The People’s Baseball League Spring 2021 Season came to an exciting close on Sunday with the Gentilly Giants walking off the field minted as champions! Congratulations! Thank you to all who participated and contributed this season!
With a heat-index floating ~106° F (probably ~120° on the infield dirt), three games of baseball were played by four teams in what may be remembered as the “Heat Stroke Classic.”
9:00 AM – The 4-seed Weebies left it all on the field in an attempt to knock-out the 1-seed Blues in what may have been the most exciting game of the day. Despite trailing 6-1 after four innings, The Weebies fought back to tie the game 10-10 after 9, and take it to a 10th. In the top of the 10th, the Weebies went up by two runs, but the Blues refused to give in, loaded the bases, and chipped away until they earned their 3rd run scored in the bottom of the 10th for a walk-off win 13-12, and a berth in the championship game.
~12:30 PM – An anemic 2-seed Pelicans squad faced the super-charged 3-seed Giants. In an impressive feat of stamina, Giants manager Ryan Carr befuddled the Pels hitters on the mound for a complete game win bolstered by no less than four towering home runs from the aptly-named Giants hitters. The Giants ultimately run-ruled the Pelicans after 7 innings, winning 19-4, making way for the late-afternoon championship game.
4:30ish? – Two teams beat down by heat re-took a blistering field, with the Giants taking virtually no rest, and the Blues coming off a 4.5 hour lactic-acid buildup fest. The Blues briefly took a 1-run lead after the 2nd inning, and the baseball gods blessed all the players with some cloud-cover for the rest of the game. Ultimately the Giants bats could not be beat in this offense-heavy game with both teams tallying a total of 23 hits. After 8 innings, lightning and rain forced the game to a close with the Giants victorious 12-7.