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Speak the Word Blasts the Cartel 15-5 in Five Innings

Feb. 5, 2007 — The marquee matchup Monday night in the Bob Owens Slow Pitch Softball League was supposed to be between two of the league’s upper-echelon teams, Speak the Word and the Cartel.
Only one of those teams showed up to play, however, and that team was Speak the Word. They blasted a listless Cartel team 15-5 in a five-inning, mercy-ruled contest at the D.C. Canegata ballpark.
After the Cartel failed to score in the top of the first, Speak the Word wasted little time in getting on the board on a two-run shot off the bat of Martin Charles to take the early lead.
The Cartel tied the game at two in the top of the second on an RBI single by James Smith and a fielder’s choice. Speak the Word answered with six runs in the bottom of the inning on RBI singles by Kareem Dennis, Dexter Skepple, Michael Franklin and Jose Robles, and a two-run single by Norbert Pickering to lead 8-2 after two innings.
Picking up a run in the top of the third on an RBI single by Ray Defraitas, the Cartel drew within five of the lead at 8-3. Speak the Word came up empty in the bottom of the inning.
The Cartel picked up two more runs in the top of the fourth on RBI singles by Manny Arroyo and Mark Jackson to trail 8-5. But Speak the Word exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 15-5 lead after four complete innings. They scored seven runs on two-run home runs by Karim Robles and Pickering, and a three-run shot by pitcher Ulric Benjamin.
In the top of the fifth, the Cartel came to bat needing to score at least one run to avoid enforcement of the 10-run mercy rule. But they went in order in the top of the fifth, and the umpires called the game.
Benjamin picked up the win on the mound for Speak the Word and helped his own cause at the plate by going 1 for 3 with a three-run home run. James Smith got the loss for the Cartel. Top hitters for Speak the Word were Charles and Karim Robles, 2 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs, and Pickering, 2 for 3 with a home run and four RBIs. For the Cartel, Smith went 2 for 3 with one RBI and DeFraitas went 1 for 3 with one RBI.

40 Caliber 8, Terminix 6
In the first game of the night, the cellar-dwelling Terminix squad almost pulled off another upset of one of the league’s elite teams when they narrowly lost to 40 Caliber 8-6. Steve Nisky picked up the win for 40 Caliber, while Rod Graci took the loss for Terminix. Leading 40 Caliber at the plate were Luis Cintron and Carlos Velasquez, who both went 3 for 3. For Terminix, Graci went 2 for 2 with a home run and three RBIs. Jason Helima went 1 for 2 with a home run and one RBI.
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