KNS rides gutsy D to victory

By Grizzly Michaels
A Kickball Pepo
Not one, but two bases-loaded defensive stands gave Kicking and Screaming a season opening victory over I'd Hit It Wednesday night.

KNS held I'd Hit It scoreless in the fourth and fifth inning despite having runners in scoring positions both times, which allowed Rick Delgadillo's go-ahead run in the third stand as the game in the 2-1 contest at Alta Vista Park.

KNS' Rick Delgadillo tags out I'd Hit It's Arturo Blanco well before home
plate in the bottom of the fourth. KNS won the season opener 2-1.

The showdown between two of Sun City Kickballs best did not produce many runs, but the defensive plays made up for it.

With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Arturo Blanco was on third and threatening to tie the game up when Delgadillo called for the intentional walk to load the bases.

Then in a surprise move, Blanco was sent home on a pop-up that was caught in between first and second base. A throw by Marco Gallegos allowed Delgadillo to easily tag Blanco out for the third and final out, with Streeter on deck.

The fifth inning saw a similar situation, but with a little less drama. With two outs and this time Streeter on third, Delgadillo called for the double intentional walk to load the bases. But a weak ground ball allowed KNS to go home for the force out and the victory in the It's Just Kickball game of the week.

KNS got on the scoreboard right off the bat as lead-off man Heribeto Sosa came across in the top of the first.

A controversial call allowed I'd Hit It to tie the game up in the bottom of the first, when coach and captain Lucas Quimiro scored on what appeared to be a sideways slide at home to try to avoid Delgadillo's attempt to peg him out. The umpire called safe and the game was tied, 1-1.

A solid kick in the third by Luis allowed Delgadillo to come across for what proved to be the game-winning run.

KNS' new pitcher Manny was able to get a few foul-outs and even a late game strike out to keep his team on top.

At Memorial, the defending champion Kixx started off where they had left off with a commanding 8-1 victory over the Scoregasms. Led by Jose "Pipi"Delgado, the Kixx scored more runs on Wednesday than the entire King of Kickball Division combined.

Earlier in the day, Suck My Kick took a 2-0 victory over a restocked Los Totally Awesome. The Unicorns appeared to have tied the contest late in the game, but the hit was called back as a foul ball and eventually LTA fell.

Rich Alvarez made his pitching debut for Suck My Kick and his pacing on the mound proved to be beneficial to his new team.

In their SCK debut, the Smoking Aces etched out a 1-0 victory over the New Kick On The Block. It was a defensive battle, but in the end the Aces had enough to bring one across the plate and start the season with a W.

Here is a quick break down of the King of Kickball scores:
KNS 2, I'd Hit It 1
Kixx 8, Scoregasms 1
Suck My Kick 2, LTA 0
Smoking Aces 1, NKOTB 0