A note from the GM: Earlier this week, another MVP player requested the opportunity to take on the game recap. A great win followed by an even greater read.
Enjoy.
Kyle Baylous didn’t get much sleep last night.
In what on its surface was a routine regular season game against the Bullworms, was something more to the young interim GM. It was a proving ground, a chance to show his leadership ability, to not only the team on the field but to the GM abroad, Alex Bettenhauser.
No one knows exactly why Alex needed to travel to the UK so abruptly in the middle of the season.
Some say it was simply to visit his brother (colloquially known as “Munch“), but rumors of other motives have been swirling around the league (Britain does need a new PM…).
Whatever the reason, we’ll soon have answers from the wunderkind GM, who returns from the UK tomorrow morning.
In the meantime, let’s unpack this morning’s action from the Middle School Farm Field.
But first, some notable moments from today’s pregame:
- Dalten Stalzer took a red eye from Chicago to play for Bullworms this morning, in what was a shrewd deadline move by the young GM Luke Donnelly (watch out for these guys).
- The Bagas, whose game with Sizzlin’ was canceled this morning, showed up to support the Brew Crew for the first few innings. Fuzzy feelings aside, the Bagas did have a vested interest in the outcome of this game, with their #2 playoff seed on the line in the event of a Bullworms victory.
- The Brew Crew saw a regression to the mean this week in terms of roster depth, with only eleven guys penciled in at the start of today’s game.
1st Inning:
The Brew Crew took the field for the top of the 1st after Tom Loesch won the coin toss.
It was a quiet start to the game, with the Bullworms going down mostly in order. The inning ended with what should have been a routine infield fly to Sorrentino at short, but Kyle Baylous ultimately came away with the catch after the two collided going for the ball. This show of force, against unquestionably the team’s strongest player (sorry, Shane), left some wondering if this was Kyle’s attempt at asserting dominance early in his tenure as GM.
With the testosterone flowing, the Brew Crew came to bat in the bottom of the first, but went down quietly.
2nd Inning:
The top of the 2nd was almost as routine as the first, but ended with a spectacular diving catch from Adam Piotrowski to put the Bullworms away.
In the bottom half of the inning, Pio followed up his defensive heroics by lining a double into left-center field. James Loesch (Tom Loesch’s estranged son) then stepped up to the plate and delivered a double over the third base bag, driving home Pio for the game’s first run.
Mike Donegan would quickly follow with a shot to right-center, scoring James easily from second, and ultimately coming home to score himself thanks to his lightning speed.
3 – 0 Brew Crew.
3rd Inning:
A quiet inning for both sides. With Bullworms going down in order in the top, and the Brew Crew unable to take advantage of a Tom Loesch single in the bottom half.
4th Inning:
The Bullworms got on the board in the top of the 4th.
A close play at home scored Luke Donnelly, with both sides disagreeing on whether he was safe or out.
It was a bang-bang play, the kind that the Brew Crew usually relies on Pat Biemer to mediate, but he was unable to play this weekend.
Brew Crew would put the inning to bed soon after that with a double play, but would go down just as quickly themselves in the bottom half of the inning.
3 – 1 Brew Crew.
5th Inning:
More stellar defense from the Brew Crew.
With two outs in the top of the inning, Everett Wehr made it three with a tremendous sliding catch in left field to end the inning.
With a man on first to start the bottom of the 5th, James came to the plate looking to get a run back and swung out of his cleats for an infield single. Runners were now at the corners for Donegan, who once again put a charge into one, this time for a sac fly that brought home the Crew’s fourth run.
4 – 1 Brew Crew.
6th Inning:
Another inning of solid fundamental defense from the Brew Crew held the Bullworms scoreless in the top of the 6th.
Still, with only a three run lead and an anemic offensive showing from the Brew Crew through five, this was anyone’s game. With a win anything but guaranteed, the interim GM called a players-only meeting, the first of two that would transpire throughout this game.
“A good friend of mine used to say, ‘This is a very simple game. You throw the ball, you catch the ball, you hit the ball. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, sometimes it rains.’ Think about that for a while.”
Kyle Baylous, Interim GM
At least that’s what I think he said.
But whether those were Baylous’s words or Bull Durham’s, it didn’t matter. Kyle’s pep talk struck a chord, as One-Legged John stroked a double to lead off the inning, sliding knee brace-first into second base. Tom Loesch would follow with a single up the middle, advancing Gio to third, who had come in to run for One-Leg.
Tommy Brady then stepped up to bat, launching a sac fly into center field to bring home the Brew Crew’s sixth run. Sorrentino, Shane, J-Rich and Rizz would keep the train rolling, making it 8 – 1 Brew Crew at the end of the 6th.
7th Inning:
The Bullworms continued to make solid contact at the plate, but defensive mishaps were nowhere to be found today for the Brew Crew.
Another inning of lockdown defense brought us to the bottom of the 7th, with the Brew Crew looking to tack on more. And they would. Brew Crew scored four more runs, highlighted by triples from Gio and One Leg.
12 – 1 Brew Crew.
8th Inning:
The Bullworms finally broke through in the top of the 8th.
They had hit the ball hard all day, and were starting to find holes. The Bullworms plated six runs in the top of the 8th, cutting the Brew Crew lead in half.
In the bottom of the inning, the Brew Crew would score one, cushioning their lead slightly heading into the ninth.
13 – 7 Brew Crew.
9th Inning:
The 8th inning would prove to be the offensive high watermark for the Bullworms in this game.
In an uneventful top of the ninth, the Brew Crew put away the Bullworms, adding another W to the win column.
Congratulations to Kyle Baylous, who is now 1-0 as GM of the Brew Crew, reaching a milestone moment in his softball career.
Final: 13 – 7
Special thanks to Alex Bettenhauser, who gave me the privilege of writing this week’s Game Recap.
Alex, going one step further in his generosity, has promised to release this game recap just days before the release of my new book, That’s Your Dad?: Softball, Sunday’s, and Life as Tom Loesch’s Son, which comes out July 25th.
James Loesch is an author, softball journalist, philanthropist, 3x Sunday Softball batting champion (no one fact checks this, right?), ultramarathon runner, and all-around great guy. He’s also 6’4. James is the author of three other New York Times Best Sellers, including:
- Standing On One Leg: Johnny One Leg’s Search For Fame, Fortune, and Softball Immortality
- Hey Ma’, What’s The Score?: A Biography Of Brew Crew’s Bookkeeper
- OMG(M): Beers, Brass, and Bettenhauser’s Rise To The Top of Brew Crew
Advanced Praise for “That’s Your Dad?: Softball, Sunday’s, and Life as Tom Loesch’s Son”:
“Daring, dangerous, and necessary, this inside look at the life of one of Sunday Softball’s most controversial players is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking.”
Kyle Baylous, one-time Interim GM and distinguished softball intellectual
“Never once have I considered abandoning my career covering baseball to devote all my attention to men’s beer league softball…until now.”
Buster Olney, ESPN
“Tom Loesch put up none of the numbers he claims to have had against us in this book. Our lawyers will be in touch, and the record will be set straight”
Bagas, Collectively
Notable Press & Awards for “That’s Your Dad?: Softball, Sunday’s, and Life as Tom Loesch’s Son”:
- New York Times Most Anticipated Book of 2022
- The New Yorker Book of The Month
- 10/10 Beers from Jon Rich
- 2022 Connor McAlary Book Club Award Winner
“Any rebroadcast, retransmission, or account of this game recap, without the express written consent of James Loesch, is prohibited.”
MVP Brew Crew Softball Club 
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