The Mole Rat Teeth with George, Anne, and Rex
G: Good evening, baseball fans from the Commonwealth. We had an exciting weekend here at the home of the Witch Hats in Salem, and we now know that the Brotherhood League has been the most exciting all season. That continues this weekend, too, thanks to other games in the league.
Today, the biggest news is that the Finch Farm Four Leafs won in this one, 5-2. With that win, the Four Leafs not only avoided the sweep, but they also earned the Brotherhood League banner.
R: Excuse me, George, but can you wax poetic on the meaning of the "banner"?
G: No problem, Rex. The banner is a hanging cloth like a flag that will have the name of the league winner sewed on it. There can only be one league winner per year in each league, so that means in the 2297 season, Finch Farm will be hanging its 2296 banner in its stadium.
R: Interesting and informative as always, George. Do continue with your summary.
G: So Finch Farm won the league, but Salem won the series. With the other results in the league, tonight's loss does drop Salem but they came out in good shape. Now, the Witch Hats, The Slog, and East Boston Prep are all tied for second place and the wildcard spot at 29-28. That makes next weekend really interesting.
A: George, I have a question, too. What happens if all three teams finished tied for second place?
G: Well, we know Salem and the Assaultrons play next weekend, so that cannot happen. Actually, I don't know what would happen in that case. I do know that a two-way tie means those two teams meet for a winner-take-all single-game matchup.
A: Interesting. Well, I will jump in now with my Bottoms Up Award. There were not a lot of lead changes in this series, so I am going to use a late clutch hit for this week. In Game One, the Four Leafs and Witch Hats were tied at one apiece going into the 7th inning. In that inning, the Hats ended up scoring four runs. However, the first came with two outs and a man on second base. That was when Sean Koerster doubled off the left-center field wall for an RBI double. By putting up Salem 2-1 at that time, Koerster's hit proved to be the game-winning hit in a 5-1 final.
R: Our Sportiest Sport will be a player from the Four Leafs today. Though pitcher Montes Evans was awarded the Player of the Game in today's 5-2 Finch Farm win, I am going to go with left fielder Danny Honeycutt. In today's game, he took the Leafs on his back and led them to the league crown by going 3 for 5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and two runs batted in. He is a Sporty Sport.
G: Thank you, both. For the series, we saw a high-scoring blowout in Game 2, when Salem won 16-5, so it is easy to find a Most Outstanding Payer who produced a lot of offense. That would be Salem third baseman Pistol Schmidt. In the three games, he went 6 for 12 with a double, two home runs, three runs scored, seven RBI, and two walks. He had an excellent weekend for his team, and his two-run home run today was the Hats' only score.
OK, well, that will do it in Week 19 from Salem. It may come as no surprise, but we get first choice for next weekend's game. The most compelling series of Week 20 will be right here in Salem when the Hats host East Boston Prep. The winner of that series still needs The Slog to win as many or one fewer games, but still the Witch Hats and Assaultrons are battling for their playoff lives. So, Anne and Rex, we are staying put and we will make our bunks right here in The Coven. Let's hope no spooks come in.
From the Charles River Trio, I am George Cooper. With Anne Hargraves and Rex Goodman, this has been "The Mole Rat Teeth." Let's take it away with a song appropriate for Salem, Betty Hutton's "He's a Demon, He's a Devil, He's a Doll":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6LlW902JRk