CNN/SI.COM CAPS THE LONGEST SEASON

Relying on solid pitching and defense, the third seeded CNN/SI.Com capped a solid, very long, season with a 6-4 win over Dr. Evil's Henchmen. CNN ended the CSA Summer Softball season that lasted from June 19th to October 4th. In a dominating defensive performance, CNN played quality defense behind Michelle Way's pitching and got a MVP performance from Rich Loup.

Playing once every two weeks, all other teams fell by the wayside and on October 4th the 3rd seed faced the 5th seed for the final championship of the summer season. Dr. Evil's Henchmen were hot, eliminating the regular season division champ in the semis, but CNN had home field advantage in the finals and took advantage.

With a run in the first and three more in the second, CNN held a 4-0 edge at the end of three and a 4-1 lead after five innings. Dr. Evil's got a second solo home run by Dave Stewart in the sixth and pulled within two runs. CNN responded with two more runs in the bottom of the inning and only had to hold Dr. Evil's to three runs in the seventh to win the title. Starting with a 6-2 lead, CNN quickly got two outs and looked ready to close the door. Dr. Evil's then strung together a couple hits and took advantage of an error and scored two runs. With the score 6-4 and the tying run at the plate, Way was able to induce a pop out to third and claim the championship.

CNN played an overall strong game, and managed to minimize their mistakes and take advantage of the breaks they got. Their were several candidates for MVP, but several plays by Rich Loup in centerfield took away any momentum that Dr. Evil's tried to build