FH Defeats Edelman in Late-Inning Thriller

There is a lot to be said for trash-talk.

With the right delivery, it can strike fear into an opponent’s eye. When substituted for raw talent, it can unveil weakness in an adversary. Name calling, back-handed insults, one-upping, general tomfoolery – there is a certain allure that attracts even the most modest of men to its enchantment like a moth to a flame. No matter how outlandish the banter may become there remains one statistic that trumps any argument – the final score.

In Monday’s much anticipated match-up between Fleishman-Hillard and Edelman, FH had all the right moves to silence the chatter of their bitter rival, in dramatic fashion, with a 13-12 walk-off victory in the bottom of the seventh.

The minute FH took the field the hunger for victory was in their eyes. Consecutive hits came from the first five batters as Jason Hellmann, Carrie Soforenko, Craig Paridy, Jon Berke, and Dave Whiting raised staked FH to a five-run lead in the first inning, culminating in Whiting’s three-run inside-the-park homerun.

Whiting (3-for-4, 2 runs, 4 RBI, 2 HR) was not done there, crushing another bomb as the lead-off hitter in the third, while also turning an unassisted double play. Callie Baum, Jason Werden, and Channing Barringer followed that up with three consecutive singles, and Matt Turnier drove in two RBI on a smash double to right field.

Paridy’s consistent pitching unearthed a new stat in the books this week: strikeouts. Catcher Bonnie Walters must have been giving the right signals behind the place. With three K’s, Paridy threw a perfect game, at least against right-handed female batters wearing black jackets.
Even as FH continued to command the game, with much thanks to Matt Navitsky’s late game heroics at DH, Edelman would not go away without a fight. A late surge in the sixth and seventh innings put Edelman ahead one run going into the bottom of the seventh.

Coming off of a two-run homer in his previous at bat, birthday boy Barringer (3-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI, HR) led off the seventh with a single down the third baseline, as Bonnie Walters (2-for-4, 1 run) followed with a double. Turnier (2-for-3, 1 run, 3 RBI) tied the game with a single to right field, and Hellmann completed his perfect game at the plate (5-for-5 ) by outrunning an infield hit juggled by the shortstop.

With no outs and the bases loaded, Carrie Soforenko strode to the plate. Tensions were high - Soforenko had already punished the ball once with a double over the heads of the shallow-playing outfielders in the first inning. The rookie wasn’t done, though. With ice in her blood, she lined a single down the third-base line and Walters scored the winning run. Another chapter in the storied rivalry was written; FH had edged out Edelman 13-12 in what is sure to go down as the best game ever played at any level in the history of America’s pastime.

Coming off of the momentum of such a thrilling victory, FH takes the field again Monday evening to face Burson-Marsteller, in the hopes of moving a game above .500 and up in the East Division standings.