The Munt and Flip

Robbies Take Over Callihan Auto Parts

A beautiful day on the Common showed the Rampaging Trilobites take the field against the hard-nosed Callihan Auto Parts. The Robbies were sitting pretty going into the fourth game of the season, riding high on a 3-0 start to the season.

Game MVP Jamie

The final score of this one doesn’t truly reflect the close nature of the evening’s game through the first four innings. Both teams flexed their defensive muscle in the early going, keeping runners to a minimum and making life difficult for the kickers.

The defensive play of the game went to MVP Jamie, who reeled in a sharply-kicked line drive through the infield, then put out the runner on first who’d left the base without tagging.

“All the practicing with the [Angry Penguins] made the catch-to-throw transition easy,” she gushed. “I am thrilled that it connected so well! It felt really awesome to make a play like that. Pete made a fantastic catch to get him out.”

Callihan, for their part, put together a strong defensive effort as well. Catcher Erik made numerous plays that caught the eyes of the Trilobite scouts.

“Put a pair of cleats on that kid and he could go far,” said Big.

Despite their defensive strength, however, the Robbies managed to push a run across in both the second and third innings.

Asian, who found herself on base all night, was able to score on a sacrifice to deep right by Aaron in top of the second inning.

“After last week’s drunken debacle, I knew I had to come up big this week,” said Asian. “While up at bat, I just wanted to get a good bunt down and then book it to first base. I’m glad that my fellow Trilobites were able to bring me home.”

Captain Big attributed Asian’s success on the base paths and in the field to her grit and determination.

“That, and I knew I had tequila shots waiting for me at the bar,” added Asian.

In the third inning, Lara would kick her first career double and then score on perfectly placed single by JP, who has been a consistent contributor all season long.

Midway through the fourth inning, the captains were asked if they wished to continue through the fifth despite the fading light. Both teams were enthusiastic about seeing the game through to the end.

Perhaps spurred by the question of an early end to the game, Callihan’s offense pushed hard in the bottom of the fourth inning. They put runners on base and nearly scored on a double down the left field line. A great heads-up play by Lara, however, got the ball in quickly enough to allow Aaron to tag the runner out between home and third.

Seeing that their two run lead might not be enough to hold off the Callihan offense, the Trilobites, as one, seemed to step to the plate with renewed resolve. Erin put down a perfect bunt to get aboard to start the inning. Phil, who is coming off a mild hamstring injury, stepped up and placed a perfect single through the right side.

Lucky getting cozy with Rio and co.

Tristan and Colin, then, had trouble picking up the ball out of the pitcher’s hand and the Trilobites suddenly had two outs on them.

Jamie, however, kept the rally alive with an important single into shallow left, over the head of Callihan’s agile shortstop. The previous week’s Game MVP, Chris, then knocked a two run double, followed by another two-bagger by Bala, who sough redemption for striking out earlier in the game.

Asian and Charles kept things going with singles. Then Big and Aaron blasted back-to-back triples, driving in three more runs.

“It was fun to watch,” said Big. “You could see everyone buckle down and focus. The fact that we scored eight runs with two outs in the inning shows the kind of determination this team can muster when pushed.”

With the score sheet broken wide open, Callihan was unable to put together the same offensive bite they did the previous inning and the bottom of the fifth went quickly.

Both teams were appreciative of the refs who stuck around despite reservations about the light and early flights in the morning. Hopefully, a pitcher soothed their hurts.

Next week, the Trilobites will face the infamous Kick James! Show up early to get the best seats!

Trilobites Kick a Couple More Than One Kick Wonders

Asian carried the team... well, Doug, at least...

It was a perfect day for kickball as the Rampaging Trilobites took the field against One Kick Wonders. The sun setting behind the Sheraton Commander, Harvard Square bedazzled with newly minted Harvard Graduates in their dresses and Co-Captain Asian running at full volume, fueled by Patron, Sam Summer and The All-Spark.

After quickly getting through the top of the first in the field, the Trilobites offense dug in, plating three quick runs on RBIs by Nick and Aaron.

The scoring, then, went tit-for-tat for a short while. The Wonders would get one back in the second on a blooping single which eluded an impressive diving effort by Asian in short right field. Big countered in the bottom of the frame with a home run to left field. A communication error in the top of the third allowed a short pop-up to drop between Big and Reggie, scoring a second Wonder.

MVP Chris with Lucky

The Trilobite offense kicked in with a vengeance in the bottom of the fourth, however, with Game MVP Chris breaking it open with a two run double, scoring Amit and Colin.

“I'd like to thank DrunkAsian for her slurred words of motivation pre-kick,” said Chris. “Without her inspiration my cat Loki wouldn't be trying to hump Lucky-the-Trilobite at this very moment!”

Nancy and Shelby would then drive in two more runs with well-placed infield singles. Aaron plated the Trilobites’ final insurance run in the bottom of the fourth, for the third RBI of his first game as a Robbie.

“I thank Patron and Long Trail for my offensive potency,” Aaron hooted. “Oh, and Asian's boobies and my fiancée’s sweet Trilobutt! The support of the Trilobites and Trilobettys, especially our captains, will always push me to drink more, flip more cups and kick more runs in (not necessarily in that order)!”

Another Wonder run would score in the top of the fifth inning when Big misjudged the basepath to homeplate on the modified infield (it’s worth noting that he helped set the field up on the day and made the decision to move the field up the third baseline in order to avoid a patch of standing water on Cambridge Common’s softball field).

Big was visibly annoyed with himself for allowing the first runs of the young season and pitched with a chip on his shoulder the whole game, causing his visiting brother to observe: “He did seem to pitch faster than everybody else.”

Colin n' Jamie - This Fall on TBS (Very Funny)

The Trilobites remain undefeated on the season, but their performance seemed to light a fire in observers from other teams. The plate umpire – who plays for Das Boot – was heard to say: “I can’t wait to play [these guys]. It’ll be competitive. They better bring their A-game.” Fans of the Robbies can look forward to that contentious match on June 14, week 6 of the Patriot 2012 schedule.

Despite the somewhat messy game, the Rampaging Trilobites had another good showing at the bar, though Big was heard accusing Reggie of “drinking too slowly” and “flipping with only one hand”, to which Reggie responded: “STOP DESTROYING MY CONFIDENCE!”

The Trilobites will return to action next week against Callihan Auto Parts.

Click to Embiggen

Trilobites Tell Mojo: “No Go”

Riding high on their season opener victory, the Trilobites carried their momentum into Week 2, sporting their newly bedazzled uniforms.

Lucky enjoys Drink Club Fridays

“Green and Purple are a good match,” said Captain Big. “I think they provide a refreshing combination for the familiar WAKA color pallet. People will either ‘get it’, or will be so disgusted that, perhaps, they’ll bobble a catch or swing and miss. We’re like zebras out there, confusing our would-be foes.”

With a light squad, the women of the Rampaging Trilobite herd were asked to come up big and, true to form, the “TriloBettys” rose to the occasion.

Game MVP Barrett was a steel trap in Right Center all day, making solid, run-saving catch after catch.

“It felt great to get the MVP award,” she said. “Apparently I left my butter fingers at home and managed to make a few outs in the process! And although Shelby forgot the Trophy Trilobite, we managed to catch up at the bar the next day!”

Offensively, Tom, Big and JP were the breadwinners.

Big kicked his first homerun of the season in the second inning, scoring Asian and Phil on a liner through the left side of the infield.

Tom, a veteran of South Boston kickball, but who has been looking for an opportunity to make up for a calamitous Dinosaurs episode selection (A coming-of-age story in which Robbie goes through Dino-puberty but almost destroys the world in the process!) at the weekend viewing party, blasted a ball into the outfield.

Charles sporting his TriloBITE ME cap

“Although my original plan to kick the ball into outer space came up a few hundred miles short,” Tom said. “I did manage to drop a double just to the right of the foul line. Kudos to a great team for another amazing win. My apologies for subjecting you to ‘The Howling!’”

JP, finding himself in the spotlight for the second week in a row, this time driving Tom home on a well-placed infield single.

While the Trilobites managed to put together a flawless defensive performance and shut out the Creative Mojo lineup, the defensive all-star of the evening had to be Mojo’s pitcher, Mitch, who made multiple acrobatic catches that one might have seen on SportsCenter.

“I like his pep,” said Captain Big. “Also, we obviously share a hairstylist. I’ve already talked to our General Manager about looking out for him when Free Agency rolls around.”

It was a successful evening of kickball all around, capped by a dominant Trilobite performance at the flip-cup table, with an impressive one-flip streak by Asian. Barrett and Tom also put in a strong effort in the toilet-paper-unroll challenge, though, in the end, their toilet-paper-unrolling skills simply couldn’t match those of the competition. They’ve already identified some areas for improvement and will be working in the off-week on their times.

Next week, the Trilobites face off against the One Kick Wonders.

Rampaging Trilobites Run Riot Over Blue Steel in 2012 Season Opener

It was a seemingly endless off-season, but kickball has returned to Cambridge Common, bringing with it a scourge of Rampaging Trilobites.

Named for the testiest of arthropods, the Trilobites came out swinging in their season opener against long time nemesis Blue Steel. These two teams have a history going back entire years, so the league organizers saw fit to pit the squads against each other to get their fledgling season off to an explosive start.

With a strong wind blowing in from right field, both teams struggled to put anything deep. However, the Trilobites offense proved itself potent in the bottom of the first inning, plating four runs off of a double by Big and two thumping sacrifices by Charles and JP.

Lucky the Trilobite keeping cool at the Commander before the Trilobite's Season Opener.

Both teams buckled down through the next two innings as the pitchers on either side fought the wind and the surface to throw strikes.

The defensive highlight of the day came in the top of the third inning when aristocrat, playboy and kickball journeyman JP charged a quickly dropping blooper in shallow left field. The ball moved on him at the last second and bounced up off his upper arms. Trilobite fans, hearts in their throats, watched the ball ricochet over JP’s head. Game MVP Shelby, backing JP up in Left Center like a seasoned pro, calmly plucked the errant ball out of the air, completing the season’s first “Doubles Play” (not to be confused with the more familiar “Double Play”).

“I was worried because we were both going after it but we weren’t communicating,” said Shelby. “Luckily, when the ball bounced out of his arms, I was right there to snatch it out of the air. I’ve always had a talent for grabbing balls.”

The Trilobite offense, again, came alive in the bottom of the fourth with a double by Shelby, who would then score on a two-bagger by Tom. Another three runs plated on a single by Phil and a massive two run sacrifice by Charles.

The officials were forced to call the game after only four innings due to time and light concerns, so some on the Blue Steel side felt hard-done-by in being denied a chance to get their last at-bats. However, Trilobite fans should anticipate seeing the Blues in this year’s playoffs.

“All in all, I’m happy with our start to this season,” said Captain Big. “Eight runs is good for the offense, makes them feel good and productive. Turning in a shut-out performance should amp up our defense even more. We saw a lot of good things out there. We’re looking forward to seeing more in the coming weeks.”

Next Thursday, the Trilobites face off against upstart Creative Mojo.