All-Star Baseball Classic 2009 Wrap-up

Final Standings:
Champions – Fogelberg Falcons
Runner-up – Jeetzton Beanbags
3rd place – McCall Mudhens

Road to the title:
Game 1
Falcons 19, Sketchers 16
19 runs is the most that The Falcons would put on the board all weekend and it turns out that they would need every one of them against a high scoring Sketchers lineup. Catchers on both teams hit grand slams with Mickey Tettleton earning the game MVP for his big fly in the 7th inning.

Game 2
Falcons 11, Devil Dogs 10
This game begins a daunting series of nail biting games for the Falcons… The Devil Dogs lead 10-5 till the Falcons cut the lead to 1 in the eighth on a series of singles from Wade Boggs, Joe Morgan, Tony Phillips and a double by pinch hitter Johnny Mize. Down by one, Tris Speaker doubles to lead off the ninth. A Walk to Boggs puts runners at first and second. After a double from Morgan ties the game, Tony Phillips hits his second walk off single of the Classic with two outs to give the Falcons a win.

Game 3
Falcons 11, Beanbags 15
The high-powered offense of the Beanbags throws up 9 runs in the eighth inning after scoring only 2 runs in seven innings against Falcons ace Johnny Podres. The Combo at the top of the Bags’ lineup of Rickey Henderson, John McGraw, Dave Winfield and Todd Helton was too much for the Falcons relief staff in the eighth. This would be the second time The Beanbags beat the Falcons in the Classic and earn them a place in the Championship contest.

Game 4
Falcons 14, Mudhens 13
This game between the two oldest franchises will go down as possibly their greatest match-up ever. The Falcons open up an early lead scoring 9 runs through 3 innings. Just when the game looks to be a foregone conclusion the Mudhens answer with 10 runs in the next three innings to outpace the Falcons and tie the game after six complete… The Hens’ then continue their remarkable comeback by taking the lead in the 7th by scoring 2 against Carl Hubbell.

Down by two in the 9th, Falcons manager Don Zimmer gets an instant reward for pinch hitting Lou Boudreau. One of the staples of the Falcons organization, Boudreau hits an unlikely solo home run to cut the lead to one. After a ground out by Paul Molitor, Tris Speaker and Ralph Kiner draw walks to put runners at first and second. A Strikeout by Wade Boggs puts the Mudhens one out away from a birth in the championship game against the Beanbags… Stan Musial is the Falcons last hope and hits the second pitch he sees deep into the outfield where an EXTREMELY unlikely two base error occurs scoring Speaker from second base, tying the score and giving the Falcons new life in extra innings.

In Fogelberg’s half of the ninth, Tony Phillips leads off with a single followed by walks to Tettleton and Salmon to load the bases with one outs. A strikeout of Paul Molitor gives way to back-to-back walks and two runs for the Falcons… The Mudhens cut the lead to one in their half but are unable to push across the tying run.

Game 5: Championship
Falcons 12, Beanbags 10
Coming out of the losers bracket, the Falcons are against the wall and needing to beat the Beanbags twice to win the title. This will be the second straight extra inning nail-biting contest for the eventual champs.

After giving up 5 early runs to the Beanbags, the Falcons chip away at a 10 run deficit through the next nine innings to tie the score in regulation. After neither team could score in the 10th or 11th, the Falcons plate two runs on a homerun from Joe Morgan in the 11th. Warren Spahn, The Falcons closer, came to pitch a scoreless half inning to earn the win.

Game 6: Championship Final Game
Falcons 14, Beanbags 7
Falcons ace Johnny Podres pitches his second game of the day against the Beanbags continuing his strong performance allowing 2 runs over seven and two-thirds innings. The Falcons lineup comes out firing on all four cylinders grabbing 14 runs in the contest and winning the Championship of the All-Star Baseball Classic 2009.

Falcons Lineup:
P. Molitor (1B*)
T. Speaker (CF)
R. Kiner (LF*)
W. Boggs (3B)
S. Musial (RF)
J. Morgan (2B)
T. Phillips (SS)
M. Tettleton (C)
J. Podres (P)

Backups:
L. Boudreau
T. Salmon
J. Mize
R. Campanella

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Memorable Moments:
– Floating keg #1 at 2:16 on Saturday afternoon
– Floating keg #2 about 24 hours later
– Sam poring beer down Scott’s shirt
– Gavin passing out around 6:30 and sleeping through the night
– Lance counting up how many times he took a crap during the weekend (and bragging about it! Hahaha)
– Matt passing out Sunday afternoon
– Lance throwing his own manager out of the game!
– Gavin’s tape fingers
– Jeff and Ry playing two GREAT games
– Scott eating half a bag of cookies
– Sam winning the first and LAST drinking trophy in ASB history (looking back, that was not such a good idea)

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Saturday Results
Pool 1:
Boilers 18, Mudhens 17
Sketchers 26, Bears 8
Boilers 11, Sketchers 9
Bears 16, Mudhens 22
Mudhens 10, Sketchers 6
Bears 11, Boilers 3

Pool 2:
Devil Dogs 8, Beanbags 7
Beanbags 12, Wildcats 11
Falcons 9, Devil Dogs 6
Wildcats 13, Devil Dogs 6
Beanbags 17, Falcons 16
Falcons 9, Wildcats 8