AN: FINALLY THE NASTY ONE HAS COME BACK TO FANFICTION!
Welcome back everyone to the next chapter here in the Hot Corners Dynasty as the team enters the second round of the playoffs for the first time after defeating the Wild Pigs in the first round in a thrilling three game series. Now the team will face another division rival in the Moose with a trip to the championship final on the line. Will they succeed? Let's find out!
Chapter 20: Close but No Cigar
== One Week Later (Game 1 vs. Moose) ==
The team returned home to rest and prepare for the arrival of the Moose as they were stoked to be playing for a championship birth for the first time in team history. Veteran southpaw Durn Wonderfloss would get the start against a familiar foe righty Raul Strikes. Both teams needed three games to win in the first round, so their fourth pitchers in the rotation would start game one followed by their aces in game two, and then their second pitchers would pitch game three if necessary. The only change Buck made to the lineup was to sub in Batch Wilson to play right field for rookie Arms Yu who slumped considerably after homering in the first inning of game three. With the pregame festivities concluded, the team took the field as they looked to sink their rivals once more.
== Top of the 3rd ==
The first two innings flew by as both Wonderfloss and Strikes pitched cleanly with minimal issues. That changed in the third as Wonderfloss surrendered a leadoff single to CF Jackie Slam to start the inning. He then looked to get ahead of RF Irene Fast with a high and tight heater, but the pitch didn't jam her as well as he was hoping.
THWACK!
In fact, she was actually expecting the fastball and she cranked it into the left seats for a two run homer to break the scoreless tie. Her third homer of the postseason gave the Moose an early 2 – 0 lead as Wonderfloss looked to recover from that blow. He succeeded in doing so as he set the next three batters down with no issues.
== Bottom of the 3rd ==
The Hot Corners offense looked to rally in the third as both Gutterson and Sportswood reached base on singles. With two outs in the inning, Big Country stepped to the plate looking to come through in a clutch playoff scenario one more time. The count was even at 1 – 1 as Swiner was looking for an off-speed pitch from Strikes and was given a hanging breaking ball that sat in the middle of the zone.
CRACK!
He didn't miss it as he pulled that ball into the right field bleachers as the fans exploded into cheers and screams celebrating the homer. Big Country rounded the bases and celebrated at home plate with his teammates as his third homer of the postseason made it a 3 – 2 Hot Corners lead. The inning continued after that as Jumps singled off Strikes, before stealing second on a slow curveball. Lionerre then singled to center as Jumps came around to score easily and made it a 4 – 2 game. That did it for Strikes, as the Moose's manager was taking no chances and gave him a quick hook. Lefty Charlie Best (5.40 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) entered from the bullpen and recorded the last out of the inning as the bullpen would need to shut their offense down to stay in the game.
== Top of the 4th ==
The Moose's offense responded back in the next inning as with one out, 1B Perry Quaker came up looking to continue his hot hitting against the Hot Corners from the regular season. The first pitch to him was a high and tight fastball, and the lefty wasted little time in turning on it.
THWACK!
He pushed the ball into the left center stands as he showcased his opposite field power as he brought the Moose back within a run on his second homer of the postseason as the game was now 4 – 3. LF Stallion Johnson was up next and the lefty batter stroked a pitch into the left center gap as he legged out a double before swiping third base thanks to his speed. Wonderfloss then got 2B Fred Bobbit to ground to deep third as Johnson sprinted to the plate. The throw from Gutterson was just late as he scored to make it 4 – 4. C Anton Goodwood then singled to the left center gap before 3B Macy Stone struck out for the second out. That brought Slam back up to the plate for her third at-bat, and the veteran came through with a double into the left center gap as both runners came around to score and allowed the Moose to regain the lead at 6 – 4.
== Top of the 5th ==
Wonderfloss got the first two batters out in the fifth, but Quaker gave him some more trouble to deal with as he turned on an inside fastball on the first pitch of the at-bat.
THWACK!
The ball was pulled into the right center seats behind the grounds crew area, as Quaker circled the bases and celebrated his second homer of the game as the crowd groaned at the happenings before their eyes. The Moose now held a 7 – 4 lead and were pulling away.
== Bottom of the 5th ==
Best got the first two outs in the fifth, but was pulled for the hybrid reliever/starter Felix Farmhand. He got the final out and set Best up to be the victor should the score remain in the Moose's favor.
== Top of the 7th ==
Wonderfloss managed to get through the sixth cleanly, but was lifted for the rookie Troy Harrison as he made his playoff debut. He surrendered a leadoff single to Slam, but retired the next two batters with ease as it looked as though he'd escape the inning with no damage. DH Heronimus Jackson prevented that however as he singled back up the middle to score Slam and made it an 8 – 4 game.
== Top of the 9th ==
Farmhand kept the Hot Corners lineup stifled, as Harrison surrendered another run in the ninth. He retired the leadoff batter, but then served up a meatball to Slam who promptly unloaded on it.
THWACK!
She pulled that ball towards the wall in left field as Big Country drifted back and lined himself up to rob just like during the regular season contest against the Sirloins, but he leapt too late and the ball hit off the top of his mitt and landed harmlessly over the fence for another homerun. Slam's first of the postseason made it a 9 – 4 contest as the hometown faithful began streaming out of the stadium as one massive tidal wave.
Righty Amazo Haze came in to relieve Harrison and surrendered another run on a Jackson single to left as Fast came in to score the tenth run of the game and made it a 10 – 4 game. In the bottom half of the inning, Farmhand was two outs away from closing the game out, but took a liner off the chest from Wilson and had to leave the game. Righty Carla Tolbert came in and slammed the door shut as the Hot Corners fell in game one.
== End of Game 1 Summary ==
Moose 10 – Hot Corners 4
WP: Best LP: Wonderfloss (0 – 1) POTG: Slam (4 – 5, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 R)
In the other playoff matchup, the Nemesis took game one on the road against their rivals, the Buzzards, by a final score of 3 – 0. The loss in game one set up a do or die scenario for the team as they headed to Sakura Hills for the Saturday evening matchup against the Moose.
== Game 2 Moose ==
Ace Noah Kaiser would take the mound as he squared off against flamethrower Rhiannon Cannon. Buck also made a controversial decision to bench the slumping Norton Pickle for backup SS Digg Efforto. He also put Oliver back in at catcher to rest Lionerre, and placed Yu back out in right over Wilson.
== Bottom of the 2nd ==
The game started rather slowly as it was scoreless through the first inning and a half. That changed in the second, as Jackson led off with a base hit to second as he beat out a diving stop made by McClure. Quaker then continued his hot hitting as the first baseman roped a double into the left center gap as Jackson scored to make it 1 – 0. Kaiser retired the next batter, but then gave up another double to Bobbit who was the DH today as Jackson scored and made it a 2 – 0 Moose lead.
== Bottom of the 4th ==
Both teams failed to score in the third, but Kaiser ran into trouble again in the fourth. He retired the leadoff batter, but then left a fastball over the heart of the plate to 2B Tyree Gangnam.
THWACK!
The second year pro didn't miss it, as he pulled the ball into the left field bleachers as the crowd cheered as his first homer of the postseason made it a 3 – 0 game.
== Top of the 5th ==
SS Digg Efforto made Buck look like a genius for starting him as he hit a blooped single over the shortstop's head to score Yu from second base with one out. This made it a 3 – 1 game as the Hot Corners regained some hope at coming back.
== Bottom of the 5th ==
That hope was swiftly crushed by the Moose's unrelenting offense. Kaiser retired the first two hitters, but surrendered an infield single to Fast who beat out a swinging bunt down the third base line and then SS Nacho Crisp singled to right. That set up Jackson who came through once again when he guessed correctly on a slider breaking low and away from him.
THWACK!
He went with the ball and crushed it into the right field seats as the stadium erupted into cheers as the Moose inched closer to going to a second consecutive championship series. It was Jackson's second homer of the postseason as the lead grew to 6 – 1.
== Bottom of the 6th ==
The rookie southpaw Manning (11.57 ERA, 2.14 WHIP) relieved Kaiser at the start of the next inning as Buck hoped he could keep the score where it was and allow the offense to come back and win.
== Top of the 7th ==
Cannon got two outs in the inning, but was replaced by Best (3.86 ERA, 1.29 WHIP) as she was up near ninety pitches in the game. He proceeded to get the last out, as the game remained at 6 – 1 in favor of the Moose.
== Bottom of the 7th ==
Everything fell apart for Manning in his second inning of work, as after retiring the leadoff batter he surrendered a single to the second hitter. This brought up Fast who absolutely turned on his inside changeup.
THWACK!
The ball screamed over the right center fence and landed behind both bullpens as her third homer of the postseason made it an 8 – 1 scoreline. As if that wasn't bad enough, the next batter. Crisp, crushed the first pitch of his at-bat as well.
THWACK!
The ball landed in nearly the exact same spot as his second homer of the postseason made it a 9 – 1 game. This forced Buck to go to the bullpen once more as he brought in lefty Joseph Broseph (0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP) to just get through the last five outs.
== Top of the 8th ==
The team put up a meek response in the next inning as McClure singled up the middle with one down to score a runner from second and made it a 9 – 2 game. This prompted the Moose's manager to replace the gassed Best, with righty Carla Tolbert (2.70 ERA, 2.10 WHIP). She managed to retire the next two batters with relative ease.
== Top of the 9th ==
The Hot Corners still had some fight left in them as Efforto grounded out to third on a fielder's choice as Wilson came into score after getting a pinch hit double earlier in the inning. This made it a 9 – 3 game, but the rally would end there as the next two batters were retired and the Hot Corners were swept out of the playoffs.
== End of Game 2 Summary ==
Moose 9 – Hot Corners 3
WP: Cannon (1 – 1) LP: Kaiser (1 – 1) POTG: Jackson (2 – 4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R)
The Nemesis won the second game of their series by a score of 4 – 1 as they swept the Buzzards out of the playoffs. This set up a three seed battle in the championship round, where the Nemesis were given home field advantage as they had the better regular season record of 11 – 5, compared to the Moose's of 9 – 7. The first game was a close contest, but the Nemesis took game one with a scoreline of 6 – 2. With their backs against the wall, the Moose rallied to win the next two games 5 – 1, and 11 – 1 as they won their first championship in team history. The team looked like a force to be reckoned with all postseason and celebrated their hard earning trophy with reckless abandon.
== Year 2 Offseason ==
The offseason was a rather easy affair for the team as none of the players on the roster wanted to retire or test free agency as they felt this was the place to be a part of something special. That being said, Patterson tasked Buck with freeing up some more player development funds for the next season as they only had $5.4 Million available at the start of the free agency period.
Seven days into the period, the team made their first cap cutting move as the team released ace Noah Kaiser and brought in a hybrid starter/reliever Lillian Salmon for $5.8 Million as opposed to Kaiser's $8.2 Million. The move forced Frazier Jr. into the ace role, and allowed the rookie lefty to grow behind him and Pres.
The next move was made two days later on day nine as Wonderfloss was released for veteran starter, righty Bae Paul. Paul was only 26 and would serve as an upgraded fourth pitcher over the forty year old Wonderfloss. This finalized the pitching staff for next season as Buck decided to trust Pres and Frazier, while holding onto all four members of his bullpen which had one of the best collective ERA's from last season.
Four days later on the thirteenth day of free agency, two moves were made by Buck. He released backup C Terra Lionerre for a younger rookie 26 year old Arsenio McDowell. A washout of the minor leagues, McDowell possessed good arm strength, speed and contact hitting but sorely lacked in the defensive department. He would be a good backup to Oliver who could help sure up some of his defensive shortcomings. The other move was to release SS Norton Pickle for a 23 year old rookie, SS Eduardo Electro. Buck was taking a chance on him as Electro was an all or nothing hitter, meaning he always went for the homerun ball instead of a safe single. Buck hoped to change that mentality of his, as Electro had a great glove, speed and arm strength for the shortstop position.
The final roster move was made on the nineteenth day of the free agent period as corner infielder Pomp Duchee was signed to replace Trisha Lee. Duchee was released by the Freebooters after the season as he wanted too much money for their liking. Buck managed to talk the 33 year old down to a reasonable price and quickly brought in the former rival as he was a good hitter that could fill the DH role should Jumps slump at the start of the year. Not to mention he could start at first or third if Sportswood or Gutterson were hurt or performing poorly. The moves allowed Buck to free up another $3.7 Million dollars of cap space as he increased the player development budget to $9.1 Million dollars, a 69 percent increase from the starting budget, which pleased Patterson greatly.
The last thirteen days of the period were spent catching the team up on the moves, and getting their preseason camp set up as there was higher expectations of the team now that the second round of the postseason had been reached. It was a championship or bust as the fans were eager for more success. Will they live up to the pressure in season 3, or will they falter and end up a shell of their former selves? Only time will tell.
AN: And that's a wrap on this chapter as the team falls short of the championship series thanks to their division rivals, who go on to win it all. I decided to include the offseason moves in this chapter as well because both of these had very little content to them and it made sense to give you guys a longer chapter instead of two that barely reach fifteen words. Next time will bring us the third season of Hot Corners action as the expectations are much greater this time around. Will the team meet or exceed them? Well let's just say that the answer will surprise everyone. Tune in next time to see for yourself. Thanks for reading the story and I look forward to uploading another chapter for you guys in the near future. Later!
PRAK #TheNastyOne