Double-header Sweep Gives Rez League Title

The Resurrection Life Warriors have officially clinched the 2009 League Title after a sweep of last week's games. The team now sits atop the standings at 14-0 and holds every possible tie-breaker going into the last four weeks. Rez beat St. Andrew Red 22-6 in the first game of the twinbill and followed that with a workmanlike 17-9 victory over EPAG.

Game one saw the Warriors bat second, the first time for that on the season. St. Andrew Red used the top of the first inning to take a 5-0 lead, using five walks and three singles to plate the runs. However, the lead was short-lived as the Warriors stormed back with 14 runs in the bottom of the first. Austin Colby singled with one out and moved to third on Eric Johnson's double. Chris Burr had a two-rbi single to get the team on the board. Jeff Tenney singled to put two on for Jamy Antoine who singled to load the bases for Jeff Johnson. Jeff flew out deep for a sacrifice fly to make it 5-3 Red with two outs. Jonathan Engbrecht stroked a two-run single to tie the game and Andy Briggs ripped a single to keep things going. Adam Hey came up and rolled a single threw the infield to give Rez the lead for good. With two on, Jason Merritt got into the action with an rbi-single. Austin followed with a liner to left-center that got to the wall for a two-run triple and a 9-5 Warrior advantage. Austin scampered home on the play as a bad throw rolled out of play. Eric started things going again with a single and scored on Chris' double. Tenney cleaned up the bases with a two-run bomb to center. Jamy followed with an inside-the-park homer to right-center. Jeff doubled but was stranded as a pop-out ended the frame.

Red didn't score in the second inning and Rez added five more runs. Andy tripled and scored on Adam's single. Substitute Adam Colby batted for the first time and singled up the middle. Jason then singled to load them up for Austin who delivered a two-rbi single. Eric Johnson then hit a soft pop-up to shortstop, but Jason was hustling from third and turned it into a sacrifice fly. Austin went to second on the play. Still hustling one batter later, Burr lofted a deep flyout to left-center that sent Austin all the way to home from second, making it a sacrifice fly. A lineout ended the inning.

Red put one run on a homer in the top of the third to make it 19-6. Rez used its last at bats to score three more runs. Jamy homered to center to start the inning and complete his great game one. Jeff singled and came home on Jonathan's homerun to left. After an out, Adam Hey and Adam Colby singled but Jason and Austin both flew out to end the game for Rez's bats.

The defense used a nice 6-4-3 double play in the top of the fourth to end the game, 22-6 Rez. Jamy Antoine earned his first Player of the Game of the year with a 3-3 day including two solo homers.

Game two was a balanced offensive attack as all eleven hitter had at least one hit. Jason, Austin, Burr, Andy, and Jamy all had three hits. All three of Jamy's went for extra bases, a double, triple and homer, capturing him POG honors for the second straight game. Tenney, Jeff, and Jonathan all had two hits in the game.

Batting first, Rez put up a nine-spot to start the game. Jason and Austin singled and after an out Burr singled to score Jason. Tenney then hit a mammoth three-run homer to make it 4-0. Jamy doubled and scored on Jeff's single. Jonathan stayed hit and blasted his second homer of the night, a two-run shot. Andy followed with the third homer of the inning, a deep fly to left field making it 8-0. After the second out, Adam Colby, Jason, and Austin all singled to push the final run across the bag for the inning.

EPAG came right back with five runs in the bottom half on six hits. The damage could have been worse, but Jason made a nice running catch on a liner and doubled a guy off of second to end the inning.

Rez managed just two runs in the second inning, both coming on Jamy's two-run homer, which plated Tenney who reached on a fielder's choice after Burr's single.

EPAG answered with three runs in the bottom half as the walks came back to haunt Adam Hey. Five walks and a single allowed EPAG to creep back into the game, 11-8 Rez after two innings.

The Warrior bats came shooting out in the top of the third to rebuild that cushion. Jason and Austin singled with one out and after the second out, Burr ripped a single to plate Jason. Tenney then stroked a two-rbi double to make it 14-8 with two outs. Jamy stayed extremely hot and launched a run-scoring triple to right to score Tenney. Jeff singled to score Jamy and cap the inning's scoring, 16-8 Rez.

Rez went to its closer in the third inning and Austin didn't disappoint. He was a strike-throwing machine and mowed threw EPAG's hitters, holding them scoreless. In the top of the fourth, a lead-off error from EPAG allowed a run to score and extend the Warrior lead to nine runs, 17-8.

Again, Austin kept EPAG off the bases with a strikeout and a grounder back to mound in the bottom half. The fifth inning was scoreless for both teams, Rez hit two homeruns for outs and wasted a one-out double from Eric. EPAG left two runners on base also, missing out on the opportunity to close the gap.

Rez left runners on second and third in the sixth, and looked to its defense to hold the fort in the sixth and seventh. EPAG had back-to-back singles to start the sixth, but a fielder's choice back to the mound netted Rez its first out. After a run-scoring single, Austin chalked up his second strikeout of the game for out number two and Tenney snagged a pop-up to end the sixth. Because of time, the flip-flop rule was enforced and EPAG batted again. A lead-off homer was all it could muster though, as a nice diving catch from Burr in left-center led to the game-ending double-play.

The 17-9 victory puts Rez at 14-0 on the season and secures this year's title. Next week, the Warriors have a double-dip versus Pax Christi and St. Andrew Blue on field #5 starting at 7:50.