The boys in blue made it to the deep south, the hot deep south that is. Mesquite Nevada’s mercury hung around that 40 deg level for the 2 days of the Mesquite Senior Games which is a warmup for the Huntsmen Games which start Monday. The guys that play at Lorne Hoden all summer played 5 games finishing with a 4-1 record. They started out early Saturday morning before breakfast at 8 against “AK Northern Lights” a squad from Alaska. The boys started out slow but then the bats came alive and the defense followed. Not too often you can say shutouts in senior slow pitch but that’s exactly what happened. Final score HuffnPuff’s 60 overwhelmed the boys from the far north 16-0.
The second game of the day pitted the Puffers against Sun City Rays from Phoenix. This time the bats were hot early with the Med Hat team putting a 5 spot up in the first inning. From there they just kept tacking on runs here and there while holding the opposition to small numbers. Hatters win 17-12.
The last game of the day was an all-Alberta match. The Nationals who are comprised of guys from various spots in Alberta was the opposition. Once again, the runs came when they were needed and the defense was strong. Make the final, HuffnPuff 19 Nationals 10.
Sunday morning was once again an early affair for the semi and once again an all-Alberta tilt. Although the defense was strong the boys from the Hat gave up a few too many runs to the Grizzlies from Calgary. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies win this one 18-14.
Although the Gas City guys were out of gold contention, there was still a medal to play for. The opponent this time was another squad from the far north (R-Tec from Alaska). Whether it was a Sunday morning hangover or the heat finally getting to the Hat guys a slow start was once again in the chips. Alaska led early but the Huffer’s stayed close with some major league defense. This one proved to be the lowest scoring affair of the weekend. It came down to the top of the open inning with the Hat guys holding a slim lead. With the tying and winning runners on base a deep fly ball and a great catch sealed the deal. HuffnPuff’s win this one 10-7.
Not the out come they wanted but securing a bronze medal after a 3 week lay off is nothing to sneeze about. The guys played great and the “good lookin’ coaches from the stands” not only cheered hard but endured the stifling heat.
Next up is the start of the ever popular Huntsmen Games in St. George Utah. First 2 games for the HuffnPuff boys go Monday late afternoon. Stay tuned.