by Sports Writer, Adam J. Pestka

“Play By Play”

Week 4 April 12th
Game 1: Titanics versus Ocean Rescue
Pitting two of the ocean’s most formidable rescue squads against each other, week four promised to be an exciting week.  The Titanics coming off their most recent loss to Sting Ray’s last week were looking to rebound with a win.  After opening up the first inning with hit, runs, and a positive attitude the Titanics took the field against the battered Ocean Rescue Team.  However, just because you have been beaten, doesn’t mean that you are an easy opponent.  Ocean Rescue managed to keep the score close through the first three innings, where the game was prime for a comeback.  After grounding out to make the first out of the fourth inning, Ocean Rescue’s bats came alive scoring five runs to take the lead in the fourth.  A blow that the Titanic’s would not come back from as they were dealt another loss by Ocean Rescue in five innings.

Game 2: Cafe Loco versus Huc-A-Poos
Another nail biting contest took place at the 7:45 game where two powerhouses collided in what would later be described as “awesome.”  Both teams, looking to add another notch in their win column, came out with an intensity rivaled only by the sun.  With big innings in both the first third Cafe Loco took a small 2 run lead over the reigning champs and with some crafty pitching and defense Cafe Loco’s was able to hold off the hitting power of Huc-A-Poo’s serving them their first loss of the season.

Game 3: Sting Ray’s versus Breakfast Club
Coming off their previous week bye, Breakfast Club was primed for an offensive battle.  Sting Rays, a hitting powerhouse, came out swinging and tallied seven runs in the first inning.  Breakfast club managed to score two by the end of the first inning but the hitting ability of Sting Rays team was too precise for the Breakfast Club Defense and Sting Ray’s downed the Breakfast Club.

Week 5 April 19th
Game 1: Breakfast Club versus Cafe Loco
An even match was in store for these two teams, with the Breakfast Club coming off of last weeks heartbreaking loss and Cafe Loco downing Huc-A-Poos in a climatic and exciting seven inning match.  The game began with both teams swinging for the fences, but it wasn’t until the third inning that Cafe Loco began running away with the lead.  While defense was prominent on both sides, that hitting power of Cafe Loco was too much for The Breakfast club to manage, and the Breakfast Club takes a loss to Cafe Loco.

Game 2: Sting Rays versus Titanics
What can be said about Sting Rays that hasn’t been said about Major League Baseball in the mid 90′s steroid years…offense, offense, offense.  This team doesn’t really need to use their fairly stacked defense since they have so much raw hitting power.  Even when the Titanics were in the correct positions, Sting Rays would find an opening and exploit it.  However, this week the Titanics hit back, keeping the score within five runs through the entire game.  They just weren’t able to get that one inning to overtake Sting Rays, and the Titanics fell short of a win again.

Game 3: Jail Birds versus Ocean Rescue
Ocean Rescue coming off their recent victory were adamant in their pursuit of another victory, with only the impressive fielding of the Jail Birds standing in their way.  With the lead within arms reach of Ocean Rescue the entire game it wasn’t until the Jailbirds managed a three-and-out in the fourth inning that they began to run away with the game.  The Jailbirds managed to eek out another victory against Ocean Rescue.

Week 6 April 26th
Game 1: Jailbirds versus Titanics
Well, with another week underway on beautiful Tybee Island, the softball season is starting to heat up.  With first place still up for grabs, the race for the “pennant” is too close for comfort.  The Jailbirds coming off their victory over Ocean Rescue last week gave them a competitive edge over the batter and bruised Titanics.  With outstanding defense the Jailbirds managed to hold the Titanics to one run.  I said it…one whole run.  Needless to say the game was a one sided scoring festival and the Jailbirds rubbed off the Titanics in an ol’ fashioned whoopin’.

Game 2: Breakfast Club versus Ocean Rescue
This game was EVEN matched.  While both teams were looking for wins only one team would come out the victor.  The game had pretty even hitting and some great plays out in the field but once the third inning came rolling in and Ocean Rescues bats came alive and managed to create a deficit too great for the Breakfast Club to overcome.  Ocean Rescue shut down the Breakfast Club in a very exciting, well played match.

Game 3: Sting Rays versus Huc-A-Poo’s
Pitting two of the leagues biggest hitting teams against each other, the final game of this week was one for the record books…or so you would think.  While the game was well played with plenty of offense and defense the game began to slide in the favor of Huc-A-Poos in the second, and the slide wouldn’t stop.  With a final score of 9 – 16, Huc-A-Poo’s made a point to show that their only loss of the season would be just that, their only loss. Sting Rays came up a little short against Huc-A-Poos, but this will not be the last time we see these two titans face off.

Mid-Season Overview:

We’ve hit the midway point in the season and it is time for a recap, and a brief overview of the teams.  So far there have only been a few games that I would put in the “good game” column.  The majority of the games are won by slaughter, or at least a large margin.  This is actually expected in “beer league” softball.  On the plus side, everyone who comes out has a great time.  Even if you they are on the losing team that all seem to get along and have fun together.  Plus worse -comes-to-worse, there is a beer waiting for them in the dug-out.  Softball seems like the perfect way to start the work week, Mondays are statistically pretty horrible, so putting a fun event at the end of the day makes everything that went on earlier in the day worth it.

Team Overview:

Huc-A-Poos – An obvious powerhouse, they can hit, they can field, and they have some REALLY devoted fans.  Last seasons reigning champions have only lost one game this season and are another contender for the pennant this year.

Sting Rays – Another formidable opponent.  Everyone on this team can bomb!  And by bomb I mean hit the long ball.  There isn’t a single person on this team who is not capable of delivering a home run ball in any situation.  They seem to be one of the most cohesive teams in the league this year as well, they get along with each other and it shows in the way they play.  Probably one of the most fun teams to watch.

Cafe Loco – Another team that is a lot of fun to watch.  While they may not all be golden glove winners in their past lives, they can hit.  Most of their games are slaughter’s because they can hit the ball where the defense is not, a skill that hard to master.  They seem to have it down to a “T” and regularly show it off.  While I don’t think they are in contention for the pennant this year, it wouldn’t surprise me to seem them up in the rankings next season.

Jailbirds – Amazing pitching.  The only team that has consistent pitching every game.  Their defense behind the mound is also top in the league, everyone on this team can catch…a skill learned early in childhood for most but something that can’t be overlooked when talking about slow-pitch softball.  Again, not in contention this season unless they have a big turn around after the midway point, but a consistently good team.

Breakfast Club – New to the league and making a name for themselves already.  Breakfast Club has talent they just need something to draw it out of them.  While their spirit is always high in the dug-out there is something missing from their team dynamic, maybe they are lacking a leader on the team.  Someone everybody can rally around, high on base percentage and someone who never misses a fielding opportunity.  If someone steps up into this leadership position, I think we see more tallies in the win column after the break.

Ocean Rescue – Another team that has talent and could be a good team, but something is missing from their dynamic.  They can hit at times and their fielding is alright, but they aren’t pulling it together at the same time.  Switch things up in the field a bit to see what will work better after the break.  Tighten up the screws and this team will have more wins.

Titanics - Another team that needs to have their fielding and hitting come together at the same time.  They have a lot of talent on the team, but simple mistakes on defense are costing them runs and wins.  While they may not be able to hit the long bombs that other teams can, they have the ability to nickle-and-dime the other teams by placement hitting.  When you don’t have the long ball ability, your defense has to be a wall, and so far this season the Titanics wall looks more like a pasta strainer.  Fill in the gaps and this team will turn it around.

Come on out and support Tybee Softball at Jaycee Field! Weekly games are on Monday – 1st match starts at 6:30pm – 2nd match starts at 7:45pm.

by Sports Writer, Adam J. Pestka

Hi! My name is Adam Peska and I’ll be reporting on the Spring Softball League games this season in which seven local teams are competing at Jaycee Field. Unfortunately, I only have stats for one game during the first two weeks – (the one in which I played, and the second week’s games on March 29th were canceled due to field conditions), but all other games starting with Week Three below will be summarized in upcoming editions in true Tybee fashion, so stay tuned…

Week One, March 22nd:
The Coast Guard Titanics vs. Huc-A-Poos
Week one of the Bar and Restaurant Spring Softball season opened with The Coast Guard Titanics against last season’s champions, Huc-A-Poos at Jaycee Field.  The team consists of members of both Tytan Ad Group and members of the United States Coast Guard creating a powerhouse of creativity and muscle.  With Mark Addona pitching and Kristin Conrad catching the Titanics managed to keep the score close for the first 5 innings.  Adam Pestka scored the teams first run after hitting a single to right center and rounding the bases on consecutive hits by Lexi, Justin Collins and Dean Moesch.  Mark Addona and Aaron Gravit hit home runs to spark a small comeback in the 5th, however their efforts fell short and The Titanics ended up being downed by the reigning champs of Huc-A-Poos.

Week Two, March 29th: (All games were canceled)

Week Three, April 5th:
Sting Ray’s vs. Ocean Rescue
Week three started off with a bang for the Tybee Island Bar and Restaurant softball league.  The 6:30 game was Sting Ray’s versus Ocean Rescue, who played their first game of the season due to last week’s poor field conditions.  Sting Ray’s opened the game with a triple and a pair of two run blasts hit by Whitney and Danny.  Ocean Rescue had trouble getting the bats going through out the game, scrounging only three base runners in four innings.  Michelle hit a game ending double that scored two and sealed a slaughter rule victory for Sting Ray’s.  Sting Ray’s plays the Breakfast Club in the late game next week on April 12th while Ocean Rescue faces Coast Guard Titanics at 6:30pm.

Huc-A-Poo’s vs. Jailbirds
By far the most competitive game of the evening, this bout was filled with tension, drama and heckling from Huc-A-Poo’s diehard fans.  Fueled by “slow-poke” quesadillas and fermented beverages, Poo’s came out swinging, with a lead-off home run crushed by Stephen followed up with five more crossing the plate before the third out.  The Jailbirds on the other hand got off to a slow start going three and out in the first inning.  However their defense held Poo’s to a pair of runs in the second and they began their comeback.  Scoring four runs in the second, eight in the third (capped off by a grand slam by Vinny) and three in the fourth inning, the Jailbirds took the lead 15-14.  With a close fifth inning dominated by defense, the sixth and seventh innings were controlled by Huc-A-Poo’s who managed to down the Jailbirds 25-16.  The Jailbirds have a bye next week on April 12th while Huc-A-Poo’s play’s Café Loco in the 7:45 game.

Coast Guard Titanics vs. Café Loco
The Titanics, coming off of a slaughter rule loss in week one, came out of the gate swinging against Café Loco, scoring five runs in the first inning.  However the remainder of the game was controlled by the hitting prowess of Café Loco.  After scoring seven in the first inning and nine in the second (with three multi person home runs), Café Loco was definitely in the drivers seat.  The Titanics managed a small comeback in the third inning with Lexi, Adam, Shannon and Mark crossing the plate.  However it wasn’t enough to break Loco’s bombing ability as Café Loco took a victory in three innings.  On April 12th, The Titanics take on Ocean Rescue at 6:30pm while Café Loco play’s Huc-A-Poo’s in the 7:45 game.

This season’s teams are: Huc-A-Poos, Cafe Loco, Sting Ray’s, Coast Guard Titanics, Jailbirds, Breakfast Club, and Ocean Rescue.  Come on out and support Tybee Softball at Jaycee Field!
Weekly games are on Monday – 1st match starts at 6:30pm – 2nd match starts at 7:45pm

Register Online: http://www.active.com/running/tybee-island-ga-ga/critz-tybee-half-12-marathon-and-5k-2010

COST:

½ Marathon:
Early Sun Rise Rate
$28 through December 4
$35 from December 5 through January 17
$45 from January 18 through February 5 @ close of EXPO

5K, It’s back:
Early Sun Rise Rate
$18 through December 4
$25 from December 5 through January 17
$35 from January 18 from February 5 @ close of EXPO

COURSE INFORMATION:

½ Marathon:
The ½ Marathon will start on Butler Ave. and 15th st. near the famous Breakfast Club at 8:30 a.m. And, finish on 16th street facing the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and the Tybee Island Pier.

5K:
The 5K is back! The 5K race will start at the historic Tybee Island Lighthouse at 8:00 a.m. And, will finish on 16th st. facing the beautiful Atlantic Ocean and the Tybee Island Pier.

EVENT SCHEDULE:

Friday, February 5, 2010
9 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Packet Pick-Up and Fleet Feet EXPO at Ocean Plaza Conference Center

Saturday, February 6, 2010 RACE DAY!!!!!!
6:30 a.m. – 8:15 a.m.
½ Marathon Packet Pick-Up at Ocean Plaza Conference Center. There is NO race day registration.
½ Marathon Race Start Time
8:30 a.m.

6:30 a.m. – 7:30 a.m.
5K Packet Pick-Up at Historic Tybee Island Lighthouse. There is NO race day registration.
5K Race Start Time
8:00 a.m.

PACKET PICK UP:

Stop by the Ocean Plaza Conference Center on Friday, February 5th from 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. to pick up your packet and enjoy the Fleet Feet EXPO. Runners gear and supplies will be sold at the EXPO. Parking for Packet Pick-Up will be available at the Ocean Plaza Hotel Parking area or any legal parking spot on Tybee Island. We encourage all participants to pick up their packets at the Expo to make your race day easier and more convenient.

CONTACT:

Contact Person: Robert Espinoza and Brittny Magulias, Fleet Feet Sports
Phone: 912.355.3527 Email: Robert@fleetfeetsavannah.com brittny@fleetfeetsavannah.com
Web: www.critztybeerun.com
Address: 3405 Waters Ave, Savannah, GA 31404