Marathon Season Crowns its Champions

The Fall Kickball season was scheduled to begin September 9th, but rain pushed the first games back a week and it has still not stopped raining. 5 weeks of rainouts resulted in the longest season in the history of the SSC, which featured over 65 teams competing for the social and super social championships. While we were forced to wait a couple extra weeks for the playoffs to begin, the postseason tournament didn’t disappoint as we witnessed walk off wins, Cinderella stories, and monumental upsets in both divisions.

The Super Social division began the season with an unprecedented 55 teams across 3 separate divisions. Of those 55, the top 20 received invitations to the playoff bracket. The bottom 8 seeds squared off in the first round of games, and these teams had a tough assignment as they were going to need to string together 5 straight wins to be the lone team standing at the end of the night. Balls N Dolls came in as the #15 seed, and after winning their first four they came away winless in their last two regular season games and were hobbling into the playoffs. They defeated a very tough opponent in Feet of Justice 3-2 and then had to face the #2 overall seed and 2009 Spring Season runner-up, Kick Rubber Love Lambskin. Many anticipated a low scoring affair as Lambskin had given up a paltry 2 runs a game to their opponents in the regular season. Balls N Dolls were able to put up 7 runs on the highly touted defense, and holding Lambskin to 5 runs was enough for them to advance to the quarterfinals. Another Cinderella candidate was 99 Problems but a Pitch Ain’t One, who also barely advanced out of the first round, beating Balls Out 6-5. The second huge upset of the evening took place in their next game as undefeated Off in the Woods were held to just 4 runs, and the #3 seed had to make an early exit after ripping through the MGD 64 division during the regular season. One of the more intriguing second round matchups featured the Alcoballics facing Padgett. The Alcoballics were gaining recognition from all around the league as they began the season with a perfect 5-0 record. Alarms began to sound though after they lost their final game to Kick Rubber Love Lambskin by a surprising 11-2 final. Unfortunately they did not make all the necessary adjustments before the playoff week, which resulted in their season ending with consecutive losses, this time at the feet of Padgett. Balls N Dolls and 99 Problems each won their quarterfinal games to set a very surprising bracket busters matchup for a shot in the super social championship, and the first team to play 5 consecutive kickball games in SSC history. The Miller Lite sponsored Balls N Dolls didn’t want this matchup to be as competitive as it looked on paper and jumped out to an early lead. Their defense help 99 Problems to just two runs and their offense could do no wrong in winning the semi-final matchup 11-2. Unlike the bottom half of the bracket, the top side was able to protect their top seeds from the upset alerts. After We’ll Roshambo For It knocked off the Sofa Kings with a last inning 3-2 win, it looked as if the lower seeds were going to take control of the super social playoffs. However their championship dreams were put to bed in their next game, as Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks put up 14 unanswered runs after falling behind 1-0 after a half inning. While we usually have to wait till March to see the #12 seed upset the #5, madness came early as Balls of Thunder took out the #5 seeded Duckin Frunk 4-2. Chuck Norris again put on a defensive clinic in the quarterfinals as they held Thunder to just 2 runs on their way to a huge semifinal matchup against the defending champion: Down N Dirty. In what many believed to be the two best teams in the 55 team field, the winner of this game would be the favorite to bring home the super social crown. Both teams came into the game undefeated, but Chuck Norris sent the spring champions home as they stamped their ticket into the finals with a 5-3 victory. Both Down N Dirty have proved they are ready for the prestigious Social division come this spring. Balls N Dolls and Chuck Norris had played a combined seven games before the championship game began at 10:00pm. You may have thought the teams would be a little tired after each taking down a few cases, but with so much to play for there was not a letdown from either side. Chuck Norris was able to jump out to an early lead in the bottom half of the first inning, and like they have done all season long they let their defense and pitching do the rest. The end result was a 4-1 championship victory against one of the most talented Miller Lite teams in the history of the SSC. Congratulations to Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kicks for a perfect 10-0 season. While things may not be as easy for this squad next season as they jump into the social division, no one would be surprised to see this team give any of the social giants a run for their money.

San Antonio SSC

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