Summer Co-ed Rookie Kickball Mon/Wed at Lillis Albina Park

On a day when most teams would have walked away with their heads down, Ruby Death Squad showed what a real team is all about. They showed up to the playing field with zeal and flare. They sported HOT PINK TEE’s and multi-colored hats with inspirational nicknames. But most of all, they have earned the player of the week award for Esprit de Corps.

Ruby Death Squad started the game with a few rough innings but it never got them down. After the 3rd inning, ‘The Squad’ really came together and began to coalesce around strong pitching from Kade. His mixture of nipple tassel twirling (yes, gold nipple tassels) and a steady delivery put a smile on his opponents’ faces and reduced their strong legs from the first few innings.

In another stellar performance, PYT (Pretty Young Thing) Kristen Cross brought her team to their feet with a miraculous slide into 2nd base. She has earned the respect of her team and the league for willingly sacrificing her body just to squeeze out an extra base. I hope this ‘never give up’ attitude rubs off on other teams in Underdog Kickball. I congratulate you and look forward to the rest of the season.

Brian (AKA "What the What") showed how nimble he was on his feet today when he got caught in a pickle between 3rd base and home plate towards the end of the game. His aggressive tactics trying to make it home looked like an utter failure until he after a few quick moves back and forth from 3rd to home, he made one impressive move to make it to home plate safely! Best of all it ended up being the game winning run in the top of the 7th by "What the What" (AKA "Twinkle Toes") that sealed his fate in the folklore of Ruthless State.

This was Paul's MVP game hands down! In one of the most spectacular plays I've ever seen in Underdog Kickball, Paul came up big. With a soft line-drive/blooper that looked like it was sure to fall behind Will at third base and in front of Paul in left field they combined to make the catch and prevent another base-runner. As the ball was kicked Will knew he might be in trouble and started back-peddling from third base and made a last ditch effort to try to catch the ball. He leaped up and with arms stretched behind him and his legs flying up into the air he just managed to tip the ball enough for Paul to do his thing. Running in from left field Paul hesitated for a moment when he saw Will tip the ball and with amazingly quick reflexes he made a diving catch of his own just before the ball was able to make it to the ground. I will admit that writing doesn't do this play justice as you really had to see it to appreciate the difficulty and awesomeness of this play! Congrats Will and Paul on your teamwork! Oh yeah, did I mention Paul also had a home-run in this game? Definitely worthy of Player of the Week this week!

A number of past Player of the Games have won the honor by a spectacular play in the field, or a game-changing score, or by just having a ton of fun out there. Cooie is no exception to this but the one difference she has going for her is that she made a spectacular Defensive play while she was on Offense. With a decent bunt towards the 1st base side of the infield Cooie went charging down the first base line determined to make it safely. With the defense closing in and throwing the ball at her to tag her out she lit up her shoes and put herself into another gear causing the ball to start to sail just behind her. Unfortunately her instincts kicked in at the last moment and decided to reach back to hit the ball with her hand to deflect it from getting close to her. With a huge smile on her face she walked back to the dugout with her teammates giving her grief and cheers at the same time. Awesome play Cooie, but even better attitude for just having fun regardless of the outcome of the play!

Alex Hess is a great example of a team player and leader. A member of Jiminy-Kick-It Alex was very vocal with his teammates on offense and defense which helped his team early on. When the game went into extra innings, Alex continued to showcase his leadership by cheering on his team and keeping everyone focused on the game. Team Jiminy-Kick-It won the game 11-10 in the bottom of the 10th inning just as the sun was about to set. It was a very competitive game.

So Erika came to the field in the extreme heat to show her team that although it was scorching, the air can still feel oh so good! I won't go into too many details since I'm not sure Erika would want everything in writing for evidence but I will say she did enjoy her time out there no matter if her team won or lost. Way to go Erika, your spirit "moves" us all!

In a game full of collisions, John had the most exciting and interesting one of the night! To start out the game in the first inning, John hit a hard grounder in the infield and in his attempts to outrun the throw to first base he had a bit of trouble. Unfortunately his mind was much quicker than his feet and he "slid" head first about half way down the first base line. Some of his teammates swear that he fell but only John knows for sure. He didn't come up empty handed though, he has a skinned knee to prove it. John didn't give up after that start though and came out with guns blazing in later innings to prove to all of us that he was a pretty darn good ball-player! Way to go John, you've earned Player of the Week!

For an up-and-down emotional season for Jiminy Kick-It's, Katie's spirit and determination never gave up! In the bottom of the 7th, Katie had a fairly well placed bunt and sprinted towards first base. It would have been a very close play no matter what but luckily for Katie the ball sailed past the first baseman and against the fence. Katie took off immediately towards second and suddenly in a surprising move she rounded the base and made a v-line towards third base! In what should have been a close single Katie now looked determined to make a triple out of it...but wait, that's not all. With the ball heading to third base well behind Katie, you could tell the fire in her eyes was overwhelming to make it home. Could it be? A bunt turned home-run for the underdog's? Racing toward home the ball on it's way made it to the catcher just moments before Katie could tag the base...fortunately her lightning quick reflexes prevented the tag-out and she was safe at home...all with the ball never traveling more than about 10 feet from her foot on the initial kick!

Mary is this week's POTW for her amazing defense and awesome hands at third base. No matter what kick came her way she was a magnet for the ball. Line drives, pop-ups, grounders, they all were no problem for her. She played with awesome spirit and demonstrated her enthusiasm for playoff kickball! Great game Mary!