Unicorns slay Dragons for second season victory

Since their first win of the year, the Unicorns of the Apocalypse have been involved in many fierce encounters with a variety of foes.

*This is the final part of a 3-day blog series that catches fans up with the Unicorns' progress over the last few weeks.

Foe #3: Dragons

Three Mondays ago, the Unicorns of the Apocalypse took the field not knowing what to expect from their opponents, the Dragons.  Dubbed "The Series of Mythical Beasts" or "Battle of Mythical Creatures" by non-believers, the Unicorns were in for their most gruesome battle yet.

The series didn't start out so well, as the Unicorns saw their leadoff man, and one of their best hitters, strike out, their two-hole hitter fly out, and then, following a single, saw the final out made on a fielder's choice.  After the first was over, though, the Unicorns polished off their horns and charged, scoring nine runs highlighted by a grand slam by Magi-Carp and a solo shot by Greaver.  They didn't stop in the third either, as Ryan Cahill blasted his own homerun and the bottom of the batting order, lead by returning VBC Softball elite Romeo Villanueva, all got on base so that the top of the order could bring them all home.  For two consecutive innings, the batting order had been cycled through once.

Every 'corn was merciless over those innings, but the Dragons were not going to go down without launching their own huge balls of fire.  When the smoke cleared, the Dragons outlasted the Unicorns and won 19 to 17.

Enraged, the Unicorns took the field again only to use their trump card: nuclear fusion.  Picking up right where they left off, the Unicorns scored four in the first.  The Dragons responded with scoring four of their own to tie it, but in the end the radiation was just too much for them to stand--the Unicorns stood victorious for the second time this season, besting their foes 12 to 7.

The series was easily the greatest series played in the history of the Unicorns of the Apocalypse.  Sometimes their enemies are clearly in the wrong league, but the Dragons, a foe truly worthy of tying with the Unicorns, showed that they, too, belong in Virginia Beach's Duffer league.

Wins: 2

Ties: 1

Losses: Who cares!?  We've won 2 and tied 1!  Neigh!

Team Leaders

Males

AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS:  Magi-Carp and Cahill sit neck-and-neck for best overall player.  If not for a rough second game, Cahill might have come out on top.

AVG: Magi-Carp - .769; Cahill - .765

SLG: Magi-Carp - 1.769

As for On-base Plus Slugging, three players are over the 2.000 mark.

OPS: Magi-Carp - 2.538 (13 PAs); Cahill - 2.266 (19 PAs); Greaver - 2.016 (24 PAs)

RBI:  After having monster games, the numbers shot up.  Magi-Carp leads with 14, followed by Greaver at 13, Cahill at 9, and B-Weave at 8.  B-Weave's number is notably impressive as he is more limited than the others in RBI opportunities due to his role as the lead-off man combined with the low average OBP of the bottom of the order.

Females

AVG/OBP/SLG/OPS:  As promised the race is tight.  Lanah Stafford (23 PAs) continues to lead, sporting a .591/.609/.636/1.245 line.  Meanwhile, Joanna Niles (16 PAs), after batting .571 against the Dragons, improved her line to .533/.500/.533/1.033, sneaking above Edge (14 PAs) in the AVG column and tying her OBP.

RBI:  Stafford raises up to 7 and Edge, after knocking in 3 against the Dragons, ties Kendra Stencell at 4.

Team

BB:  The Unicorns have always been a "see-ball-hit-ball" kind of team--that is to say, they only take walks when necessary because they enjoy hitting.  The males especially fall into that category, as the only ones who have taken a base on balls so far this season are Greaver, Cahill, Villanueva, and Joey Sanchez (one each).  However, two females, Katie Wirth and Mel "D-Dom" Domenico, have worked the count four times each.

Go Unicorns!