[pauwoo]

We’re 32-16 now, flexing a low-key satanic .666 winning percentage, and looking to close out the month of May on a high note… hoping to play some flawless baseball on this Texas swing with sweeps in Dallas and Austin before turning the page to June. It would turn out that the only real aberration here was my overly-lofty expectations and inability to not get too low with the lows as they say… Otto still leads the league in DING DONGS at 22, that’s 6 more than the next guy, our +43 RDiff is still tops, and we’ve seen a marked improvement from our staff who now finds themselves ranked first in the National League. It really is all systems go for the team… we’re the best club in baseball, living out our schoolboy fantasies, and looking every bit the favorite to win it all once more. Of course, there’s plenty of baseball left to be played, to be sure, but, once the dust has settled, if we’re not the last club standing, I’ll be shouting ‘goocher’ from the mountain tops and demand that we keep flipping until the coin comes up heads.

Los Angeles Leopards (32-16, .666, 1st NL West) @ Dallas Chaparrals (27-21, .562, 1st AL West)
The Chaps have been as advertised so far – a premier club in the American League with a great shot at representing their division in the playoffs this season. Of course, the Seattle Metros and Denver Miners, at just a game back each, are not quite ready to anoint Dallas as their once and future king, so this set, against the likes of us, will be an important one for the Chaps should they want to separate themselves from their divisional rivals. For our part we are 4-3 in sets played so far this month with wins against Toronto, San Diego, Phoenix, and Sin City (by sweep) and losses versus Austin, Mexico City, and Denver. Here we’ll be looking to close out the month strong and nothing but a couple of series wins will suffice.

49 of 162: Rad Taylor (6-1, 5.52) @ Josiah Kawka (1-5, 7.42)
Loss, 5-7. SS Nate Ferreri, Dallas’ light-hitting fielding dynamo, took all of our hopes and dreams into his hands and crushed them with a beautifully hit GRAND SLAM off starter Rad Taylor during the bottom of the 7th to all but throw the last shovels worth of dirt onto our grave in game one. And, we’d do some damage ourselves, with a 4-run top of the 1st, but the Chaps were equal to it, clawing their way back into it during the bottom of the 6th before putting us down like a hobbled race horse during the very next frame. We squandered a 3-run blast from Humberto Benavidez and three double plays as the boys had a little bit of what it would take but just couldn’t keep it flowing to earn a victory.

Note: The Final Four of our NCAA feeder league is all set… UNC will take on the Stetson Hatters while the Virginia Cavaliers do battle against Fordham to determine which two clubs will occupy the dugouts during the NCAA Finals.

50 of 162: Orlando Arce (3-0, 1.94) @ Elroy Seaborn (6-2, 3.23)
Win, 18-10. An all action fight, contested in a phone booth, nothing but check hooks and uppercuts, with somebody, in this case those miscreants wearing the Chaparrals kit, going out on their shield… Otto, 3-for-4, 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, and 5 runs, did a lot of the damage with significant contributions coming from Chance Bell (5 RBI), C Mason Click (4-for-6, 2 RBI), and Ethan (run-scoring double, solo TANK), as the our club laid waste to the Chaps in a fitting bit of get back after they snatched victory from the jaws of defeat just one short night ago… we’ll contest the rubber match tomorrow and do our level best to eke out a decision like Gatti on the Atlantic City Boardwalk.

Note: Stetson will face the Virginia Cavaliers in this years NCAA final.

51 of 162: Larimel Alvarez (4-3, 3.88) @ Walt Allen (6-2, 3.76)
Loss, 0-5. In the end, once the dust had settled and the cards were added up, we’d fall well short of winning this set, the first of two in Texas, instead giving the Chaps an opportunity to show their division rivals that they too, with a series win over the likes of us, are elite. Larimel was saddled with the loss, his 4th on the year to drop his record so far to 4-4 on the year, we’d hit just two extra base hits (a double for Otto and one for Mason), and leave 10 runners stranded on our way out the door.

Note: Stetson won the NCAA Championship… it’s their 1st championship in the schools short, 3-year history.

Some team stats and a view of our clubhouse are attached…

Record: 33-18, .647, 1st NL West
Up Next: We’ll catch up with the team in Montreal on June 22nd…