The Final Four Round of the Cinco de Mayo tournament featured two experienced pitchers and two relatively new pitchers to the elite tournament scene. That resulted in an incredibly gut-wrenching pitcher's duel, and an awe inspiring offensive war.
IPWN, was given the nod for the Bronx based Bombers while SniperX was once again given the start over Pesto. The experienced IPWN (Goblin) has been around since UBO2, and the trust he has developed from his teammates gives him an added edge. SniperX on the other hand has been a cancer to his team, but his talent in the AS league and in the early rounds of this tournament has put his team in an almost Terrell Owens situation. Live with the cancer because he is just good.
The starters in the second game mirrored those in the first game. Megatron is an experienced Elite pitcher now but struggles with his consistency. Megatron has one of the toughest jobs in all of RBO, as he manages, hits, and pitches. WCKDPRK is a lot less reliable at this point in his career. He has shown flashes of excellence but appears hittable at times. It was also a rookie vs a veteran in this matchup. On to the games...
Bombers vs Hybrids
Bombers Starting Lineup
d1nonly2
Jiraiya
TheMan
EduaNYC
IPWN
Hybrids Starting Lineup
HAVERFORD
OLDZERO
ToyBoy
GAWD
SniperX
The pitcher's duel between Bombers and Hybrids kept both managers on their toes. I will do my best to recap the game as specifically as possible:
Top 1 - Hybrids
The Hybrids were shut down quietly by the solid pitching of IPWN. The Bombers star continued his dominance of elite league hitters despite not playing much in tournaments lately. Without Frogger, TheMan slotted into Right Field and the Bombers defense looked strong.
Bottom 1 - Bombers
D1nonly2 homered the second pitch of the ballgame off of SniperX to take a 1-0 lead. SniperX rebounded well by closing down the innings with no further damage done. SniperX continued his little shuffle distracting the Bombers hitters.
Top 2 - Hybrids
The second inning saw the awakening of the Hybrids offense. GAWD heated up with a game tying solo homerun. OLDZERO would follow with a single, as ToyBoy would then homer to make the game a 3-2 duel after the top of the 2nd. IPWN settled down and would not surrender any more runs in the second.
Bottom 2 - Bombers
SniperX continued the "SniperX Shuffle" dazzling the fans with impressive stuff. He would shut down the Bombers in the second with great defense. He pitched around a hit and was unaffected by the pressure. This is pretty commendable considering the pressure SniperX has. If he does not perform, the community will bash him. He seems to thrive off of this.
Top 3 - Hybrids
IPWN continued to rebound by shutting down Hybrids in the third. He seems to have developed some skin as he used to fold after giving up runs.
Bottom 3 - Bombers
With one out, SniperX got IPWN to pop out. Because of a rain delay, the game had to restart. After the delay, SniperX would induce a ground out, apparently rejuvinated after the delay.
Top 4 - Hybrids
IPWN would shut down the Hybrids again, putting the 2nd inning completely behind him. His manager entrusted him with the game by assuring him he would come out for the fifth after he finally seemed to find a groove
Bottom 4 - Bombers
SniperX did not want to surrender any type of runs tonight. Not to be outdone, he shut down the very tough Bombers lineup in the bottom half of the 4th.
Top 5 - Hybrids
Now really pitching effectively, IPWN shut down the Hybrids offense in the top of the 5th making it 3 consecutive scoreless innings. With his offense struggling, IPWN was able to focus solely on pitching.
Bottom 5 - Bombers
SniperX seemed to get stronger as the game went on. No offense at all for a normally potent Bombers ballclub. They did manage to string together two gappers and a dink that fell through. IPWN was up with the bases loaded and 2 men out and hit a line shot to the gap in LCF. ToyBoy made a magnificent catch which was clearly the play of the game.
Top 6 - Hybrids
IPWN was sent out for the top of the 6th as he seemed to have figured out the Hybrids' offense. Unfortunately, what he did find was the hot Swedish slugger GAWD. After a single by ToyBoy, GAWD homered to give his pitcher some insurance. 5-2 Hybrids after 6.
Bottom 6 - Bombers
The Hybrids took the field one last time as SniperX surrendered one run on another homerun by d1nonly2. That was that as the Hybrids moved on to the finals of the Cinco De Mayo Tournament.
I caught up with the winning and losing managers for two very interesting interviews:
Bombers Interview - KMAN
Melky: Your first managerial job. How did it feel?
KMAN: Well its a learning process. I feel i've got alot more figured out now with the team i have then when i started. That cant be bad
Melky: You chose to go with IPWN tonight after u pitched a gem last night and hit 3 homeruns. Do you go with a rotation?
KMAN: No i don't have a rotation. I try and feel a game out as best i can. IPWN is just as big of a threat on the hill as i am ..he's proven that now.
Melky: What do you take from this tournament?
KMAN: Well ive learned to trust your (Melky) own judgement managing. One big change that i wont specificly name may have been the difference in the game. So im going to take that and all the rest ive learned and move to league which matters most in this organization.
Melky: Any words for Hybrids?
KMAN: lol i'll be careful here as last time you quoted my joke....
Melky: *laughs*
KMAN: i'll just say gg, hope next game goes smoother and wow Toyboy nice fielding and hitting
Melky:thx for the interview as always
KMAN:yep not a problem
Hybrids Interview - ToyBoy
Melky: You defeated Bombers and Empire and arguably had the toughest road to the finals, what do you think when you look back at the teams you beat?
ToyBoy: The first game against Empire we were pumped and we told ourselfves that we have beaten them before and we can do it again. And against Bombers we knew that they were not going to be easy but that we had a better chance than we gave ourself credit for. First time in a long time i was nervous in a game
Melky: How do you manage SniperX?
ToyBoy: That's easy. We tell him to be calm and focus and just do his thing. He knows he has a good defense behind him
Melky: Do u have anything to say to Bombers?
ToyBoy: Other than Thanks for a Great Game that made me be on my toes, no.
Melky: You are playing T.Tech in the next round. They scored over 40 runs the last 2 games combined. Are you afraid at all?
ToyBoy: Not at all, we are a team that likes close scoring games and with the pitcher and defense we have on the team, i dont think they will score much
Melky: Thanks a lot for your time ToyBoy
ToyBoy: You are welcome.
So Hybrids win and move on to the Finals. A very impressive game for a surprising team.
Final Score: Hybrids 6 , Bombers 3
Player of the Game: GAWD
Next Game: vs T.Tech
Carnage vs T.Tech
T.Tech Starting Lineup
gatyopin2
ABSmoke
W00ds15
DantheMan
WCKDPRK
Carnage Starting Lineup
Wiggy
bNutz
Ebola
Headake
Megatron
Want to know what impressive is? How about a 15-14 game that was capped off by a walk off homer by the guy who ended up having to pitch because the winning team did not have any more pitchers. Below is the best play by play anyone at the chronicle could muster:
Top 1 - Carnage
WCKDPRK needed to give his team a solid game and got off to a rocky start. Wiggy clearly was a man amongst boys tonight helping Carnage jump out to an early 3-0 lead. Carnage did it the old fashion way, showing power and stringing together a couple of hits
Bottom 1 - T.Tech
Megatron once again struggled. He gave up homeruns to gatyopin2 and the recently turning 23 year old ABSMOKE. It was 4-3 after 1, in what was shaping up to be a heck of an offensive ball game.
Top 2 - Carnage
Carnage faultered in the second inning as WCKDPRK pitched well. He shut down an obviously powerful lineup. Carnage was getting hits, but the players in the middle were not coming through.
Bottom 2 - T.Tech
W00ds15 put himself on the tournament map with a solo homerun. Megatron would settle down and hold the game at 5-3 after 2 innings.
Top 3 - Carnage
Once again, WCKDPRK held Carnage scoreless. Two straight scoreless innings, pitching around hits, and dealing with the pressure of his first Final Four in elite play. Great outing for WCKDPRK after his rocky first inning.
Bottom 3 - T.Tech
Megatron seemed to have settled down. He would not allow a run in the bottom of the third. The first full scoreless inning of the game.
Top 4 - Carnage
Wiggy and Headake came out and proved to the world why NEWBert and I are so high on them. The two bright spots in the Carnage lineup helped Carnage pull ahead 7-5 as WCKDPRK was finally replaced with kiku. A tough outing for the young T.Tech ace.
Bottom 4 - T.Tech
Baptiste came up big as the manager subbed in and hit a 3 run homerun that fueled his team. The game was now 8-7 and T.Tech regained all lost confidence. Megatron on the other hand lost his. He managed to get out of the inning rather disappointed.
Top 5 - Carnage
Nothing doing for Carnage off of kiku. Unfortunately, kiku was lost due to bugging himself with a low knuckle and Ebola lagged out. The inning would end with a 4v4 game going on.
Bottom 5 - T.Tech
gatyopin2 had Carnage's number. Another homerun for gat gave T.Tech a 9-7 lead. Megatron did not allow another run to cross the plate in the bottom of the 5th. SayHeyKid was set to take the mound in the Top of the 6th.
Top 6 - Carnage
Carnage had one final push in tonights game. Wiggy and HeadAke again attacked the non-pitcher with the help of their teammates and made it a 13-10 ball game. A safe lead?
Bottom 6 - T.Tech
Megatron failed to hold the lead as he gave up a 2 out 3 run homerun to gatyopin2, the star of the game clearly. It was 13-13 going into the top of the 7th.
Top 7 - Carnage
Subbing himself out, Megatron brought in bden2. Another clutch homerun gave Carnage a 14-13. Unfortunately, they were not the home team.
Bottom 7 - T.Tech
N8te would tie the game off of Wiggy in the Bottom of the 7th. A valiant effort, Wiggy was unable to keep the lead. With a 14-14 game, the man who was forced to pitch, SayHey, walked off with a solo homerun. T.Tech celebrated on vent ecstatically.
A great game by both teams. I caught up with the losing manager, Megatron, first for a post game interview:
Carnage Interview - Megatron
Melky: Tough loss tonight Mega, great game by the way.
Mega: thanks
Melky: You played an amazing tournament through the obvious stresses of managing, pitching and hitting. How much does that affect your play?
Mega: It shouldn't affect my play too much...I think as a pitcher in UBO, you kinda crave that kinda pressure. Besides the occasional fire - look after, I think I can do a somewhat decent job of separating the stress from the fun and working around it
Melky: what was the difference between the Flight game where u were lights out, and the past two games where u struggled?
Mega: Ran into a tank of a hitter in both games. Ensferum and Gatyopin, they really had my number
Melky: You have been making amazing managerial decisions with late inning substitutions, how much of Majewicz and bden's clutch performance do u credit yourself for?
Mega: I think the changes were pretty much common sense when you looked at the situations we were in. We had some guys that were struggling and really those two guys just made me look good. I can't take too much credit for that
Melky: Whay do you take from this tournament? Positives? Negatives?
Mega: Definetly it was a positive tournament, I mean a lot of big name teams didn't make it through so we can't feel too bad about losing by a run in extras.
Melky: Well you did great. Good luck in the future.
Mega: Thank You, later mate.
T.Tech Interview - BaPtIste
Melky: How much confidence do you have in WCKDPRK, you seem to throw him out there every game no matter how hard he is hit.
BapTisTe: i feel perk can get the job done thats y he is in there
Melky: Your offense has scored over 40 runs the last two games, SniperX shut down a solid Bombers offense tonight , how confident are u that u can hit him
BapTisTe: he is a very good pitcher but my guys seem to be on the ball everytime i put them in. We play everyone no matter what. Manny decided to stay out tonight for example.
Melky: Manny decided to sit out?
BapTisTe: yes
Melky: why?
BapTisTe: to allow everyone a chace to play
Melky: that is really risky in a prize tourney. You had a big homerun that seemed to put some fire under your team, do you feel they play better when you are in the game?
BapTisTe: We work as a unit. With or without me my guys can get the job done with or without me
Melky: Do you have any words for Carnage?
BapTisTe: One of our best games that have been played in the New Rbo
Melky: well thank you again baptiste it is always a pleasure to interview you. Good luck tomorrow
BapTisTe: thank you
T.Tech wins in impressive fashion. It will be interesting to see if their offense can continue to produce.
Final Score: T.Tech 15 , Carnage 14 - 7 innings
Player of the Game: GatYoPin2
Next Game: vs Hybrids
Now...Prediction Review!!!
Newbert - 0-2
Melky - 1-1
Previews up soon. Great round. Thank you for the interviews and recaps d1nonly2, Kman, ToyBoy, Baptiste, ABSMOKE, Megatron.
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