Cincinnati CoBALTS Baseball Club

A long Friday night ended in a split with the CRC's Final 2 Teams: Cheviot and the Cobalts. In Game #1, Jeff Saunders worked hard to get out of jams and the Cobalts left 10 men stranded in a 3-1 Loss. Good news was Mike Wagner threw well but Cobalts just couldn't get the big hit. In Game #2, Coach turned to Ol' Red, Shannon Morgan and he proceeded to throw ANOTHER shutout in a convincing 6-0 Win. That win sent the Series Championship to a Game #3 played Saturday afternoon. In the Championship Game, the Cobalts scored 2 in the first on clutch two out hits from Mike Hatfield and Steve Stigler. Then added a 3rd run in the 2nd inning with ANOTHER Suicide Squeeze play executed perfectly by Captain Bo Stineman. Pat "young stud" O'Brien caught every Tourney Game and is worthy of mention as a game-changer both behind the dish and at the plate. He hit a bases loaded triple to seal the deal. From there it was all Paully Krause whose arm was sore from the beginning but nutted up a complete game gem! Cobalts will have played 9 games in 6 days as the grind of tournaments overlaps with Roy Hobbs League play. Combined with 2am nights, there may be a few Cobalts looking for jobs and new spouses...I appreciate the efforts boys! Great Tourney! NOW ON TO THE NABF REGIONAL where a familiar cast of locals lay in wait for the tired 'Balts. First game is Thursday night at Roselawn 8:30 vs. Chiefs

In a Roy Hobbs league game squeezed into the middle of Tournament Week, the Cobalts showed up strong and avoided any let-downs with a 13-1 trashing of the Orioles. With PJ Eilerman throwing well, the game was never really in doubt, except when 1st Baseman Monster Spriggs allowed an Oriole baserunner to dupe past him which cost us a run. While some think the ump may have missed the call, many fans for the Orioles danced with delight and laughed at poor Monster. Then they turned on their "sound system" mockingly playing Air Supply music. Next up: Back to Tournament Work vs. Stogies tonight at 7pm at Roselawn.

The Cobalts Advanced to the CRC City Championship Finals last night with a good win over the always tough Stogies. Mikey Taylor was forced into an Emergency Start and kept the Stogies scoreless thru 2 innings of work. The Cobalts then struck with a couple of runs using an old favorite, the Suicicide Squeeze (much to Stogie coach Doug Gundrum's delight). The Squeeze was executed perfectly by Samurai Akers who fended off the forehead aimed fastball laying down a perfect bunt. From there, the Cobalts gave the pill to Keith Becker who didn't get loose for a couple of innings (it must have been the pants) but kept the Stogies to 3 un-earned runs for the Victory. The entire line-up contributed from top to bottom. Tom Taylor was 2-4 with a big RBI double that put the Cobalts ahead for good. The Win puts the Cobalts in the City Finals with the Cheviot Patriots in a Best 2 Out of 3 Championship. It could be all decided tonight with a double-header beginning at 6:30 at Roselawn.

What started as a nice little tournament game turned into a bit of a trash-talking SmackDown with young "dudes" thinking they were going to teach the Old Cobalts a lesson. What happened in the next hour was: Shannon Morgan chuckled and threw a shutout. Tom Taylor swatted the flea off his hip and went 3-4. Pat O'Brien knocked a 2 run HR into the next zip code. Nick Fritsch knocked in 3 RBIs with a double. Jess Bechard showed off for Mom & Pop with 3 doubles. Cobalts enjoy frosty adult beverages after only 74 minutes of work...and to the Game Day Cafe Kid's credit, they displayed good sportsmanship once the game was decided. Next up: Wednesday Roy Hobbs vs. Orioles at Ryle HS Next up CRC Tourney: Thursday night- Blue Note Stogies in Final 4

The 1st and 2nd place teams in the Cincinnati Roy Hobbs League suited up in the Sunday morning steam with the Cobalts coming out on top. Paully Krause was once again a Stud going all 9 innings and working out of multiple jams. He struck out 8 batters in logging the big Win for the Cobalts who are now 17-1 in Roy Hobbs play. Mike Wagner had the big hit of the morning with a 2 out 2 RBI double. The Cobalts are now into uncharted territory as we try to balance the Roy Hobbs regular season schedule and the CRC City Tournament and NABF Regional...should make for some fun. Also: Monster is Back !!!