In what came as a shock to absolutely nobody, The Daily Cardinal pounded the Badger Herald 11-3 Friday behind 16 hits and a strong pitching performance from senior sport writer Sam Pepper.
The Cardinal never trailed after jumping out to a 1-0 first inning lead, as the Herald struggled to hit a ball out of the infield for most of the game.
""I was still feeling the confidence from last year's outing,"" Pepper said after the win. ""I was a little worried that I wouldn't be able to get the adrenaline going because when you are playing a team as unathletic as the Herald, it's easy to fall asleep.""
The win marked Pepper's second straight complete game victory over the Herald.
""I was pretty happy with the way he came out tonight,"" junior sports editor and manager Adam Hoge said. ""You know it's just one of those things where you can't let yourself be too confident. I was never worried though. A couple times you think about the possibility of losing, but when you realize that your girls are better than the other team's guys, you realize that they don't have a chance.""
In fact, the Cardinal ladies went a combined 5-for-11 in the game. The Herald girls meanwhile were too scared to even bat. In the first inning, Herald sports editor Dave McGrath decided he would change a well-documented rule that a girl has to bat every third at-bat in the order. Instead, he had his team bat two girls every seven hitters. Whether it was stubbornness or just a brilliant coaching move, Hoge wasn't about to change his lineup.
""Look, that's a bush league move, but I knew they needed any help they could get,"" Hoge said. ""My coaching staff and I discussed changing up the order, but we knew we could beat them by playing by the real rules.""
McGrath had a tough day overall. He struggled at the plate and was pulled from the mound in the fifth inning. The move did not help as Cody Sulzer and Justin Dreyfuss hit back-to-back home runs off the reliever. The highlight of McGrath's day ended up being a bases-loaded walk.
""A bases-loaded walk in slow-pitch softball? Come on,"" Pepper said. ""I know he was worried about hitting another three-footer back to the pitcher, but you have to be more aggressive than that when you are down 30 runs.""
Questions also arose early in the Herald dugout when sports editor Michael ""Poppy"" Rodriguez went missing. Poppy led off the game and played in the field in the first inning, but was nowhere to be seen by the third inning.
""I would have made sure we were easy on them if I knew they were going to have a leader run and hide after the first inning,"" senior sports editor Zach Kukkonen said. ""They made a small push in that last inning, but how are you supposed to come back when Poppy disappears?""
Down 11-2 entering the seventh, the Herald scored a run and had a man on first with one out. The game seemed to be intact, but both sides were still paying attention when a ball was ripped down the left field line. It looked like a possible home run, but Hoge got a good enough jump on the ball and snagged it as he went straight into a mud pile. Throwing the ball in from his knees, the runner on first base decided it was a good idea to tag up, and was promptly thrown out.
The running mistake, typical of the Kansas City Royals, sent the Cardinal players into a frenzy on the pitcher's mound as they celebrated another Cardinal victory.
""You know, Bielema says ‘1-0,' but our motto here is ‘2-0,'"" Hoge said after the game. ""Every year, we have to go 2-0. You win the football game and the softball game. If you don't, you don't show your face in the office on Monday.""
