The Underdogs finished the Fall 2000 season on a high note. The dedicated bunch braved the coldness of an October 3rd evening to earn a forfeit victory over People's. By splitting the double header the Fall team finished at 2-10.
Fall Ball Continues to be a Learning Experience September 18, 2000
The Underdogs (1-7) have had tough sledding in the Class B Fall league. Through eight games, the U-dogs have been out-homered about 18-1 and have been outscored 139-60 in their seven losses. First-time manager Tim Simodynes is at the end of his rope, "I can only tell these guys to 'play like champions' so many times, at some point, they will have to believe it for themselves."
Clippers Survive Heat, but Don't Make it to Sunday in K.C. September 6, 2000
The Tradewinds Clippers ended the season with five games in nine hours under 100 degree heat in Overland Park, Kansas. The heat proved to be too much for the 11 Clippers that made the trip to the Labor Day Invitational Tournament at Miller Woods Softball Complex. The Clippers (30-16) went 1-1 in pool play and then 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament all on Saturday, September 2.
The day started at 9:30 AM with a 5-1 victory over Don Brown Chevrolet from St. Louis, Missouri. Then at 11:30 AM the Clippers met Lil'Rock Electric from St. Peters, Missouri. After jumping ahead early, then hanging on to an 8-7 lead after 6 innings, the time limit was called, and then overruled, leading to a 9-8 loss to Lil' Rock in the bottom of the 7th. By going 1-1 in pool play, the table was set for one of the only possible ways to play 5 games all on Saturday.
The double-elimination started for Tradewinds at 2:00 PM against Manning Construction from Kansas City. Unfortunately the bats were still silent, leading to an 8-3 loss. In the losers bracket, the bats came back to life. In the sweltering 4:00 PM heat, the 'Winds thumped Boondockers from Omaha, 17-7. That game included a Texas-sized dirt twister blowing down the third base line, and a broken nose for the Boondocker pitcher courtesy of a wicked shot off of Herb's bat.
The final game of the day was at 5:30 PM against Wolfpack from Lawrence, Kansas. It became obvious that Wolfpack had not been out in the sun for as long as the Clippers as they sent them back to Ames with a 17-7 defeat. The weekend ended with dining and dancing at Dick Clark's Restaurant.
Fall Ball Starts With Two Big Wake-Up Calls August 24, 2000
The Underdogs (0-2) were welcomed to Class B in the Fall League on Tuesday, August 22 with a couple beatings from Clear 96.1 and People's. The next five weeks will be a good test of both defense and offense for the U-dogs.
Clippers Place 17th out of 48 at State Tournament August 21, 2000
The Clippers (28-13) went 3-2 at the State Tournament held at Hitter's Park in Cedar Rapids. Despite bringing a crew of 15 players and spreading the five games over three days, there was no relaxing during any of the games. The Clippers outscored their opponents 65 to 63 with the most lop-sided game being a 12-9 victory Saturday night over People's of Ames.
The other two victories were by one run each and the two losses were by one and two runs. The two losses of 19-18 and 20-18 were the first two times all year that the Clippers were defeated when scoring more than 11 runs.
Clippers Fall One Run Shy of Perfect Weekend August 12, 2000
The Clippers (25-11) fell to familiar foe Brown's Heavy Equipment 11-10 in the championship game of a one-day tournament sponsored by Tsunami. The day began with Tradewinds defeating Brown's 18-7, and continued with a sweep of the other three teams in the tournament. After defeating Meridian in the first round of single elimination, the Clippers were 5-0 and faced Brown's in the Champoinship game. Unfortunately, in the sixth game of the day for both teams it was Brown's that came out on top.
Tradewinds still holds the season lead with a 4-3 record versus Brown's (including 1-1 as the Underdogs).
Fall Ball Starts Tuesday, August 22
The Underdogs will move up to Class B for Fall League which starts on Tuesday, August 22. The entire season will consist of six consecutive double-headers, all on Tuesday nights.
Underdogs Win League Title!!!! August 1, 2000
In dramatic fashion, the Tradewinds Underdogs (17-3) held off several surges by Intensitee Hard Chargers in a 17-16 victory to win the Mens Class C2 League Championship. Several members of second and third place teams Browns Heavy Equipment and Scott Lawrence Insurance were on hand to see the not-so-pretty victory. Each team started the game with eight players and errors were par for the course. The U-Dogs fell behind 12-6 at one point but came right back to take a 13-12 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning the time limit had Intensitee just seconds away from the victory. However, a fly ball with just ticks left on the clock allowed Soesbe's Soldiers the opportunity to bat in the seventh inning. Not only did the U-Dogs overcome a two-run deficit, but they were able to post a two-run lead of their own before Simodynes fouled out to end the top of the seventh. In the bottom of the seventh, Intensitee was able to pull within one and advance the tying run to second base with no outs. A fly to left and an unlikely double play ended the game giving the Tradewinds Underdogs sole posession of the League Championship.
A jubilated Soesbe was heard saying "I guess I am on two Championship teams this summer." An extensive celebration at the "'Winds" followed.
Attendance Dwindles at Clipper Practice July 30, 2000
The 20-10 Clippers have not played since successfully defending their District Championship on July 8-9. During the three-weekend break, attendance at Sunday practices has been shrinking. The numbers dropped from seven last week to four this Sunday. A good workout next Sunday will be crucial to get back that mid-season form for the last four weeks of Clipper softball.
Second Seasons Start Soon July 30, 2000
August and September will be big months for both the Clippers and the Underdogs. The Clippers have four straight weekends of softball planned, starting on August 12 in Ames. August 19-20 is the State Tournament in Cedar Rapids. August 26-27 is Lincoln Highway Days in Nevada. Memorial Day Weekend (September 2-4) will either be Regionals in Hastings, Nebraska, or Kansas City, Missouri.
The Underdogs' will move up to Class B for Fall League which starts on Tuesday, August 22. The entire season will consist of twelve games played in six consecutive double-headers, all on Tuesday nights.
16-3 Underdogs Clinch League Title With One Remaining July 25, 2000
A loss by Browns Heavy Equipment has guaranteed the Tradewinds Underdogs at least a share of the League Championship. A season finale win on Tuesday over Intensitee (10-9) would make the U-Dogs the outright Champions.
Underdogs Fall to 13-3 July 14, 2000
Despite fielding more Clippers than Underdogs, the league team fell for the old "Rope-a-dope" on Thursday July 13. After Lolly-gagging through a 28-3 victory in the first game, the U-dogs forgot how to change gears and were spanked 17-5 in the night-cap. Any doubts about having a 50-something year-old pitcher were put to rest as Steve's replacements were summarily shalacked. Hopefully this will also put an end to trading positions...for ever.
Clippers Successfully Defend District Title; Now 20-10 July 10, 2000
The second District Championship in two years came at a price. Clippers were dropping like flies in the "if necessary" game but the already ailing bech had enough fuel in the tank to bring a second District Championship trophy to the Tradewinds Deli. On July 8-9, the Clippers went 5-1 to win the District Tournament in Ames and advance to the State Tournament on August 19-20 in Cedar Rapids.
