Alphabet Soup Edges Yellow Journalists in Marquee Matchup
By Patrick Curran
Posted at 10:43 p.m. on Aug. 1, 2012
(Patrick Curran/CQ Roll Call)
One of the perks of a league in which the commissioner plays is that it makes it remarkably easy to stick it to the Man.
Alphabet Soup did just that tonight, rallying in the bottom of the seventh for a thrilling 11-10 victory over Congressional League Commissioner Gary Caruso’s Yellow Journalists.
This was as close to a matchup of bluebloods as one could hope for in slow-pitch softball: The Journalists are the CSL’s oldest squad, and Alphabet Soup isn’t far behind.
Because of scheduling conflicts, the teams had never met in the regular season until today. However, the Yellow Journalists had come out on the better side of three epic playoff battles, giving today’s game plenty of drama.
“We’ve run into them a few times in the playoffs, and it has not been pretty for us,” Alphabet Soup captain Keith Cunningham said. “I was excited about this game — I was hoping they wouldn’t bring their playoff team. And they didn’t.”
Armed with its usual arsenal of big bats and small children, Alphabet Soup went toe-to-toe with the commish’s team through the first few innings at East Potomac Park. The teams traded leads or tied the game nearly every inning, but Alphabet Soup finally managed to take an 8-6 lead into the fifth.
“Both teams are pretty evenly matched,” Caruso said. “We always have been.”
But there’s a reason the Journalists play the first half of the summer in a competitive Arlington league. Showing impressive veteran poise at the plate and sharp play in the field, the visitors tied the game up in the sixth and pulled ahead by two runs in the bottom of the seventh.
When the going got tough, though, Alphabet Soup got going. Aided by several errors from the Journalists, the home team tied it up. Kevin Kuebler — who moved to New Jersey a few weeks ago but returned for today’s game — knocked in the game-winning run.
“He’s made more games since he left than he did when he lived here,” Cunningham quipped.
The CSL’s end-of-season tournament is always unpredictable. But one thing’s for sure: With the playoffs only a few weeks away, Caruso and the Journalists are sure to remember this game.
