Dec. 8, 2007 — The Quarren Schjang 40-Plus softball finals got off to an exciting start Friday night, at the D.C. Canegata Ball Park, with Just for Fun squeezing out a 11-10 win over the Las Vegans. JFF, the seven-time defending champs, sealed the deal on game one with a not too common double-play by center fielder Cruz Soto and catcher Charles Brow.
With the tying run on third in the person of the Las Vegans’ Benny Luis and one out, Ulric Benjamin flied out to Soto in shallow center. Tagging up from third on the play, Luis was gunned down at the plate to end the game when Soto unleashed a laser beam of a throw to his catcher. Brow calmly took the perfect throw and applied the tag to complete the double-play and the victory for JFF.
Mario Ortiz, coming off of a long stay on the injury list, pitched well for JFF before the Las Vegans finally got to him in their final at bat.
After the Las Vegans failed to score in the top of the first inning, JFF came up with three runs on a three-run home run by Reuben Malloy to take the early lead.
The Las Vegans got on the board in the top of the second with one run on an RBI single by Ulric Benjamin. JFF answered with one run in the bottom of the inning on Ortiz’s RBI ground out to lead 4-1 after two innings.
An unearned run in the top of the third brought the Las Vegans one run closer at 4-2, but JFF again answered with one run on Myron Johannes single to now lead 5-2.
After the Las Vegans failed to score in the top of the fourth, JFF seemingly put the game out of reach when they plated five runs on a two-run single by Malloy, and bases loaded walks drawn by Guido Schjang and Soto to lead 10-2 after four completed innings.
The score would stay that way until the top of the sixth when the Las Vegans began to mount a comeback. They scored two runs on a two-run blast by center fielder, Jesus Saldana to close the gap to six at 10-4. JFF answered with their final run of the game on an RBI single by Johannes and the game went to the seventh inning with a score of 11-4.
Never saying die, the Las Vegans facing a tall order, mounted a frantic comeback in the top of the eventh that put some real fear in JFF. They erupted for six runs, but it was one run too short and they went down in defeat, 11-10.
JFF is now two games away from claiming their eight championships, in as many years, in the best three of five finals.
Ortiz got the win on the mound for JFF, while Virgillio Diaz got the loss for the Las Vegans. Top hitters for JFF were, Malloy, 2 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs, Johannes, 2 for 4, with two RBIs, and Soto and Eustace Davis were 1 for 2. For the Las Vegans, Saldana was 3 for 4 with two RBIs, Luis, 2 for 3 with three RBIs, and Irvin Simmonds was 2 for 4.