Tom and Thomas celebrate at the plate after Tom’s walk-off two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh gave Shady Characters an incredible 10-9 and moved them into a tie for first place with their opponents, Guac Boys
After colliding in the 2023 Wiffle Series, Shady Characters and Guac Boys have been battling for control of first place in the season standings throughout the 2024 season. Guac Boys went into the midway point of the season with a two game lead over their rivals, but after Shady Characters outlasted them in one of the best games of the 2024 season, Shady Characters pulled even into a tie for first place with seven games to go. An epic back-and-forth game with several lead changes ended when Tom came to the plate with a runner on second and Shady Characters trailing 9-8 in the bottom of the seventh inning. He crushed a two-run bomb to right-center, and his walk-off gave Shady Characters both a 10-9 win and a split for first place in the standings. Tom, Nate, and Thomas each contributed four hits and outdueled Form, Tone, and Jan, who had three hits apiece for Guac Boys.
Tom started on the mound for Shady Characters, and he retired Alec and Bohn in order in the top of the first.
Tom provided his own run support to start the game, hitting a leadoff homer off Guac Boys’ starter, Bohn, in the bottom of the first. Nate doubled, and Thomas followed with a two-run homer, putting Shady Characters ahead 3-0. Bohn retired Lucas and Tom to end the inning, and Guac Boys trailed by three runs.
Form led off the top of the second with a solo homer, cutting the score to 3-1. Jude followed with a double, but Tom stranded him, retiring Tone and Jan to end the inning.
Nate started the bottom of the second with a single, but Bohn stranded him, retiring Thomas and Lucas, and the score remained 3-1.
Bohn hit a one-out single in the top of the third, but Guac Boys couldn’t capitalize, as Tom retired Form to strand the runner at first, ending the inning.
Tom started the bottom of the third with a double, but Bohn fanned Nate and then retired Thomas to strand the runner, and the Shady Characters lead remained at two runs.
Guac Boys pulled even in the top of the fourth. Jude doubled, and he scored when Tone followed with an RBI triple that cut the Shady Characters lead to 3-2. Jan then tripled, scoring Tone, and the game was tied 3-3. Tom retired Alec and Bohn to strand Jan at third, and Guac Boys had evened the score.
The tie wouldn’t last long, and Shady Characters reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fourth. Lucas led off with a double, and he moved to third when Tom followed with a single. With no outs and runners on the corners, Nate hit a three-run homer, putting Shady Characters back on top 6-3. Thomas followed with a single, but when Lucas grounded out to the mound for the first out of the inning, Thomas was doubled up, ending the inning.
Guac Boys immediately responded in the top of the fifth. Form led off the inning with a triple, and two batters later, Tone hit an RBI single to score him, and Guac Boys traield 6-4. Jan followed with a two-run homer, tying the game at 6-6. Tom retired Alec for the second out of the inning, and Guac Boys had pulled even for the second consecutive inning.
Bohn rolled through the bottom of the fifth, retiring Tom and Nate in order, and the score was tied 6-6 heading into the sixth inning.
Tom retired Bohn to start the top of the sixth, but Form followed with his second homer of the game, a solo shot that gave Guac Boys their first lead of the game, 7-6. Tom retired Jude to end the inning, and Shady Characters would head into the bottom of the sixth trailing for the first time.
Guac Boys celebrate after Form’s solo homer gave them first first lead of the game in the top of the sixth inning
Thomas led off the bottom of the sixth with his second homer of the game, a solo shot that tied the game at 7-7. Shady Characters had a chance to put the game away, but Bohn escaped, retiring Lucas and Tom to end the inning, forcing the game to extras.
Tom remained on the mound in the top of the seventh, and he got into trouble. Tone led off the inning with a single, and he moved from first to third when Jan doubled. Guac Boys had two runners in scoring position with no outs and a chance to reclaim the lead in extra innings. Tom got the next batter, Alec, to ground out to left, but Tone scored on the play, putting Guac Boys in front 8-7. Bohn then singled, scoring Jan, and Guac Boys led 9-7. Tom struck out Form to end the inning, and Shady Characters would need another rally to extend the game.
For the second consecutive inning, the first batter for Shady Characters led off with a solo homer. This time it was Nate, and the solo shot cut the score to 9-8. Thomas then doubled, putting the tying runner in scoring position and the winning run at the plate. Bohn retired Lucas for the first out, putting Guac Boys an out away from an impressive come-from-behind victory. It wouldn’t play out that way, however. Tom came to the plate and launched a walk-off two-run homer, ending the game in dramatic fashion and giving Shady Characters an incredible 10-9 victory.
The win moved Shady Characters to 8-5 on the season, tied with Guac Boys, who fell to 8-5 with the loss.
W: Tom (6-3)
L: Bohn (6-4)
Game Notes:
– Tom pitched the complete game win for Shady Characters, allowing nine runs on thirteen hits and striking out one.
– Bohn took the loss in a complete game effort for Guac Boys, giving up ten runs on thirteen hits and striking out one in seven innings.
– Tom led Shady Characters in the win, going 4-for-7 with a single, a double, two home runs, including the game-winning walk-off homer, three runs scored, and three RBI.
– The walk-off homer was the fourth of Tom’s wiffle career, and he now has the most walk-off homers in EWL history, passing Brian, who he was tied with, with three.
– Nate and Thomas each went 4-for-6 for Shady Characters. Nate had a single, a double, two home runs, three runs scored, and four RBI. Thomas had a single, a double, two home runs, three runs scored, and three RBI.
– Form and Jan led Guac Boys in the loss. Form went 3-for-5 with a triple, two homers, three runs scored, and two RBI. Jan went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI.
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