Game 1: Owls 29, Swedes 20.  Steven Robert Haack played his first ever Foftball game on Saturday, and he had an MVP-like performance, one that will be remembered for a long time.  In the game, where the snow was 8 in. deep in places, Steve assumed the difficult position of pitcher, and came up with a extraordinary performance, a true example of ONE.  Of the 21 outs the Owls recorded in the field, Steve had 17 of them unassisted.  On the offensive end, his teammates Mike Lopatka, Paul Johansson, Dan Trainor, and Big Tommy Van Eck making his debut, struggled a little bit, but managed to score enough runs to support Haack's amazing defensive effort.

The long time between games was due to the fact that the shipment of COOP balls arrived a week late.  The difference was easy to be seen, and all the players were so happy that they once again were able to play with a COOP instead of a NERF ball inside a sock.

Game 2:  Swedes 46, Owls 45.  Arguably the most dramatic ending to a Foftball game ever saw the Swedes triumph over the Owls.  The Swedes had jumped out to an early lead, and the Owls were looking for answers at the plate.  They found them, and soon the game was a 37-37 tie in the bottom of the 6th.

Then Mike Brunetti stepped up to the plate, with 2 runners on, and 2 outs, and smacked one through the wires for 5 runs.  The inning was ended with the Swedes clinging to a 42-37 lead.  The Swedes needed to hold the Owls under 5 in the top of the 7th, but Dan Trainor hit a hot shot through the wires with 2 on to tie the game at 42.  The very next at bat, Steve "ONE" Haack came up and hit another wire shot to put the Owls ahead 45-42, and that's how the inning ended.

VanBexecutor lead off the bottom of the 7th for the Owls with a single, but the next two batters, Patch Schreck and Brock Collins, both made outs without advancing Bill, bringing up Mike Brunetti once again.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the 7th, Mike hit what looked like a sure out, he only got the bottom half of the ball and it was a weak little pop-up toward the bush on the corner of the garage near the driveway.  Mike Lopatka was underneath the ball ready to make the final out, however as the ball passed through the wires, a lack of communication caused Mike and Owls teammate Paul Johansson to collide, and the ball was dropped.  The Swedes exploded into uproarious celebratory noises and jumped around.  Mike Brunetti hit 2 wire shots in 2 innings including the game winning 4-runner. 

Both games saw some of the best defense in a long time with several spectacular plays on both ends.  Steve Haack showed that he will be a star.  The Swedes were Brock Collins, Pat Schreck, Bill Van Eck, Mike Brunetti, and Phrank Styzek.  Tommy Van Eck had to leave during the 2nd game, but not before he hit his first wire-shot, in possibly his last ever at-bat.  He rounded the bases thrice.  Billy Mulnado replaced him on the Owls.

Dec 30, 2004 "The Birth of a Stapler"

Game 1: Swedes 53, Owls 24.  Chad Rebecca lead the offensive attack for the Swedes in this game, hitting many hard line drives up the middle and past the right sider, as the Owls got out to an early 14-0 lead in the first inning.  The Owls (Schreck, Musich, Kev Concordia, Mandii) roared back with 16 in the bottom of the 1st to make it 14-16, but the Swedes scored 16 in the top of the 2nd to make it 30-16, and they would stay in the lead for the rest of the game.  As the Days of Sock covered balls continued.

Chad not only frustrated the Owls on offense, but angered them slightly more on defense, where the Owls continually lined out to him, which lead to some Owls players throwing bats into the trees.

Steve Lesniak had the most successful Foftball debut of any player in history.  He came late, and had to wait until Nick Iovino arrived until he could play.  In his first ever Foftball at bat, he smacked a shot through the wires, and was met with a standing ovation from both teams, and even though they were playing a speed-up game, Steve was granted permission to round the bases thrice like classic Foftball.  He had 2 wire-shots in the game, in which he only hit in the 6th and 7th innings, and his driveway defense was impressive for a first time player.

Game 2: Swedes 31, Owls 22.  Chad Rebecca and Brian Concordia, both Swedes, had to leave, which meant that the teams had to be switched around a little bit.  The Swedes picked up Mike Musich on waivers to even up the teams.  The Swedes came back from a large early deficit.

The Owls, who were the visiting team, jumped out to an early lead, and were in control of the game in the 2nd inning, 20-7.  However, they hit a slump, and failed to score over the next couple innings.  With the swedes down 20-12 with 2 outs in the bottom of the 6th, Brock Collins stepped up to the plate, and hit a hard shot up the middle, that hit the bottom wire, stalled for a second, and rolled over the top, and hit the ground before an Owl player could catch it for a 6-run shot, Making the game 20-18.  That set off a 2-out rally with more wire shots, that made the game 31-20 Swedes going into the last inning.  The Owls managed to score 2 runs before the Swedes got the final out.

The Swedes' Brock Collins turned an unassisted double play in the top of the 7th with the Owls threatening with bases loaded and 0 outs.  There was a grounder hit towards third, Collins fielded cleanly, stepped on 3rd and threw through the wires for the second out.  It was the first unassisted double play of that nature that has been turned in a long time.

Dec 27, 2004 "Socks Socks"

Game 1: Swedes 35, Owls 15.  Due to lack of balls, the teams were forced to use NERF balls.  Knowing that NERF balls have a large tendancy to break, Brock Collins came up with the idea of sticking the ball inside a sock so that even when the ball breaks, (which it eventually did after about 2 innings), the sock will keep it together.

This game was never close, the Swedes (Collins, Barnes, Brunetti, Van Eck)  rode the bat of last-pick Van Eck to victory.  Bill had 4 wire shots, 2 4-runners, and 2 5-runners, that accounted for 18 of the Owls 35 runs. 

Game 2:  Owls 34, Swedes 25.  Barnes switched teams and came up big for the Owls.  In the bottom of the 6th inning with the Owls down 4 runs, Barnes hit a 5-run wire shot to put them ahead for good.

Dec 26, 2004 "Swedes Take Three!"

Game 1: Swedes 26, Owls 12.  This quick-moving game depended a lot on the 3-runner.  Or the lack thereof.  The Owls (Justin Kirk, Brian Wilcox, Nick Iovino, Phrank Styzek) repeatedly hit shots through the wires, but they were robbed by some stellar Swedes defense.  Nick Iovino and Brian Wilcox both had 2 robbed themselves.

The Swedes (Brock Collins, Brian Concordia, Matt Iovino, Schreck) held a solid lead from the 2nd inning on.  The game moved very quickly because the pitching was good, and players were swining at the ball early in the count.  At the time of this game, it broke the record for the Low-combined score for a game in the New Era, the two teams combining for 38 runs.  The game lasted only an hour.

GAME 2: Swedes 20, Owls 9.  Single digits? Wow.  The cold suddenly emerged from the depths of Mando, and it seemed as if the temperature dropped a few degrees before game 2.  Phrank Styzek and Brian Wilcox were replaced with Ryan Griffin and Sean Barnes for the Owls, and they added Billy Mundo.  The Swedes remained the same, but added Chad Rebecca to the team.

The game was a very low scoring affair, and the game was tied 8-8 in the bottom of the 5th inning.  Then in the 5th, Brock Collins hit a 4-run shot to break the tie, then slapped one through the wires up the middle with the bases loaded for a 6-run jobbo.  With the score now 18-8, the Swedes held a lead that they would never relinquish.  The Owls grounded out and popped out mercilessly the entire day, and could not find any sort of rythym offensively.  This game set the record for the combined low game score, with 29 runs.

GAME 3:  Swedes 36, Owls 20.  The Owls managed to almost score more runs than they had combined for in the first two games, but it was not enough to beat the Swedes, who just had the juice today.  The Swedes decided to let the Owls be home team because they had just pounded them the two games before, and it looked at first as if it might be a close game.

There was a bit of controversy in that Justin Kirk felt that his team was receiving unfair treatment, and that the Swedes were getting all the close calls going their way.  This argument could have escalated into a nationwide brawl, but it was subdued and only Kirk was effected by it.  He admitted after the game that he was angry.

Brian Concordia stepped up big in the third game, hitting two timely wire shots, one worth 5 runs.  By the end of the third game, the ball was almost completely mush, but the ball did last for a complete three games, which was an impressive feat in itself.  The Swedes are 4-4-1 in the last 9 games, the Owls are 4-4-1.

Dec 23, 2004 "Where have all the scorers gone?"

Swedes 26, Owls 21.  The Swedes got back in the win-column for the first time in 6 games on a blistery cold day, in which many shouts of "ARABIAAN DAAAAAD" were heard.  This low scoring affair is the lowest total scored in recent Foftball History, breaking the previous record by 1 run.

The Swedes, (Collins, Toth, Frank, Mundafferty) took advantage of the wires, and possibly even received some divine intervention on some of their 3-run shots.  King Tath lead the Swedes' offensive charge with 3 wire-shots.  Two of them being high pop flies that would hang up in the wind and somehow find their way through, sometimes with everyone on the Owls standing around the ball, watching it hit the ground.  17 of the Swedes' 26 runs came via the wires, on a day where the ball was the main cause of the low scoring.

The game was recorded on Phrank Styzek's digital camcorder, so there is video documentation of the game.  Pop-up outs were common in this game, which have not been common for some time, the ball used was a 6 in. NERF ball, so it was light, and also small, which is not conducive to offensive production.  Brett McWherter played in his second Foftball game, and his friend, Frank played as well.  Both were welcome additions to the game, and were quick learners.  Kudos. 

Dec 22, 2004  "TIE!!!"

Swedes 40, Owls 40.   The first official game to end in a tie began as a bit of a dull game, but ended with beef-slapping action, enough to make a man's heart feel sore.   It was also the darkest game in Foftball history, and was eventually called due to lack of sight.

The game began with a "Hybrid-Ball"  which is made by putting a nerf football inside a Neoprene cover, and these balls usually work very well.  This ball only lasted for the first 2 innings, and then was replaced by a smaller, lighter ball which made hitting harder. 

The Swedes (Brock Collins, Pat Schreck, Karl Sehnke) leading the offensive attack, were in control for the most part throughout the entire game.  Brett McWherter, who attends Illinois Wesleyan Univeristy, and attended Leyden High School, and lives in River Grove, and eats ham, played his first game ever.  He came up with a huge play in the bottom of the 7th.

The Owls had rallied from 8 runs down to begin the 7th, to being down only 2.  A costly error by usually sure-handed Brock Collins, continued the rally, and King Bill Tath came up big for the Owls, placing a shot onto the roof, scoring 2 and tieing them game at 40.  Then with 2 outs, Bill Mundaajyo came up to the plate.  The darkness was devouring everyone's faces.  The ball was nearly impossible to see whether batting or fielding, and it seemed Mundo may not even be able to make contact.  However, he hit a hard liner right back at the pitcher, Pat Schreck, who could not see the ball, and it whizzed past him.  Brett McWherter did see the ball though, and made a tremendous shoe-string grab to end the inning, and with the unforgiving darkness threatening to pasteurize the player's eggs, the game was ended in 5 innings in a 40-40 tie.

Dec 20, 2004  "OWLS COME BACK"

Owls 54, Swedes 48.  The Owls win in come-from-behind fashion, to take the game 54-48.  The game looked as if it was in the control of the Swedes from the beginning, as the home team had a comfortable lead from the 2nd inning on.  The Swedes (Brock Collins, Pat Schreck, Matt Petersen, Bill Van Eck, Matt Iovino, Kyle George, and later George Whitten) were making plays in the field and getting it done at the plate.

Justin Kirk, the Owl captain accounted for 5 of his team's first 10 outs, and it was a very frustrating day for him over all.  The score was 48-36 with the Swedes in the lead to begin the 7th and final inning.  The Owls (Matt Davis, Chad Rebecca, Bill MunJandit, Kirk, George Toth, Brett Behlolav) came roaring out and soon they were ahead by 6.  They held the lead in the 7th, with the Swedes falling 1-2-3 in the bottom half, to complete their improbable come-from-behind victory on a very cold afternoon at Charlz Allen Memorial Field.

George Whitten made his first ever Foftball appearance, and Matt Petersen and Kyle George each made their 2nd.

Brock Collins, Kyle George, and Matt Iovino had Wire Shots for the Swedes.  Bill Mundo lead the Owls with 2 Wire Shots.

Bill Van Eck became the 9th person ever to strike out in Foftball, it was Justin Kirk's first strike out as a pitcher.

"The Mud Jundos"

Nov 24, 2004-

Owls 48, Swedes 38.     The day began very early for the Foftballers, as players arrived for the first game at 10am.  It was already apparent at that time that they were in for a very cold game.  They had no idea of what weather they were in store for however, as some steady snow began to fall during the game, making the footing very poor, and causing many players to slip running out of the batter's box.  Phrank "Least Improved" Styzek fell on his face a total of 20603 times himself.  Carpets were taken out of the garage and put in the batter's boxes for some added footing, but it still didn't stop players from sliding all over the place. 

The biggest difference in this game was the 3-run shot.  The owls, (Schreck, Matt Iovino, Peter Garde, Bill Mundo, Mike Musich) had 10 of them, compared to the Swedes' (Collins, Brunetti, Nick Iovino, Brian Lett, Phrank Styzek, Pat Tennant) who only had 4.  Mike Musich became the first player to ever smoke a cigarette while batting, and also the first player to hit a home run while smoking, and he hit 2.  Mike's Owls teammate Peter Garde told Mike that he would buy Mike a pack of cigarettes for every 3 runner that he hit, and Mike proceeded to hit 4 in the game.  Pat Schreck also had 4 shots for the Owls, and Bill "20 cents" Mundo had 2.

There was a scare during the game when Musich was at the plate, as he took a titanic swing at a pitch, he missed, and his bat went flying toward the bench, just barely missing the head of his teammate Peter Garde.  Everyone had a good laugh, and was thankful for bread.

Owls 68, Swedes 42 :

After a lunch break at Submarine Express thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Mundo, the players were back for the second game of the day.  The Owls lead this one from start to finish in a game that was a true test of heart and will.  To finish this game was to truly show love for the game.  The field had already been torn up pretty badly from the first game and had not had time to recover before the second game.  The field was almost completely mud, and players who attempted acrobatic catches often wound up caked in mud.

The snow was relentless as it pounded the players constantly making it hard to field or hit the ball.  Many players had numb fingers and faces, and many had trouble standing on third base because they would just slide down the hill.

The Owls just had more fight in them that day, as a few Swedes players began thinking about the cold too much, and not about the game, and the Owls took complete advantage, the game was never close.

The game was briefly interrupted by a drunk neighbor who wanted to play, but had to run to the bank, when the neighbor came back the game was over.

Oct 24, 2004-

The Owls triumphed over the Swedes 81-77, in an early game this Sunday, October, 24 morning.  From the first pitch it was obvious that offense was going to play a large part in the game.  The Swedes (Brock Collins, Pat Schreck, Matt Iovino, Alyssa Collins) scored 8 runs in the top of the inning, but then the Owls (Justin Kirk, Nick Iovino, Matt Davis, Karl Sehnke) roared back with a Foftball record 29 run inning. 

     At that point it looked bleak for the Swedes, but with some good pitching by Matt Iovino, and some good defense, the Swedes outscored the Owls 42-5 over the next 4 innings to take a 50-34 lead. 

     The Swedes remained in front for the rest of the game as the Owls attempted to chip away at the lead, and coming into the bottom of the inning they were down 77-69.  The offense that produced 29 runs in one inning had laid dormant long enough, and they were able to tie the game at 77 with 1 out in the inning.  Then Brian Concordia came up with a man on base (Concordia came into to replace Justin Kirk who had to leave early to go back to school), and put a shot through the wires to win the game for the Owls, and in the process, broke the single team scoring record in one game.

   Even though the Owls broke the single game scoring record, it did not come via the wires.  They only had 3 combined for their entire team.  They relied largely on the hit over the house, and had too many to count.  It makes their record even more amazing.

   Pat Schreck nearly hit the first ever game ender, which is a hit through the wires and into the basketball hoop.  His hit barely missed the rim of the hoop.

Store Name Goes Here

Owls celebrate victory- all celebrate scoring record

My Name, You Friendly Store Owner