Game 3: H-W Demons 15, Merry Beavers 8

When your diamond heroes last ran into the Merry Beavers, the Beavers slinked away with an 8-7 victory last season to earn a season split. It (temporarily) stopped the Demons' charge toward their first Division V crown.

On Thursday night, there was no stopping the most dominant force the Division V ranks have ever seen in the Gem City. The Demons battered the ball (and the Beavers) around to improve to 3-0 with a win at Upper Moorman park on a beautiful night for softball (and drinking).

Like Costa Rica to the U.S. men's soccer team, the Beavers are to the Demons. They're the Cubs to our Cardinals. The Hearns to our Hagler. You get the idea. They're our nemesis.

Thanks to some shrewd moves by the Weamster, who was back from sunning himself in Monkey Run, Mo., the Demons were able to prevail - quite easily. As suggested by the blogs who cover the Demons (me), the Weamster swallowed his pride and sent Jazzy Jeff to the hill. Like he did last week, Jazzy got it done against the hard-hitting Beavers. One Beaver took him deep, but more often than not Jazzy was taking it to the Beavers (just like he did when he was in high school.)

Somehow, Eric B. and Marky Mark worked a miraculous switch between second and third for the entire game. Marky Mark avoided getting the ball hit to him and Eric B. (after a week's absence) made some nice plays. None was better than his Willie Mays like over-the-shoulder basket catch while fighting the swirling winds in the seventh inning.

The Hitman was solid at shortstop, taking away a few would-be Beaver hits, while Big John Studd snared a line drive (saving his face in the process) to end the game.

The Demons batted around in an eight-run fourth that all but put the game away. Shawny was back and nearly went yard, and Kriss Kross continued his solid play by nearly taking one out of the park.

While his managerial moves were smooth, the Weamster left a little to be desired on the field. He whiffed (the first for a Demon this season) and dropped a foul pop-up that the all-star DOB would normally field with ease. Major props to Shawny for flipping off his hat - a la DOB - on a play in the outfield.

With everyone on the same page, the Demons may just be unstoppable (haven't I written that before?). We'll be back in action next Thursday when we face off against JM Huber at 8 p.m. at Wavering. I may or may not be there because of work, so you may have a guest blogger next week as the Hitman (or maybe even Tookie if we could get him to show up for a game) will fill in if I can't make it.

Game 2: H-W Demons 20, Mendon Bar 8

Mother Nature tried to do us in again, but she soon realized it's a futile effort - trying to stop the H-W Demons from their round of destruction.

With the Weamster sunning himself in Monkey Run, Mo., after getting kicked out of his Marblehead camp last Memorial Day, DOB was in charge. Large and in charge.

The Demons demoralized the poor lawyers from Mendon. And - get this - the Demons had only nine players. In addition to the Weamster's absence, we were missing Shawny and Cooley-O, who were both at the Unity baseball team's year-end celebration. Eric B. was also curiously absent. Who needs them? (Also is Chuck D or Grape Ape ever going to show up this season?)

With Jazzy Jeff making like Dice-K on the mound and a solid defense behind him, the Demons had little trouble. We hit around twice, getting base knocks up and down the lineup. Kriss Kross actually showed up to play, scoring four runs and driving in three. Had he not come down with a case of pussitis in the fifth inning and played center field instead of third base, the final score wouldn't have been as close as it was. (No offense to Marky Mark, who danced around a few balls in a seven-run fifth by the Lawyers.)

Big John Studd and Nick the Quick each drove in four runs, while Marky Mark and DOB each drove in three from the Nos. 8 and 9 spots in the lineup.

DOB may just be the best player-coach in the history of the game. Not only was he able to craft a lineup that pounded out run after run, but he showed the skills that made him a first-team All Division V all-star last summer. With the wheels starting to come off the Demons' wagon in the fifth, DOB made a sliding catch in foul territory to help save the day.

When the Weamster gets back (or if someone reads this blog to him), he'll find out that things have changed. Jazzy Jeff is our starting pitcher for the rest of the season. He consistently threw strikes, including several curve balls, and fielded his position like no Demon pitcher has ever been able to do.

Here's how the defense should look next game:
P-Jazzy Jeff
C-Nick, DOB
1B-Big John Studd, Weamster
2b-Eric B.
SS-Hit Man Hart
3B - Cooley-O
LF - Brad or Weamster
LCF-Shawny
RCF-Kriss Kross
RF-Rob Base, Marky Mark

Do that, and no one, and the Rock means NO ONE, will be able to touch the Demons this season. Not only will we defend our crown, but we'll do it by going undefeated.

The Weamster will be back next week to run things again. Let's see if he makes like John Paxson and totally screws up a would-be championship team. (No pressure.)

We're back at it next Thursday at 7 p.m. when we face our long-time nemesis - the Merry Beavers - at Upper Moormain.

Mother Nature 2, Demons 1

If you didn't already figure it out, the Demons were rained out on Thursday night.

Another attempt by the Quincy Park District at keeping us down, if you ask me. Upper Moorman was the only field that wasn't playable on Thursday night. Coincidence? I don't think so.

The Park District can't stop us, they can only hope to contain us.

With a bye this week, we're off until May 22.

Maybe then we'll be able to play.

Game 1: H-W Demons 10, Green Street Hooligans 6

The defending Division V champions began defense of their crown on a windy Moorman Main by taking down one of the new pieces of meat the Quincy Park District has thrown into the Division V arena.

The final score isn't indicative of how much your heroes were in control of this game. Had it not been for three garbage-time runs in the top of the seventh, the Demons' superiority would have easily been seen from the final score.

The Hooligans have a few players, but they could more than make up for the devastating loss of the U.S. Cooler Boyz as the Division V whipping boys.

(By the way, seems the Cooler Boys - and you might want to sit down for this one - .... have moved up a Division and switched nights. They've swiped Kriss Kross and Marky Mark to play for them on Tuesday nights. And - sit down again - they've already matched their 2007 win total. From the sounds of it, the Boyz beat down on a bunch of old men. If you look back at former posts on this blog and you'll note that I suggested the Boyz play the elderly a long time ago. Look it up. Go back to the August 2006 archives and it's right there. I'm a prophet!)

Back to your heroes. No one was spectacular tonight, but the defense was pretty solid - save for the last inning. We turned a couple of double plays, including one by one of our rookies - Cooley-O. Our other newbie - Brad "yet to have a rap nickname" played well in right-center field and made several plays.

The most bone-headed play of the night belonged to Kriss Kross. Maybe playing with the Cooler Boyz is rubbing off on him. He was the victim of the first ever - in the history of softball or baseball - 3-1-2-3 putout. Kriss Kross hit a screamer to first base, but the first baseman botched it. His flip to the pitcher, who covered the base for some reason, glanced off the pitchers' glove and started rolling home. By this time, Kriss Kross was about two steps away from his Bud Light and in the dugout and then decided to try to run to first. The catcher got the ball and threw him out by a step.

Laziest. Play. Ever. Athletes talk about giving about 110 percent. Kriss Kross gave about 6.2 percent on that play.

Nick the Quick gets honorable mention for getting doubled off after DOB hit a pop up in the infield that resulted in an infield fly being called. Nice work.

After a rocky first where the Weamster threw as many strikes in an inning as he does during a game of bowling - three - he settled down and let the defense do the work for him.

All in all, a good opening night for the Demons.

We'll be back in action next Thursday to see some more new Division V meat. We'll square off against Paulie's Customs at 6 p.m. at Upper Moorman. They'd better be ready for a custom beat-down at the hands of the Demons.

Demons notes: Big John Studd's BPG average - beers per game average - was hurt right out of the gates. Taking some antibiotics, he was forbidden to drink. ... We're hoping to make BPG an official Demon stat this year. DOB went 1 for 3, including a stupid pop up in his lone left-handed at-bat. ... Grape Ape and Chuck D were MIA. ... A tip for the Weamster for next game. Slide Eric B. over to second base and put Cooley-O at third. We'd be money all over the infield with that move.