Baby Kate Welcomed in Style

Kate Selah Marie Colby joined the Resurrection Life ranks this past Friday, kindly holding off making her grand entrance until after the Warriors had completed a sweep Thursday evening. Kate was very pleased to hear from her proud father that Rez Life had done her proud, by knocking off the second and third place teams Thursday in a couple of tough contests. Kate said she is happy for her daddy's team but she just wants to sleep for a while longer. Fair enough.


The Warriors weren't sleepy at all Thursday night, playing some tightly contested game en route to 12-8 and 19-10 victories over Immanuel and Wooddale respectively. The Warriors had to come from behind for just the second time all year in the first game then fought off a furious Wooddale rally before finishing strong in game two.


Soon-to-be-father-for-the-third-time Austin Colby earned Player of the Game honors in game one, going 3-3 with a run scored and three rbi out of the nine-hole. He hit the game-tying three-run homer in the third inning and handled 10 chances at shortstop without an error.


Chris Wold added three hits in that first game and hit his first homerun of the year. Jeff Tenney, Eric Johnson and Chris Burr all had two hits while Jeff Johnson and Jason Merritt added one each.


Wold doubled to start the game for Rez, but three walks packaged around a walk left two runners on with no runs in. Immanuel wasted no time and jumped out with three runs to take a 3-0 first inning edge. With two outs and no one on, Immanuel used a single and two walks to load the bases before a double cleared them all.

Rez managed just one run in the top of the second using three singles from Burr, Austin and Wold. Immanuel again scored three runs to take a commanding 6-1 lead after two innings. Five singles and a Rez Life error allowed the runs to score. It could have been more, but a Tenney to Eric to Jeff double-play ended the threat.


Down 6-1, the Warriors picked it up. Jeff Johnson led the inning off with a walk and moved to second on Jason's single. Tenney hit into a forceout to make it first and third with one out and Eric doubled to score Jeff. With runners at second and third, Burr singled to plate Tenney but Adam grounded out for the second out, making it 6-3 with two outs and two on for Austin. After a five-minute delay to fix the upended second base, Austin calmly walked down the third-base line to Eric and told him he would be hitting a three-run homer to tie the game out of protest for the time delay at second base. Austin obliged with said homer to dead center to tie the game and swing the momentum. Wold followed on the very next pitch with his first homerun of the year, also to center, to make it 7-6 Warriors.


Immanuel started to feel the pressure and went down without scoring for three straight innings. In the bottom of the third, Rez used a 6-4-3 double-play for the first two outs before a grounder ended the inning.


Looking to keep the pressure on, Rez added two runs on a Jeff Tenney homer in the fourth. In the bottom half, Immanuel loaded the bases but Austin made three straight putouts on tow liners and a popout to keep them off the board.


Leading 9-6 going into the fifth, Rez got nothing going. Immanuel stranded two more runners after a nice 4-1 putout ended the fifth frame.


In the sixth, Rez was able to add three runs to its lead. Jeff walked for the second time of the gmae and after a lineout, Tenney tripled to plate Jeff and make it 10-6. Eric followed with a deep fly ball that the left-fielder tried to snag at the fence, but was unable to and Eric had himself a two-run homer.


Immanuel went down in order in the sixth and then the flip-flop rule allowed Immanuel to bat again for its seventh inning at bats. Immanuel got a little rally going, pushing two harmless runs across the plate before Rez ended the game on a grounder to Austin.


Rez managed just 14 hits in the game, but had three doubles, one triple and used four homeruns.


Game two was a more well-played contest as the top two defensive teams in the league squared off. Eric Johnson kept his hot bat going from the first game as he won Player of the Game with four hits in five tries, including a double and a homerun. Jeff Johnson had another great game going 2-3 with two homeruns and a walk.


Austin, Burr, Jason and Wold all had three hits while Jamy and Tenney added two and Adam had one. The team hit three doubles, two triples and used four homeruns in this game.


The Warriors came storming out of the gates, scoring eight times in the opening half inning. Austin launched a triple off the right-field wall to start the game and game home on Burr's rbi single. Eric hit his second homerun in as many swings to plate Burr and make it 3-0 after four batters. Tenney and Jason hit back-to-back doubles before Jeff and Jamy hit back-to-back dingers to make it 7-0 Rez. After the second out, Austin tripled to right-center for the second time in the inning and scampered home as the throw to third went out of play.


Wooddale didn't just lay down though, using four hits and an error to score three times in the bottom half. Rez kept right at it in the top of the second, plating four more runners to take a nice 12-3 lead. Burr and Eric started the inning with singles and after a forceout, Jason brought home Eric with an rbi-single. Jeff Johnson then cleared the bases with a three-run bomb to very deep left-center. Wold singled and Austin walked with two outs but Adam lined out to deep left to end the frame.

Wooddale chipped away a little bit more with two runs on three hits and an error. Rez hit the ball hard in the top of the third, but had nothing to show for it as Eric's double was stranded on the bases. In the bottom half, Wooddale made its charge. The inning started with a flyout, but after an error, Wooddale ripped off six singles plating five runs before a strange 5-6-4 forceout ended the inning.

Now up just 12-10 Rez needed a boost but failed in the fourth. Jeff Johnson walked to start things and Wold singled to make it first and third with one out. Austin lifted a sac fly to right-center to score Jeff but that was all the team managed in the inning.

Wooddale, trailing by just three, looked to take the lead for the first time in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Wooddale ripped back-to-back singles to make it first and second with one out and the tying run up. However, Eric made a great play to snag a liner up the middle and step on second to end the threat.

Rez then made sure Eric's gem didn't go to waste, putting up a six-spot in the fifth to create some space. Burr, Eric and Tenney all singled to start the inning and load the bases. Jason hit a two-rbi single to get things going and after an out, Jamy added an rbi single also. Wold and Austin followed with run-scoring singled and Adam kept the inning alive with an infield single. That was all the squad managed as a flyout to right ended the inning with runners on first and third. The damage was done though, as the Warriors now held a 19-10 advantage.

Wooddale was noticeably shaken and went down in order in the bottom half and the game was called due to time. Rez is now 12-0 on the season and has a four-game lead with six games to play. With wins next week, or a Wooddale loss, Rez becomes league champions.

The league is taking a week off so Austin can enjoy time at home with his new baby girl and league play resumes July 9th. Rez has another double header that night starting at 5:50 on field #4. The team plays St. Andrew Red and EPAG.