Capitol Punishment Destroys Colorado Cutthroats
By Patrick Curran
Posted at 10:14 p.m. on July 26, 2012
(Patrick Curran/CQ Roll Call)
It ain’t over till it’s over. But sometimes it’s over earlier than expected.
Capitol Punishment (7-4) scored 14 runs in the second inning and went on to beat the Colorado Cutthroats (6-2-1), 32-5, in a five-inning game on the National Mall on Thursday night.
The Cutthroats, representing the Rocky Mountain State’s House offices, held on to a promising 2-1 lead at the end of a fairly uneventful first inning. Then the other team woke up.
Capitol Punishment showed no mercy in the second inning, blasting several homers deep into the grove and nearly going through its lineup twice. When all was said and done, the Cutthroats were staring down a 14-run deficit and a team that could do no wrong.
“They really ripped the ball, so hats off to ’em,” Colorado captain Adam Lowenstein said. “We’ll see them in the postseason.”
Conceived as a New Jersey Republicans’ squad, Capitol Punishment scarcely resembles its original composition because of general turnover as well as a schism in 2010 that gave birth to the pink-clad Plan B (playing on the next field over). The remaining players, however, are still pretty dangerous — at least if Thursday’s match was any indication.
The third inning was a bit quieter, but Capitol Punishment bounced back for another explosive inning in the fourth. Rightfielder Erica Fernandez made an otherwise unremarkable blowout memorable by notching a rare achievement for a female player in the House League: a home run.
“It felt really good,” Fernandez said. “This was my first home run ever.”
Both teams agreed to end the game after five innings because of the 25-run deficit. Centerfielder Terron Chever knocked in three home runs (including a grand slam) for the victors, while Chris Lowenstein had two homers for the Cutthroats.
