James “Scott McCarthy” Romoser and Chip Porter share the secret Express handshake.
Silver Spring, Md. | With winds howling and temperatures dipping into the 50s, Express (2-2) earned a split in its first round of division games, beating National Press Club 7-3 and falling to Associated Press 6-5.
A tinkering of the lineup produced solid results in the heart of the order, while temporary coach Chip Porter led the 20-Minutemen with 5 RBI and 2 homers on the day. “I’m so glad I started him in my MMSL fantasy league today,” Nathan Martin said.
Newcomer James Romoser steadied the outfield with a strong performance in centerfield. “James’ outfield play saved us probably 4 or 5 runs alone,” Andy Bonior said. “The rest of the outfield came up huge as well in those insane winds.”
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Unlike some of her teammates, Amanda Erickson was not enjoying poolside pina coladas and Celine Dion’s award-winning Vegas show this weekend.
Rockville, Md. | It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.
The 20-Minutemen suffered three crushing defeats in a steamy tripleheader Saturday at Veirs Mill fields, losing to Examiner 16-6, NBC-4 13-0 and CNN 8-5.
Hampered by the absence of manager/pitcher Ian Herbert and roving outfielder/top hitter Scott McCarthy — who were enjoying a weekend “mancation” and hourly pirate shows at the Treasure Island hotel in Las Vegas — the Minutemen struggled at times to make their offensive mark against three strong opponents.
But despite some unfortunate moments — errant throws, balls through legs, a catch by a CNN outfielder that seemed to surprise even her — the Minutemen still maintained their good spirits even when missed throws to first base repeatedly went through an annoyingly large hole in the fence.
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John Davisson had his best game of the season this weekend, as did many other Minutemen.
Layhill, Md. | Though the 20-Minutemen started the season better than either of the previous seasons, many on the team were beginning to wonder if they had the offense it took to blow a team out.
On Saturday, they got their answer, beating the Associated Press 28-5 after losing to Gazette 5-3.
“That was the most fun I’ve had playing softball,” said Amanda Erickson. “And I didn’t even get a chance to bat against the AP. You would think that winning a close game would be more fun than winning easily. But dominating a team is way more fun.”
Christopher Porter drove in seven runs with two home runs and Scott McCarthy had three triples, but the reason Express came out on top was contributions from everyone on the team. Playing in their first games of the year, Betsy Lowther and Aimee Goodwin both singled and scored, and Rachel Kaufman singled, had two RBI and scored twice. John Davisson had by far his best game, with a double and three singles in four at-bats.
“It was awesome,” said designated hitter Andy Bonior. “Everyone who got an at-bat got on base. That’s just … awesome. I wanted Ian to put Vance in to test the swing we’ve been working on for three years.”
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