New Team, Old Foes, New Results

Both offence and defence were clicking as the revamped Wildcards defeated Dem Bums 23 – 12 in the second game of their young season. The victory comes two weeks after defeating another old rival with whom they had previously gone winless against, Who’s Up.

With starting pitcher Erika Reyes on the DL, relief pitcher Andrew Bulos was given the starting assignment. He finished with 9 runs against, 2 walks and 3 strikeouts.

“I felt good. I was confident in hitting my spots, and when I made mistakes in location, I didn’t worry because I’ve got strong D covering my back.”

Newcomer Fiel “Unknown” Laurendeau played her first full game with the Wildcards, a spectacular rookie performance in which she went 2-for-5, including a huge 3-run HR in the bottom of the 4^th.

“(The pitcher) gave me a pitch that I could hit. I saw them playing shallow and knew that I could put it over their outfielders, so I did.”

The HR certainly made the Bums outfielders more aware of her hitting, but Unknown still came through with an RBI single in the top of the 7^th just when the Bums were beginning to rally. Steve "Chokolate" Saks hit a 2-run HR earlier in the inning, helping to stop any momentum the Bums were building.

"Ideally I'd like to clear the fence, but I'll take it. And it didn't help that afterwards I had to run for our lazy pitcher who decided to take the day off in terms of baserunning!"

Always noteworthy, the Franchise went 2-for-3 with two singles and three RBI’s. Despite the stats, the Franchise insists he could do better.

“Man, I played like balls. We’re lucky we won this game without me hitting a homerun or doing any spectacular stuff. Usually that’s the only way we win, when I do something.”

More importantly, he left the game in the bottom of the 5^th with a lower body injury. His status for this Sunday’s game with the Warriors is questionable.

“I hope it’ll be alright.”

Brother Al “Hollywood” Fernando also left the game in the top of the 6^th on a freak collision at 1B. Attempting to dig a ball, he fell into the path of the charging baserunner.

“It hurt pretty bad. To be honest I don’t remember what happened. But I think I'll be OK.”

The potential injury comes with Hollywood hitting his best ever. Fans were skeptical when the team announced that he would try batting from the left-side. But he has demonstrated that the move wasn’t just for fun.

“I feel more comfortable on the left. I have more power, and I’m not just hitting it in the same spot everytime. Plus I like standing on the right side, quickly switching left, and seeing the fielders scramble to adjust.”

The next assignment is the juggernaut Warriors, who are tied with the Wildcards record-wise, but lead the league based on run differentials.

“It’s going to be a tough matchup for sure.” stated Bryan “Blue” San Luis after the Bums win. “They’ve got an overpowering offence. The winner will be the team who outguns their opponent.”

Despite the task ahead, team captain Arn “Voodoo” Redoblado believes his team is more than up to it. “Last season I would’ve told everyone ‘Bring extra butt padding, because we’re about to get our asses kicked.’ But from top to bottom, our lineup this season is one of the best in this league, if not the best.”

NOTES: “Hollywood” Fernando is convocating today; a huge congratulations to him. Captain Voodoo and his wife Ada “Kiddo” Wong are currently tied for the team lead in singles. Brian “Sixty” Chan originally wasn’t credited for his sacrifice fly in the 1^st inning that scored “Chokolate” Saks. He has since been credited with the RBI (damn scorekeepers!). He is also leading the team in triples.