Written by Biko Skalla:
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the Bananas beat the Bacon by a lot. The bats were active early and often in the 12-4 victory over Macon, as Nanners locked up home field advantage throughout the Pettit Cup Playoffs with the win.
The scoring started in the top of the 1st, as Livan, I Would Love to Play at Macon if it Wasn’t Actually in Macon, Reinoso, tattooed his 5th homer of the summer, (and his 3rd hit out in Macon), 411 feet to left field…
Livan Reinoso with his 5th blast of the summer to tie Bryson Bloomer for the team high and his twin brother Dayan for the Reinoso family high!
(Side note: I cannot imagine having to face the twins back to back in the same lineup) @FleetBaseball pic.twitter.com/NnElx5da6T
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) July 30, 2021
Christian, I Would Have Gone All 9 if it Wasn’t 160 Degrees and I had a Towel, Dearman, got the start for the Nanners and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in the 1st, capitalized by a 2-out, 2-run homer from Le, I’ve Played 3 Years of College Ball and I’m Getting My First Start Ever in the Field Tonight, Basset.
It was 3-1 Macon heading into the 3rd inning, when with one out, Ty, I’ll Remember You When I’m Famous, Jackson, lined a single up the middle, stole 2nd, and got to 3rd as the throw down went into center. Eduardo, “Thank You Sir, May I Have Another?”, Malinowski, and Livan both got plunked to load the bases. Bryson, I’m Doing This Because Pye Gave Me Four Extra Pitches in BP, Bloomer, lined a 2-run double to left to bring home Ty and Eduardo to tie the game. Nick, The Only Thing Separating Me from Livan is 369 Feet, Clarno, tapped a slow roller towards first for an infield single that brought home Livan home to give the Bananas a 4-3 lead. Cole, This is My Favorite Groundout to 2nd Tonight, Kitchen, bounced a ball to the second baseman to bring home Bryson. Bill, I’m Gonna Miss Stopping at Love’s in Dublin for My Weekly Tater Log, Knight, shot a double down the left field line to bring in Clarno and make it 6-3 Bananas.
Dearman settled in after the 1st, as he ended up going 3.2 innings, only allowing those 3 1st inning runs and striking out 6 Bacon hitters. Jared, I Get to Pitch to My Son Today, Beck, came in with 2 outs and a man on 2nd to face Ryan, “Can I Just Go Home Now?”, Archibald, and promptly struck him out. Jared would go 2.1 innings of relief, only allowing an infield single while striking out 5.
After Beck joyously skipped off the mound at the end of the 6th, Ty lead off the top of the 7th with a liner down the right field line for a double. Eduardo worked a walk, and then he and Ty got 2nd and 3rd base on a wild pitch. Livan brought Ty home with a grounder to 1st to make it 7-3. Bryson then worked a walk and stole 2nd, setting up Clarno for his second dinky hit of the night, as he blooped a single into right to bring in Eduardo. Bloomer came home on a wild pitch, and Bill Knight went full Tater Log to dead center field, for a 414 foot 2-run homer…
Bill Knight with his first homer of the 2021 campaign!
The sophomore from @MercerBaseball was tied for the Bananas team lead with 4 last summer. Bill was a triple away from the cycle tonight as he stayed hot in his college town! pic.twitter.com/5TvIz8P0pw
— Biko Skalla (@BikoRicoSuave) July 30, 2021
After clubbing four bombs in his first summer in Savannah, Bill said he was afraid his first was never gonna come in 2021.
“I thought it wasn’t gonna happen,” Bill said. “I didn’t know I was a triple away from the cycle, but if I did know, I do know I would have tripled if I had one more at-bat.”
I’m sure you would Bill… I’m sure you would…
Nolan, Just Getting Loose for Tomorrow’s Player Dance, Daniel, struck out the side in the 7th. In the 8th, Ty got nailed with a pitch and stole 2nd, setting up Bryson for an RBI bloop single up the middle bringing home Jackson.
Matthew, I’ll Be Right There With You, Nolan, Steidl, plunked the first hitter he faced in a brutal act of retaliation for Eduardo, Livan, and Ty, (this is not true at all, Matthew just hit the leadoff man on accident, but it would have been spicier if what I first said was true). Steidl gave up one run on a double just out of the reach of a diving Cole Kitchen in left to score the man who was nailed by the pitch, but that would be all the damage through 2 innings of work. Nanners win 12-4.
The big offensive nights go to:
Ty: 2-5, 2B, 3 R, 2 SB
Livan: 2-5, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
Bryson: 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 R, SB
Bill: 3-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 1 R, SB
So the Bananas lock up home field advantage throughout the 2021 Pettit Cup playoffs. That’s big time. Good luck taking down the Nanners 2 out of 3 games, when you have to play 2 of them in Savannah. This is the best Bananas regular season team of all-time, and now they know the path to a championship runs through Historic Grayson Stadium. Sure they can win on the road, where they’re 17-4 on the summer, and the one time they lost two straight games they were both at home. But besides that little 2 game bump in the road, they’re 18-1 in Savannah. Woof.
So anyhow, I’m gosh darn psyched for the playoffs. Oh my, I almost forgot the fact the the Bananas also clinched the “2nd Half West Division Championship”, as the CPL calls it. Two halves in the bank, now it’s time for the whole thing!
Well the Bananas will have 2 more tune up games beforehand to keep the boys fresh and the momentum in full force. Tomorrow the Bacon come to Savannah, for the 20th and final time on the season. And then the fellas head up to Lexington County on the Saturday, for a game that could very well be the difference between the guys playing the Blowfish or the Hi-Toms in the first round on Sunday. Wild stuff. We’ll have pregame at 6:30 and first pitch at 7:00 tomorrow, for the final home regular season game of the summer!