LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – There was a full slate of games at The Hideaway on Monday night, and there was a little bit of everything for Wiffle® fans, from six inning no-hitters, to 16 runs on the board. According to the mercy rule, the game ends if either team scores their 15th run, but the Bombers would get a walk-off grand slam that plated their 16th run. The first no-hitter through regulation was thrown. In fact, there were two pitchers that had a no-hitter through five innings, but unfortunately they would be going against each other.
The first doubleheader of the evening was between the Warbirds and Stone Men. In game one KJ Lacroix hit a leadoff home run to give the Warbirds a 1-0 lead, but Jimmy Talamantez hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the third to put the Stone-Men up 2-1. The birds responded with four runs in the top of the fourth thanks to a grand slam from Matt “Mattlanta” Petrikas, and that’s all he would need, as he pitched a complete game. Levi Lawrence hit a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, but Mattlanta answered with a solo shot of his own in the top of the fifth, and the Warbirds would get the 6-3 win.
In the second game Mattlanta threw another complete game, this time shutting the Stone Men out, and he only allowed two hits, both singles. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, when the Warbirds rallied for five runs, capped off by a grand slam by Lacroix. That would be more than enough for Petrikas, and he would shut the door in the fifth to get the 5-0 victory.
The Ones and Bombers faced off in the second series of the night. Ryan Chen and Spencer Barrack each hit home runs, and The Ones had an 8-0 lead going into the bottom of the third, but that’s when the Bombers started hitting bombs. Over the next two innings the Bombers put up 16 runs, powered by two homers from Hollis “Hollywood” Hale, a bomb from CJ Peterson, and a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Brandon Maio to put the mercy rule into effect. Cody Schmidt hit a solo shot off of Maio in between, but that wouldn’t be enough, and the Bombers went on to win 16-9.
The Ones jumped out to another early lead in game two. They had a 3-0 lead going into the third inning, but the Bombers rallied for four in the top of the third, and Hollywood hit another home run. In the bottom of the inning Chen hit a two-run shot to retake the lead, and The Ones wouldn’t look back, scoring five more in the fourth. Adam Koutz hit two longballs, and Scottez Dobbins got in on the action with a homer as well. The Ones would win 10-4, splitting the series.
The third series was between the Sandvipers and Tomahawks. Adam Tanic and Tom Gannon each faced three batters in the bottom of the first, and each only got through ⅓ of an inning as the Tomahawks put up seven runs. The vipers would put up a pair of runs in the second on a two-run shot from Casey Herzog to make it 7-2, and Trench Picone held the Tomahawks scoreless in the second, but Nick Sansone was able to stifle the Sandvipers lineup as well. Tony “Rocket” Garay hit a solo shot off Picone in the bottom of the third, but Jason Walker would come in after Picone walked out, and he would get out of the inning unscathed. The Sandvipers walked Sansone out of the game, and the floodgates opened. They put up 13 runs for the 15-8 comeback win, and Herzog hit a second home run.
The Tomahawks would jump out to a 10-1 lead after three innings thanks to homers from Billy Osgood and Rocket, who was a triple shy of the cycle. On the verge of losing via mercy, the Sandvipers scored three runs in the fourth inning, and six more in the fifth to tie the game. Tanic, Herzog, and Gannon each hit home runs, and Tanic hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the sixth to clinch the 11-10 extra-inning victory, after holding the Tomahawks scoreless for 3⅔ innings.
The final matchup of the night was Snappers vs. Calicos, and the wind halted for Taylor Bryner and Alex Carrasco. Matty Levine led off with a walk in the bottom of the first inning for the Calicos, and he was the only batter that got on base through regulation. Bryner only struck out three batters while retiring 15 in a row, and Carrasco had a perfect game through five. In the first pitch of extra innings, with a runner placed on second base to start the inning, Bryner broke up the perfect game, the no-hitter, and the shutout with a two-run shot to left-center. Carrasco would retire the next three batters, but Bryner sat the Calicos down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the sixth, completing the first no-hitter in a game that isn’t shortened by the mercy rule.
Bryner and Carrasco had dueling shutouts through regulation again in the second game, and Carrasco had a no-no going into the fifth, but Jesse Capps ripped a single at 73mph to break up his no-hit bid in the final inning. Again the game went into extra innings scoreless, but this time the Calicos were able to score the runner from second base on a double from manager Nick DiVella. In the bottom of the inning the Snappers walked Carrasco out of the game, and Bryner hit a walk-off triple to clear the bases, completing the sweep with a 3-1 win in extras.
The next PLW action will be on Monday April 12th. There will be a full slate of games beginnings with Sandvipers vs. Calicos at 4:30pm PDT, followed by Warbirds vs. Bombers at 6pm, Stone Men vs. The Ones at 7:30pm, and Snappers vs. Tomahawks at 9pm. Watch LIVE on Twitch!
