Griffleball Power Rankings Week Nine and Players of the Week

Griffleball is now down to its final week of the regular season and only the Gashouse Gorillas know what seed they will be when the playoffs begin. The Bird Gang and Taka Drivers are the number two and three seed respectively but could swap spots depending on their play in week ten. While the last spot in the playoffs has yet to be determined. With the league drawing all series splits once again this week, the standings have not changed. The Nighttime Ninjas currently hold the last spot via a tiebreaker over the Ducks on the Pond (both teams 6-10). On the other hand, the Stallionaires (6-12) must win out and hope both the Ducks and Ninjas lose three of their last four. Anything could happen in the final week (plus an extra series the week after, I have called that Week 10.5) and Griffleball should be in store for another exciting finish. Before the league gets to the last week (and a half), let's go over a bit of the action on week nine. The first series between the Stallionaires and Nighttime Ninjas was monumental to the playoff race. Coming into the game both teams needed a sweep, but ended up drawing even. The first game saw the Ninjas take advantage of the control issues from the Stallionaires staff. Krucek continued to crush any ball thrown in his general direction by piling up fourteen RBI's in two games. The Ninjas ended up winning game one easily 8-4 but their pitching went south in game two. Three different players (Smith, A.Ross, Kuna) hit home runs for the Stallionaires in game two and they needed every single one of them. Down 10-2 in the 5th, the Ninjas staged a rally that saw the tying run at the plate, but fell short 10-8.

The next series involved the top two teams in the standings, the Gashouse Gorillas and Bird Gang, square off in a battle for the top seed. Game one belonged from start to finish to the Gashouse Gorillas. After a rough outing the week before, the Gashouse bats caught fire to the tune of six home runs in three innings. They would mercy rule the Bird Gang 12-2 and clinch the top spot in the GBL. After getting the butts kicked, the Bird Gang turned the tables on Gashouse. They scored seven runs in the second inning capped off by a Mike Zurawski grand slam. Gashouse would never recover and the Bird Gang beat the champs 7-6 for the first time this season. After an exciting slate of day games, it was time for Sunday Night Griffleball between the Ducks on the Pond and the Taka Drivers. The weather would not compromise as the wind caused a delay, which in turn started a monsoon. Sunday Night Griffleball turned into Monday Night Griffleball. With offense dominating the early games, it was all about pitching in the Taka/Ducks series. Three different pitchers had no-hit bids heading into the fourth inning or further and any run scored was like gold. The first game (which was split between two days) saw Jackson Buzea and Brian Brilmyer duel each other to a combined seven innings of no-hit wiffle ball. Eventually, Chris Bartley broke up Brilmyer's bid with a single and Ryan Voges drove him to the plate with a double. Buzea's bid was broken up in the fifth by Chris Diehl, but Voges shut the door on the Ducks for a 1-0 victory. Then, it was Zack Duvnjak's turn at a chance at history in the second contest. With the Ducks scoring all their runs via walks, Duvnjak entered the fifth with a possible no-hitter in sight. He came one out away from away from adding his name to the record books before (Guess who?) Bartley broke up another chance at greatness. The Ducks would eventually win 3-0 and stay dead even with the Ninjas for the last playoff spot. With week nine in the books, the Griffleball season is almost over and the pressure will begin to build entering the last week (and a half, you know what I mean).

Scoreboard

7/24/16 - Nighttime Ninjas 8 Stallionaires 4 (W - Krucek, L - Reyna)

Deciding Moment - Control became an issue for John Reyna and Cody Smith leading to seven runs over two innings for the Nighttime Ninjas. 

7/24/16 - Stallionaires 10 Nighttime Ninjas 8 (W - Kuna, L - Kubacki)

Deciding Moment - The Stallionaires bat's came to life and they hit two home runs in the fourth for five runs. They needed every run as the Ninjas fought back coming up just short in the last inning.

7/24/16 - Gashouse Gorillas 12 Bird Gang 2 F/3 (W - Tucker, L - Mike Zurawski)

Deciding Moment - Jeremy Ratajczyk would hit two home runs in the 1st to catapult the offense to six total home runs in three innings. 

7/24/16 - Bird Gang 7 Gashouse Gorillas 6 (W - A. Felde, L - Galiher, S - Mike Zurawski)

Deciding Moment - Leading 7-6 in the third, Ryan Gailher crushed a pitch into deep left, but Matt Zurawski dove into the fence robbing Galiher of a game tying home run. 

7/24/16 - Taka Drivers 1 Ducks on the Pond 0 (W - Buzea, L - Diehl, S - Voges)

Deciding Moment - With both pitching staffs at the top of their game, Ryan Voges drove in the game-winning run in the fourth to score the game's first run. 

7/24/16 -Ducks on the Pond 3 Taka Drivers 0 (W - Duvnjak, L - Voges, S - Brilmyer) 

Deciding Moment - With the bases loaded in the fifth, Brian Brilmyer came in for the save to stop any chance at a Taka Drivers comeback.

Standings

(They are correct this week)

1. Gashouse Gorillas 13-5 (Clinched #1 Seed)
2. Bird Gang              11-7 (Clinched Playoff Berth)
3. Taka Drivers          10-8 (Clinched Playoff Berth)
4. Nighttime Ninjas   6-10 
5. Ducks on the Pond 6-10
6. Stallionaires           6-12

Players of the Week

Hitter of the Week

Sammy Krucek

12 Hits 18 At-Bats 5 HR 14 RBI 4 BB

(Has won Hitter of Week 3 Times in 2016)

Co - Pitchers of the Week

Jackson Buzea and Zack Duvnjak

JB - 4 IP 1-0 1 HA 0 ER 4 BB 3 K

ZD - 4 IP 1-0 1 HA 0 ER 2 BB 2 K

(Both players took a no-hitter into the fifth inning)

Rookie of the Week

Aaron Ross

 4 Hits 5 At-Bats 2 HR 4 RBI 4 BB

Power Rankings

1. Gashouse Gorillas 13-5 (Last Week #1)

The Gashouse Gorillas clinched the number one seed last week and there was never any doubt. Their offense has been stellar all season by clobbering a total of 46 home runs. Their offense can sometimes be unstoppable and most teams have to score five or more runs just to compete. They once again have the bulls-eye on their back heading into the playoffs.

2. Bird Gang 11-7 (Last Week #2)

The Bird Gang have only been swept once all season and they keep finding ways to win close games. Most of their wins come down to good pitching as they sit second in team ERA in the GBL. They have been squeaking out victories all season. After a one year absence, they will make a return trip to the playoffs.

3. Taka Drivers 10-8 (Last Week #3)

The Taka Drivers boast the best pitching staff in all of Griffleball. The combination of Buzea, Voges, and Bartley have found a way to be almost a full run lower then the next best pitching staff. If their bats can match their production on the mound, they may be staying at the Griffle Grounds until October.

4. Ducks on the Pond 6-10 (Last Week #4)

The Ducks have showed that their 0-7 start may have been a fluke. They are now 6-3 in their last nine games and all of their numbers continue to improve. They have a good amount of power and their pitching has turned a corner since the start of the season. Their roster is consistent across the board and anyone of their players can step up in any moment to deliver a victory.

5. Nighttime Ninjas 6-10 (Last Week #5)

All hope seemed to be lost for the Nighttime Ninjas a few weeks ago, but they have found a way to stay alive in the playoff race. They hold the tiebreaker over the Ducks and their bats can never be counted out. They have also added an extra player for their push. The Ninjas will find out soon enough if that will get them over the hump.

6. Stallionaires 6-12 (Last Week #6)

The Stallionaires are still alive for the last spot in the playoffs but their chances are pretty slim. They need to win their last two games and if either the Ducks or Ninjas hit eight wins it is over for the Stallionaires. They have played well in the past few weeks, but it may be too little too late. 

WIFFLE OUT!