Late 10-run rally by Where My Pitches At seals 20-3 victory over We Kicked That Ball.
Charlottesville, VA -- We Kicked That Ball (WKTB) fell victim to the Where My Pitches At (WMPA) famous 8th man today in a staggering 20-3 loss at home. Hit early with a 9-2 deficit after the fifth inning, WKTB showed signs of life in the sixth and seventh before being inundated with a 10-run eight inning by WMPA. Team captain Derek Brameyer had little to say about the loss in the postgame presser: "We had a lot of people coming back from injuries today, and maybe we were a bit rusty. I know I made a lot of bone-headed plays myself. All I can say is we tried our hardest and we'll continue to do that."
WKTB falls to 2-2 on the season and appears to be struggling after shooting out of the gate with their first two victories. Perhaps WKTB is still finding the right rotation to get their offense going. Nevertheless, the team is moving forward with their heads held high. "It's tough to be the new kid on the block," said catcher/outfielder/second baseman Cassie Sharpe. "But we've got a good team and we're still learning. The wins will come, but we're not worried about it."
The team looks to regroup next week with the hopeful return of veteran kicker Emily Parker and all-Charlottesville pitcher Blake Ware. Ware's height provides a major presence on defense, though today it appeared that nothing could stop WMPA. The 8th Man was out in full force today, and the noise and cheering may have been a problem for WKTB, both offensively and defensively. WMPA's fanbase is notorious for traveling well, and at least 3 whole people showed up today to cheer the team on. Trung Tran was definitely feeling the pressure: "It's really hard to play when you've got that kind of distraction happening all around you. I just couldn't get in the groove."
The switch from seven to nine innings played also appeared to affect WKTB, who looked noticeably gassed after the seventh. Tom Chen and Kayla Leavesley both stepped in as relief pitchers as Brameyer's arm simply couldn't handle the amount of pitches thrown. "No doubt it was a hostile environment," said Tom Chen after the game. "I wanted to switch things up with a couple of change-ups and curveballs, but it just wasn't enough."
We Kicked That Ball returns to action next week in an important game in the 12:00 slot versus The Walker Texas Rangers, who are 4-0 on the season.