Even Tropical Storm Elsa couldn’t mess with the Savannah Bananas, who moved to 25-3 on the season with a 9-0 win over the Macon Bacon at Historic Grayson Stadium.

Despite a slight rain delay, the Nanners came away with their eighth victory in a row on Thursday night. Here’s how it went down:

Ryan Kennedy Made a Meal of Bacon Bats

Life is easier when you have arms like the Bananas on their staff. Kyle Luigs and Nathan Dettmer are among the league’s best pitchers, but the Nanners continue to get lights out performances from southpaw Ryan Kennedy. Lights out is an understatement, too. This dude is causing blackouts all over Macon.

Kennedy extended his scoreless streak to 23.2 innings pitched. The lefty out of Kennesaw State tossed 5.0 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and four walks while striking out nine. Kennedy even got a little fired up during the third inning when he allowed runners on first and third with no outs. The junior, whose slider was created in a lab, helped him strike out the side to keep his scoreless streak intact.

Fun Fact: No pitcher in the CPL even comes close to Kennedy’s 23.2 scoreless innings streak. The next closest is William Privette of the Lexington County Blowfish at 13.0 scoreless innings pitched. Good luck catching up, pal.

Welcome to BananaLand, Carson

Throughout the summer, the team will shuffle its roster a bit. The newest face is shortstop Carson Falsken, freshman out of N.C. State. In his second game with the team and first in BananaLand, the switch-hitting Falsken ripped a double to right field in the bottom of the third inning, driving in Bill Knight.

“Yeah, it felt good. I was sitting on a slider, got a fastball and just went with it. Found a good pitch to hit,” said Falsken of his double.

Playing in the atmosphere of BananaLand is certainly a change of pace for most players, especially when it comes to the unitiatied. From his early impressions, Falsken is loving the energy.

“It’s awesome. There’s nothing like it. I’ve played in front of a couple of fans before, but the atmosphere is incredible,” he said. “It’s just so different. The atmosphere, how into it the crowd is, it’s incredible.”

Falsken finished the night 1-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored in his debut in Savannah.

Are You Stronger Than a Banana?

As the ninth inning rolled around, the Bananas knew the victory was coming their way. But that doesn’t mean we don’t get any less hyped! In fact, Bananas pitcher Tom Vincent and a fan got into a push-up competition on top of the home dugout just before the top of the ninth started. The fan came out on top, but it was a valient effort nonetheless.

Currently: Tom Vincent is having a push-up contest with a fan on the dugout. The fan is winning but we still love Tom just the same.

— Savannah Bananas (@TheSavBananas) July 9, 2021

By my unofficial count, both Vincent and the fan did roughly 1,000 combined push-ups. That might not be correct. I haven’t taken a math class since 2013. Regardless, it was a lot of push-ups.

Stats to Know

I don’t need to tell you how good the Nanners are, but they have three separate winnings streaks on the year—11 to start the season, five following their first loss and they’re currently on an eight-game winning streak. It’s just too easy for the Most Fun Team in Baseball (trademark pending). All they do is eat Ws.

Having won 10 of 13 games against Macon thus far this season, the Nanners officially clinched the season series against the West Division counterparts.

With another shutout, the Nanners have recorded eight shutouts. That’s ridiculous. That means 32% of their wins this season have come via shutouts.

Nanners of the Game

On the offensive side, Dan Oberst, Livan Reinoso, Bryson Bloomer and Drew Yniesta all went 2-for-4 on the night. Bloomer led the way with a three RBI double that opened the flood gates in the first inning, giving the Bananas a 5-0 lead early. Reinoso, Yniesta and Bill Knight also recorded an RBI.

Another shutout means another stellar performance from the pitching staff. What more can we say about these guys? We talked about Kennedy and his left arm that has been touched by God. After his five scoreless, Matt Steidl threw some Bacon in the pan for two scoreless innings while Quinn Mason turned up the heat, exploding fastballs from his right hand to finish them out. He tossed two scoreless frames and added three strikeouts.

What’s Next for The Nanners?

The Bananas are on the road Friday night to take on the Bacon at Luther Williams Stadium and will be back home to host the Florence RedWolves on Saturday night.