"Anything can happen." After a tension filled regular season, the Griffleball playoffs were in full swing on Sunday and you can pretty much throw all analysis out the window. Last week when Griffleball recorded its Mega Playoff Podcast, some players from the league and myself broke down each series and decided the outcomes. Some of the winners chosen may have been correctly, but how they each reached their destination were opposite. The first series saw the Bird Gang square off with the Taka Drivers. During the season, these two squads don't seem to care too much for each other as they split their season series. I expect their too be a lot of trash talking and heated battles. And with their first two games, I was not disappointed. Coming into the series I expected a bunch of close games (just like the regular season series) but instead the league was treated to two mercy rule blowouts. In game one, the Taka Drivers jumped on surprise starter, Cole Felde, to the tune of 11 runs over their two innings. Chris Bartley would lead the way by hitting for the cycle and driving in five RBI's and hitting a home run. Not only did Bartley hit a home run, each Taka Driver clobbered one over the cage as well. Ryan Voges, Jackson Buzea, and Bartley went back-to-back-to-back in the second inning to ensure the Taka Drivers would end game one before it even started. On the mound, Buzea pitched three shutout innings and held the Bird Gang to zero runs on two hits.
The Taka Drivers had everything going their way in a 11-0 romp that only lasted three inning. I thought they would carry their momentum into game two, boy was I wrong. The Bird Gang were patient against the reliever of the year, Voges, and drew six walks and seven hits over three innings. Their five man lineup may have drew some questions entering the series but, it may have helped keep each player fresh. The Bird Gang would put up five runs in three inning against Voges and then would add five more against Bartley in the fourth. The Bird Gang did all of this without the help of their ace, Andrew Felde, who may have hurt his arm in the first inning. This would lead to his brother, Cole, to take over the reigns in the first. After a rough game one, Cole rebounded by changing his delivery to a sidearm approach and kept the Taka Drivers in check. Heading into the fourth the Bird Gang led 10-0 and Andrew would attempt to give it one more go on the mound to close out the game. He would eventually finish off the Taka Drivers and celebrated his teams triumph by jumping up and down. Now heading into week two, the series is tied at one game a piece. I don't expect their to be another blowout but I do expect to be some more trash talking ans showboating. The Bird Gang and Taka Drivers are in a wiffleball war to decide who will play in the GBL World Series and everyone should tune in.
After the first series drew a couple of blowouts, the Nighttime Ninjas and Gashouse Gorillas series was tightly contested. The two best hitting teams in the league would square off in what should have been an series of home runs and an absurd number of runs scored but, the league was treated with some of the best pitcher duels this season.
In Game One, the Nighttime Ninjas sent out Mike Kubacki Jr, and he kept the juggernaut offense of the Gashouse Gorillas to only two runs but his counterpart, Jim Tucker, only allowed one hit on zero runs. The game started off with a bang by Ryan Galiher, who started the bottom of the first with a solo shot to give Gashouse a early 1-0 lead. Then in the second, Galiher singled in the run with the bases loaded to double the lead to 2-0. That was all the Gashouse Gorillas would scratch across in game one and they held on for dear life in the later innings. The Nighttime Ninjas would threaten to score in the fourth and fifth by advancing runners into scoring position but, Jeremy Ratajczyk would continue his pitching playoff success by finding his way out of each jam to secure a game one win for the Gashouse Gorillas. After one pitching duel in the books, game two would witness another great performance between Jeffrey Holden and Ryan Galiher. The two would both go into the third inning with the game scoreless and each offense showed no signs of getting anything started until Galiher found a way for Gashouse once again. In the bottom of the third, Galiher would rocket a first pitch fastball from Holden over the fence in center to give Gashouse a 1-0 lead.
Then, it would be up to Ratajczyk once again to shut the door and continue his playoff pitching dominance that has carried over from last season. Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Rat had to be precise against the bats of the Ninjas. Each batter battler with Ratajczyk, making him throw more then his share of pitches on the mound, The last chance for the Ninjas came down to their leader Mike Kuabcki and he put up one of the best at-bats to close a game. He made Rat throw pitch after pitch and Kubacki would continue to foul off pitch after pitch. Eventually, Rat would win the battle by getting Kubacki to ground out and the Gashouse Gorillas would take a 2-0 series lead heading into week two. Heading into week two of the GBL Playoffs the Nighttime Ninjas must win out to move on to the World Series and the Gashouse Gorillas only need one more victory to head to the their sixth straight World Series. Their opponent will be either the Taka Drivers or the Bird Gang who are deadlocked at one game a piece heading into next week. There is a chance that the GBL could find out who the two representatives will be in the World Series by 9 PM on Sunday. It should be a great conclusion to round one whether it ends on Sunday or the week after. Stay tuned.
SCOREBOARD
8/21/16 - Game One - Taka Drivers 11 Bird Gang 0 F/3 (W - Jackson Buzea, L - Cole Felde)
Deciding Moment - The Taka Drivers extended their lead when Buzea, Bartley, and Voges hit three straight home runs in the second virtually ending the game.
8/21/16 - Game Two - Bird Gang 10 Taka Drivers 0 F/4 (W - Cole Felde, L - Ryan Voges)
Deciding Moment - Cole Felde replaced his brother after an injury in the first and got revenge on the Taka Drivers by throwing three scoreless innings.
8/21/16 - Game One - Gashouse Gorillas 2 Nighttime Ninjas 0 (W - Jim Tucker, L - Mike Kubacki Jr., S - Jeremy Ratajczyk)
Deciding Moment - With the bases loaded in the fourth, the Ninjas had their best chance to score only to be stopped by the arm of Ratajczyk who found his way out of a jam.
8/21/16 - Game Two - Gashouse Gorillas 1 Nighttime Ninjas 0 (W - Ryan Galiher, L - Jeffrey Holden, S - Jeremy Ratajczyk)
Deciding Moment - In the midst of a scoreless game, Ryan Galiher crushed a first pitch fastball in the third from Holden to give Gashouse a 1-0 lead that would hold until the final pitch.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
HITTER OF THE WEEK
Chris Bartley
6 Hits 9 At-Bats 1 Home Run 2 Doubles 1 Triple 2 Walks 5 RBI
(Hit for the cycle in Game One)
PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ryan Galiher
1-0 3 IP 0 Earned Runs 2 Hits Allowed 2 Walks 5 Strikeouts
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