Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Still Alive!


The rain and cold weather this past Sunday failed to deter What?! from showing up at the field, 5, and later 7, members of the team at least.

Even though they were outnumbered, What?!'s defense was able to stuff their opponent's opening drive, with April getting her 1st of 2 interceptions on the day. The offense capitalized immediately, with Matt throwing a TD pass to Felix, and then converting the 2 point conversion via a run.

After giving up a TD on their opponent's next drive, reinforcements arrived in the form of Alison, who promptly scored on a long catch and run, putting What?! ahead 14-6. This lead lasted into halftime, as the defense stymied the opposition, via another interception by April and an end-zone pick by Felix.

In the 2nd half, What?! blew the game wide open, though in a unique fashion.

After an acrobatic interception from Alison, Felix, who paced the team in catches, converted a trick play, taking the snap and throwing to a wide open Matt in the end zone.

Immediately following, 14 points came in a span of 30 seconds, as Ronny picked off consecutive passes and ran them both back for touchdowns, with Tara chipping in on a 2 point conversion.

And with that barrage of scoring, the game was essentially won, with additional interceptions coming from Matt and Felix. What?!'s opponents were disheveled and demoralized, and could not manage much of anything else save a garbage time TD.

This was an important victory, as it keeps the team's playoff hopes alive. With a win this upcoming Sunday, What?! would essentially guarantee themselves a playoff spot. Look forward to the big day this weekend!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

What?! The Heck(scher)

What?! softball had a tough Sunday as well.

Without going into the details of both games, essentially, the team played some sloppy defense and could not hit. While some might attribute it to the chilly weather and early 11am game-time, the team was simply not prepared to play a team that will be among the top seeds in the playoffs. In fact, the team even got shutout in the 1st game of the doubleheader.

All that aside, some of the better performances of the day included Purvi and Erin who chipped in with multiple hits, Eric S who scored 2 more runs to build the case keeping him at the top of the order, Matt T who drove in 4 runs in the 2nd game, and John who got another extra base hit. Also, credit Tara for a good pitching performance and Ashley for throwing too hard.

Going into the 3rd week, the team will look to rebound by solidifying the defense and putting work in on offense. Time to start playing some winning softball!

What?! Fumbles Another Game


Another rough Sunday for team What?! saw their record drop to 2-3.

The game began with no stat sheet and What?! short on guys. Nevertheless, the team managed to respond to giving up an opening drive TD by marching down the field, scoring, and converting a 2 point conversion via passes from Brad to Bekim and Alex to take a 8-7 lead. However, things from downhill from there.

After giving up another score, the offense managed to take the ball down to their opponent's red zone before stalling on a 4th and goal from the 1. Even after a Bekim pick, the team was unable to capitalize, and gave up another score to go into the half, down 19-8.

A side-note at this point, apparently before the half, a hail-mary pass from the other team led to the most horrific injury witnessed by anyone on the team. Rumors had twisted knee, popped tendons, blood gushing at the scene (okay, maybe not all three).

The offense was able to pull back 1 score starting the 2nd half. But the defense was unable to come up with any stops, allowing their opponent to dominate time of possession. Ultimately, this cost What?! the game, and put the team's playoff hopes in jeopardy.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

What?! Softball Opens Season With Split


What?! Overcomes "Phantom Run" to Take Game 1

On a nice 70 degree afternoon at Central Park, What?! kicked off its summer softball season on the Heckscher lawn. While game time was set originally for 4 o'clock, first pitch did not actually occur until about a hour later due to previous games running late. The team took advantage of the extra time productively, as they ran suicides and discussed strategy laid on the soft grass and ate sunflower seeds while debating whether there was life on planets other than Earth.

When it was time to start the game, What?! took the field in the top of the 1st as they won the lucky coin dime toss to become the home team. Immediately, What?! showed its rust as the team gave up two runs via several walks and a hit before getting out of the jam. In the bottom of the inning, however, What?! led off the inning with singles from Eric S and Purvi. After taking 3rd on a Dave C flyout, Eric S was able to score on a Matt T groundout to cut the lead by half.

The deficit was short-lived as in the next turn at bat, after inducing their opponents into a 1-2-3 inning, John crushed the first pitch he saw of the season into right center for a home-run to tie the game at two a piece.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Losing Streak Ends!


Finally, something to celebrate as the team broke out of its mini 2 game losing streak. Not only does it feel good to win, but also to win by more than a extra point or two.

According to those in attendance, the team got big performances from several players. Lance had a huge defensive game, while chipping in on offense with a TD catch on a nice come-backer in the end-zone. Eric A had a huge game, coming up with 2 picks, while pacing the offense, including a splendid TD grab where it looked like he caught the ball "while being punched in the chest." April threw a catch and run TD to Matt as well.

On defense, Alja and Ronny had big games while Bekim's pick towards the end of the game helped seal the victory. Of course, it also helped that our opponent's QB didn't play well. In the words of one of players, he "could only throw like 15 yards...like a step below Matt, basically." (Note, let's focus on the description of the opposition QB, since there's clearly a amongst our ranks.)

The team has 3 weeks left in the regular season and it's imperative that they try and win at least 2 of those games in order to secure a spot in the playoffs. It will certainly be a interesting show down the stretch.

PLAY OF THE GAME: April's TD pass to Matt
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Eric A, for a big TD catch and 2 interceptions on defense

Softball Game 1 and Game 2

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Game 1

















Game 2


Sunday, April 11, 2010

Game 4

Click for full size. Let me know if there are stat corrections.