Monday, May 4, 2015

HUDSON SHATTERS NASBL RECORDBOOK AGAIN

Not content being NASBLs dominant offensive force at his position, Tim Hudson rewrote the NASBL recordbook again on April 22 when he tossed ten shutout innings of six-hit ball at The Battlefield in Canyon Country to win his 189th career victory, tying him with Randy Johnson for the all-time NASBL wins lead.

"Wow, Randy Johnson!" said Hudson "just being mentioned in the same sentence with such a NASBL legend is an honor.  It would have been nice to tie the record in front of the Outlaw Pond hometown fans, but this team will take any victory any way we can scratch them out." 

Despite Hudson's ten shutout innings, he was gutting out an extra-inning scoreless pitchers' duel with Chris Sale until Nick Castellanos took Sale deep in the top of the 11th.  Craig Kimbrel pitched  a 1-2-3 bottom of the 11th to nail down the record-tying win for Hudson.  The right-hander had tossed every one of his 421 games for the Outlaw Josey Wales, an abberation in the trade-happy NASBL league.

Hudson had his first chance to break the record at Fighting Sioux Field five days later, but lack of run support saw the Wales and Hudson defeated 3-1 by the Fighting Sioux.

The right-handers next chance came when the Shawnee Crows invaded Wreckin' So Field on May 1, and Hudson would have to earn this one too.  Nellie Cruz went yard with one on in the 1st to the roar of the hometown crowd.  It stayed that way until Shawnee knotted it up at two in the 4th and remained a pitchers' duel between Hudson and Sonny Gray with no more scoring through the regulation 9.  Hudson set the Shawnee side down in order in the 10th.  In the Outlaw half, Matt Kemp laced a leadoff single off Rafael Soriano and promptly stole second base.  After he took third on a wild pitch, newcomer JD Martinez plated Kemp with a walk-off single earning Tim Hudson his record-breaking 190th career NASBL win.