This One Was For Eubank!

With news of their fallen comrade circulating the bench, the Anchormen (4-1) went to work at First Evangelical Thursday night wanting to win No. 5 for Eubank.

Money took a nasty spill in the kitchen just prior to the game and had to be rushed to the hospital for a few stitches in his melon. After a "One, two, three - Eubank!" cheer, the Saints grabbed their lumber and proceeded to bang out 23 hits in 32 at bats, plating 16 runs while allowing 10 and stretching their win streak to three games.

And while Eubank is proving to be a hound for headlines, this day belongs to Khalid Morad, who soundly slayed his slump by going 2 for 3 with a run scored and a ribbie, polishing off his fine performance at the dish with a critical stop in centerfield that held the damage to two runs scored in the bottom of the fourth when First Evangelical had unleashed their rally monkeys in a valiant effort to narrow the deficit.

With Eubank on their minds, the Saints led off the game with an absolute barrage of batted balls, spraying the outfield and infield with shots that eventually activated the 6-run mercy rule and sent the shell-shocked First Evangelical defenders to their bench wondering if it was still Thursday, May 28, 2009.

Nino led off with one of his signature clotheslines to center, Owen scorched one to short that was way too hot to handle cleanly and Whit cleaned the bases with a two-strike, two-RBI double to left. Sonny, whose red-hot stick has him moved into the cleanup spot, stayed hot by launching a two-sacker to left that scored Whit easily. Zach topped one to the mound, but legged out a base hit and caused the pitcher to make an errant throw, allowing Sonny to score and Zach to trot to second.

Wendell dug out a grounder to third, moving Zach to the hot corner. Then, after staying alive with a couple of fouls, Harris whiffed for the first out. But Brian was there to pick up his teammate with a beautiful stroke to center for an RBI single. With Wendell on second and Brian on first, Berent made amends for his 0fer against the Hubermen with a RBI-single to center. That scored the 6th run of the inning and when the Saints grabbed their gloves and hats to defend the diamond, Eubanks was there showing off some stitch work that would make the skilled baseball stitchers in Costa Rica envious.

First Evangelical's lead-off hitter tapped a grounder to the mound, resulting in the seemingly unstoppable Whit-to-Owen 1-3 putout combination. The No. 2 hitter rolled a softy to second - but Nino booted it, lost it and put it in his pocket for an E4. The No. 3 hitter rolled another grounder to Whit, who fired to Owen at first for the second out and it looked like it was time to polish the lumber for another bombardment. But First Evangelical smoked a ball to center and then legged out a bleeder to the mound that Whit and Owen just missed combining for the putout. After another scorcher to Brian in center, Nino snagged a pop-up for the final out. Two runs scored, but the Saints defense stranded First Evangelical's runners at second and third.

Khalid led off the second by ending a 0 for 10 dry spell, hitting a dart to center that brought cheers to the bench and stands alike. After a pop-up to the mound by Nino, Owen stroked another single to center. With runners on first and second, Whit pounded a single to left, juicing the bases. Sonny -- riding an 11-at-bat hit streak -- stepped up and smashed one to center for a two-RBI double. Sonny is so hot with the stick that if this game was kid pitch, he would be drawing intentional walks.

Zach kept the rally going with a two-run single to left. Wendell moved him over to the keystone on a soft grounder to second. And Harris atoned for his 1st inning K with a RBI-single to left. Brian whiffed and Berent smoked another to left, scoring Wendell for the 6th run of the inning.

After a couple of miscues in the first, the Saints tightened their D in the second and put First Evangelical down in order with two grounders to second that resulted in Owen-to-Whit putouts with a whiff in the middle.

Up 12-2 after two innings, the Anchormen were in no mood to toy with the opponent and instead went for the jugular by continuing their offensive assault unabated. Khalid took a tough K to the bench and Nino immediately lifted everybody's spirits by ordering a Jack, straight up, to right. Before First Evangelical could recover from the homer, Owen smashed a double to left. Inspired by the slug fest, Whit ripped an opposite-field triple to right that put him a dinger away from a cycle.

With a HR, double and a triple already in the scorebook, the Saints needed a single to complete the team cycle in the inning. And this beautiful game saw fit to bring Sonny and his 12-at-bat hit streak to the dish. Alas, Sonny grounded out to the pitcher on a slow roller that he nearly legged out, ending his streak. Zach got the team its cycle with a single to right, and Wendell whiffed on a high one for the third out. No 6-run mercy rule, but an effective barrage nonetheless as First Evangelical was certain that the Saints could not be stopped, only contained.

Down 15-2 and coming off a 1-2-3 second, First Evangelical could have mailed the rest of the game in. To their credit, they cowboyed upped and started to grind it out. Owen and Sonny helped them out with errors on the mound and at second to put the first two hitters on base. Then Owen fielded a slow roller and was just a hair too late to get the runner at first, loading the bases. Whit and Brian worked out their communication issues from last game as Brian stepped back to let a hard-charging Whit field a pop up for out No. 1. Owen fielded a roller to the mound and fired to Zach at first for putout No. 2.

Just when it looked like the Saints were going to escape the bases-loaded jam, a ball was hit sharply to first, hit the bag and ricocheted into right. That scored two and Wendell inexplicably threw the ball to first, sending the third runner across the dish and the hitter to second. Then a ball was hit to left and Nino inexplicably threw the ball to first, allowing the runner on second to score and the hitter to take second on the throw. The only thing between the Saints defense and a 6-run, mercy-rule inning was an untimely whiff by First Evangelical's No. 9 hitter.

Up 15-6, the Anchormen were rattled. With a possible two innings left to play and First Evangelical's sticks coming alive and the Saints' defense coming undone, a laugher was suddenly in doubt. Harris led off with his second K of the day and Brian stroked a single to center. Berent - with two hits under his belt already - hit a bullet to third and beat the throw out for an infield single, capping a 3 for 3 day. With runners on first and second, Khalid sent a daisy cutter to second for his first RBI of the season. With the thump of the lineup coming up, the Saints were ready to end the game once and for all. But Nino grounded out to third on a bang bang play that could've gone either way and Owen popped out to the pitcher.

Down 16-6 with possibly two at-bats left, First Evangelical put their rally caps on and went to work. An E4 on Brian put their lead-off hitter on first. A pop out to Zach on the mound should have resulted in a double play as the First Evangelical runner took off for second, leaving him a sitting duck. But Zack froze, scrambled around and before he could gather himself to throw to first, the runner had scurried backed.

In baseball, if you give your opponent an extra out, the baseball gods invariably make sure you pay the toll. Such was the case Thursday as the next four batter stroked the ball to left, center and right fields, respectively, followed by a shot between first and second, scoring four runs in the process. Zach fielded the next ball cleanly, fired to Harris at first for the second out. And another untimely K saved the Saints from anymore fielding miscues.

With the Saints on the feel-good end of a 16-10 line, time had run out on First Evangelical. And Saints fans exhaled. Another romp in the field could have been disastrous.

But the Saints win! Saints win! Saints win!