"Destiny" - Game Recaps
Quarter-Finals - Thursday, 5/25 - 7:30pm - Aviation Park - Field 2

(5) Last Call (7-2) at (4) Game's Cancelled (8-1)
Result: Game's Cancelled 13, Last Call 2

Game's Cancelled advanced to the quarter-finals with a walkover win, Last Call moved on by blowing out the 12th seed, Peachtree Zoners, 24-9.

This game had the potential to be a classic match-up. Both teams are in the Thursday night league and they have met five times in the past. The most recent meeting was in the opening game of the season. Last Call knocked off Game's Cancelled 12-2.

This game started out as a tight defensive struggle. The teams traded runs in the first inning. Last Call left two runners on in the inning. In the second, Last Call scored another run, and Game's Cancelled answered the run with two of their own. However, GC left two runners on base. The score was 3-2 after two full innings and the game was shaping up to be everything a four versus five should be.

In the third, Wade Pearson, the pitcher for Game's Cancelled, settled in and found his All-Star form. He allowed the second batter of the inning to reach second base with one out, but then got a flyout and strikeout to end the inning. No runs scored and in the bottom of the third GC extended the lead. Several consecutive hits plated three runs and the lead was extended to 6-2.

The rest of the game went the same way. Last Call was able to put one runner on in the fourth and fifth inning, but couldn't move them and failed to score. Game's Cancelled did not have such problems. In the fourth inning, they left runners on second and third, but scored another run to extend to a five run lead. In the fifth they pulled out to an insurmountable lead. They again left runners on second and third, but this time they had already scored six runs and just missed on an opportunity to end the game by mercy rule in the fifth inning.

A 1-2-3 top of the sixth was all that was left and Game's Cancelled advanced to the Final Four with another exceptional defensive performance.

Game's Cancelled will face the top seed, In Every Orphus in the "Destiny" semi-finals.

The Player of the Game (POTG) was Wade Pearson.

Quarter-Finals - Wednesday, 5/24 - 8:15pm - Aviation Park - Field 2

(10) Wheels on Ice (7-2) at (2) Todd's Team (9-0)
Result: Todd's Team 10, Wheels on Ice 8

Wheels on Ice advanced to the quarter-finals with a walkover win, Todd's Team moved on by beating 15th seed Hug it out Beeyotch for the third time in the spring season.

On paper this did not look to be much of a match-up. Todd's Team came into the game heavily favored. Of the eight teams in the quarter-finals, Wheels on Ice is the only team to have a losing record in their last 25 games. The teams of the TODD franchise have not lost a game in over two months, taking 16 straight on Wednesdays and Sundays. Add in the fact that Wheels on Ice was playing with only nine players, it is easy to see how Todd's Team would be a big favorite.

The game did not play out that way though. Todd's Team played down a fielder in the first inning and Wheels took advantage. A five run rally gave Wheels the confidence it needed. Johnnie Graham, pitcher for Wheels on Ice, locked in early and didn't allow a run in the bottom of the first. After allowing two runs in the second and one more in the third, it looked like the Wheels might fall off. That wasn't the case. With the score 5-3 entering the fourth, Wheels on Ice was able to extend the lead back up to four runs. Todd's Team was able to get one run back, but as the game turned the corner for home, it was 7-4 in favor of Wheels on Ice.

In the fifth inning the teams traded runs and now it looked very possible that the second seed may have it's winning streak and championship hopes dashed. The score was 8-5 entering the sixth inning.

In the top of the sixth Wheels was unable to score any runs, despite getting two runs on base. This good fortune was taken by Todd's Team and they ran with it. In the bottom of the sixth Todd's group managed to bat around and score five runs to take the lead for the first time in the game. The score entering the seventh and final inning was 10-8 in favor of Todd's Team.

Wheels on Ice was out of gas and couldn't manage to make a comeback. They were retired in order in the seventh inning and Todd's Team managed to eke out a victory and advance to the semi-finals to face third seed More Cowbell.

The Player of the Game (POTG) was Johnnie Graham, the pitcher for Wheels on Ice, in a losing effort.

Quarter-Finals - Wednesday, 5/24 - 9:15pm - Aviation Park - Field 2

(6) Grizzly Cubs (7-2) at (3) More Cowbell (8-1)
Result: More Cowbell 18, Grizzly Cubs 14

Another typical More Cowbell playoff game. After exorcising the first round demons, they faced another team with a new found confidence. Grizzly Cubs had an exceptional bounce back season. After a solid regular season that saw them lose only to the eventual number one overall seed, Grizzly Cubs showed grit and determination in coming from behind twice in the Round of 16 against Frankie Say Relax. Two teams with very real championship hopes would face. Cowbell played the game with only nine players and would have to rely on their offense to knock off the Grizzly Cubs.

For the second straight game More Cowbell jumped out to a big lead early, 7-2 after two innings. This time they were able preserve most of that lead though. Two runs by Grizzly Cubs in the third inning were matched by three Cowbell runs in the bottom of the inning. This was repeated in the fourth inning and the score was 13-6 after four full innings. In the fifth, Grizzly Cubs rebounded. A disputed ruling at the end of the fourth inning led to an official protest of the game by the Cubs. This fired the team up and they scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the inning the Cubs kept More Cowbell from scoring for the first time in the game and the deficit was cut to three runs entering the sixth inning.

In the sixth Grizzly kept chipping away at the lead, they scored two runs to cut the deficit to only one. But that was as close as they would get. Cowbell kept eliminating playoff demons from their resume by batting around in the sixth and scoring five runs. Two runs by Grizzly Cubs in the seventh were merely cosmetic and More Cowbell advanced with a hard fought 18-14 victory.

More Cowbell moves on to the semi-finals to face their Wednesday league rival, 2nd seed Todd's Team.

The Players of the Game (POTG) were Matt Arden, first baseman for More Cowbell and Dan Mottern, centerfielder for More Cowbell.

Quarter-Finals - Tuesday, 5/23 - 8:15pm - Aviation Park - Field 2

(9) Tough Times (7-2) at (1) In Every Orphus (9-0)
Result: In Every Orphus 8, Tough Times 7 (9 innings)

Absolutely the best game of the tournament. Most definitely the Game of the Year for 2006 and possibly the greatest game in CSA history. With everything on the line, the top seed In Every Orphus had to stage a spectacular rally to get past the ninth seed Tough Times.

The amazing extra inning contest was the "CSA FOCUS GAME" for the round. No team has been more dominant in the recent going than In Every Orphus. In their past 25 games, they are 24-1, the only loss coming in the Fall 2005 "Grand Finale" tournament. They have a recreational league championship on their resume, but they are missing the elusive competitive title that distinguishes a team from the pack. In the regular season Orphus was the essence of a complete team. They averaged nearly 20 runs a game and allowed less than six. No team came within 10 runs in any game and they outscored their opponents by 107 runs during the regular season. In Every Orphus was ranked number one in the initial "Destiny" poll and stayed their for all five weeks.

Tough Times was another story, they have traditionally struggled in playoff games and were coming off their first ever playoff victory. They had a solid regular season, going 6-2, but had a relatively easy schedule. Entering the game against the top seed, they were eight run underdogs.

This game started out with Tough Times unable to produce the early offense they had in the previous game. They were kept off the board in each of the first two innings, leaving one runner on in the first and going down in order in the second. In Every Orphus was unable to take advantage of this though. After scoring once in the bottom of the first, they failed to score again until the fifth inning.

In the meantime, Tough Times found a little life. Two runs in the third inning were followed by four more runs in the fourth. In a minor shock, Tough Times led In Every Orphus 6-1 after four complete innings.

When Tough Times had leads of 2-1 after three and 6-1 after four, it was the first time all season that In Every Orphus trailed at the end of a completed inning.

Facing unchartered territory, In Every Orphus responded like a champion. They scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie the score. Those runs would be the last that either team would score until the ninth inning. The lack of scoring doesn't mean the game lacked excitement.

With the stands packed with interested observers the teams traded defensive jabs. Tough Times went down 1-2-3 in the top of the sixth and with a chance to take the lead, Orphus put two runners on base but failed to score. In the seventh and potentially final inning, Tough Times again went down in order. Only needing one run to win, Orphus had the winning run on base, but Keith Jackson, the pitcher for Tough Times, got Jon Ripley, the three hitter for Orphus, to fly out deep to left-centerfield to end the inning and send the game to extra frames.

In the eighth, Tough Times managed to put a runner on base, but a force out ended the inning and the threat. Again Orphus came to the plate needing only one run to win, and again they were denied. This time they had two runners on with two outs and Jill Gore, In Every Orphus' all-star catcher, grounded out to end the inning.

The game went to the ninth and got very exciting. After being shutout for four innings, Tough Times rallied and took the lead. The pushed the go ahead run across and had the bases loaded with one out. Already up, they had a chance to pad the newly regained lead. A pop out on the infield was the second out, and a sharp grounder by Nicole Ward looked like it would get through up the middle, but an great snag by shortstop Jon Ripley and a backhand flip to second baseman Michael Sims got the force out and ended the inning. With the damage minimized, Orphus had a shot, but this time they would have to score at least one run to stay in the game.

Orphus pitcher Larry Smith led off the inning with a single. A popout kept Larry on first and he was erased on a force out on the next batter, Jimmy Ricard. With two outs and a runner on first, it looked like the upset was about to happen. Billy Mangan, the team captain, singled with two outs, and was able to advance to second when Ricard took third. Now In Every Orphus had the tying run on third, the winning run on second, two outs, and All-Star Shawna Norton at the plate. With the game on the line Shawna hit a sharp groundball to the first base side of the second baseman. The second baseman for Tough Times was able to get a glove on the hot grounder, but couldn't snare it. Mangan was running on contact and was able to score easily on the two run single by Norton.

In one of the most exciting games in CSA history, the top seed In Every Orphus survived a gutsy challenge and moved on to the semi-finals.

The Players of the Game (POTG) were Keith Jackson, pitcher from Tough Times, and Larry Smith, pitcher from In Every Orphus, Each threw nine inning complete games in one of the best pitching duels in CSA history.

On the night, Keith Jackson pitched 16 innings, faced 82 batters, allowed 19 runs, and was name POTG in both games.

In the game Tough Times sent 43 batters to the plate, leaving nine on base in nine innings. In Every Orphus sent 46 batters to the plate, leaving 12 on base.