Team Gnarb 7 - OSI 8

GLASTONBURY

Team Gnarb?

Gnarb? What is a Gnarb?

A conventional dictionary was no help. You have to go online to the Urban Dictionary (www.urbandictionary.com) to find a reference. A Gnarb, it seems, is like a Noob.

Ah, of course.

And a Noob? A noob is like a newb, a newbie, someone who is new to something. Team Gnarb looked new, too. In fact, some of the players were so young they had to be dropped off at the field by their mothers.

It's a good thing Mom didn't stay, either, because the game started out a bit rough for the Gnarbers. Before an Open Solutions player even took a swing, the Gnarby pitcher walked the first four batters. The inning looked as if it might last forever, with Team OSI strolling around the bases like old folks at the mall.

But thanks to an ump whose knowledge of the rule book was somewhere near the "Duh" level, Team Newb was allowed to make an illegal pitching change. Open Solutions scored only two runs in the first and the game settled into an improbable pitching duel, each team managing only 4 runs in 6 innings.

But in the top of the seventh, the Gnarbambinos scored 3 runs to take a 7 - 4 lead. Considering that Team OSI had managed only 5 hits over the first 6 innings, that three run lead looked like ten. Yet after Mark Starybrat and Mike Goldman sandwiched walks around an out, Barb Kimball drove in a run with a single. 7 to 5. Joe Pangia singled to load the bases and Tracy Piazza walked to drive in another run. 7 to 6.

Things looked good. The bases were loaded, Team Noob's pitcher had walked three batters in the inning, and all Open Solution needed was a walk to push home the tying run.

They didn't get it. Here's what happened:

The Gnarberino pitcher tossed in the pitch. It looked high. It was an obvious ball. It was nearly over the batter's head and...

It was right where Vinnie "High Pitch" Musumeci likes it. He slapped it into center field for a single, Kimball and Pangia came around to score, and Team OSI (thank you, Vinnie) had pulled off a remarkable come-from-behind 8 - 7 win.

Take that, Gnarbabies.