The first round of playoffs went almost as expected, the only surprise #11 seed Ignatius pipping #10-ranked Sofa, and that was by the narrowest of margins. Otherwise, results went as regular-season ranking would have predicted, though with the top two teams in each section sitting out, this was more a warm-up than anything else. The real action starts this week...
Championship Bracket
AZ SnakePit 6, Lil Bitches 3
The Fighting Amish 7, Phoenix Platypi 3
Consolation Bracket
Lady Gaga Regatta 3, Los Wailoracles 7
Ignatius J. Rallies 5, Sofa King Juiced 4
Championship Section
AZ SnakePit 6, Lil Bitches 3
Lil pushed AZ close: Snake won HR by one, RBI by two and ERA by 0.14, and most of the categories were close. However, Snake prevailed behind Pitcher of the Week Fister, who had two W and 18 K. and Sandoval (six Runs, two HR). For Lil, Votto also had six Runs and two HR, while Marmol saved three.
The Fighting Amish 7, Phoenix Platypi 3
Phoenix pitched very well, notching a collective 1.31 ERA, led by Sanchez (W + 11 K). However, their hitting was poor: they batted only .231, and the Amish took advantage, needing only four team HR to win. They also got strong outings from Wilson and Vasquez, who combined for four Wins and 31 K's.
Consolation Section
Lady Gaga Regatta 3, Los Wailoracles 7
Los had a sub-one WHIP, led by Hernandez Win and nine strikeouts. They also got two home-runs from Tulowitzki, who drove in eight; Pena had two HR and seven RBI on their account. Lady had Hitter of the Week Martinez, who drove in 11, while Santana fanned a dozen in a losing cause.
Ignatius J. Rallies 5, Sofa King Juiced 4
Home-runs ended tied at four, and that was enough to give Rallies the win. They got some strong performances on the mound from Haren (two W + ten K) and Gallardo (W + 17 strikeouts), with Gonzalez homering twice and scoring six. Ellsbury matched that for Sofa, and Soria saved three for them.
Round Two Games
Championship Bracket
AZ SnakePit (#3 seed) vs. Alabama Slammers (#2)
The Fighting Amish (#4) vs. Mizzoula Osprey (#1)
5th/6th place: Lil Bitches (#6) vs. Phoenix Platypi (#5)
Consolation Bracket
Blonde Streaks (#8) vs. Los Wailoracles (#9)
Ignatius J. Rallies (#11) vs. Bad Wolf (#7)
11th/12th place: Lady Gaga Regatta (#12) vs. Sofa King Juiced (#10)
All qualifying teams are back in action this week, with attention naturally focused on the championship bracket. #2 seed Slammers won only three of their last seven rounds, but pulled it together in the final two weeks, going 15-3. Which team will show up for them against Snake? And the Osprey were held to tie in two of their last three games; the Amish ran the top seeds close in week 10, going down only 6-4, so can they pull off an upset?