After taking a year off from writing articles, The Kings Court will be back in full force in the early spring of 09. Check back for all your Bombers, Killers and Irish Pub updates.
Playoffs
By Cory Banker
**7/30/07** After playing last weeks game in tropical storm-like weather, the Rochester weather got back on track and gave the Bombers yet another beautiful day to play some ball. This is the first week of the playoffs and the Bombers had to face Klassy Cat in the first round matchup. Now the Bombers had previously beaten the Klassy Cat squad in there regular season matchups but this was the playoffs and old wins mean nothing.
After the singing of the national anthem, the Bombers took the field to face the visiting club. After a quick 1-2-3 inning, the Bombers were ready to strike. As per usual, the top of the Bombers squad slashed the Klassy Cat defense for an early 3-0 lead led by Ricky Alati, Mike "Hero" Harris, Ryan Payment and Brian Lafountain. The top of the order has lifted the Bomber offense all year and there was no changing that today. Klassy Cat came back in the top of the second to score a run and then the Bombers took control back right away in the bottom half of the inning. Now led by the bottom of the order Lance Walrath, Darrell Jolley, Art Brooks and Scooter Banker led the way for 4 more runs to increase the lead by 6. Klassy Cat could only manage to score 1 run in the entire game as the Bombers kept hitting en route to a 15-1 win at yet another sold out Veterans Memorial Field.
Theo Epstein was spotted again in the press box scouting talented utility man Cory Banker who is in the running for his third straight MVP trophy. It will be the first time in Bomber history that a player won the MVP trophy in their first 3 seasons if he manages to win the award.
Season Finale
By Cory Banker
**7/23/07** On a very windy day that saw nothing but rain fall for the whole day, the Bombers rained down upon The Keg/Casa Larga in the last game of the season. Still, the thousands of loyal fans still found their way to the seats to cheer on their hometown heroes.
Even before the game started, The Keg/Casa Larga was trying to get the game postponed. They were doing all in their power to stay away from the Bombers Of New York. Steven Drew of The Keg was quoted as saying "someone may get hurt out there today and it will be all on your hands", as he told the official. Still the game went on as planned and that was good news for the Bombers as they have experienced many storms in the past when they use to play out at Sportsdump.
The hits came from every direction as the top of the order dealt out damage to start the game. The Keg had no answers for the Bomber bats as they scored in every inning in the tropical storm-like weather. Torrid hitting continued from Cory Banker as he blasted yet another grand slam in the contest. The defense behind Scooter Banker helped keep The Keg out of serious contention most of the game. Infielders Derek Yacuno, Ryan Payment, Darrell "Jelly" Jolley and Cory Banker helped shut down The Kegs offense by making outstanding plays in the field. The result.... a 15-7 win and the Bombers finished the season with a 6-4 record after losing 3 straight games. They qualified for the playoffs as the number three seed in the division.
***** GAME NOTES ***** Lance Walrath was fined an undisclosed amount of money for showing up late to the game without notice. This is the second time this year that a Bomber has been late to a scheduled game.
Round 2 Versus Tipsy McStaggers
By Cory Banker
**7/11/07** In a rematch of rivals, the Tipsy team showed up the Bombers again. They handed the Bombers a 26-2 loss infront of the Bomber faithful. There were no highlights in the game at all. Defense was poor and the bats never showed up. The Bombers have the next week off and then face The Keg/Casa Larga in the season finale on 7-23-07.
Late Inning Skirmish!
By Cory Banker
**7/2/07** In a highly anticipated rematch, the visiting Westside Smoke Shop took on the hometown Bombers. The game then took a turn for the worse and almost ended in an all out slugfest.
The loyal Bomber fans came from all over the country to see this epic duel. It was like a scene from Field Of Dreams with fans lining up as far as the eye could see. Even the standing room only sections were sold out. Loyal Bomber fan Adam Greenberg of Fairport who has followed the team for years was spotted out in the parking lot having a tailgate party with his friends and co-workers. "I really would have enjoyed watching the Bombers play but at least I am here at the stadium cheering for my favorite team and showing my support" Greenberg said. Police were even spotted taking tickets from scalpers so they could get in to see the game.
The game started off with a flurry of Bomber hits. Left center fielder Mike Harris led off with a single which was followed up by Derek Yacuno. Brian Lafountain the singled to drive in Harris and sent Yacuno over to third base. Cory Banker then hit a sacrifice fly to score Yacuno from third. Art Brooks and Scott Banker also got key first inning hits and the Bombers were off to a early 3-0 lead. Westside quickly answered back and took a 5-4 lead going into the 3rd inning.
Around the 3rd inning was when the early fireworks began. Westside started to argue balls and strikes. Senior umpire Joe Howard quickly handled the situation by giving out warnings. After a 5 minute delay, the Bombers struck back! Brian Lafountain blasted a grandslam to give the Bombers back the lead. Yet again the Westside Smoke Shop answered back by scoring 3 runs and tying the game up at 7 a piece. By the 6th inning, the Bombers had a 12-10 lead. This was an offensive struggle as both teams had potent lineups.
All hell broke loose in the 7th inning. The Westside Smoke Shop gave up as a team and were making multiple errors. Again they were questioning the umpires calls who appeared to be making the correct calls all along. While in the midst of all the chaos, 2 time MVP Cory Banker blasted his own grandslam for the Bombers who extended their lead. Shortly after, the Westside team got into the face of senior umpire Joe Howard. Pushing and shoving then ensued as it was like the good old OK Corale... one against 10! Howard liked the odds but in a fury, the Bombers rushed to his aid. Rush native Maggie Smith said "I thought I saw someone deliver a flying tomahawk chop but I must have been mistaken because you don't get up from one of those!" Theo Epstein from the Boston Red Sox was on hand to scout Cory Banker for a possible signing with the team. Epstein said "I couldn't believe the ruckus which was taking place. I haven't seen anything like this before. It was way out of hand and the security crew took their sweet time to get into the fray."
After a 15 minute delay, the game got back on track. After recording 2 quick outs, the Smoke Shop started again with Joe Howard and he called the game. Tension remained for another 15 minutes as fists were almost flying off the field. "It was a sad day for ball" said Trevor Smith of Tampa, Florida.
The Wins Keep Coming
By Cory Banker
**6/25/07** With last weeks game leaving the Bombers wanting more, they came to play again against a Klassy Cat team who was in need of a victory. The Bombers were not at full strength with the loss of Ben Ruekberg who went down with a hamstring injury in the Scott Spino Memorial softball tournament.
The Bomber attack was in full swing. Even with the loss of Ben Ruekberg, the Bombers brought out the big bats and scored in just about every inning. The attack was lead by Mike "Hero" Harris who took over the leadoff role. He went 3-4 in the game with a double and 2 runs scored. Darrell "Jelly" Jolley also got into the action and had a great defensive web gem and went 2-4 at the dish. Two time Wednesday night MVP Cory Banker kept up his torrid hitting and went 4-4 in the contest and made nice defensive plays in the outfield taking over Ben's spot. Scooter Banker also went 3-4 at the dish and helped out his own cause by driving in 2 runs. Art Brooks called a great game behind the plate and also had a nice tag out at home to stop a Klassy Cat rally in the later innings.
The Bombers went on to win the game 12-9 at the sold out Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Return Of An MVP
By Cory Banker
**6/18/07** It was finally official... The return of Scott "Scooter" Banker to the Monday night Bomber squad. It was a boost that the team needed. After a record of 2-3, the Bombers needed all the help they could get. So they went out and brought back last years MVP Scott Banker back from his "personal obligations". He was quoted saying "my expectations of this team have never changed, we are a good team and all the pieces will fall back into place".
The Bombers came out from the dugout with fire and passion which they lacked the previous games. They managed to score 5 runs in the win while Scott Banker held them to only 2 runs scored. The Bombers played some excellent defense behind Scooter to put the Bombers back up to .500 with a 3-3 record.
Bombers Back On Track
By Cory Banker
**6/11/07** It was another beautiful day to play ball in Henrietta for the Bombers who have been on one of their worst losing streaks in years. Yet the Bomber faithful were there in attendance to cheer them on. The crowd of all red and gray brought out posters and whistles in attempt to break the losing skid. It worked as the Bombers played one of the best games of the year so far.
The hitting parade began in the first inning with the Bombers going through the order to score a quick 7 runs. Mike "Hero" Harris made two outs in the inning which left the team and the fans snickering as you don't see that happen often in softball. The second inning saw more of the same as the Bombers came out swinging again to score another 5 runs. Lance "Mad Cow" Walrath, Ryan Payment, Brian Lafountain and the rest of the Bombers were just hitting the ball on the sweet spot for quick hits. The Bombers were all taking extra base hits as they showed some much needed team speed. The Thrashers scored a few runs in the inning on errors which is an increasing concern for the Bombers who have been making way too many mistakes the past few games. Derrell "Jelly" Jolley had one of his poorest showing at 3rd base making three errors. The Bombers all showed their support for Darrell though helping him calm down and making it through the rest of the game. A few other errors during the game also led to a few more Thrasher runs.
The third inning had all the Bomber fans on their feet! Wednesday night gold glove winner Derek Yacono
and 2 time Wednesday night MVP Cory "The King" Banker hit back to back homeruns to get the Bombers even more of a lead. Art Brooks was even spotted (not by the police this time) getting into the hit parade. Ben Reukberg who showed up to the game late and Tommy "Caledonia" Willis had multiple hits to help fuel the bottom half of the batting order. The game ended on what was one of the most beautiful double plays ever turned by the Bombers as a line drive ball was snagged up the middle by pitcher Cory Banker, who in turn threw the ball to second baseman Brian Lafountain who threw an off balanced one hop throw to first baseman Lance "Mad Cow" Walrath who made a gorgeous back handed scoop out of the dirt to finish off the double play. The fans left cheering and wanting more as the Bombers absolutely thrashed the Thrashers 27-11 at a sold out Veterans Memorial Field for their second win of the season on Monday nights.
*****Game Notes***** Ben Ruekberg who showed up late for the game was fined an undisclosed amount of money for not notifying the team.
Bombers Lose 3rd Straight Game
By Cory Banker
**6/4/07** After having 2 weeks off and some much needed rest, the Bombers came into the day with the hope of salvaging their softball season. The end result..... a 10-6 loss that left the Bombers at 1-3 for the start of the season. In an attempt to shake things up, Nate Ruekberg came into pitch in the 4th inning, replacing Cory Banker. The moved was intended to add a little more defense to the field and it actually worked for a few innings. The Bombers scored a few runs in the later innings but it wasn't enough as they dropped their 3rd game in a row.
Arch-Rivals!
By Cory Banker
**5/14/07** It was a day unlike any other in Bomber history. A day that was like in a sports movie. It was about 75 degrees with a slight breeze from the west at about 3 miles an hour. The grass was freshly cut and you could smell that spring was in the air. It was also the King Of Kings' birthday which drew thousands of fans in itself. But that's where the sports movie stopped. That's when reality set back in....
It was the Bombers vs. Tipsy McStaggers in a matchup of arch rivals. Tipsy's has handed the Bombers multiple losses in their Monday night league. The Bombers have always held in there strong however.... until today. The game started at 6pm and was really done around 6:15pm as Tipsy's got out to a 6-0 lead. The Bombers really had no answers for Tipsy's as they scored in every inning on their way to a 20-0 win. The Bombers bats were silent only getting a couple hits that were sprayed through the innings. It was a sad day in Bomberland as Tipsy's was only messing around with us. They were only taking a base at a time and in reality could have put up another 10+ runs on a Bomber team that never really showed up.
There were some good signs out of this however. The defense was strong when they had to make the plays. Most of the hits were actual hits which you can't possibly defend. The pitching was solid as The King only walked one in his five innings pitched. The overall mood of the team was uplifting because no matter how far we got behind, the team never truly gave up.
Now with the Bombers having two weeks off, hopefully they can right the wrongs of back to back losing weeks. It's time to start working hard again and playing some nasty Bomberball!
Take An Error And Pass It On!
By Cory Banker
**5/7/07** What began the beautiful day with a swagger you couldn't hardly believe, ended with an annihilation and a slap to the face! Yes it's true fans, the Bombers played one of their sloppiest games to date if not the sloppiest ever. Everyone was in on the errorfest that started when the game began. It appears the Bombers were way overconfident and had a lack of practice in the pre-season.
The Bombers started off the game with high hopes for a win. They knew their competition wasn't that good at all and that's probably where it all went downhill. Bomber nation started hitting out of the gates. By the end of the second inning, the Bombers had a 4-0 lead with a two run homer by Cory Banker. The third inning saw more of the same as all the Bombers got into the hittingfest that took place. Even Art "The Boot" Brooks made hitting look easy! By the end of the 3rd inning, the Bombers had a 9-2 lead. Things were looking great until...... Errorfest!! It didn't all happen in one inning but it happened over the rest of the game. About 15 errors in total took the game out of hand. Every inning the Westside Smoke Shop crawled closer and closer before finally getting ahead of the tired Bombers. The final result.... a devastating 22-11 loss for the Bombers who hope to contend for a championship this season.
New Season Begins For The Bombers!
By Cory Banker
**4/30/07** It was an oddly below average temperature day for the Bombers opening night game. Yet, the thousands of fans in attendance at Veterans Memorial Park were all eager to see the Bombers and their newest arrival to the Monday night team, Cory "The King Of Kings" Banker. All you could see from the sellout crowd was a sea of red and gray. The fans were screaming so loud that the players couldn't even hear themselves think! Only after long time Bomber Charlie Davis came out to the field and threw the ceremonial first pitch did the sellout crowd settle down.
The Bombers came out swinging in the first inning. Mike "Hero" Harris got the first hit of the game for the bombers followed by Ryan "Rhino" Payment. With two quick hits, the Bombers got off to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. The bottom of the first saw newly aquired utility man Cory "KOK" Banker making his Bombers debut at pitcher. It was a very boring inning for Klassy Kat as it was 3 up and 3 down. By the 3rd inning, the Bombers had a 3-0 lead. They just couldn't piece together enough hits at once to increase the score. Sure enough in the bottom of the 3rd, Klassy Kat scored 4 runs to take the lead in the game. The top of the 4th inning saw the heart of the Bombers come up and score yet another run to tie the game at 4. Thanks to the magnificant pitching by Cory Banker and the outstanding defense behind him, thats all the runs Klassy Kat would score the rest of the game. The Bombers in the next 3 innings ended up scoring 3 more runs in route to a 7-4 victory. Timely later inning hits by Derek Yacono, Brian Lafountain and Derrell Jolley sealed the win for the Bombers.
At this time I would like to send out a personal message to the fans who braved the weather. Thank you so very much for coming out and watching this extrordinary Bomber team! It is our pleasure to be out on the field and entertain our loyal fans who somehow manage to make it to every game. Without you all, we would just be another faceless team who just shows up. Again, thank you so very much.
