy Zuccarello paced the Renegades with 4 stops on defense. Boston has not been held to two runs in a game since the 2007 season when the Pennsylvania Wolfpack beat the Renegades 6-2 in the first round of double elimination, a span of 264 games!
This was a tough game for the Renegades. The slow grass really hurt them as they struggled to get the ball in the air. Only Cantan and Devenish got the ball in the air and they totaled for two missed bases. This lineup will not be representative of what the team trots out later in the year.
Indy Edge Toy with Renegades, Winning 13-4
Elana Regan made her first two defensive stops in this game against the Edge
Boston traveled across the field to take on the World Champion, Indy edge. Every player in their lineup has at least one championship under their belt, most have more than three. For The Renegades, the lineup was unique. The goal for the Renegades in this game was to help David Sanchez, Joe Yee and Shayne Cantan get their timing down since they had missed so many BP sessions. Elana Regan also got the start to get her experience as she hunted her first career defensive stop. Boston would have Teigan Weissman and Gina Devenish call. Teigan would also be slated to pitch a little in this game. Boston would be the home game in this match.
First Inning
Kyle Kennedy took the mound for the Edge and it appeared they were practicing in this game. He started the game off with the league’s best player trying to take it to right. After failing on the first three pitches, Eric Rodriguez took a pitch, fouled it off and then hit a laser into left past Shayne Cantan. Cory White followed the same pattern, but this time he swing and missed on the last strike. Corian White Followed suit but he took a pitch with just two strikes and struck out. This brought Justin Holland to the dish. Holland blasted his first pitch into center and nobody had a chance as he took a banana line to the base and scored with ease. Mike Jackson was next. Jackson was likely starting because Nick Mulherin was unavailable in this game. The speedster connected on the first pitch and hit a bouncer to the right side. It was right at Elana Regan, who dropped and stopped the ball perfectly. She jumped up and down with joy as she recorded her first ever defensive stop. We have seen her do it in practice a ton, but she needed this confidence to boost her game. This was clearly the highlight of the weekend for the Renegades.
Down 2-0, Boston would have Shawn Devenish lead off the first. Shawn would hit the second pitch to the right side, right at Corian White. He took off to first, but third base went off. The sound of third base was terribly low. Even if he had run to the right base, he would have been out by 50 feet. The game was delayed as the Edge worked with the Renegades to change out the equipment, as that base had been a problem earlier in the day. After a five minute delay, David Sanchez made his first start of the season, and only his second career start in the field, playing third base. He fouled two pitches off including one that was barely foul, where he stood at the plate and did not run. His at bat resulted in a whiff. This brought Joe Yee to the plate. Yee hit the second pitch he saw on the ground to Eric Rodriguez. After one full inning, the edge led 2-0.
Second Inning
Aaron See, batting 6th would lead off the second inning for the Edge, who were all wearing superman shirts. He hit a hard grounder to the right side, Elena Regan dove, missed it and Joe Yee missed it as well for the first run of the inning. Kyle Kennedy was still trying to take the hitters to right field, Eric Rodriguez and Corey White struck out. Corian White would end the inning when he hit a grounder to the right side that Elana missed. The ball stopped rolling and Shawn Devenish ranged over from the middle of the field to pick it up. The Edge lead 3-0.
As the Edge took the field, Corey White needed a time out as he did not appear to be feeling well. He did stay in the game however. Shayne Cantan started things off for Boston, moving up in the order to the four hole and he hit a grounder down the third base line to Eric Rodriguez who made the play with ease. This brought Teigan Weissman to the bump to face Guy Zuccarello. Guy has been a machine off Teigan in the cage and we wanted to give Teigan some work. This lefty pitcher had only seen game action against Rochester and was excited to pitch. Zuccarello fouled off the 2nd pitch and then on the 4th pitch grounded another ball to Rodriguez who made the play with a lot of time. Weissman, pitching to his uncle, stayed in to face Elana Regan. She struck out. Boston went down 1-2-3
Third Inning
Justin Holland would get the party started for the Edge in the third. He hit a grounder past Elana Regan which died in front of Joe Yee. Instead of Yee going after the ball, Shawn Devenish ranged from the middle of the field and by the time he could find it, Holland slammed into first base. Mike Jackson, who has played with the Colorado Storm and San Antonio Jets was next. On the third pitch he let it pass as it appeared he was done trying to go to the right side and on the 5th pitch of the at bat, he hit a coffin corner to the left side and took 3 steps to third when first base went off. He stopped running and Guy Zuccarello made the out. Aaron See, who may have the strongest upper body in the league was next. This big man took the first pitch of the at bat. He fouled off a hard grounder to the left side. With a full count, he hit a chopper up the middle. Devenish had it lined up and played it aggressively as he hit the ground and wiggled his body forward to try to make a play on the ball, as opposed to letting the ball play him. Devenish made an impressive out in this slow grass. Eric Rodriguez then laced a liner to left. Sanchez took a dive and missed which sent Shayne on his horse, but his horse was too slow and Rodriguez had his second run of the game. Corey White would strike out for the 2nd time to end the third. The Edge inched forward and held a 5-0 lead.
Shawn Devenish got the Renegades on the board with a first pitch fister off the handle of the bat into left field for a run. David Sanchez was next. The right hander fouled off the first pitch and ran to third as the ball was on the line, right as he ran by the Edge bench, he was so fast, his speed blew the Edge Canopy over and thankfully, nobody was hurt in the process. He then had his best hit of the day when he lined a ball of the leg of Ron Cochran for a dead pitch. Sanchez would then lose his mechanics and give 1 bad swing before striking out. Joe Yee was next, working on his timing with Ron, as he and Sanchez both normally face Peter Connolly (Yee’s cousin). Yee rolled over on it and hit a grounder down the third base line. Eric Rodriguez slid over and made the play with ease for his fourth stop of the game. Shayne then took the next pitch and hit a 60 foot grounder to Eric to end the inning for Boston down 5-1.
Fourth Inning
For the top of the fourth, the Renegades would make three changes. Rob Dias would replace Guy Zuccarello up front on the left side, Luis Rodriguez would replace Joe Yee at first base and Chris Kimball would replace Shayne Cantan in our deep layer. This was important as this was the first inning of defense Chris had played since his injury in 2022. Corian White, the three hitter would lead off and once again, the Edge hitters kept taking pitches to adjust their timing. With two strikes, White would foul off four pitches and then hit a fly ball that landed in front of Shawn Devenish to his left. Shawn could not get it in time and White had his first run of the game. Holland hit a line drive up the middle, past a diving Shawn Devenish. Chris Kimball had a chance at it, but he was hesitant and Holland was safe for the third straight time. Mike Jackson hit the first pitch on a line to the right side. Luis Rodriguez took one step too far and he missed it as Jackson made it three straight for the Edge. After See and Rodriguez struck out, Corey White took a full count and hit a nice fly ball up the middle at about 60 feet. White took a little bit of a bad line to the base and that extra time allowed Dias to make the stop. The edge led 8-1 after three and a half innings.
Rob Dias, hitting for Zuccarello in the five spot would leave off for the Renegades. With two strikes he hit a grounder to the right side. Corian White made a nice play to stop Dias with ease. Elana Regan would bat against Cochran in this at bat. She would hit the 2nd pitch to Eric Rodriguez and take two steps to first before cutting across the field and running at the Edge bench. Eric Rodriguez made the play with ease. Shawn Devenish was up next and diving over the plate as he swing and fouled off the first pitch off his hands. His fingers took a beating on the third pitch as well with another foul off his hands. Shawn was off with his mechanics. He then fisted another ball to the right side. First base went off and Corian White came to the line and bobbled it into foul territory. Stop was called to help avoid a collision and since White was in foul territory, the run was awarded. David Sanchez grounded the ball to the right side; he took a bad line to third and was in fair territory. When he tried to fix his line, he slipped and tripped over himself, slamming his knee into the ground. By the time he got to the bench, it had begun to swell. His tournament was over. Shayne Cantan re-entered the game for Sanchez. The score was Edge 8 and Shawn Devenish 2.
Fifth Inning
Corian White led off the 5th frame for the Edge. He struck out for the second time in this contest. Justin Holland was next and a perfect 3-3 on the day. He hit the first pitch hard to the right side. Regan could not get down and it was hit right at her. Luis Rodriguez was also slow to the ground as he was caught doing the Cha-cha and practicing his dance moves. Holland had his fourth in a row. Mike Jackson lofted a short fly ball to the right side. Elana Regan hit the ground a step or too early but she lost her aggressiveness when Dias flew over to back her up. They both stared at the ball, Jackson hit first and Regan picked it up too late. Aaron See hit a grounder up the middle, just a few steps to Devenish’s left. Shawn moved well on the ground, but the ball rolled right through his arms for See’s 2nd run of the game. Eric Rodriguez then grounded a ball to the left side, Dias laid out and made the stop with ease. The Edge then went to the bench for Corey White, who had been struggling with health earlier in the game. Jason Dobbs came off the bench. Dobbs, normally a defensive player was last seen by the Renegades hitting as a member of the Kansas all stars. He hit a grounder up the right middle. Regan dove and missed and Shawn Devenish made the stop.
Chris Kimball, hitting in Joe Yee’s spot fouled off two pitches and then hit a grounder that bounced over Eric Rodriguez and flew down the first base line for the first non-Shawn Devenish run of the contest. Luis Rodriguez, hitting in Cantan’s original spot in the order was next. Luis hit a chopper to the right side and took off into the middle of the field. Stop was called and Corian White was closest to the ball and he would have made the out easily without the help of the stop call. Dias would ground out weakly to Rodriguez. Elana Would follow suit, giving Eric Rodriguez his 8th stop in this game. After five innings, the Edge led 11-3.
Sixth Inning
In the 6th, Corian White lofted a fly ball to the right side with a little spin on it. The ball landed in front of Luis Rodriguez but he waited for Shawn Devenish to come over and by the time that happened, White was safe. Holland would then hit a weak ball up the middle, Rob Dias made the stop to get Holland for the first time after he scored four runs in this game. Mike Jackson then hit a grounder to the right side, Elana laid out and it hit her hands and rolled away, She went after it a step and made the play for her second career stop. Aaron See then laced a line drive up the middle, Kimball trotted after it as he tracked it while running and See had an easy run. Eric Rodriguez would whiff to end the frame, his third of the game and Kyle’s 9th strike out. The Edge had a commanding lead 13-3.
In the last of the sixth, Devenish would lead off with a weak grounder to the right side and a bad line to third base. Corian White made his 5th play of the game. Shayne Cantan was up next in David Sanchez’s spot. He hit a 42 foot pop up, Eric Rodriguez raced in and over slid it and Shayne was safe. That would be all for the Renegades as Yee and Rodriguez struck out to end the game.
Wrap up
For the Edge, Justin Holland led the game with four runs. Eric Rodriguez and Corian White made all of the defensive stops. In an uncharacteristic game, Kyle Kennedy struck out 9 hitters. Boston had to find another gear as they would have to face the Chicago Comets with just eight players as David Sanchez would not be available.
Boston Beats the Comets for the 2nd time in team history 10-7
Joe Yee and Rob Dias accounted for 5 of the Renegades runs. Dias also was the defensive leader with 8 stops
Boston Vs Chicago for game three of the first day of the Tournament. Both teams limped in with an 0-2 record. The Comets were playing better as they lost to the Edge 12-7 and the Heat 18-6. They had not been 12-runned. Additionally, the Renegades came in with a lifetime 1-11 record vs the Comets with the only win coming in 2016. They had three guys who were carrying their offense in Bill Landrum (4-9), Gio Francese (3-8) and Noah Beckman (4-6). These three guys had scored more runs than the entire Renegade team. It was going to be a battle. The Comets were without their top two hitters and The Renegades without two of their big bats and their two of the most experienced callers in the sport who have over 186 games of experience between them (Bryan Grillo and Jason Lenicheck).
1st Inning
The Renegades would lose the coin toss and bat first. The lineup would be adjusted a little for Boston to try to get the hotter bats into the lineup. The bases were a problem again, but for the first time in team history, they peeled the base back like a banana, leaving the cover on and exposing the foam. Shawn Devenish would lead things off and just like the other games, it was not a good start with 4 pitches and 4 swings and misses. Rob Dias was next and grounded a ball to the left side. Alex Gamino was there to make the play but he bobbled it and Dias just beat it out. The call was contested and it was very close. The call stood. Chris Kimball would whiff on 4 pitches and Shayne Cantan would whiff on 5 pitches.
Long time pitcher, Chad Perry would toe the mound for the Comets. Chad’s tenure in this sport dates back at least a decade before the Renegades were formed in 2000. Leading off was big left hander, Captain, Bill Landrum. Landrum would strike out to kick things off (similar to the Renegade leadoff hitter). Noah Beckman was next. Beckman had never played vs Boston and he hit a shallow fly to the middle of the field and raced to first, Dias was able to pick it up in time to get the speedster. Big G came up next. On the first pitch, he laced a line drive to the left side of the field that bounced off Shayne. Luis Rodriguez was on the ground and right next to it but Shawn tried to come in and get it and Gio was safe. Tie game. Alex Gamino struck out. Not a great start for either team with a combined five whiffs and 2 bang-bang plays.
2nd Inning
The second inning would start with Guy Zuccarello. On the first pitch he would hit a weak liner to the middle of the field, over the head of their short man, Dan Hernandez. Alex Gamino raced over from the left side of the field and on a bang-bang play would get Guy by a millisecond. This brought Joe Yee to the plate and he hit a line drive to the left side that took a wicked hop. Yee scored for the first time on the weekend and the first time since playing Rochester in the last game of the 2021 season. A big confidence builder for sure. Shawn Devenish may have fed off that energy as he laced a shot into right field by everyone for the first time all weekend, the Renegades squared up two balls in a row, something they had not done in the 2023 season.. Rob Dias hit a weak flare that fell near the 40 foot line. The Comets were playing a point defense with their one shorty, Dan Hernandez about 60 feet right up the middle. This was room service for him and the second out of the inning. Chris Kimball then kept things going with a line drive run scoring hit to the left side. This brought the inconsistent, Shayne Cantan to the plate. Shayne absolutely battled. He saw eleven pitches in this at bat and had 8 foul balls. Sadly, it ended in a swing and a miss to the end the inning. However, this was the best Renegade inning of the day as the team showed some life and took a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom half of the inning. During this at bat, Rob’s catching stool broke which would prove to be a challenge for the catcher who had not caught without a stool since the 2008 season.
Gerardo Tavera, a rookie from the 2022 season would lead off and hit a weak grounder to Rob Dias for the first out. Lamarain Aldridge, A burly right hander with a high swing was next. He hit a high fly ball up the middle of the field, Dias ranged over, dropped to his knees and made the play for the second out. Bill Landrum then fouled off five pitches before hitting a weak flare to the right middle of the field. Zuccarello ranged to his right and made a nice play to end the inning. The Renegades had their biggest lead of the tournament and led 4-1.
3rd Inning
Guy Zuccarello would lead off the third with his only strikeout of the day. Joe Yee then hit a bouncer up the middle that got by Dan Hernandez. He actually slowed up at the base making it closer than it should have been, but the run stood and Yee had his second run of the game. This run tied him with Justen Cantan for 14th all time and was his 63rd career run scored. Then with three strikes, Devenish double hit a ball and blasted it by everyone into deep right for the Renegades deepest hit of the day. The second time he and Yee went back-to-back. Dias would hit a weak bouncer up the middle to Hernandez for an easy out. Chris Kimball stepped up and hit a line drive up the middle. Dan Hernandez made a nice stop. Boston led 5-1 heading into the bottom of the third.
Noah Beckman led off with a flare down the third base line that hugged the line and went into foul territory after it passed the base. Shayne was a little slow to get to it and Beckman’s speed beat it out. Big G was next. He hit a line drive down the first base line. Joe Yee gave chase near the 170 line and Gio beat him by a step to the ball. Alex Gamino hit a fly ball that got past Dias and Shayne Cantan was there for the stop. Tavera hit a grounder to Rob Dias and Aldridge hit a fly ball up the middle that Dias over ran, came back for and picked up quickly for the third out of the inning. This was Rob’s 5th stop of the game as he was just three shy of becoming just the 5th Renegade in team history with 200 defensive stops. Chicago closed the gap and The Renegades led 6-3.
4th Inning
Shayne Cantan would lead off the 4th and strike out on 4 pitches. Guy Zuccarello would hit the second pitch on a fly to the left side. Alex Gamino would stop him with ease. Yee then would take it to a full count and hit a grounder down the third base line. He ran to third base and then found out first was buzzing which likely may have cost him a run. Boston put up a bagel in the inning.
Heading into the bottom of the fourth, Elana Regan subbed into play the designated Fielder position and took out Luis Rodriguez. The Comets had the top of their order out. Regan would surely be tested.
In the bottom of the fourth, Bill Landrum would lead off and hit the second pitch from Perry up the middle. Shawn Devenish would hit the ground and wiggle forward to make a nice play. This would be Shawn’s 50th of his career and would tie him with Aqil Sajjad for 15th all time in Renegade history. This brought Noah Beckman to the dish. He hit a chopper to Rob Dias who bobbled it and made the stop after it was contested by Chicago. Gio Francese was next and was looking for his third run in a row. He would hit a fly ball into left center. Elana Regan gave chase, but could not get it in time and Gio had three in a row. Alex Gamino would close out the inning with a 45 foot slow dribbler that Rob Dias slid in on to make the stop. Boston led 6-4.
5th Inning
Shawn Devenish would struggle to lead off the inning. After two foul tips on the 3rd and 4th pitch, he would strike out for the second time in this game. Rob Dias then took the second pitch and hit a line drive to the right side. Their right front man dove and missed it but it died before the second layer. Dias was safe. Chris Kimball would dig deep after swinging and missing three times, he would foul one back to Weissman. He then hit a ball to the left side and beat it out to first for his second run of the game. Shayne Cantan then hit a weak flare up the middle of the field. It was just over Dan Hernandez’s head and Alex Gamino flew over from the left side and picked it up a split second after Cantan hit third base. Zuccarello then lined a ball up the middle, Dan Hernandez made a nice stop on the line drive off his body. Joe Yee would strike out to end the inning. Boston led 9-4 heading to the bottom of the fifth.
Tavera would lead off out of the four spot. He would get his best knock on the day with a fly ball to center. It would bounce over Devenish and head past him. Elana Regan would be slow to track it down and the Comets got a run back. Aldridge, who like Tavera was also 0-2 with two outs to Dias was next. He hit a fly ball to the right side that got out to Joe Yee. The ball went off his hands and he bobbled it. Aldridge was safe. During the play, Elana Regan started to have some trouble as she was walking toward field three. Rob Dias and Shawn Devenish realized something was off with her. When she was asked what month it was, she answered “January”. That was the end of her day. Luis Rodriguez would re-enter the game as the DF. That time may have broken some mojo that Perry had as Landrum struck out for the second time of the game. Noah Beckman was next and hit a line drive about 105 feet to Shayne Cantan who made the play with plenty of time. The unstoppable Big G was next. He blasted a ball to center; Gina Devenish called it which means it was on the right side. Joe Yee who was shaded up the middle gave up on the ball as it rolled to center and Gio had his 4th run of the game. Alex Gamino would then hit a flare to the left side and Rob Dias would gobble it up for his 8th stop of the game and his 200th career stop. This would make him just the 5th Renegade in team history to reach this milestone joining Zuccarello, Justen Proctor, Darren Black and Joe McCormick in team history.
6th Inning
Boston clung to a 9-7 lead but the struggles would continue for Devenish who would get a foul tip on the first pitch but then swing and miss three times for the third K of his game. Rob Dias would step up as a light cool rain began to fall on a sunny day. He hit a weak grounder up the middle that got by Hernandez and a diving Gamino. His third run of the game gave the Renegades a three run lead. Kimball would then hit a grounder up the middle, Alex Gamino would make a great play running to the middle of the field. That brought Shayne Cantan to the plate. Shayne would swing and miss on the first pitch. Weissman caught something wrong with his mechanics and decided to point it out. Much to Cochran’s dismay, Shayne’s swing changed dramatically with his change, however, Cochran was unable to find the bat. This would hurt Boston in this game, but Shayne found his swing again and that would be positive for Sunday’s game.
Heading to the Bottom of the 6th, Boston was up 10-7. Chicago would have their 5-6-1 hitters up. They were a combined 2-10, but Tavera and Aldridge had scored in their last at bats. Tavera hit a line drive to left center. It was hit right at Luis Rodriguez. He picked it up with plenty of time. However, he put it on the ground after being excited to make his first stop of the season and Chicago thought he bobbled it. It was contested and the play stood. A big stop at a big moment. Aldridge and Landrum would strike out to end the game. Boston would win 9-7.
Wrap
An Interesting game where the leadoff hitters on both teams struggled. though Devenish scored a pair, he struck out three times. Landrum was 0-5 with three strike outs as well. In fact, Perry struck out just five hitters and three of them came from the leadoff spot. Boston struck out a pathetic ten times as Shayne whiffed four times to pace the Renegades in this stat. For Chicago, Hernandez and Gamino made all the stops up front. For Boston, 5 of the 6 hitters scored and five players made stops on defense. Boston had the deeper team on this day. It was just the second time in team history the Renegades had beaten the Comets. Boston would head to the 5/6 game to face the Gateway Archers. Chicago would go to the 7/8 game vs Cleveland. Rob Dias would be the player of the game with his 8 defensive stops and 3 runs scored. His 8 stops would be his single season career best. Joe Yee would get honorable mention with his two runs out of the six hole
Gateway Gets revenge to their 2022 loss winning 12-9
With an eight team tournament, The Renegades finished 3rd in its bracket and would play the 3rd place finisher of the other bracket, the Gateway Archers. Gateway is a relatively new team, but many of its players have been in the league for a while.. In fact, their entire lineup, short of their two hitter, Chad Dillon and rookie Kaleb Wright has played with other teams. Their pitcher, Johnny Walker a legacy in this sport who has pitched for so many teams including most recently the USA Legends, Colorado Storm and Philly Fire. The Renegades and Walker have had so many battles over the years…very rarely an easy game between them!
First inning
Once again, the Renegades lost the coin toss in this game and were the visiting team. Shawn Devenish worked the count to three strikes and then hit a weak grounder to the left side. Ethan Johnston could not make the play in time and Boston drew first blood. Rob Dias would keep up his streak of low pitch at bats and hit the first pitch up the middle. Kaleb Wright would range to the middle of the field and stop Dias for the first out of the game. Chris Kimball was next and hit another dribbler to the left side. Ethan Johnston had this with ease for the out. Shayne Cantan was next, moving up in the order with his improved mechanics. Shayne would hit a bouncer to the left side that would squirt under Johnston but Marc Morris would range over to his right and make the out as Shayne Ran just by third base, grazing it with his arm pit.
For the Archers, their leadoff hitter would be David Smith. Smith was a rental player from the San Antonio Jets for the weekend. He was the Co-offensive MVP with our own Joe McCormick in the 2022 World Series. He would hit a hard grounder up the middle that would bounce of Shawn Devenish and just over him. Shawn could not recover in time and the game was tied at one. Next up was Chad Dillon, a lefty. He would hit a grounder to the right side but a step out of the box, he would appear to injure his calf and limp his way to first base. Guy Zuccarello would have this lined up but would actually miss it. Rob Dias came over from the other side of the field to back him up and make the stop. This brought Richie Krussel to the plate. Krussel, a long time Colorado Storm and a former Indy Edge would hit a grounder to the left side. Rob Dias laid out nicely and stopped it quickly for the second out. This brought up Marc Morris a speedy player with experience playing with the Indy Thunder and Indy Edge. Morris would hit a fly ball to the right side. Gina Devenish made a quick short call on this fly ball and led Guy Zuccarello right to the ball for his first stop of the game. After one, the game was knotted at one a piece.
2nd inning
Heading into the second inning, Demetris Morrow would be subbed in for the injured Chad Dillon. Morrow has been in this league since at least 2003 and has played for a few teams including Colorado and the San Antonio Jets. Joe Yee would hit the first pitch he saw on a line into left field. Marc Morris would scoot to his right and make the stop to get Yee with plenty of time. This brought Luis Rodriguez to the plate. He would hit a weak pop fly to the left side and Ethan Johnston would get him just as he plowed into first base. Shawn Devenish was next. He hit a weak pop to the middle of the field but would miss first base and would be put out as Shawn’s base running woes continued to haunt him. Boston would go down 1-2-3 on just five pitches.
Rookie Kaleb Wright would be the first hitter of the inning, hitting in the 4 spot of the Archer lineup. We did not know a lot about Wright other than he had some pop and he actually had thrown a bat on the previous day that sent one of the people on their bench to the hospital. Everyone was on alert for thrown bats on the Renegades bench. He would hit a bomb to the center of the field and when it hit the ground it took a nasty hop to the left. Luis Rodriguez had one shot at it and came up empty. Wright gave the Archers the lead. This brought up Ethan Johnston (another long time Colorado Storm and Indy Edge player). Johnston took out his nine iron and golfed it to the right side. Gina called a two but it spun to the line, but Zuccarello was aware of the hitter and went to the line and made a nice play on the golf swing. Back to the top of the order and David Smith. He hit another grounder up the middle. Devenish hit the ground and moved one slide to his left and stopped it for a big out. This brought in the newest addition to the lineup, Demetris Morrow. Morrow hit a grounder to the right side that died in the thick grass. Shayne Cantan was playing him deep and came a long way to pick up this ball and made the stop. The Archers led after two innings 2-1.
3rd inning
Rob Dias would get things started with three strikes and hit a weak pop to the coffin corner on the right side and score. Chris Kimball would see 4 pitches and swing and miss on all four of them. Shayne Cantan would need one pitch and he would loft a fly ball to left and score on his best hit of the weekend. Yee, was uncomfortable on the first pitch and took it, a veteran move. Three pitches later he hit a laser down the third base line and took off for first base. His line was too perfect and he slammed into the base at top speed for a run. Luis Rodriguez was next, short of hitting a grounder off of Ron Cochran’s legs would not make any other contact in this at bat and would strike out. That would start a bad trend. Devenish would foul off four pitches but strike out on six pitches. However, this three run outburst was one of the more productive innings of the weekend and the Renegades led 4-2.
Richie Krussel would lead off the inning for Gateway. After crushing a ball foul down the third base line, he hit a bouncer down the first base line. He was in fair territory as Guy Zuccarello came to get the ball. They were about to collide when “STOP” was called and Zuccarello went into a fetal position on the field. Krussel would be called out for being in fair territory. Marc Morris was up next, just as Walker delivered the pitch, a celebration broke out and the Renegades tried to call time. It was not awarded and Zuccarello was frozen. By the time he picked up the sound, he had given Morris a good 60 foot head start. Morris was safe easily on a 50 foot ball. Bad luck for Boston. The next hitter was Kaleb Wright. He hit a dribbler to the left side. Dias lost the ball and took an odd line to it. Ultimately he over ran it and dropped and sat on it like an egg. He got the ball up and the initial call was an out. However, it was contested and the call was over turned. Boston should have been out of this inning. Ethan Johnston then bounced one up the right middle of the field. Zuccarello could not get the handle on it and bobbled it for three straight runs that all went less than 60 feet. That is all Johnny Walker needs. David Smith then launched a bomb over Shayne Cantan’s head in center field for a ball that Boston had no chance on. Morrow then hit a line drive into left field. Luis Rodriguez had it lined up but bobbled it and Morrow was safe. Krussel would help the Renegades out with a dribbler to the left side and just to make sure the Renegades would make the play; he took two steps to first when third was buzzing. Rob Dias made the play with this additional assist. Morris would then hit a fly ball right at Rob Dias. Teigan called it short, and Dias ran in…but he quickly found the ball would land where he started. That time to change direction and run backwards cost him the out and Morris was in for the second time in this inning. Kaleb Wright would then launch a bomb into deep center field that had to be near the home run line for an easy run and a no doubter for the Archers. Johnston would strike out to end the inning. Gateway would plate seven runs in an inning that could have easily been a 1-2-3.
4th inning
Boston would limp back to the bench and their bats would remain limp. Rob Dias would strike out to start the fourth. This was his first whiff of the weekend and the fourth Renegade whiff in a row. Kimball would then hit a grounder up the middle and take one step to first before learning third was going off. That one step cost him the run and he was out. More haunting bad base running for the Renegades. Shayne then hit a line drive into left and took off to first. Marc Morris would make a nice stop and the call was an out. Boston challenged the call to no avail as the Archer catcher told the Renegades that they had “just been screwed on that call”. Not much of an answer to the Archer rally and Boston was down 9-4 going into the bottom of the 4th.
The Archers had a chance to bury the Renegades as David Smith would lead off the frame. He would strike out. Morrow would then pound a line drive into left center. Devenish dove and missed, Zuccarello was behind Shawn and dove and the ball bounced off him. Morrow scored. Krussel then hit a spinning fly ball to the right side. Gina Devenish called a two but it spun to the one, away from Shayne Cantan and the run scored, Krussel’s first of the game. Marc Morris would then loft a fly ball about 90 feet to the left side. Dias lost his field awareness and went back too far on this ball as it rolled out to Joe Yee. In his efforts to get the ball, Dias cleated Joe Yee in his surgically repaired shins. Yee was in a ton of pain with a possible bone bruise and was taken out of the game. Elana Regan came off the bench to play the deep spot while Luis Rodriguez moved up to 3rd base. After a three minute delay to get Joe off the field and attended to, Kaleb Wright stepped to the plate. He would hit a weak grounder up the middle. Zuccarello and Dias converged on it and Dias made the stop. Ethan Johnston would whiff for the 2nd straight time. Gateway plated three runs and led 12-4.
5th inning
Elana Regan would trot in from the field to get her first at bat of the game in replacement of Yee, to her surprise. She struck out on 4 pitches. Luis Rodriguez would then work to three strikes and hit the 4th pitch bouncing short up the middle. Ethan Johnston would make the play closer than it should be but he made the out. Shawn Devenish would then hit the first pitch off the bottom of his bat to the right side. David Smith had switched positions and was up front on this play and he made the play with ease. Boston had eight consecutive hitters make an out. The team’s energy was down and it was showing.
Leading off the bottom of the 5th with an eight run lead, David Smith would whiff for the 2nd time of the game. Morrow was on fire after coming in for Dillon. He would hit a grounder to the left side that went under a diving Rob Dias. Dias called Shawn up on the ball, and after a bobble, Shawn made the stop. Gateway then went to their bench and brought in Josh Sisson for Krussel. Sisson would hit a grounder up the middle, Dias would call in Devenish again and Shawn would make his second stop of the inning and third of the game.
6th inning
Weissman pulled the team together to try to finish strong and show no quit. Play this game one at bat at a time. Rob Dias would lead off and to true Dias form, hit the first pitch he saw up the middle for a run. Kimball also hit the first pitch on a fly to the left side that bounced about 5 feet in the air away from Ethan Johnston. Ethan recovered but dropped the ball and Kimball was safe. Cantan then hit a bouncing hard grounder to the left side. Johnston missed it and then Marc Morris bobbled it and dropped it. Cantan was in for three straight runs. Elana then hit a 42 foot ball and took a step to first when third went off. Johnston would put her out with ease. Luis Rodriguez was next. He hit the first pitch he saw on the ground hard into left field by everyone. The Renegade energy was picking up! Back to the top of the order and Devenish would hit a dribbler up the middle and had a perfect line to first base but he didn’t trust it and went wide left, missing his 2nd base of the game. A big out and a big mistake for the Renegades. Dias was next and hit another dribbler to the left side, but he took a great line and beat it out. Boston had pulled the game to 12-9 after showing some life. Kimball was next and hit a line drive to the left side to Ethan Johnston. It was a bang-bang play. The call was an out. Weissman contested it and the call stood. Boston’s rally fell short
Wrap up
It was another ugly game for the Renegades. Three missed bases. A terrible 3rd inning that got away from the team after muffing a few easy plays and not a lot of great hitting. An injury to Joe Yee on top of it all to rub salt in their wound. The player of the game was Marc Morris who scored three runs and also made five stops in the field. Kaleb Wright had himself a game with three runs and Ethan Johnston made six stops up front. For Boston, Rob Dias was the player of the game with three runs and four stops on defense. Rob (204) also inched ahead of Joe McCormick (201) for 4th all -time in Renegades defensive stops Boston would take 6th place on this weekend. The team would soon get a lecture about its approach to this tournament with the goal to get working harder and smarter. Boston missed three bases in this game and lost by three runs. That statement would sum up the missed opportunities the Renegades had. Of all the tournaments in the season, this one was being used for experience and learning. The renegades learned a lot and will be better for it.