Renegades play Oklahoma for the First Time Since 2005
Rob Dias and Joe McCormick each scored three runs in this game as Dias also had three stops on defense
In the 2005 season, the Oklahoma City Bombers crushed the Boston Renegades 18-6 in a 12 run rule contest. The pitcher for that team was Tim Hibner, that was the last time Boston had ever played a team from Oklahoma. With the World series coming to Norman, Oklahoma for the 2023 season, a new team popped up called the Oklahoma Lookouts and the pitcher was the same Tim Hibner. Fifty percent of their 2024 roster consists of brand new players (including some of the most exciting rookies from the 2023 season in Mark Ivy, Kyle Ivy and Aaron Higby) and the other half consisted of players from other cities looking for playing time.
First inning
Oklahoma finished 3rd in their pool with losses to the Indy Thunder (14-2) and Tyler Tigers (11-5) and a win over the Sirens (5-0). The Renegades finished second in their pool with wins over Minnesota and BCS and a loss to the Bayou City Heat. This team was loaded with left handed batters. The Renegades would have Bryan Grillo calling the left side of the defense and Peter Connolly calling the right side. Mark Ivy – the 2023 rookie the year would lead off from the left side. He hit a hard grounder to the left side. Rob Dias took a quick dive to his left and made the stop with ease to start the game on the first pitch. Aaron Higby was next, a second year right handed batter. He hit a grounder up the middle of the field. Shawn Devenish was there, stopped it with is legs, bobbled it but picked it on the second attempt for the second out. This brought Kyle Ivy to the plate, another second year left handed hitter and the brother to the leadoff hitter. He hit a weak bouncer to the left side. Dias came in a few steps, dropped to his knees and picked it clean. A very fast first inning for the Renegades. The half inning was over in less than four minutes!
Ron Cochran would be planned to pitch to the 1-2-3-6 hitters while Peter Connolly would have the 4& 5 hitters. Christian Thaxton would be the leadoff hitter in this game. He would go three strikes deep before hitting a laser into right field for the first run of the game. Joe McCormick was next, moving up in the lineup after his performance against the Heat. He hit the second pitch down the third base line. Mark Ivy had to give chase to it and was crawling fast after it- but he had little chance with that form and Mac’s speed. Shawn Devenish was next. He swung and missed and then fouled four pitches off before striking out. Shayne Cantan came to the dish with Peter Connolly going to the mound. After taking a pitch (a new habit he started in this tournament), he hit a fly ball that landed just in front of the left shorty, Mark Ivy for a room service out. David Sanchez was next and on the second pitch, he grounded out to the left side and ran a few steps to first base and then had to correct and cut across the field. A clean line may have made this a run for the Renegades. It was an out for Mark Ivy and after one inning, Boston led 2-0
Second inning
Luis Rodriguez subbed in for Sanchez and went to the rover position. Josh Sisson(formerly of the Gateway Archers) would lead off the inning with a grounder down the third base line. The ball came to a stop on the line at the same time Dias arrived at the ball for the first out. Jay Teagle was next, another second year player from the left handed batter’s box. He hit a weak grounder to the right side as Zuccarello laid out and stopped the ball on his hip for the second out. Cleo Stephens (of the Wichita Sonics) came up as the fourth left handed hitter in the starting lineup. He hit a grounder up the middle. Devenish took a few steps forward and made the stop with ease to end the inning.
Rob Dias would lead off for Boston, getting his first at bat of the World Series. On the first pitch, he hit a laser up the middle and scored with ease running to first base. Thaxton swung and missed at the first two pitches and then hit a grounder to the right side. Jay Teagle made the stop in the middle layer of the defense for Oklahoma. McCormick would stay hot with another grounder to the left side, this time it barely got over the forty foot arc. Ivy may have had a hard time hearing it as he stopped chasing it very early in the play. Devenish then hit the first pitch right back to Mark Ivy for the second out of the inning. Shayne took the first pitch and then hit the next pitch over the forty foot arc that the umpire called foul even though it was fair by at least 15 feet. The umpire got confused by the lines on the field. The teams decided to call this a “no pitch” and do it over. Shayne hit a fly ball to that died in the second layer of the Lookout defense for a run. Luis Rodriguez was next and on the second pitch off Connolly, hit a grounder to the left side. Mark Ivy took a few steps to his left and dove and the ball went right into the palms of his hands for the third out. Boston led 5-0.
Third inning
Mark Ivy led off the third with the first Oklahoma strike out of the game. Aaron Higby then hit a high fly ball to left field and Higby ran to third and got 80% of the way down the line when Rodriguez made a nice play on one hop to pick up the ball. Higby was in fair territory when the play was made, as he ran to the wrong base. Kyle Ivy then hit a dribbler up the middle that landed just past the 40 foot arc. The initial call was that it was a normal hit and Dias had to slide to his left before finding out the ball was short and he changed direction to race to the line. He picked it up right after Ivy hit third base as Oklahoma was on the board. Josh Sisson whiffed to end the inning. Boston led 5-1.
Rob Dias led off the inning with a dribbler that just got over the 40 foot arc. The Lookout defenders stood their ground and never moved. Either they could not hear the ball or the call, but either way, the ball the run counted. The ball also stayed in the game after the play meaning the ball was not the culprit of the lack of movement from the defense. Thaxton was next and with three strikes he hit a line drive into left field past all three layers for his second run of the game. McCormick then hit a three strike pitch grounder to Mark Ivy for the first out of the inning. Devenish then stepped up and blasted the second pitch past the left side defense for a no doubter. Shayne Cantan came to the plate with Peter Connolly back to the mound and after taking his first pitch, hit a grounder to the left side that was about 55 feet. Mark Ivy was very slow to attack it and by the time he got to the ball, Cantan was easily safe at third base. Luis Rodriguez was next and on the first pitch hit a grounder up the middle where both shorties corralled the ball and Mark Ivy made the stop for the second out of the inning. This brought Rob Dias up for the second at bat of the inning. He hit another dribbler just past the 40 foot arc, Mark Ivy struggled again and came up, hit the ground early and “swam” to the ball as Dias hit third base with enough time. Weissman went to the bench at this point with a 10-1 lead and Drew Crook pinch hit for Thaxton. Crook hit a hard bouncer up the middle that hit Josh Sisson in the forehead and bounced off his head and away from the defense. That gave Crook extra time for him to score running to third base for his first run of the 2024 season. McCormick was next and hit a line drive right back up the gut where Crook hit it, but this time it got past the deep layer for Mac’s third run of the game. Chris Kimball then entered the game to hit for Shawn Devenish. Chris would struggle and take four swings and misses to end the inning. Boston plated 7 runs in the inning and led 12-1. This was just the third time in the 2024 season the Gades had scored 7 times in an inning and the 46th time in team history.
Fourth inning
In the top of the fourth, Melissa Hoyt subbed into the game to replace Chris Kimball. She went to third base as Shayne Cantan moved to the mid field spot vacated by Shawn Devenish. Jay Teagle whiffed to lead off the inning. Cleo Stephens matched him with a whiff for the second out, brining Mark Ivy to the plate. Ivy hit a slow grounder up the middle. Dias ran to the middle calling for Shayne to come up. Cantan was a little slow to attack the ball and Ivy beat him to first base for a run. Higby would hit a bomb down the first base side but the ball was dead. The result of the at bat would be a whiff to end the inning for the Lookouts 5th strike out of the game.
Weissman would go back to the bench in the bottom of the fourth. Luis Soto would hit for Cantan with Peter Connolly pitching to him. On the 5th pitch, he hit a lazy liner to the left side. Mark Ivy dropped and it hit his body and rolled over him. Ivy had his 7th stop of the game. Luis Rodriguez was next and had an inconsistent at bat that resulted in a strike out. Elana Regan then checked in, hitting for Rob Dias. With Ron Cochran on the mound to face her, she struggled a bit with her timing as she was early on three of the four pitches and struck out. Boston led 12-2
Fifth inning
Heading into the 5th, Luis Soto stayed in the game and went to Rover. Melissa Hoyt slid from third base to Mid field and Luis Rodriguez moved up from Rover to play third base. Guy Zuccarello moved to left shorty and Elana would stay in and play right shorty. Joe McCormick would be the only one to stay in his first base position. Kyle Ivy got things started for Oklahoma. He hit a ball off the pitcher to Elana Regan but the play was called dead as Elana made the play. That confidence carried over to the next play as Ivy went back to her with a slightly weaker hit. She came in a few steps and then hit the ground and scooted forward as she knew the ball was dying. She was able to pick the ball up a few inches off the ground while still on her knees to stop Ivy in time for her first out of the game. Josh Sisson then hit a grounder to the left side. Zuccarello sprinted to his right, dove and the ball hit him in mid dive. He was able to recover quickly and make the stop for the second out of the inning. Teagle struck out to end the 5th for Oklahoma.
Casey Bahn subbed into the game for Mark Ivy on defense for Oklahoma. Drew Crook would lead things off for Boston and hit a grounder into deep left. Aaron Higby was placed perfectly and took two steps to his right, laid out and the ball landed safely in his chest for the out. Chris Kimball was next and hit a weak flare to the left side. Bahn had to turn and run backwards but he was able to find it before Kimball hit first base for the second out of the inning. Rob Thayer then popped off the bench to hit for Hoyt. on Thayer’s first foul ball, he thought he was out and took his blindfold off while walking back to the plate. Initially the Oklahoma players asked for him to be called out for removing his blindfold, but they rescinded that with an act of sportsmanship. Thayer would go down on strikes on four pitches to end the inning. Boston held a 12-2 lead heading into the bottom of the 6th
Sixth Inning
The Renegades would make more defensive changes as Guy Zuccarello moved to the mid field spot to replace Hoyt. Chris Kimball entered the game to play right shorty as Elana Regan moved over to play left shorty and Thayer stayed in the game at first base. Oklahoma also went to the bench and Gabe Weathers, a rookie came into hit from the right side. Weathers would hit a weak ball to the left side. Regan came forward, hit the ground, crawled and picked it clean for the first out. Casey Bahn was next and the Renegades had seen him plenty of times with York, NJ Lightening, Athens and the Long Island Bombers. Bahn hit a line drive down the third base line. Both Regan and Rodriguez ran to the line. Regan’s angle was not steep enough and she had to call Rodriguez up, the problem was he dove on the ground and had to get up. He was not quick enough to get up and to the ball and Bahn scored. Aaron Higby then hit the first pitch off the bottom of his bat to the right side. Kimball took a few steps to the middle of the field, dove and stopped the ball on his thighs for a quick second out. Kyle Ivy then hit a ball up the middle of the field into the Bermuda triangle. Regan was a little slow to the middle, but Kimball was fast and picked up the ball just over the middle of the field on the left side with Zuccarello creeping up to back him up. Kimball and Regan locked down the inning and the Renegades won 12-2.
Wrap up
Boston got runs from six different players and defensive stops from six different players as 14 players played in this contest. Rob Dias and Joe McCormick each plated three runs in this game to pace the offense while Thaxton and Cantan each had a pair. Dias also paced the defense with three outs. Zuccarello, Devenish and Regan also pitched in a pair of outs on defense as well. For Oklahoma, Mark Ivy was the player of the game for Oklahoma making seven stops to lead both teams and scoring one of the two lookout runs. Oklahoma would head to the losers bracket to take on Atlanta and the Renegades would stay alive and head to play the defending champs, Indy Edge on the adjoining field.
Renegades take on the edge with the pitcher’s mound on the edge
Rob Dias was the player of the game for Boston as he plated 1 run and made 5 stops on defense
The Renegades moved to a field that was yards behind the field they beat Oklahoma on. The Indy Edge had just defeated the Atlanta Chaos on this field by the score of 9-3. We could see the edge struggling as it was going on. Once we got to the field, we better understood the struggle. The pitcher’s mound was significantly higher than home plate. First base was up hill as well. The Edge had a full game to adjust to this field and the Renegades would need to adjust quickly to have a chance.
Ron Cochran would pitch to the 1-2-3-4 and 6 hitters and Peter Connolly would just have Shayne Cantan in the five hole. On defense, Bryan Grillo and Peter Connolly would spot for the defense.
First inning
Christian Thaxton got things started on the third pitch of the game with a hard grounder past everyone into left field for a run. McCormick would foul tip the first pitch but then would go down on swings for the first out of the game. Devenish was hitting third and on the second pitch hit a weak grounder to the left side and Eric Rodriguez would pick it with ease. Tyler Mireault would foul off the first pitch but then go down on swings to end the inning. A rough start to the game and a 1-0 lead for the Renegades.
As the Renegades took the field, Chris Kimball subbed into the game to replace Tyler Mireault. Corey White would led off for the Edge with a combination of speed and power. He hit a hard grounder to the left side that hit Shayne Cantan as he laid out for it. the ball hit him hard and bounced forward by a few feet. Dias had crept back on the play and dropped and picked it clean to stop the speedy White running to third base. Jacory Wiley had rejoined the Edge as he played for the Bayou City Heat in 2023. He hit a slow grounder up the middle. Guy and Dias converged and gave way to Devenish. Shawn took a step up and dropped to his knees but was not close enough to the ball and the speed of Wiley was too much and the game was tied. Corion White would strike out next bringing Eric Rodriguez to the plate in the four spot. Erod hit a high fly ball to the left side that bounced over Rob Dias. Shayne Cantan ran the wrong way and hit the ground too early, but McCormick flew over from his deep spot, dove and made the stop. After one inning the game was tied at one.
Second inning
Shayne Cantan would leadoff with Peter on the mound. After taking the first pitch, he hit a ball off the bottom of his bat to the left side. Erod had to come in on it, dove short but inch wormed to it with plenty of time for the first out. Rob Dias then missed the first two pitches and he hit a hard grounder to the left side right at Erod for the out. This would be Rob’s 400th at bat of his career making him the 6th ever Renegade to reach this milestone. Thaxton would swing and miss four times to end the inning in 1-2-3 fashion.
Miguel Tello would be the leadoff hitter for the Edge, a surprise to the Renegades as Tello is known more for his defense than his offense. The diminutive Tello, hitting from the right side hit a grounder to the left side. Dias slid to his right on his knees and he slightly over ran it as the ball rolled past him on the left. Cantan was backing him up but didn’t come up on it fast enough and Tello was safe. Kaleb Wright who was dropped by the Gateway Archers in an alleged cheating scandal in the spring was picked up by the edge and batting sixth. Wright with a powerful golf swing hit a bomb into right field sending Kimball backwards looking for the ball for the best hit of the game and a run. Corey White would whiff for the first out of the inning. Jacory Wiley then hit a weak bouncer up the middle. Zuccarello moved to his left and Rob Dias came from the left side the field. Guy just missed it on his first stab, but was able to get it up on the second attempt for the second out of the inning. Corion White ended the inning with a whiff as the Edge took a 3-1 lead. Kyle Kennedy had three strike outs in two innings, matching the Renegades.
Third inning
Joe McCormick would lead off the third and hit the second pitch to the left side to Erod, for Erod’s 5th stop in the game. Shawn Devenish followed that patern with a second pitch hit to the left side on the ground to who else, Erod! Tyler Mireault was next, re-entering the game for Chris Kimball and with three strikes hit a line drive up the middle. Jason Hobbs was playing in the middle layer and made a nice play and made it fast to beat the speedy Tyler Mireault.
As the Renegades took the field, Luis Rodriguez jogged into the game to replace Mireault at first base. Eric Rodriguez crushed a hard grounder to the left side, Shayne Cantan laid out perfectly and stopped the ball with his upper body for the first out of the inning. Tello was next and hit a weak flare with back spin up the middle. Both Dias and Zuccarello got there at the same time as they bumped into each other. Dias took charge and tried to pick the ball up three times and missed on the first two attempts. Tello had scored again to an erupting Edge bench. Kaleb Wright then hit a grounder to the left side that hit Dias as he was diving and scooted away from him. He got back on his feet and quickly chased after it for the out. Corey White struck out for the second time and ended the inning. After three the Edge led 4-1.
Fourth inning
Shayne Cantan would lead off the inning for the second time in the game. With three strikes, he lofted a high fly ball down the third base line that was just fair and he would score. However, the Edge called dead ball, but it was still beeping and the run counted. After changing out the ball, Rob Dias hit the second pitch with a weak bounce up to the right side. Corion White was able to easily come forward and make the stop. Thaxton and Cochran would struggle with the mound and the timing again as he fouled off one pitch on the way to his second whiff of the game. McCormick would then get the 6th pitch of the at bat on the ground to the deep layer where Tello stopped him. Boston was down 4-2.
Jacory Wiley led off against Kyle Kennedy. On the sixth pitch of the at bat, Wiley hit a fly ball to the left side. Rob Dias moved to his right, dove and made the play to nab the speedy Wiley with a great defensive play. Corion White then it a weak fly ball to the left side Dias had to run forward and toward the line and he dropped to his knees and could not keep the ball on his side as the ball got under his body, like a chicken sitting on an egg. White was safe. Erod and Tello would end the inning with whiffs. The Edge were up 5-2.
Fifth inning
Shawn Devenish would leadoff for the Gades. After blasting a shot foul, he hit a weak bouncer up the middle of the field that barely made it past the 40 foot arc. Cochran claimed it hit him in the foot, but he would not get the call and Corion White had the out. Tyler Mireault checked back in, hitting for Luis Rodriguez. Tyler hit the first pitch high into left field and took off toward first base. Erod made the play like a sighted person as he watched the ball with his head turned to the sky and ran backwards behind the bag toward the line, laid out and picked it right as Tyler hit the bag. The call was an out. Weissman asked to have the play checked because the ball and runner were on opposite sides of the field but the call stood. Shayne Cantan would end the inning with a strike out.
With Kaleb Wright leading off the inning, Weissman sent Mireault to the third layer and moved McCormick to first base in the second layer. Wright would hit a dribbler up the middle. Dias ran to the middle and slid keeping the ball to his side and picked it clean for a fast out. Corey White hit a hard grounder at Dias and the ball kicked off his knees up in the air. Dias was able to collect himself and pick it in time for the out, his 5th of the game. Wiley would strike out to end the inning for the Edge’s 7th whiff in the contest.
Sixth inning
Cochran was starting to heat up now as he was adjusting to this cliff of a pitcher’s mound. Rob Dias was the leadoff hitter and on the 3rd pitch, hit a laser into right field for a no doubter run past the defense. Thaxton then hit a line drive right up the middle off Cochran. It was a scary moment as Cochran got nailed in the back by one of the biggest hitters in the league. Cochran said it grazed him and did not hit him square. Four pitches later, Thaxton hit the ball on the ground to the right side. Corion White dove and missed it, then got back up and made the stop in time. McCormick then hit grounder on the 6th pitch to the left side and Erod stopped him with ease. Devenish then stepped up and hit the first pitch to the left side. Tello made the play deep but the call was contested. As the umpire went to talk to the third base umpire, she was not paying attention and the out was awarded and the game was over. After the game was over, the umpire confessed the volunteer had no idea what happened and because they were untrained the out was held up. It’s so difficult to work so hard all year long to have the game handled by people who can’t follow the play. The home plate umpire has a near impossible job to watch the ball in left field as the runner goes to first base.
Wrap up
For the Renegades, the player of the game would be Rob Dias who scored one run and had 5 steps on defense. In reality the player of the game was the cliff on the pitcher’s mound. the Renegades were at a huge disadvantage in this game as the Edge had an entire game to adjust to it against the Chaos. Miguel Tello would be the overall player of the game with two runs scored and two stops deep in the third layer (he would only score three times all week, and two of them were in this contest). Boston would drop to the losers bracket and face Cleveland. The Edge would move forward and face the Gateway Archers.