Renegades start the 2024 world series against the Millers playing their 300th game in team history

The Minnesota Millers came into this game one contest as the 16 seed at the series.  The two teams last played each other in the 2019 season.  This Millers team was very thin roster wise with just nine players attending.  A far cry from the 16 Renegades on the bench.  This would make the 300th game in Renegade team history that dated back to the 2002 season.  Few Beepball teams can say they have played this many games.  The only current teams that could claim this include the Bayou City Heat, Chicago Comets, Indy Thunder and Austin Blackhawks.  Few teams of the past could claim this achievement.  It’s a testament to the culture of the Renegades team and the dedication of the volunteers and players to keep this program alive and improving each year.

First inning

With Kent Hagen on the mound for the Millers at 8:00 am central time, their superstar defender, Evan Van Duyne would lead of their season with a strikeout.  The Renegades would have Bryan Grillo call the left side and Gina Devenish call the right side.  The two hitter Riley Schmitz then hit a ball to the right side and bounced off Guy Zuccarello’s chest.  Guy had enough time to make the play for the second out of the inning.  Josh Xiong then hit a grounder up the middle that sent Zuccarello to the middle of the field where guy dove head first on the soft grass to make the out and end the top of the first.

Shawn Devenish would lead off for Boston and hit the second pitch off the bottom of the bat up the middle as Evan Van Duyne, the front man had to chase it.  Devenish raced to first and missed the base, giving Van Duyne the stop.  Tyler Mireault then came in to pinch hit for Shayne Cantan who started the game on defense.  Tyler’s first World series at bat would result in a 4 pitch strike out with two foul balls, including a bomb down the third base foul line.  Christian Thaxton was batting third, as he was still working on his timing off Ron Cochran.  Thaxton fouled off a bomb to the left side, foul.  And after a take and another foul ball, he blasted a moon shot to the left side and raced to first before Van Duyne could pick it up.  Chris Kimball was next and would go down on strikes to end the inning.

Second inning

Kent Hagen would struggle in the second as Steve Guerra, Jackson Holland (an eleven year old) and Tori Andres would go down 1-2-3 on strikes.

Luis Rodriguez would enter the game to hit for Guy Zuccarello who played the first two innings as Peter Connolly would toe the mound.  Rodriguez would chop it into the ground and Van Duyne had his second stop of the contest.  David Sanchez would enter the game to lead off the bottom of the second, hitting for Elana Regan who started and played the first two innings on defense.  Sanchez hit a line drive into the third layer of the Miller defense.  Josh Xiong was there to make a nice stop for the second out.  Devenish then hit the second pitch hard to the left side and Riley Schmitz made a stop in the second layer.

Third inning

Boston would shuffle players around on defense as Chris Kimball played right shorty, Sanchez played third and Rodriguez dropped into the rover spot.  Evan Van Duyne started off the inning with a strike out to make five of the first seven hitters the victim of the whiff. Riley Schmitz then hit a grounder to the left side.  Rob Dias moved to his right and then dove back to the left and it went by his out stretched hands.  Sanchez hit the ground behind him a little early and had to get back up to find the ball, but Schmitz was safe.  Josh Xiong hit a pop fly that landed in front of Rob Dias.  By the time Dias could get a handle, Xiong was safe and the Millers took a 2-1 lead.  After a Guerra whiff, the eleven year old Holland hit a weak ball to Dias for the stop.

Tyler Mireault led off the inning with a grounder to Van Duyne.  Evan made the stop fast before Tyler even got up to full speed.  Thaxton was next and fouled off the first pitch before going down on swings.  Kimball then hit a grounder down the third base line for another Van Duyne out.

Fourth inning

Tori Andres started off the inning with a whiff.  Van Duyne would be next and hit a grounder to Rob Dias as Rob dropped to the ground, bobbled it but still had plenty of time for an out.  Schmitz then hit a short grounder sending Dias in his horse toward the arc for his third stop of the game.

Luis Rodriguez would lead the inning off against Peter Connolly and lofted the ball into left field.  Luis was slow to get out of the box as he did not hear the base, he then took a perfect line to first but that split second he spent in the box may have cost him the run as Xiong stopped him in the third layer.  David Sanchez then hit a weak ball that just passed the forty foot arc in the coffin corner and Van Duyne won that race for his 5th stop of the game.  Devenish then hit a first pitch grounder right to…who else? Van Duyne for an out.

Fifth inning

As the Millers took the field, Drew Crook, Guy Zuccarello and Joe McCormick entered the game on defense removing Rodriguez, Kimball and Sanchez.  This was Crook’s first game action in 2024.  Josh Xiong  led off the fourth consecutive inning with a whiff.  Steve Guerra then hit a grounder down the third base line with some charge in it.  Dias got on his horse and angled back toward third base and dove head first for a highlight reel play. Pat Lemke would then hit for the eleven year old, Holland and end the inning with a pinch hit whiff.

Tyler Mireault would lead off the fifth and hit the second pitch deep in the air to Xiong and his speed was too much as Tyler tied up the game at two each, finally keeping it away from Van Duyne.  Thaxton would go down on strikes next.  Zuccarello then was back in the lineup, replacing Kimball as the Gades were looking for some oppo magic.  Zuccarello had his timing off and hit it to Van Duyne for the second out.  McCormick, who entered in the top of the inning for defense was next.  Mac hit a grounder up the middle and beat it out, giving the Renegades a 3-2 lead.  Cantan then pinch hit for Drew Crook and hit the first pitch off Peter Connolly on a line into left field.  It was a bomb and Xiong had to give chase.  Cantan dogged it down the line, thinking it was gone and Xiong made a great play to end the inning. That at bat would mark Shayne’s 400th at bat of his career making him just the 5th player in team history to reach this milestone.

6th inning

Kent Hagen would strike out the leadoff hitter who was Kyle Kuhlman.  This was the fifth consecutive inning started with a whiff.  Van Duyne was next and hit a high pop up to Dias.  Rob had to wait for it to land and on his knees with Devenish backing him up picked it up in time.  Todd Paulson a big hitter was next and he would go down on strikes for the 11th whiff of the game.

Wrap Up

Boston hung on to win this game in an ugly fashion.  The thick grass, Evan Van Duyne and the Renegade timing at the plate kept this game close.  Rob Dias would pace the Renegade offense with five stops.  Mireault and McCormick and Thaxton was all the offense for the team.  Boston went to 1-0 in pool play.  This also marked the 7th consecutive win over the Millers (though just by the skin of our teeth).  Nobody on the Renegades felt good about this win, it was a slow start for sure.  Possibly made slow by the fact the NBBA refused to let the Renegades practice on the fields the day before in a measure that was appealed for its unfairness.

Renegades show the Outlaws who is the more feared “bad guy”

The BCS Outlaws played a very long game against the Bayou City heat because they stared close to an hour late, leaving the Renegades waiting for this game a long time.  The two teams last faced off in the 2019 season when Boston defeated them 14-5 in a 3 inning 12 run rule.  Thaxton hit the very first Renegade home run in that contest.

First inning

Joe McCormick would lead off this game after a coin toss defeated the Renegades again.  He would hit the first pitch down the third base line to rookie, Matt Gropner.  Gropner would make the play with ease for the first out of the game.  Tyler Mireault, coming off a game tying hit in the first game would work the count to three strikes and then loft a deep fly into left field for the first run of the game.  Christian Thaxton was next, and was slotted into a defensive position for the first time since the 2019 season.  As Thaxton said, he likes to hit dingers, not the ground!  But he was on defense in this contest.  After fouling off the first pitch back to Weissman, his catcher, he hit a laser into left past everyone for a no doubter run.  This brought David Sanchez to the plate and Peter Connolly to the mound.  After three swings and misses with a lungy swing, Sanchez hit a grounder to the left side.  Hillary Oswald was able to get the ball of the ground in the second layer of the defense right before Sanchez hit first base.  Luis Rodriguez was next, hitting off Peter Connolly for the first time in a game.  He fouled off a few pitches, but his timing was off and he struck out to end the first.  Boston had a 2-0 lead.

As the Renegades took the field, Peter Connolly would call the left side and Gina Devenish called the right side.  Elana Regan entered the game on defense to play third base, replacing Luis Rodriguez on defense. Guy Zuccarello would replace Sanchez on defense and go to the right shorty position.  The best bat in the BCS lineup would be Justin Romack, the lead off hitter.  He went down on strikes to lead off the game.  This brought up Hillary Oswald, one of the best female players in the game.  She hit a dribbler to the left side that Rob Dias picked up quickly with ease.  Speaking of quick, Alex Quick was next.  The Renegades last faced Quick as a member of the Houston Hurricanes in the 2023 season.  With three strikes, Quick hit a dribbler that just made it past the arc.  Dias was frozen for a split second as it may have taken too long to get the call out.  By the time Dias charged it Quick had a 30 foot head start, making this an equal race of about 70 feet for both players.  Dias charged hard, slid and just before he could pick up the ball, Quick was quick enough and got the Outlaws on the board.  Abigail Junek was next, with a sweet swing and a one handed finish (she clearly has a softball background).  She hit a line drive down the third base line.  Dias had to angle back and to the line to make the play, but he made it clean and with enough time to end the inning.  Renegades led 2-1.

Second inning

Shayne Cantan would lead off the second with Connolly back on the bump.  He hit a line drive up the middle and sprinted to third. He got there a split second before the BCS defense could lift the ball in the air.  McCormick would come back to the plate with Cochran taking the mound.  Mac would swing and miss on 4 pitches for a whiff, As Ron and Rob would see something odd with his hitting mechanics.  Tyler Mireault was next and after fouling off the second and third pitch, whiffed as well.  Thaxton was next and on the third pitch hit a high fly ball to the left shorty, Matt Gropner.  Gropner tracked it well and got the ball off the ground about two steps before Thaxton got to the base.  The soft ground making it easier for the defense to make plays on high fly balls as they barely bounce.  Boston picked up one to take a 3-1 lead.

Matt Gropner would lead off for BCS and on the first pitch hit a grounder to the left side.  Rob Dias hit the ground and made a nice play.  Hunter Fredrick was next as the designated hitter and struck out with a very rotational swing.  Justin Romack was next and on the first pitch hit a line drive to the left side.  Dias took two steps to his left and Elana Regan (playing behind Dias at third base) went to her left, as the call may have been off or Dias heard it wrong.  That mis-step took Dias out of the play.  Regan was slow to the ground and it got under her as Thaxton came up on it.  Romack took a terrible line to third and scored as Thaxton found the ball and Romack ran into the 3rd base volunteer.  Thankfully nobody was hurt and Weissman wondered if the league had shown the base umpire video to these volunteers (the answer was a likely “no” based on the low stats of the video.  Shame on the NBBA for repeatedly not taking safety seriously!). Oswald then hit a grounder to the left side.  Dias took two steps to his right and made the play with ease. Boston led 3-2.

Third inning

Guy Zuccarello would stay in the game to hit as he entered for Sanchez on defense in the first inning.  Guy hit a nice line drive up the middle and Alex Quick made the stop in the second layer for the first out of the inning.  On the second pitch Luis Rodriguez hit a grounder up the middle and chased the ball running up the middle of the field as Weissman stopped him for the out.  Connolly stayed in the game to face Shayne Cantan and on the first pitch again, he lofted a flare to the right side and scored running to third base.  Mac was next with Ron coming back to the mound.  His struggles would continue as he was early on the first swing and fouled it off and then struck out on 3 straight misses.  Boston took a 4-2 lead.

The Renegades would sub Joe Yee into the game on defense to play third base as Luis Rodriguez would take a seat.  Alex Quick led off with a strike out.  Abigail Junek then hit a weak grounder to the right side.  Guy was able to come in on it and make the play with plenty of time.  Matt Gropner was next and hit a line drive to the left side.  Dias hit the ground and the ball hopped up on his hip and just got over him as Dias reached behind him to make the stop and end the inning with a BCS donut.  The Renegades led 4-2.

Fourth inning

Tyler Mireault led off the fourth inning with a towering fly ball that landed and stuck 2 inches from the third base foul line. Gropner made a really nice play to get the ball up, but Mireault’s speed was too much and he scored.  Thaxton then laced a hard grounder to the left side as the defense all ran the wrong way initially.  Thaxton hit third base before BCS could pick up the ball.  David Sanchez reentered the game  with Connolly back on the mound.  After hitting a ball to the right side that went foul at the last moment by a few inches, he hit a dribbler to the third base side and Gropner was all over it for the out.  Connolly stayed on the mound to face a new hitter, Joe Yee.  On the first pitch, he laced a line drive to the right side and despite a bad line to third, scored his first run of the 2024 World Series.  Cantan was next, and possible a little amped up.  He had an 8 pitch at bat with 6 foul balls that resulted in a whiff.  Three of those foul balls the timing was on but off the bottom or top of the bat and three of them Cantan yanked foul as he was early on the cadence.  McCormick was next and on the second pitch lofted a fly ball to the left side.  Gropner had to come in on this and he picked up the ball on a bang-bang play for the out.  Boston got three runs in this inning to take a 7-2 lead.

Elana Regan would re-enter the game on defense, this time for Sanchez and replace Zuccarello at the right short position.  The designated hitter, Hunter Fredrick would lead off the bottom half of the fourth with his second whiff of the contest.  Romack was next and hit a slow grounder to the left side.  Dias took one step in and dropped and stopped the ball cleanly for his 6th stop of the game.  Hillary Oswald was next and hit a lazy liner to the left side.  Dias slid to his right at a slight angle and made the play look easy.  Another Donut defensive inning for the Renegades.

Fifth inning

Tyler Mireault would lead off the fifth for the Renegades against Ron Cochran and the result of that would be a four pitch whiff.  Christian Thaxton was next and on the second pitch hit a high fly ball to the left side and scored his third run of the game running to first base.  This brought Elana Regan to the plate.  Regan would go down on strikes for the second whiff off the arm of Cochran.  Joe Yee was next in this revolving Renegade line up.  He hit the first pitch to Gropner, but Gropner struggled to find it and Yee scored his second run of the game.  This brought Drew Crook off the bench and to the plate hitting for Cantan.  BCS was starting to have health issues and needed to sub people out of the game.  After some confusion on how to do this, the Renegades allowed them to make an illegal substitution to get their player off the field who was struggling with heat.  Hillary Oswald would be allowed to re-enter the game after she subbed out at the start of this inning.  An NBBA official made a snide remark that they were shocked at Boston’s sportsmanship rubbing the Renegade head coach the wrong way.  Crook, making his first appearance at the plate in 2024 would make contact on the first two pitches he saw.  Crook hit a dribbler to the spot vacated by Gropner who was having health issues.  Alex Quick was there for the stop.  After five full innings, Boston led 8-2.

Boston would send a few new players into the field as Melissa Hoyt went to midfield and into Thaxton’s spot in the order, Luis Soto went to rover and would hit in McCormick’s spot and Crook went to third base.  Alex Quick led off for BCS and hit a dribbler down the third base line.  Dias had to come in and move to the line.  He would bobble the ball but lift it right before the speedy Quick would get to first base for his 8th stop of the contest.  Abigail Junek was next and hit a ball up the right middle of the field.  Regan slid to her right and the ball rolled up and over her legs, but it don’t roll far away and Regan was quick to track it down and pick it up for the out.  Oswald was next, inserted well before she sat out the required six outs (but allowed by Boston without penalty because of the solid sportsmanship).  She hit a lazy liner to the left side.  Dias slid to his right and dropped to his knees instead of laying out for it.  The ball almost rolled between his legs but he made the play off his right knee, for his 9th stop of the game.

Sixth inning

Luis Soto would lead off the last inning in just his second at bat of the season.  Peter Connolly was on the mound for this at bat.  With a full count, Soto hit a fly ball to the left side, foul.  He then hit a weak pop up to the left side.  Quick had to run in.  Soto took a bad line toward third, but was able to correct himself and get to the bag before Quick could get a handle on the ball, as Quick scooped his hands and missed the ball a few times.  This was Soto’s first run of the year and first since 2022 as he missed the entire 2023 season for health reasons!  Rob Thayer was next with Cochran back on the bump.  He was a little excited as he almost fell over on the second pitch before it was delivered.  He was able to gain his composure and on the fourth pitch grounded it to the left side.  Quick hit the ground and laid out as the ball hit him in the hands for an easy out.  This brought Chris Kimball to the plate, hitting for Melissa Hoyt who was dealing with a tight quad.  With Cochran staying on the mound, he went down on 4 pitches.  Elana Regan was next.  On the second pitch from Cochran, she hit a fly ball to the left side.  Quick moved to the middle of the field but was very late to charge it, as the caller likely made a bad call. Regan was safe by a mile running to third base.  Joe Yee was next and hit a grounder to the right side,  the ball stopped on the line, but the umpire called off the play because another ball started beeping behind the hitter making it hard for Yee to hear.  Yee would eventually strike out to end the inning.  Boston led 11-2.

The sixth inning would be uneventful for both teams as Shawn Devenish entered the game for Kimball and Guy Zuccarello would enter for Rob Dias (who was three stops from tying a team record for most stops in a game – set by Justen Proctor who did it against this BCS team in Wisconsin during the 2018 season).  Fredrick led off with a whiff.  Rookie, Joe Brooks would strikeout and Crystal Stark would also strike out.

Wrap up

Rob Dias would be the player of this game making 9 stops on defense.  This was his single highest output of any game in his career, surpassing the 8 he had vs Chicago in the 2023 World Series.  This was also only the 10th time a Renegade has made 9+ stops in a game in the Renegades 301 game history.  Christin Thaxton would pace the offense with three runs.  Rob Weissman set a team record working all 16 players into the game (not an easy feat as the confused Renegade bench was left guessing many times as well).  Alex Quick would be the player of the game for BCS has he scored 1 run and made three stops on defense.  Matt Gropner also impressed with four stops on defense before he was removed from the game for health reasons.   Boston would then have to change fields to prepare for the game of the day against the Bayou City heat, the other 2-0 team in this pool play bracket.

 

Heat & Renegades – Game of the day on Tuesday!

The Renegades and Heat battled it out for the 5 seed on the last day of the 2023 World Series with the Renegades winning 25-23.  The Renegades returned their entire team from last year, but the Heat had major turnover.  This game would feature three of the most exciting rookies of the NBBA in 2024 with Tyler Mireault of the Renegades and Noah Fenney and Grant Simpson of the Heat.  both teams entered this game 2-0.  The Renegades beat Minnesota 3-2 and BCS 11-2.  The Heat defeated BCS 15-4 and the Millers 15-1.

First inning

The game would face a delay at the start of the game as Fonzie Medrano laid down his own layer of fresh paint across home plate.  The Renegades would ask for a delay because the wet paint would get on the grips of the bats.  Christian Thaxton would eventually leadoff for the Renegades against Ron Cochran.  Thaxton lofted the first pitch high but it would land just foul.  He eventually struck out.  This brought Shawn Devenish to the dish and he would go down on four pitches.  Tyler Mireault then hit a hard low line drive to the right side past Gers and sending Darryl Minor on his knees chasing it.  That would not be enough to beat the speed of Mireault who would score the first run of the game.  Joe McCormick was batting fourth in this game and on the second pitch hit a fly ball to the left side and Grant Simpson picked it before McCormick could get to the base.

The Renegades would take the field with Rob Dias as the DF and Bryan Grillo calling the left side and Peter Connolly calling the right side. Tanner Gers would kik things off the right way for the Heat and on the first pitched launched a fly ball to centerfield for a no doubter run that McCormick picked up long after Gers hit first base.  Rookie Grant Simpson was next and on the second pitch hit a grounder up the middle.  Devenish was there for the stop and the first out of the game.  Darryl Minor was next with his giant legendary golf swing.  He hit a hard grounder up the middle, Dias was late to the ground and missed it.  Devenish dove and missed it, Cantan was also slow to the ground and needed to take another step to make the play as the ball rolled by his fingers.  As McCormick lifted it off the ground, Minor jumped over first base and missed the skinny base by inches.  The umpires convened to look at it and Minor was out.  Rookie Noah Fenney was next and he blasted a hard grounder up the middle.  Devenish dove and came up just short of it and McCormick over ran it and the ball rolled by him for another rookie run in this game.  Lupe Perez was next and wearing the Heat uniform for the first time the Renegades had ever seen him (he had played with Austin, West Coast, San Antonio and the Indy Edge).  He hit a weak pop up to the right side.  Zuccarello was there and when he went down to the ground, the ball kicked off his knees and rolled away from him to the line giving Lupe a chance to score.  Alex Gonzales, the six hitter was next and went down on strikes.  The Heat took a 3-1 lead after one full inning.

Second inning

Hitting in the 5th spot would be Shayne Cantan and pitching to him would be Peter Connolly.  With a full count, Cantan hit a line drive to the right side, it got past Gers and bounced over Darryl Minor.  Noah Fenney struggled to find it and it went past him as Cantan scored running to third base.  David Sanchez entered the game hitting for Guy Zuccarello.  He hit a fly ball to the center of the field. Minor hit the ground and lifted the ball right before Sanchez hit third base.  Thaxton’s turn was next.  He hit a laser up the middle of the field that rolled long past the home run line as Noah Fenny just let it go and Thaxton scored running to third base.  Shawn Devenish was next and he hit the first pitch on the ground  down the third base line.  Richie Flores tracked it and the call on the field was out.  The call was contested as the runner was going to first.  Replays show this play was very close.  Shawn’s tackling of the base may have cost him the run as if he had reached out to the base, he would have beaten it there – it was that close.  The call stood and Devenish was out.  Tyler Mireault then lined a ball into left field.  Lupe Perez was there tracking it and we had the exact same thing happen on back to back plays as the umpire called Mireault out as he ran to first and the ball was in left field.  A very hard call to make.  The Replay show he was safe as the ball was on the ground but the umpires grouped and the call stood.  In beepball, the tie goes to the fielder, maybe the umpires thought both of these were a tie?  Either way, the calls could have gone both ways.  Boston tied up the game at three after one and a half innings.

Tanner Gers would lead off for the Heat.  Elana Regan would sub in for Sanchez on defense.  Gers hit a towering pop up in the middle of the field.  Devenish got in front of it and on the second bounce, he caught it for the out.  A huge stop and great defensive play by Shawn.  Grant Simpson was next and hit a hard grounder to the right side, Elana Regan was right there and dropped to stop the ball.  It bounced a little off her body in front of her, but she had plenty of time to recover for a big out.  Daryl Minor was next, and he hit a grounder to the left side.  Dias over ran it and had to stop and come back to it as it died in front of him and to his left.  He stopped on a dime but dropped to his knees before the ball and whiffed the first time he looked for it and when he got the ball in his hands Minor scored.  Noah Fenney was next and hit a high fly ball to center field that Devenish missed.  As McCormick backed him up, Devenish turned and picked it up right before Fenney hit the bag at first base.  Another bang-bang play and again, the defense was awarded the out.  This play looked a lot like the out Devenish made at the plate in the top of the inning (but in reverse as the Renegades made the out on this play).

Third inning

Joe McCormick  got things started with a first pitch line drive past everyone into right field for a no doubter run to tie the game at 4.  With Connolly back on the mound, Cantan hit a hard line drive into left field past Flores and just past a diving Simpson as Cantan scored before Perez could lift the ball.  Joe Yee entered the game pinch-hitting for Elana Regan.  Yee, hitting off Connolly hit the first pitch to the left side as Flores dropped to his knees and made the play quickly.  Thaxton was next with Cochran coming back to the mound.  He also hit the first pitch high but short sending Flores forward.  Thaxton ran to third and Woodard (the umpire) could see the runner and the fielder in the same sight line and called Thaxton safe right before Flores picked it off the ground.  Devenish was next,  he hit a bouncer to the right side to Tanner Gers.  Devenish ran to first base.  Gers got on his knees and lost the ball under him, he lifted it as Devenish hit first base.  This could have been called wither way.  Replays show Devenish beat this out, but the call stood as an out on the field.   Mireault then hit a line drive into left field, Grant Simpson dove and missed it.  By the time Lupe got to it, Mireault was safe at third base.  Another bang-bang play making the umpire’s job very tough.  McCormick was next and on the third pitch hit a line drive into right field. Noah Fenny laid out and the ball hit him in the legs. It was hit hard enough that Fenney had plenty of time to lift the ball for the out.  Boston scored four times and took a 7-3 lead.

Guy Zuccarello re-entered the game for Yee as Lupe Perez entered the batter’s box.  Perez would hit a pop fly ball to the right side and on the third bounce, he slid over and the ball hit him right in the hands for the first out of the inning.  Alex Gonzales was next and hit a fly ball into left center sending McCormick backwards.  McCormick tracked it in deep left field and made a play on a few bounces right before Gonzales hit third base, a Huge out!.  Gers hit a dribbler just past the 40 foot arc to the left side and raced to first.  Dias chased it and instead of sliding took an awkward approach to the ball, almost circling it.  It was another bang-bang play and Gers was called safe.  Weissman contested it and the call stood (and replays show it was the right call).  Grant Simpson was next and hit a grounder to the left side, Dias came in and slid on it.  Simpson stumbled as he was running to first and on another bang-bang play, was called out.  After three inning, the Renegades led 7-5.

Fourth inning

Shayne Cantan would lead off the fourth with Connolly back on the bump.  He hit a dribbler up the middle.  Flores chased forward  and made the stop to start the inning.  David Sanchez then hit for Guy Zuccarello.  Sanchez hit a ball down the third base line that stopped near the line.  Flores struggled to hear it as third base was going off.  Sanchez scored his first run of the series. Christian Thaxton was next.  With a full count he fouled a ball off and the umpire called him out.  Confusion was one way to describe everyone on the field.  Thaxton claimed the ball hit off his foot.  Woodard claimed it went off his hands.  Woodard called the play an out.  Weissman and Cochran claimed the hands are part of the bat and it was a foul ball.  Woodard stood that it was a dead ball strike and the batter was out.  This rule is not in the NBBA rule book.  That means it defers to the ASA softball rule book.  Weissman called for the head umpire to confer on this play.  This was roughly a ten minute delay and the call stood.  Thaxton was really upset because it did not hit his hands, it hit his foot.  Replays show that he didn’t even wince when the ball hit him.  It is near impossible to see the ball hit his hands with the bat speed of Thaxton.  That would prove to be a big call on one of the league’s best hitters.  Shawn Devenish was next  and on the second pitch hit a grounder to the left side.  Grant Simpson was there and picked it clean for the third out of the inning.  Boston led 8-5.

Darryl Minor led off for the Heat with Drew Crook entering the game on defense for Sanchez, Shayne Cantan going to play deep and Joe McCormick going to play up front on the right side.  Minor would test this change right away with a grounder to theft side.  Dias lined it up and dropped to the ground and it went under him. Dias called for help, but Crook was slow to react and the ball didn’t get out far enough to Crook.  One run in.  Noah Fenney then laced a shot into center, past a diving Shawn Devenish.  Shayne Cantan did not take an angle and hit the ground too early and Fenney was easily safe.  Lupe Perez then hit a grounder up the middle.  Devenish looked like he had it lined up but he dropped to his left and it went under him for the third straight run.  After an Alex Gonzales strike out, Tanner Gers then hit a grounder to the left side of the field.  Gers took a bad line and was running in the field of play as Dias was trying to make a play.  Gers was about 10 feet in fair territory.  The out was awarded to Dias.  Grant Simpson then hit a weak grounder that Joe McCormick stopped with ease but Simpson called late base and he was accurate.  Simpson would eventually strike out to end the inning.  The game was now tied 8-8

Fifth inning

Tyler Mireault led off the inning with Cochran on the mound. He fouled off two pitches but struck out for the first time in the game and the third time for the Renegades.  Joe McCormick next hit a fly ball up the middle of the field.  Grant Simpson came a long way and dove, coming up sort of it and the ball died before getting to Noah Fenney as McCormick slid in safely.  Shayne Cantan was next with Peter Connolly back on the mound.  After taking the first pitch, he hit a fly ball to the right side that spun to the line.  Gers came running forward as Cantan ran to third and as Gers struggled to find the ball, Cantan slid in just safe.  Joe Yee than came back off the bench to hit for Crook.  He hit a grounder to the left side.  Flores slid to his left and dropped with his hands outstretched facing home plate and gobbled that up before Yee got to the base.  Thaxton was next with Ron back on the mound.  Thaxton hit a pop fly to the right side.  Gers had to give chase to his left.  This ball did not have as much spin on it and was hit a bit further. Gers slid and made the play just before Thaxton reached first base.  Boston took a 10-8 lead.

Guy Zuccarello re-entered the game for Yee and moved to the right short position.  Darryl Minor would lead off for the second consecutive inning.  He hit a line drive up the middle.  Dias slid to his left and Devenish dropped, neither of them could hear the ball, as Devenish laid on the ground and it rolled by his feet by just a few inches.  McCormick then heard it beeping but it didn’t matter as Minor was at the base.  The ball was not a dead ball and Minor was safe for his third run of the game.  A Fonzie ball dies while Fonzie was pitching.  Was Foznie working his magic?  Noah Fenney then blasted a shot into left field.  McCormick tried to get in front of it with his hands in the air but it bounced a foot to his right and he had to give chase.  Fenny was just at the forty foot arc when the ball came down, so McCormick had a chance but he had to chase, slide and when he hit the ground, he could not find it in time.  Lupe Perez then hit a fly ball into left field.  Mireault dove and came up short.  Shayne Cantan dove and the ball went off his hands and kicked past McCormick as Perez had his third run of the game.  Alex Gonzales was next and hit a laser down the third base line.  Shayne Cantan tracked it instead of chasing it and was too slow to the spot.  He called for help as McCormick chased it down and made the play a lot closer than it should have been as the Heat took a 12-10 lead.  Back to the top of the lineup and Tanner Gers.  He blasted a shot into left field.  McCormick almost had it lined up but did not square up his dive and came up just short as Gers scored his third run.  Simpson then hit a grounder to the right side where Zuccarello came straight across the field instead of taking an angle.  Mireault did take an angle backwards behind him and the ball died between the two of them.  Six up and six straight runs for the Heat.  Minor then hit a grounder to Dias.  Rob laid out and the ball hit his hands as he laid out and he pushed it away from himself.  Dias was able to get back up and grab it just before Minor hit third base to end the streak of Heat runs.  Noah Fenney whiffed for only the 4th whiff of the game off Fonzie Medrano.  Lupe Perez then hit a hard grounder to Dias.  The ball hit him in the quads and he was able to get it up with plenty of time for the out.  The Heat lead 14-8 and Fonzie magic was in play as he barreled many bats in the inning.

Sixth inning

Shawn Devenish led off for the Gades.  On the second pitch, he hit a weak pop fly into the left side coffin corner.  He won the foot race between him and Flores for his first run of the contest.  Tyler Mireault was next and hit a hard grounder to the right side.  Tanner Gers took off with a steep angle, slid head first and picked up the ball off his chest on a ball that was about 10 feet beyond the bag.  McCormick then hit a weak pop up to the right side.  Gers raced forward but hit the ground too soon and Tanner performed the breast stroke to the ball, but McCormick was too quick and scored his third run of the game.  This at bat was a milestone for Mac.  It marked his 600th at bat of his career as he became just the third player to reach that milestone in team history.   Cantan would go down on strikes for the first time in this game.  David Sanchez then entered to hit for Zuccarello.  On the first pitch, he hit a hard grounder down the third base line.  Flores took off at an angle and made the play about 10 feet behind third base.  The Heat would win this game 14-12 and steal the 5 seed from the Renegades for the Double elimination portion of the tournament.

Wrap up

The Renegade player of the game would be Joe McCormick who scored three times and made two stops in the deep layer of the defense,  Rob Dias chipped in 4 stops of his own while Devenish had three in the middle layer.  Shayne Cantan also plated three runs.  Tanner Gers would be the overall player of the game here with a 3-5 performance and three big stops on the right side of the field.