The Middlesex Panthers lost their final game of the regular season last night, falling 6-4 to the Red Balls in WAKA Massachusetts Commonwealth Division action.
The game was chock full o' controversy, most notably the heated argument over whether to continue playing the game as darkness fell over Lowell Field. The Red Balls -- who, coincidentally, fell victim to a Panthers come-from-behind rally the last time the two teams played -- asked to end the game with a 6-4 lead in the middle of the fourth inning. The Panthers, optimistic they could stage another rally, declined at first but eventually agreed that it was dangerous to keep playing.
"I didn't want to risk an injury to one of our players and jeopardize our chances in the playoffs," said Panthers co-captain Colin Steele, who went 0-for-2 with two errors. "Oh, who am I kidding? I just wanted to get the game over and get to the bar. ... Also, I really sucked tonight."
The Panthers, who are quite pungent, put up a strong fight despite missing many of their stars, including starting pitcher David Bergeron, team Canadian Nick Toth and Matt "Frenchie" Gervais. Blake "Slam" Dunkel, Paul Liberman, Yuval "Take This Job And" Shavit and Eric Pierce helped put two runs on the board in the second inning. The same quartet led another two-run charge in the fourth and ultimately ultimate inning.
Despite the acrimonious and anticlimactic ending to the game, the Red Balls and Panthers put aside their differences at league bar Joe Sent Me, where they played flip cup in peace and harmony.
"I never really liked the Balls," Steele said. "But after a few beers, it turns out they're not that bad. ... Wait, that totally came out wrong."
The Panthers' loss, coupled with the Root Down's victory over Animal Is My Homeboy, means there's a three-way tie for the regular season championship. The Panthers, Red Balls and Root Down all finished with 5-3 records, while Animal Is My Homeboy went 1-7. The three first-place teams are all anxiously awaiting a ruling from the commissioner's office to determine seedings for the playoffs, which begin next week.
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The Balls who, also coincidentally, played three innings two weeks ago in even less light when they should have walked away with a tie.
But I refuse to be bitter.
Okay, so I'm a little bitter... but I'm also just in a mood because I missed the first inning of the game, so I only saw three innings of kickball this week which, obviously, is not nearly enough to get me high...
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