Griffleball Power Rankings Article Week Seven

On a humid day at the end of June, the GBL may have said its final goodbyes to the Janke Cage. In case you did not hear, it appears the town of Highland will be replacing the tennis courts with a skateboard park. With the construction closing in on the JC, the Taka Drivers and Bird Gang decided to take their series to the Griffle Grounds (since the court was vacant). It did not take long either team to feel the heat of the upcoming battle. With Taka on a four game skid and the Bird Gang taking the court for the first time in two weeks, the intensity of the game was felt league wide. It seemed the Taka Drivers had control of not only the game, but the entire series. They were ultimately doomed by two swings. The first came from Cole Felde in the bottom of the fifth. Down 2-0, Cole crushed a change-up (lob?) from Ryan Voges to send the game into extras. In extras, Andrew Felde smoked a line drive under the tree in left that barely cleared the fence to give the Bird Gang a 3-2 victory. It was the Taka Drivers fifth straight loss, but they flipped a switch immediately in game two. Already up 2-0, Jackson Buzea doubled the lead with his seventh home run of the season to make it 4-0. Taka would add a few more to split the series with the Bird Gang with a 6-2 win. With the first two teams pretty much a shoe in to make the playoffs, Sunday Night Griffleball presented the best team this season versus the best regular season team last year. After coming off a three game sweep of Taka, the Gashouse Gorillas were flying high and were pumped for some wiffle ball. On the other hand, the Nighttime Ninjas were battling to remain in playoff contention. Through four innings of game one, the Gashouse Gorillas had dominated the Ninjas. Heading into the fifth, the Ninjas trailed 8-0 and they made life extremely difficult for Gashouse to shut the door. The Ninjas scored five runs to cut the lead to 8-5 and put the pressure on reliever Jeremy Ratajczyk. Eventually, the commissioner settled in to secure the win, but the Ninjas carried their momentum into game two. Mike Kubacki Jr. pitched lights out on the mound and shut down the Gashouse Gorillas league leading offense to zero runs. In the first inning of game two, Sammy Krucek belted a three run homer to give his Ninjas a 3-0 lead and they would never look back. The Nighttime Ninjas did something that no other GBL team has done all season and shut-out the Gashouse Gorillas en route to a 6-0 win. At the end of the day, the top three teams (Gashouse, Taka, Bird Gang) are still in control of their own destinies. While, the Nighttime Ninjas made the last spot a bit more interesting by tying the Stallionaires for the final playoff spot. Heading into a much needed by-week for some teams, the last spot in the playoffs could come down to the final week. It should be a fantastic final few months for the GBL.

Scoreboard

6/26/16 - Bird Gang 3 Taka Drivers 2 (W-Cole Felde L-Jackson Buzea)

Deciding Moment - Down 2-0 in the bottom of the 5th, Cole Felde tied the game at two with a two run homer off Ryan Voges. His brother, Andrew, won the game with a walk off home run in the seventh.

6/26/16 - Taka Drivers 6 Bird Gang 2 (W-Ryan Voges L-Cole Felde)

Deciding Moment - With the lead cut to 4-2, Ryan Voges came in for starter Chris Bartley in the 3rd to retire two straight batters and stop any momentum the Bird Gang have gained.

6/26/16 - Gashouse Gorillas 8 Nighttime Ninjas 5 (W-Jim Tucker L-Sammy Krucek)

Deciding Moment - Ryan Galiher's two three run home runs put the game nearly out of reach. Without the second bomb, the outcome could have been different. 

6/26/16 - Nighttime Ninjas 6 Gashouse Gorillas 0 (W-Mike Kubacki Jr. L-Ryan Galiher)

Deciding Moment - Mike Kubacki Jr. shut down the Gashouse Gorillas prolific offense and never allowed more then one base runner per inning in three innings of work.

STANDINGS

1. Gashouse Gorillas  11-3
2. Bird Gang                9-5
3. Taka Drivers            8-6
4. Stallionaires             4-8
5. Nighttime Ninjas     4-8
6. Ducks on the Pond  2-8

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

HITTER OF THE WEEK

Sammy Krucek

8 Hits 14 At-Bats 2 HR 9 RBI

PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Mike Kubacki Jr.

5 IP 1-0 2 HA 0 ER 1 SO 1 BB

POWER RANKINGS

1. Gashouse Gorillas 11-3 (Last Week #1)

The Gashouse Gorillas looked unbeatable for three innings of their series against the Ninjas. They continue to beat teams with their bats and behind the arm of Jim Tucker. They were shut-out for the the first time this season, but do not expect their offense to go seven consecutive innings without scoring for the rest of the year. The four time defending champions are too good for another stretch like that to happen again. 

2. Bird Gang 9-5 (Last Week #2)

The Bird Gang were nearly doomed to be swept by the Taka Drivers, but the Felde brothers would not let that happen. Powered behind two home runs from Andrew and Cole, the Bird Gang found a way to win the first game against Taka in extra innings. Their pitching will continue to keep them in games and it could be a strong asset come playoff time.

3. Taka Drivers 8-6 (Last Week #3)

After dropping five straight decisions, the Taka Drivers stomped on the brakes to end their skid. They took the second game in the series from the Bird Gang and could have easily swept them if it wasn't for some timely heroics. Anyone on their team can do anything when needed and that makes them one of the most dangerous teams heading into the back half of the season.

4. Nighttime Ninjas 4-8 (Last Week #6)

The Ninjas were able to upset the Gashouse Gorillas in game two with good pitching and good defense. This is exactly what this team needed after a 1-8 stretch after sweeping the Ducks to start the year. If they can play like they did in game two for the rest of the year, they could sneak into the playoffs.

5. Stallionaires 4-8 (Last Week #4)

After a few postponements due to scheduling conflicts, the Stallionaires will play for the first time in 28 days on July 10th (Unless make-up games are scheduled). This could either be a blessing or curse depending on how they respond in the coming weeks. The Stallionaires biggest concern is scoring runs and maybe new signing, Cody Smith, could bring some offense along with his arm. 

6. Ducks on the Pond 2-8 (Last Week #5)

The Ducks on the Pond have found a way to beat both teams who represented the GBL in the 2015 World Series. The Ducks will also be going through a long time without playing any competitive wiffle ball (same amount of time as the Stallionaires). They have showed some promise but their 0-7 start could come back to haunt them by years end.

WIFFLE OUT!!!