BANANA BALL IN WASHINGTON D.C. – Savannah Bananas vs The Firefighters at National’s Park
[Music] [Music] [Music] hey hey hey [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] huh ah [Music] hey hey ah [Music] [Applause] heat heat [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] heat heat [Music] [Music] [Music] heat heat [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] heat hey hey hey [Music] heat heat n [Music] it’s all [Music] you [Music] heat heat [Music] heat heat n [Music] [Music] annabal has made its way to our nation’s capital Nationals Park and the crowd is buzzing here in Washington DC
from your Washington National Gio Gonzalez gio Gonzalez rings the bell and the crowd goes crazy firefighters trying to play spoilers back flips makes the catch the moment here for Al Perez in the box ashton Williams down on the mound all eyes are Robert Anthony Gr three years ago I was signed by the Washington National today my dad is walking me up to home plate
robert Anthony Cruz walkoff home run
this was one of his dreams and what more could I say
danny record for most foul balls caught in a game
it’s something I’ll never forget anna’s win 43
the largest crowd in banana ball history and you brought it tonight last year on July 13th the Bananas and firefighters played in front of what was then the largest crowd in Banana Ball history over 41,000 fans well that record was broken a couple months later in Philly Nationals Park will always hold a special place in Banana Ball history we are thrilled to be back in our nation’s capital this time for a double dip as we’re bringing you backto back games from the district the firefighters are hungry for their first ever win in a big league park while the Savannah Bananas look to remain perfect this year against the lads in red it is the 17th banana ball game to ever be held in an MLB stadium and of course it is the second time these two squads will do battle here in Nats Park as we welcome you inside the broadcast booth with Josh Tipsky Bo Scala happy Big Tiger Friday thank you so much for spending it with us here in virtual Banana Land now we have seen these two teams do battle four times so far this year twice in KC twice in Anaheim each time the Bananas have come out on top but they have been great battles so far yeah and pitching has been the strong point for the Savannah Bananas across these matchups with the firefighters the pitching staff entering with an earned run average of three against the firefighters and averaging three outs in three and a half minutes against this squad we saw a year ago some big performances from some bananas robert Anthony Cruz a triple and a home run and Ryan Cox five trick plays for the firefighters they’ve got to get something started offensively early or else they are going to have more wos in MLB parks tonight well let’s dig a little deeper on what the five games the firefighters have played so far in big league parks have looked like because it all started right here in Nationals Park a year ago and then the two games in Kaufman Stadium we mentioned and the two more in Angel Stadium as well some really close losses and a couple games where if a ball bounces a different way the firefighters could have a chance well you saw arguably the closest loss was the one in Nationals Park almost a year ago 4 to3 loss for the firefighters again the offense has not been where they’ve wanted it to be in these big league ballparks they need a couple more big hits in big situations and they’ve nearly allowed twice as many points as points that they’ve scored this season also not a recipe for success well let’s see if the firefighters defense came here to rumble in DC they’ve got a youngster at the dish bill Loy is on the call see if this guy can crack a home run wolf is bringing the heat here comes pitch number two oh he fakes him out here he comes oh and Matt Wolf is bringing all the streak pitches out doesn’t seem very fair oh my goodness split take it easy he says “This is not a fair fight.” Steals the ball and now Weston has a fair fight against the firefighters here comes the swing and a drive to center field matt Wolf throws the first over his head weston’s going to be safe in first base and now he’s off to second ladies and gentlemen with blazing speed make some noise for Weston the firefighters are fighting each other peanut with a throw to third it’s not going to be in time he’s rounding third here comes the play at the plate the throw home is not in time [Applause] a home run miraculous feet by the youngster right there i think if you’re the firefighters you got to chalk it up till you hope you got all your errors and trick plays missed out of the way early i mean absolute barrel off the tea and then from there Matt Wolf fields it cleanly but it went downhill before the youngster came all the way around to score let’s get the 11 rolls of banana ball [Music] and this is the fastest most entertaining game in sports rule number one win the inning win the point if you score the most runs in an inning you get a point the most points win the game but in the last inning of Banana Ball every run counts as a point rule number two there is a 2hour time limit no new inning can start when the clock hits zero rule number three if you step out of the batters box it is a strike rule number four no bunting if you bunt you’re thrown out of the game rule number five batters can steal first rule number six no walks allowed it becomes a ball for sprint until every position player touches the ball rule number seven no mound visits nope rule number eight if a fan catches a foul ball it is an out in banana ball everything’s in play so you better be ready rule number nine the showdown tiebreaker if the game is tied at the end of nine innings or when time expires it is pitcher versus hitter with one fielder and the hitter has to score rule number 10 the banana ball challenge rule you the fans have the opportunity to challenge a ruling on the field rule number 11 the golden batter rule a team can send up any batter to hit in any spot in the lineup this is guaranteeing the best possible matchup at the end of the game when it matters most these are the official rules of Banana Ball good timing Jesse Cole just a little bit quicker than the young professor down on the field we’ve got a packed house here in Nationals Park firefighters verse bananas tonight we’re looking at a 7:10 p.m first pitch tomorrow night first pitch should be back closer to 7 and let’s get it back down to the young professor for tonight’s player challenge between the Savannah Vaneras and the firefighters you know we are so excited to be here in our nation’s capital there is so much history in this town and there’s all kinds of monuments and tributes to our founding fathers here and so we have a game to celebrate our founding fathers it’s called Finding Fathers here’s how it works up in the crowd we have two fans one down the banana side one down the firefighter side and they are dressed like the founding fathers the teams when I say go have to run into the crowd they have to find that founding father carry him all the way back here to home plate the first team to bring that founding father back here will be the winner this is finding fathers gentlemen get ready because on your mark get set go go find those fathers all right the firefighters are off the bananas are off i see fans pointing the first base site fans are pointing they’re showing them where to go but we’re seeing the same over on the first base side way out in left field there go the firefighters there go the bananas they’ve got to find the founding fathers here in DC and this is a big ball oh wait we’ve got somebody there’s a ball guy he doesn’t work for us he’s carrying him and I don’t know why i don’t know why that’s happening there’s shenanigans of foot but here we go coming down on the first base side the Bananas have their founding father and he is making his way down they’re hopping on the fence and they are on the field the Bananas have a clear clear lane to victory here here they go we’re just dropping everything along the lane oh it’s not going to be close it’s going to be by a landslide oh with the squad from Ty Jackson ladies and gentlemen I think it’s safe to say give it up for your winners for finding fathers the Savannah Bananas [Music] at this time director
impressive victory for the Nanners and the player challenge but the firefighters hoping for the victory that really matters tonight for more on that let’s get it on down to Zack St
hey Peanuts who wants your peanuts who wants peanuts hey guys I apologize here we’re just we’re doing our second job of selling peanuts here in the concourse and it well it really isn’t hard to sell Kaden Greed’s performance from last week in Richmond first homer in Banana Land for you whole thing at strict place how good are you feeling coming into this weekend
oh feeling really good uh we’re as a team we’re feeling great uh we’re riding that momentum into this week and uh yeah just keep playing with swagger and confidence now we heard about the Major League Blues Major League Stadiums you guys are 0 and5 in so far how do you guys get that first win in MLB Stadium tonight you know like I said before just keep riding that momentum from last week uh I think we gained a little bit of confidence and like I said some swagger so we’ll just keep that rolling into this week
as we see Coach Perez go by coach we’re rooting for you here tonight now I need to know this is a very important question so take your time on this one you like your peanuts salted you like them in trail mix you like them the old school way you just toss them out how do you like your peanuts
you know trail uh in the trail mix y’all know what I’m talking about in that little uh purple package i don’t know what the brand is but you know what I’m talking about all right so if you can hit another I promise you uh we will try to get you some all right
let’s do it let’s do it all right that is Kaden Green starting at short stop tonight had a whole thing of trip plays last weekend had his first home run in Banana Land first headliner for the firefighters boys we’ll see if we can get him a couple uh a couple more peanuts until then I’m a big boy i need to go find a snack cuz now I’m hungry let’s go baby
good luck Zach thank you for the time and insight peanut 2022 collegiate banana coastal plane league champion and back in Banana land with the firefighters tied for the team lead with eight trick plays on the year with their star Logan Lacy yeah and he’s impressing a lot of his opponents as well he’s gotten compliments on his defense from Bananas Party Animals even Texas Tailgators the interesting note on Kaden Green was that coming into this season for the firefighters we thought he was going to be another one of those glove first shorts stops for this team but it turns out the offense might be really taking a huge step forward as I don’t think we were expecting a home run for Kaden Green through his first nine games with these firefighters and he might be starting to hide in this bottom part of the lineup if he can have another three for three performance like he had last Saturday he should be feeding the top half of this lineup really really well tonight
yeah Peanut in the nine hole tonight sandwiched right between Steven Cullen in the eight hole and Noah Bridges at the bottom of the lineup and if you can get those guys swinging it this firefighters team completely transforms well the really interesting note about the Firefox is that I’ve come across through their first nine games they are batting below 200 in innings one through three of play they have gotten off to incredibly slow starts offensively so they’ve got to figure out a way to get on the board early and make the Bananas feel a little pressure here tonight in Nationals Park while the cast and crew continues to parade through down on the field and the pregame shenanigans step on the gas a little bit just some data to back up what you’re saying where you didn’t expect Hayden Green to have a home run within the first nine games of the year he was terrific with the Great Falls Voyagers last year in the Pioneer League in his professional baseball debut across 35 games hit 342 had a 399 on base percentage really impressive numbers did not have a home run that was in 35 games so he has uh gotten the long ball out of the way a lot earlier in his Banana Ball career
and we also saw him as a collegiate banana play 19 games for them in the summer of 2022 that of course a Woodbat league so very similar to what we’re seeing here in Banana Ball the most he had for the Savannah Bananas were three doubles across that span again he wasn’t a guy known for a lot of pop but boy did he play a mean shortstop for that squad and he’s got versatility to play other positions on the diamond although I don’t think they want to move him anywhere outside of shortstop
no and that completely makes sense right there all right let’s get it on down to the guy who ended up playing a lot of infield after Peanut took off for Auburn dr meadows a 2022 collegiate banana he’s going to have our fan warm-up
so I need everyone here to get on your feet i need all of you to get on your feet and help me welcome out 5-year-old Holly what’s up Holly your job is very important we’re all ready for this game but none of these fans are so whatever you do they have to do are you ready yes
are you really ready
yes
crank it sharp show us what you got Holly oh get those hands together y’all [Applause] hey baby been doing this all night guys how do you know this one got a lot of energy today holly we’re spinning a jump the sprinkler jump we all need each other touch get those hands together y’all holly look around you just got 35,000 oh a cartwheel give it up for Holly what a fantastic job by that young lady high fives galore as she races off the field boy is it amazing to be back in Nationals Park this is such a wonderful venue for Banana Ball the young professor is about to get the folks fired up prepare your voices ladies gentlemen boys and girls and potassium enthusiasts from around the world tonight you and thousands of your friends here live and millions more watching at home have gathered here to witness something beyond your wildest imagination from Montana to Savannah from the aisle of man to Tokyo Japan the banana maniacs come from across the globe to witness this this is not baseball this is the Crucible where the fastest hungriest and most entertaining players are forged this is a game of the fans by the fans and for the fans but this is not your granddad’s pastime this is not just another night at the ballpark this game is baseball by birth fruit by name an absolute worldwide phenomenon by the grace of God this is the time for all 41 sounds fans here in Washington DC to get on your feet and give me your voices because this is the greatest show in sports ladies and gentlemen this is Bangles let’s meet the starting lineup for your Savannah Bananas leading off the center fielder number five TR the Doc Netto batting second the extra hitter number seven tie 25 Jackson in the three hole the designated hitter number 19 Dan Our in the cleanup spot left fielder number 15 we call him Rat Robert Anthony Cruz [Applause] in right field wearing number two Reese Superman Alexis [Applause] at shortstop number six he is our glove magician Ryan Cox [Applause] at first base number three Eric Jones [Music] behind the plate we’ve got the captain number one Bill [Applause] at third base he does it all number 18 Danny Hosley and at second base wearing number eight he is our greatest showman Jackson [Applause] on the mound for your bananas tonight number 88 Noah is dead [Music] your Savannah Bananas are managed by Tyler Gillum assisted by Adam Vro Pyrant Eric Fox and Reggie Hortez [Music] ladies and gentlemen please rise and remove your hats here to honor America with the singing of tonight’s national anthem please welcome Lucy Hansen breath after that one oh say can you see by the dawn early light what so proudly we held at the twilight last stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight for the rail parts we watched were so gallently streaming and the rockets red glare the bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh say does that star spangled ber yet wave for the land of the free and the home of the brave lucy Hel [Music] you are watching game 55 of the 2025 Banana Ball World Tour the fifth battle between the firefighters and the Savannah Bananas of this season so far the Nanners are 4 and0 out they sit at 20 and 23 on the tour the firefighters have defeated the party animals they have defeated the tailgator they would like to make it a perfect three for three and their opponents this year as they still search for that elusive first victory in a big league park this is the lineup they send joe Lidle the catcher leading off then Liam Spence Logan Lacy and Dalton Cornet cleaning it up dakota McFaten Mason Maxwell and we’re on Franklin 5 through six and at the bottom Steven Cullen Kayen Green and Noah Bridges
when his fifth World Tour it’s still the man in the five hole for the firefighters Dakota McFaten who’s having the hottest start of any player on this squad so far hoping that continues tonight in DC let’s get a gander at the Nanner’s defensive alignment left to right in the outfield Robert Anthony Cruz Dr meadows and Reese Alexiatis in the infield third to first Danny Hosley Ryan Cox Jackson Olsson and Eric Jones Jr while the man with the mask is Bill Loy
well the guys you got to focus on are the outfielders in tonight’s contest for the Bananas robert Anthony Cruz the former Nationals minor leager has already set a new careerhigh in trick plays he’s at 30 entering tonight and it’s Meadows 10 trick plays away from 100 reese selects Yiatis he’s six trick plays away from becoming the second outfielder to 50 trick plays in a season and the man at the middle of it all Noah is five for five on the tour in his trick play attempts has been redot on the mound since April 13th and he’s coming off his best start of the year in fact the best start of the year for any Banana five innings no runs just one hit one sprint and five strikeouts he was absolutely dominant last outing against the Party Animals
this is the 13th start of the season for Noah Nisnik who has a 2-2 record he has a 3.86 86 career earn run average in MLB parks but it’s the numbers since April 13th that really stand out for Niz 23 innings only seven hits allowed a 1.96 earnr run average and he’s averaging three outs in 3 minutes and 18 seconds in traditional baseball stadiums this is excluding the stuff that we saw in Clemson Nashville and also Charlotte but Nisnik pitching in a classic baseball stadium has been on another level for this Bananas team and he’s also undefeated in his career against the firefighters
let’s get it down to the young professor
special here this is called the first pitch that counts we’re going to bring out a special guest to throw the first pitch and whether it’s a strike or a ball it will count and it count against the first batters of the firefighters this first pitcher tonight is a longtime friend of the Savannah Bananas organization representing We Got Ice and Jumbo Media ladies and gentlemen please welcome Mr jack Toya [Applause] all right Shaq Noah Nisnik hands off the ball and here we go ball one but give it up for the first pitch that counts from Townboy Media Jack Doyle everybody all right DC i know you’re ready to get this thing underway so when I count to three I need everybody here as loud as they can to yell out start the clock 1 2 3 Showtime so Joe Lidle starts with a 10 count thanks to Jack Doyle with his main man Zo those are the guys from We Got Ice and that is a gut-wrenching end to what has been a really fun journey that is five first pitches that Jack has got to toss out over the last few months it was a 3-1 count coming into tonight that is now a walk on the imaginary hitter that he started facing in Arizona and Chase Field home of the Diamondbacks got three minor league ballparks then in front of over 41,000 fans here in Washington DC fires one that would be up and out to Joe Lidle then Noah follows it up with three straight balls so Lidle with a big turnaround first gets a free pass all seven Bananas fielders behind the pitcher and catcher have to touch the ball before it is live joe content with one base on his second sprint of the tournament just goes to show the power of that first pitch that counts in banana bomb though and Nisnick a little behind the curve couldn’t find the zone on his first three offerings to Joe Idol and it’s an early sprint that was just a hair outside of his control yes and he finds the zone on his first offering to Liam Spence holding down second base tonight and now behind O2 we saw the same thing happen to Carell Prime in Charlotte when Luke Keequley started his night off with a ball prime followed it up with the sprint to Reese Hampton nice fight there by Spence chance for the fans though they do not make the catch and another life for the Aussie [Music] another chance for the fans into the second deck bobbled vincent Chapman making the call it’s confirmed by first base umpire David Pritchette the fans went wild but it was not a clean catch so Spence still draws breath another 02 another chance for the fans back to the same spot not caught boy Liam playing with fire right now they’re just more and more motivated to try and get Liam Spence out early in this contest can you hear more gasps and more anticipation as Spence is able to battle off those pitches and eventually take the O2 from Nisnik into left field now two on for the firefighters still nobody out really impressive plate appearance from Spence out of Jalong Australia former Cubs minor leaguer after he was a star at the University of Tennessee [Music] and he’s off to a great start to his banana ball career came in hitting 313 second highest batting average on the firefighters
one of just two firefighters batting over 300 so far through nine games on the season shouldn’t necessarily surprise you though considering he hit 350 across his college career two balls in a strike on Logan Lacy the star of this squad who I would wager will be north of 300 with the batting average and not too much time he’s got a couple ducks on the pond 3-1 from Nisnik this one sprayed out to right mosying in Reese Alexi he’s going to grab the tip drill trick play and heads up move joe Lidle you’re able to take off on a tag attempt as soon as it hits a fielder so that extra time alexi waiting for the ball to come back down lidle able to grab an extra 90 yeah and the hardest thing for a position player is trying not to tip off the fact that you’re going to try a trick play there lidle had a close eye on Alexiotis he didn’t really give any sort of sign that he was going to try and collect the trick play there nonetheless Lidle a very wise tag and now 90 ft away from scoring this oh pass Nisnik Cox he gets jammed and Cornet barreling down the line is going to beat the wrap what looked like off the bat it could be a double play turns into no outs for the Bananas and the Firefighters strike first they’ve got a run joe Lidle with the boys bringing the ladder down the left field line well this is again the start that the firefighters needed in this banana ball game batting below 200 through the first three innings of play and they’ve got an early run here in the first inning as Joe Idol’s the man scaling the ladder and celebrating with the fans by that left field bow ball now Dakota McFaten the team leader in batting average dmac here in his fifth world tour the veteran player coach on this squad hitting 350 with an eyepopping 519 on base percentage leaves the zone but Nisnik fires the 1-1 low so DMAC back ahead in the countence off second Cornet off first the official scoring ruling on the DC3 grounder I think Eileen hit being it that it was such a slow roller off the bat you’re getting no argument ment for me tough play for Ryan Cox crashing in as that one just got past Nisnik and now a full count on the firefighters extra hitter big swing to miss nisnik needed that gave him gas right down the chute and blows it by him [Music] with a little entertainment straight to Ian Shri’s camera and another look at his first strike out tonight
yeah big punch out for Noah Nisnik decided to challenge McFaden feeling best in his control with that fast now goes to work and gets ahead of the lefty Mason Maxwell one run across but you know Val Perez in company would love some insurance here in the first inning mason Maxwell trying to cash in
he’s ahead two balls in a strike this is not the control that we have seen from Noah Nisnik across the last two and a half months he’ll step off cox was behind Spence at second and another three ball count jason Maxwell out of Newfield New Jersey only has one home run on the tour they’ll take a sprint here that will score at least one
once again the Bananas need to bring it around to every fielder behind the pitcher and catcher they do so in textbook very efficient fashion but now a two spot for the firefighters and Maxwell up to five runs driven in on the tour well Maxwell is hitless across his last 13 plate appearances for the firefighters but that a productive one nonetheless a sprint with runners in scoring position a second insurance run in the inning for the firefighters and Nisnik has had four three ball counts here in this opening frame ron Franklin is the seventh man to swing it here in the top of the first for the firefighters runners at the corners he’s behind one and two guy has been called Hot Boy Ron since the middle school days nickname that just caught on he started his banana ball career with a bang first hit was a home run in Anaheim he gets a piece of this fouls it off of himself we got another 2-2 [Music] [Applause] he’s our Dunkin Donut batter of the game the fans want a strike out another three ball account that is five of the seven batters that have hit against Nisnik payoff line right to the net danny Hosley the hometown kid staunches the bleeding but seven batters come up two-run score firefighters have a great chance at a point a long 33 pitch inning for Noah Nisnik in the top of the first inning and the firefighters able to do a little damage two knocks and two ball force sprints lead to two runs as you get one more look at Hosley snaring the line out it could have been worse if not for the quick hands from the man at the hot corner get a look at the numbers here for Neil Lang big cat what a phenomenal start across seven and a3 innings to his banana ball career after seven years of independent professional baseball
well this is his second start of the season his fifth time on the bump overall Lang has played in seven different indie ball leagues throwing nearly 500 innings and now the 30-year-old finally draws a start in a major league ballpark and across June he’s tossed five scoreless hitless innings for the firefighters his longest frame 3 minutes and 5 seconds here’s the defense behind Curley left to right in the outfield noah Bridges Franklin and Maxwell in the infield third to first lacy Green Spence and Cullen with Lidle behind the dish
well Lacy and Green the two men on the left side of the infield have been pretty sensational for the firefighters tied for the team lead in trick plays and each of them had multiple trick plays in the firefighters win last Saturday against the Texas Tailgator and you don’t see Isaac Parr out there a guy who has started the majority of the games this year for the firefighters because he just had his second child a big congratulations to Isaac and his wife Heather Naa and Para born today not even 24 hours old and Azie the stud that he is 3 and 1/2 years old going to turn four in September has a younger sister here’s the starting lineup for the Savannah Bananas meadows Ty Jackson and Ober do up in the first then rack Alexiatis and Cox with EJ Loy Hosley and Olsen to round it out
there’s no better man to have at the top of the order than Dr meadows right now who is batting 524 in the month of June and has recorded nearly 27% of the Banana’s total hits this month what an incredible just a remarkable stat that is oh that is mindboggling dr squibs that one foul anders need to get a guy on before they can think about tying this inning vincent Chapman express delivery service of the banana ball straight to laying on the mound [Music] the boatload of energy the pride of Tex Arcana Texas this one rolled over wow behind the back play oh behind the back at first logan Lacy to Steven Cullen that’s one of the best trick plays you’ll ever see double behind the back action for the firefighters in the opening frame lacy sensational at the hot corner and Steven Coen with some magic of his own that is the start Neil Lang could only hope for in this ball game now Ty Jackson elevated to the two-hole he was a spark plug for the Bananas in their victory last Saturday night against the Party Animals and a chopper up the middle pass the dive of his former Coastal Plane League Bananas teammate Kaden Green tai continues to pour in the offensive production as of late [Music] [Applause] dan Obur digs in and a slow tapper to the left side lacy attacking on the run just in time over at first another sparkling play from Logan Lacy now two down
yeah great charge by Logan Lacy ober with pretty great speed for a designated hitter so no time for a trick play for Logan and the bananas have come out extremely aggressive against old Curley just five pitches into his outing and three batters have come up to the plate and Rap jumps ahead 10 the former Washington Nationals minor leager gets to play his second game in the big league park of the big league team he was in the minor league system of homered last year here in Mats Park what a magical moment that was added a triple as well he’s behind the ball and two strikes here [Music] neil Lang produces a chopper over his head kaden Green to first in time and the firefighters skunk the Nanners in the first they lead 1 nil
and it’s more quick work from the lefty on the bump for the firefighters neil Lang with a 2 minute and 32 second frame as the firefighters grab the first point
let’s get it on down to our fireside chatter Zack Stton
all right Bo Josh thank you very much i’m here with the boys from Got Ice that’s Jack Fzo first of some heat there what happened man
uh I I like the velocity i’m going to answer this like I’m kind of like in the game and it really Well it does count as a ball devastating um the question was I don’t know what happened i think I tried to throw it a little too hard and I just I didn’t follow through
and that ends your first pitch world tour
yeah that that that will be a walk um yeah it’s I think what happened was I just launched it a little too high in the air it’s kind of like NASA style took off but if you’re going to fly a spaceship you’re going to have to crack some eggs along the way we’re going to just brick by brick build back up
for the firefighters we do thank you for the early ball so first uh banana ball game for you guys what’s this emo this atmosphere like for
I mean being here all day long watching the players warm up and like it’s really resonating me with when it’s time you got to be ready to grind and these players are ready to grind man
awesome well hey you guys enjoy it we got icing guys we got more banana ball thank you Zack thank you so much Jack and Zoe he nailed it i may or may not have given them a couple of phrases they had to work into their interview tonight son of a gun those guys are pros pros they both got it in there soon as Jack said launch I knew the spaceship line was coming and Zo didn’t have a lot of time to work with bang when it’s time to shine you got to be able to grind he was on it foul ball fans not on that one bottom three in the order due to swing it here in the second inning steven Cullen Kaden Green and Noah Bridges and that one blasted deep out to center dr meadows on his horse to the track it’s going to be off the wall cullen heading towards second he’ll stop there a booming double to the deepest part of this park to get our second frame going and that’s Steven Cullen’s first hit since May 30th for the firefighters he came in with just two hits on the season now finally has that first big blast on 2025 next up for the firefighters is Kadan Peanut Green escorting him to the plate is Lieutenant Kesha Jackson kesha Jackson has served for 21 years and is the first female to be assigned to the Homeland Security Special Operations Division fans please give it up for our firefighter of the night Lieutenant Kesha Jackson [Applause] [Music] it was so cool when we get to honor the firefighters who are heroes in their community extra special in a big league park in front of over 41,000 fans heroes getting the recognition they deserve now Kaden Green behind 0 and1 swinging a hot bat as of late [Music] batting average at 250 on the tour this one to foul territory danny Hosley behind the back you bet the 1,000th trick play on the tour comes from Danny Ditall in his hometown well last year it was in Cleveland Ohio we saw the 1000 trick play between Ryan Cox and Eric Jones Jr now Danny do it all with his 21st of 2025 gets to four digits on this 2025 world tour what a day for Hans chance for the fans now noah Bridges to the second deck not caught hosley was out on the party plaza with us pregame [Music] guy who grew up in Vienna Virginia less than 20 miles down the road depending on the route you take he
was a star at George Mason about to shut the door on the firefighters last year it was a nasty Vulcan chains to strike out Steven Cullen nailed down a 4-3 victory now he starts at third base we expect him to end this game on the mound again and he told us that just being here in Nationals Park was probably his favorite memory uh throughout his World Tour experience getting escorted by the Secret Service into the ball game just a really unique experience and certainly one of the coolest entrances that I would say I’ve ever seen bouncer to the right side tough hop ej hangs with it oh look at Noah Bridges fly he beats the wrap at first led the firefighters last weekend their first ever two games as the home team he picked up a pair of walk-offs one of them was on a similar play a slow tapper in the infield showing off the speed and the official scoring decision on this one john
I think that’s got to be a trick play missed see the rain is coming down here as back at the top of the order Joe Lidle into a backflip catch from Dr meadows it will be a sack fly lle picks up his sixth run driven in on the tour but for a second straight inning the firefighters with a run across and how about this for a celebration that’s physics right there folks mr vanderpool will be proud of this one the centrifugal force pulling off that stunt well fun stuff for the firefighters and really fun stuff from Dr meadows in center field now up to 91 trick plays on the season knew that Colin was going to be able to advance and score easily so opted to just go ahead and get one of the highest level of difficulty trick plays there is and land that back flip catch liam Spence cranks this it’s going to be into foul territory this would be an unreal catch by the fans they pull it off son of a gun that thing went to the moon and back and when it came down a fan was able to snag it cleanly our first foul out to a fan of the ball game after the Firefighters game one last weekend down the road in Richmond combined with the Tailgator to set the banana ball record with six foul outs to fans
well this is just the 10th game of the season for the Firefighters they have already fouled out to fans 14 times this year they’ve been incredibly unlucky
let’s talk banana ball basics here in the middle of the second inning we’re talking about sprints rule number six no walks are allowed if a pitcher throws ball four we’ve already seen the firefighters pick up a pair it becomes a sprint and the hitter can advance to as many bases as they want before every defensive player has to touch the ball and of course we saw one of the rarest things in banana ball as last Saturday it was Ty Jackson who was able to come away with a four base sprint for the Savannah Bananas the first of 2025 the first since June 19th 2023 throw from Ball home got away from all the defenders and Jackson’s elite speed brought him in now you get a look at the alltime sprint data we have seen 14 alltime four-based sprints that’s less than 1% all time but believe it or not two have happened in the last two banana ball games as we saw a mental mistake from Fisher Polyora led to Armando Basera claiming a four base sprint for the party animals in Louisville yeah that was last night it’s one of those things I just I love sports i love baseball and it’s brainchild banana ball oh so much you just never know what you’re going to see at the yard this one gets past Lacy backhanded between the legs kayen Green what an arm i mean that was a perfect throw across the diamond unfortunately for the firefighters reese selectiatis runs like the very wind itself so it’ll be an infield single but not for lack of trying peanut i mean that was unreal range trick play ability and arm power all on display at the same time all for not anders have the tying run on 01 count here on Ryan Cox who just continues to up the ante with the bat it’s Banana Ball’s all-time trick play leader has led each of the last three World Tours in the trick play department but he has never hit like this i mean it is unbelievable 316 batting average of 409 OBP and on a fivegame on base streak right now for the Savannah Bananas as well he’s gotten hits in four of his last five but has also tacked on some timely ball for sprints as well and a lot of the stuff he’s done has come in the clutch he’s tied for the team lead in walk-offs with 16 [Music] sticky situation for Neil Lang who’s found so much success in his young banana ball career by pounding the zone 3-1 [Applause] and now 3-2 cox was taken all the way got a meatball he said “Let’s see you do it again big cat.” He does do it again and Cox spoils it as he does so often [Applause] this is a battle between Titans lang hardly ever gives up sprints cox hardly ever strikes out another payoff slap the other way into POW territory lacy runs out of room the fans do not make the catch you get an eighth pitch from Lang to Cox this is what makes Ryan Cox so great in the middle of this Bananas lineup a guy who just refuses to strike out and on the eighth pitch hits this one up the middle it’s a glove flip try from Liam Spence but not right on top of that second base bag pulls Kaden Green away and it’s backto back singles now for the Savannah Bananas
neither left the infield but neither were easy plays at all in fact the first one was an impossible play to make by Peanut would have been a dazzling defensive play by Liam Spence there wasn’t able to make it happen and now Eric Jones Jr hot rod into left alexi gets a stop sign from Gillum malachi Mitchell the designated runner was off last weekend up in Nashville on a bachelor trip with one of his best friends from the Florida&M days he’s going to be his best man for [Music] a noble reason to miss a weekend of banana ball ty Jackson got two designated runner opportunities dalton Malden took the spot last Saturday night but now the fastest man in Banana land is back and he is the inning winning run in scoring position for the 8-year Banana Bill Loy nowhere to put the Nanners catcher alexi off third the inning tying run and Bill ahead one out three straight singles the plate is set for Bill now it’s time to eat two balls and no strikes [Applause] [Music] three out and ball four wins the inning for the Bananas bill swinging foul just barely down the third baseline on the 3 0 if that was an inch or two the other direction inning would have been over
i love the thought of swinging there from Bill Loy seeing the firefighters outfield shifted so in Bill trying to put something over their heads and bring in two runs easily and you see the same approach on three and one although he found that one back to the screen base is chucked from 3 0 to 3-2 slashed down the right field line bill Loy walk-off double and we are tied at one point each with flash a backhand spring to home plate bill Loy his 10th walk-off of the year four straight hits in the inning for the Savannah Bananas they do not even record an out and they have drawn themselves even with the firefighters now through two innings of play on the back of their captain Bill Loy
we’re kned at one we’ll get it down to Mio and the fellas for a player dance heat heat yeah heat [Applause] heat heat [Music] [Applause] superb stuff as per usual for Macio with KJ Philly Ziggy and Big Arch out there with them and Logan Lacy is about to start off our third inning in style let’s see what Showtime’s got [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] logan’s grandfather started screaming showtime at Logan’s game when he was games when he was at Little League when he was coming up to the plate as grandpa would say “What time is it?” All the fans would yell “Showtime.” And boy he has brought the electricity to Banana Land a man of multiple nicknames he’s picked up the electrician here because he literally was working at low voltage electrical work for the city of Tallahassee before he took over career-wise as a professional banana ball player i mean it’s a Paul Bunanesque type story he’s just unreal and the numbers throughout his Banana Ball career have been Paul Bunionesque as well he’s 6 for12 lifetime against one of Banana Ball’s best starters in Noah Nisnik that one pass the dive of Hosley into left and Lacy one for two on the night flew out to right his first time starts the visitors half of the third inning in style he’s aboard for Dalton Cornet here in his fourth banana ball world tour first three were with the party animals this is year one as a firefighter a huge offensive weapon added to this sophomore firefighter squad and leading the team in runs batted in so far with six his buddy behind the dish joe Le just tied him in that department in the second inning with the sack fly so rare you see the team’s two catchers pacing the squad and stakes but it’s not rare in Banana land to see a pitcher pull in his second baseman short stop at center fielder to do a game so that happens about once a game and Cornet taking advantage of the unique defensive alignment slaps that right to where Ryan Cox should have been picks up a knocky scampers up to second well he hit it perfectly dalton Cornet a banana ball veteran knows right where to place that ball and you got to give a lot of credit to Dr meadows coming out of that 322 defense to range over into shallow left center and slide to keep that ball from turning into extra bases and a possible run scored in the inning for the firefighters two on nobody down a1 pitch to Dakota McFaten struck out swinging his first time but what a tale of two starts for Noah Nisnik he cruised through five onehit innings against the party animals last Saturday night has been a laborious first two plus innings here against the firefighters dmac down swinging for a second time tonight mystic once again goes to the fast ball for the punch out [Music] and then the St louis kid once again celebrating in style once again gas blown by McAdam well if he can’t adapt to what you’re offering don’t really change your style noah Nisnick able to come away with his second punch out now both have come against Mcbaden and Bill Loy able to jump on that one quickly to keep Lacy and Cornet from moving up mason Maxwell slaps this one foul boy Lacy looked like he had third base stolen tremendous jump and Mason Maxwell on the play fouls out to a fan second foul out to a fan of the ball game they have both gone against the firefighters well Noah Nisnik entered this game tied for the tour lead in foul outs to fans at least induced foul outs to fans now he is two above second place his teammate Danny Hosley at the hot corner from two on with nobody out to two on with two down ron Franklin trying to make it three straight innings with a firefighters offense give Bill Lang something to work with hot boy Ron tattooed the ball straight to Hosley at third his first time lined out he’s ahead two balls and no strikes the fans foaming at the mouth for donuts it would take a strike out they could ruin their chance right here oh no that one clips off one of the wires holding the net so no chance for a man to make a play on [Applause] three balls and a strike on the pride of New Orleans Louisiana nisnik has continued to try and challenge batters with the heater up in the zone however he has not been able to place that fast ball up very consistently although that is what he’s been trying to do all night long gets the swing and miss from Franklin to run the count full runners are off bouncer is fouled just barely oley gave it a good effort snuck by him that was less than an inch from potentially being extra bases and one or two runs scored runners will be off again [Applause] swing and a miss noah Nesnik perfectly placed fast ball huge punch out to strand a pair and now Franklin Jr has a strikeout in five of his last six games for the firefighters he was a man who posted a 32% strikeout rate throughout most of his collegiate career that is exactly why he was picked as tonight’s doughnut batter and it pays off for all our fans in DC another look at strikeout number three on the night for Niz Nasty and we’ll get it on down to Jolie Chabala for a Bananas Foster family of the night ladies and gentlemen at this time please welcome to the field Jolie Chambala across the United States there are over 400,000 children and teens in foster care without a permanent home look around that’s enough to fill Nationals Park 10 times with children and teens experiencing foster care to raise awareness and support this community we created Bananas Foster the official nonprofit of Banana Ball our organization is dedicated to celebrating the foster care community while educating and inspiring others to get involved tonight we are celebrating the Jewel family trisha works for a local nonprofit that supports foster families and Stor is a police officer right here in Washington DC they have been a licensed foster family for 5 years and have welcomed 10 children into their home but tonight we are also celebrating Kayla Holmes you see June is National Reunification Month and a time that we recognize the goal of foster care which is reunification with biological families kayla’s son was placed into foster care with the Jewel family and this family walked alongside her and her son until last year when they were officially reunified together fans please welcome to the field and help us celebrate both Kayla and the Jewel family for making a difference right here in the foster care community it’s always such a beautiful moment when we get to celebrate the superherooes in the foster care community have a big shout out to the Jewel family Trisha and Stewart absolute superstars here in the foster care community in our nation’s capital and you can text bananas to 50155 to support Bananas Foster another fun opportunity for you folks coming up 2026 February 9th through 13th you can cruise with us from Tampa Florida to CSL Mexico right now you get to look at the filming of MMA Mia a full boat music video i can promise there will be a round two on a full cruise ship music video plus many more fun activities lots of opportunities to get involved in some banana ball content i cannot wait i really cannot wait to set sail once again with all our friends here in Banana Land
i mean there are going to be music videos party down’s going to be playing on the show
party down
you’re going to get some karaoke maybe even from me and Bo you never know we We won’t count it out it’s It’s surely going to be a grand time and of course all six Banana Ball teams that are going to play next year will be on this version of Banana Land at Sea
yes this is an opportunity that will not last forever though there are less than 100 cabins that you can grab right now people if if you’re looking to meet KJ maybe Noah
I I think it’s a good idea to sign up for this cruise
i I would be surprised after you said that if the 100 cabins are going to last the rest of the night holy moly [Music] or Bo
yep I will it’s a great opportunity to meet Bo too danny Hosley in the nine hole with a highf fly ball deep to right and mosying back noah Bridges for out number one this is the first inning tonight that Neil Lang has not had any run support so Noah taking no chances out there and left i do not blame him and Jackson Olsson in the tenhole with some special sauce for us right here as he comes to the dish yeah heat yeah heat a lot of bells and whistles on that one jackson with a declaration here in Washington DC that he’s a supernova girl you ever watch whatever that’s from Josh some Disney Channel classic
i I actually have not seen that Disney Channel original
original that’s what they call him tapped to second base liam Spence is going to punt it to first what a stretch oh no first base umpire Daniel Pritchette says that Steven Cullen was dragged off the bag he’s got a much better view than I but it looked like Cullen dragged his foot pretty well we’ll get another look see if the firefighters challenge that’s a miraculous oh but they should challenge this play
i I see on my first glance I don’t see foot on the bag at all there really yes like he never had his foot on the bag is what you’re saying now I respect the Paul O’Neal kick try there the second base position is the perfect place to attempt a trick play of that nature
well struck by Dr meadows a backpedaling Noah Bridges handles it though and Olsson retreats back to first two outs now what’s the official scoring on that because I don’t think you can rule it a trick play missed if Steven Cullen was never on first base i I think you do i I think it I mean it still drags him off
but what I I don’t know i guess I’ll have to look back at it i thought when you were saying he was never on first that he literally was never on first you’re saying he was on first but got dragged off by the kick it It almost appeared as if foot wasn’t on the back to begin with
and I don’t think you can rule it a trick play miss for Spence then i think you’d have to rule it in E3 i mean
I got one look at it
yeah that’s going to be cautious about it
all right it’s under review everybody if you’re scoring at home it’s under review cuz I mean hypothetically one-two count here on Ty Jackson if the foot’s never on the bag and Spence kicks it right to the chest of Steven Cullen Jackson’s still going to be safe cuz the foot’s not on the bag [Music] this would be an incredible play by the fans they do not make it ty singled his first time slap the ball back up the middle he is a tough cookie at the dish with two strikes [Music] shows you there great pitch by Neil Lang spoiled and Tai’s barking at him i mean this is just what you get out of Tai Jackson and and this is stuff he was doing all the way back in college as well this this isn’t a strict thing that he’s brought into banana ball always a pesky hitter getting himself his dugout fired up maybe even intimidating the pitcher a little bit on the mound two two another foul ball another chance for the fans they don’t make the catch and this is the kind of thing that ruffled some feathers during his East Georgia State College days when he was an absolute behemoth offensively for the Bobcats of course he took it with him down to Florida&M as well another opportunity for the fans once again they do not make the play this is just Tai Jackson folks and it’s one of the most special characters in Banana Land history because of it guy who was built to be here pokes this one into center ron Franklin waits a long time now coming in and he is going to call off Peanut for out number three neil Lang puts up an important goose egg and it is still one to one with three innings in the books we’ll get it down to the field for a secret service shutdown
that are in the secret service maybe one of the coolest jobs ever so we had a game to celebrate it here cuz we have a Secret Service try out here to over here you can see I have one of our presidents this is President Desmond everybody and this is Secret Agent Nate nate’s job is going to be to try to protect the president from coming under fire from water balloons from our players but we’re going to turn it into a competition marshall Shill who do you have over there on the third base dugout what’s going on DC so we have a very special president here president Lincoln weekend here and with his secret agent Mr t all righty so let’s see what we got here mr
all right whichever agent gets hit the most and protects their president is the winner agents get in front of your presidents here we go on your mark get set go oh there we go one two come on president oh that was a wicked shot [Applause] 10 9 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Stop
oh no more [Applause] all right Marshall i want to know Marshall how many hits do you have over on your side
he only got hit one time baby that was our
How many was that he only got hit one time everything else was the
one we got five ladies and gentlemen your winner’s over on the first base side [Applause] all fun DC themed promotion there jared Donaldelson the new man on the mound for the Nanners so no gone after three innings of work and the banana splitter specialist fires a fast ball wide to Steven Cullen bottom three in the order for the firefighters whoa talk about getting your hands in cullen was ready for that he peppered a ball up the dead center field wall about halfway up his first time and I mean tested the limits of Nationals Park got two bases for his troubles now a 2-1 from Donnie and some housekeeping that Jackson Olsson grounder a half inning ago officially a trick play missed for Liam Space TPM4 we were able to review the footage and see that Cullen did have his foot on the bag before the kick and then the footwork he wasn’t able to make the toe drag work so it was the punted ball over by Spence that caused Cullen to leave the bag and how about that a 3-2 splitter from Donnie in the zone he gets the punch out well Jared Donaldson split time between the rotation in the bullpen this season for the Bananas it’s just been about an even split but the numbers have been wildly better for Donnie in relief as he has a 3.57 earnner run average across 17 and 2/3 innings of relief with 11 strikeouts and has averaged three outs in 3 minutes and 19 seconds look out Peanut his former CPO Banana teammate nearly took his head off donnie says “My bad.” Two to the firefighter shortstop peanut fouled out oh now peppers that one off of Split’s heel [Music] and the rain continuing to come down i’ll call it a thick misting as this one scolded right to rack well struck by the kid out of Barry Hill Oklahoma nothing to show for his barrel though and a quick two outs for Donnie now Noah Bridges digs in [Music] 02 count on the firefighters left fielder who doesn’t even think about offering up at the O2 beat out a bouncer to the right side for an infield single his first time tries to hold up did he go no says third base umpire Eric Goldstein seduces Wild now called strike three splitter scrapes the bottom of the zone donnie front flips off the field after a one two three inning with a pair of K’s two punch outs for Jared Donaldson and 2 minutes and 48 seconds on the clock for the righty throwing the first three up three down inning of any pitcher in tonight’s ball game big boost for the Nanners they could take the lead with just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning we’ll get it down to the young professor for over 41,000 fans getting a little hey baby in i also need you to put your hands up in the air hands way up in the air because it’s time for a little hey baby all right clap it out here we go [Music] [Applause] we want to hear you sing give it up DC [Applause] all right let’s get a little louder than that here we go [Applause] all right keep clapping those fans we’re going to shuffle it up [Music] get ready [Applause] one more time as loud as you can [Applause] give yourselves a great big round of applause DC let’s go oh what a sight that was the district this place was built for banana ball and Nolan Daniel built to be at the center of it all first man out of the pen for the firefighters
no no has allowed walk-offs in two of his first three appearances this season and although it’s early in the year Daniel’s sprint rate has continued to climb every year since he entered back into banana ball in 2023 he’s got to come out pitching with more confidence against his former team and Dan Overst the first pitch skies this into center field and Ron Franklin tries to tip this one over to Mason Maxwell and that ball tumbles into right center field ober’s great hustle is standing on second base see Ron and Mason trying to work out where the communication went arai there that is brutal for Nolan as Steven Cullen botches this one tries to flip it behind his back that throw is or flip rather is offline that’ll be an E3 so a trick play missed from the firefighters center fielder straight into an error from their first baseman and some bad news Bearsesque defense in the bottom of the fourth inning putting Nolan in a sticky spot inning winning run 90 ft away one of the best hitters on the face of the earth reese selects Yiatis behind 01 this just makes you feel like you’re backed into a corner even more if you’re Nolan daniel hasn’t had the success he would like early in 2025 but now Logan Lacy snares this at third base and they’ve got Dan Oburst in a pickle he avoids the tag of Joe Lidle and they’re still hunting him down lidle can’t hold on to the ball and Ober safe at third wow this inning has just leveled up from disaster to disastrophe i mean you got to get an out here you got to get an out it was not clean run down defense to begin with from the firefighters a little whoopsydoodle from Obururst and then Joe oh man joe on the tag the ball bounces out of the mitt bases are loaded infield is still in five infielders now ryan Cox at the dish and this just feels like a foregone conclusion when you got a guy tied for the tour lead with 16 walk-offs who never strikes out and only two outfielders ryan Cox is going to do that just made it easy for me ron Franklin a heroic attempt perfect throw home just a hair late but that is a firefighters gift of a second point for the Bananas who get their first lead of the ball game but that is a defensive inning that the Firefighters have got to forget about going forward in this ball game this is what helped the Bananas win night one in Angel Stadium against this team they had three errors/tick plays missed that led to walk-offs for the team that night now it’s happened again here in Nationals Park but hopefully they’re able to clean things up and have their pitchers feeling a little more confident going forward tonight little new age version of the chaa slide we’ll get it down to Marshall Shield helping us out and his dad and you guessed it it is my dad all righty y’all so Little Shepherd you have this banana ball you can get signed by all the firefighters or you can have the option to hose your dad what do we have
hose my dad
he wants to hose his dad get out of here all right hold on hold on hold on hold on we do have this little bat you could be the coolest kid at your school or do you still want to hose your dad
who’s your dad
he wants to hose his dad get out of here no way okay that is absolutely great accuracy you would be a fantastic firefighter one day but we have our last option a t-shirt to be able to rep in front of all the kids or the last option to hose your dad who’s your dad
who wants to die get out of here oh my goodness give it up for them for being such a raceport we’re going to give you all three items [Applause] great choices made by that little legend excellent work on the Mike Marshall show great job by Christian Deman assisting the youngster with the dad hosing top of the order for the firefighters Joe Lidle followed by Liam Spence and Logan Lacy lidle’s third trip to the dish he’s 0 for O on the night a sprint and a run scored his first time a sacrifice fly his last time so he scored a run he’s driven in a run continues to be in the middle of a lot of the action offensively for this team that’s why Valerie Perez puts him at the top of the order oh my goodness double trick play Donnie to EJ and what a snag to start it off
i mean things are just going Jared Donaldson’s way so far tonight in Washington DC two punch outs now fields the comebacker it gives a little Matt Bull flip through the legs that Eric Jones Jr handles behind the back with no issues
diving catch dr meadows takes extra bases away from Liam Spence and is fired up about it as he should be defense shining in the fifth inning for the Savannah Bananas this is the exact opposite of what we just saw from the firefighters a half inning ago probably only hurts even more for this squad and Logan Lacy kind of looks like he’s doing the exact same thing he did his last time but now he’s in bunker gear uh smells like a transition video from the firefighter social media chief and it’s only my fifth year here i kind of think pick up on an idea i I would guess the transition probably happens when you blast him with cryo
what do you think Josh i I don’t know ma’am you’re not You’re not slow i don’t know if my numbers are driving with that boy it’s got to be tough to swing it against Jared Donaldson in full bunker gear but if anyone’s up to the task it is Logan Lacy spits on the slider a ball and a strike and a tapper back up the middle diving attempt no dice for Ryan Cox and Lacy now two for three on the night back-to-back singles for him well he’s he entered tonight six for 17 against the Savannah Bananas this season now two for three in the singles in each of his last two at bats just has to see if Dalton Cornet also with two hits tonight can keep the line moving here in the fifth
what a shot from the crew billoy that guy’s got a firm base to him it’s
the kind of kester that NFL scouts love to see on a youngster no two count on Daltton Cornet and he’s down on three pitches disgusting splitter to end his perfect night at the plate jared Donaldson cruising through two innings on the mound well now through 11 and 2/3 innings in major league ballparks Jared Donaldelsson has still only allowed one earned run to opponents unbelievable stuff from Donnie in a quick
let’s get it down to Zack Stton
all right guys real quickly here he’s taking the helmet gear off and he’s immediately putting the pitching gear on dmac down 2-1 here what we got to do to get out of this inclement
well we just got to keep pounding the zone we just got to keep making things happen those guys can hit just as much as our guys can hit and I mean they’re playing a really good game just like we are it’s a two to one game right here so just got to keep pushing the pedal down what’s firing you up the pitch tonight
so Luke Hansen remember his name luke Hansen the kid that I met this off season he passed away from bacterialitis i believe that’s what it’s called great kid family’s great people i’m wearing number five for him so that’s what’s firing me up the pitch god bless us we played for more than ourselves this is a great time for it regardless of what happens
dmac thank you very much and by the way shout out to D-Max’s father Steve retired after 45 years as a firefighter this past week yes he is real hero my inspiration bo Josh back to y’all
thank you Zach heartfelt stuff from DMAC that is beautiful
yeah and he is not the only guy on the field tonight who is honoring Luke Hansen as you know Kyle Jackson Zachary Bridges Logan Lacy also have five somewhere on their bodies tonight to make sure that his memory is not forgotten [Applause] [Music] we get a look at the numbers here for Dakota McFaten on the mound here in his fifth Banana Ball World Tour and we’ve seen very positive results from D-Max so far on the pitching side he’s had five ground outs compared to three flyyous and has three strikeouts in four and a third innings pitched and in his fifth world tour McFaden finally recorded the first sub2minute inning of his career last Saturday against the Texas Tailgator it was a 1 minute and 42 second frame dmac has EJ Loy and Hley here in the bottom of the fifth inning bananas up a point they just need one run to double that lead eric Jones Jr tattooed a ball to left his first time came away with a knock boy that one just missed two balls of no strikes that one missed by plenty three 0 count [Music] four straight bad ones all of them inside to Eric Jones Jr great sprint defense by the firefighters though they get it to all seven fielders behind the pitcher and catcher in short order [Music] on the first sprint allowed by their pitchers so far tonight well the interesting trend in tonight’s ball game this is the third inning in which the Bananas have had the leadoff man reach base in each of the previous two they have earned the walk-off against the firefighters and they’ve already got the fastest man in banana ball on the base pass malachi Mitchell their designated runner flash ended up scoring the inning winning run in the second it was on a Bill Loy RBI double [Applause] smoked the ball down the right field line and he’s plunked here boy that one square in the back but that is a tough cookie right there bill’s had his fair share of bumps and bruises across eight years of being the Banana’s primary catcher he’s aboard for the second time tonight pushes the inning winning run to scoring position and Danny Hosley having a nice night defensively a good play on a line drive grabbed the 10,000th combined trick play on the tour behind the back snag and foul territory now trying to add some offense to the equation flew out sharply to left his first time [Music] nice bender there from DMAC to jump back ahead in the count [Music] and that’s a great take by Danny Hosley [Music] count is fallen ball four here from McFaten wins the inning for the Bananas see what he goes to on the payoff five pitch mix sticks with the gas and that’s caught peanut to second one over to first double play boy he trapped it and that is a huge twin killing for the firefighters well it’s a barrel for Danny Hosley just directly at his opponent and Kaden Green you still see with you see with enough time to go between the legs on the transfer and collect his ninth trick play as the firefighters grab two and Jackson Olsen skies this one into foul territory tracking it as Logan Lacy tries to go behind his back and will not complete the play oh that is a really tough miss there for Logan Lacy and it could possibly cost them dearly here in the fifth lacy saw Peanut tie him on top the trick play leaderboard for the firefighters says I’d like sole possession at the top of the mountain once again doesn’t happen there it won’t be a trick play missed if Mcben can retire Olsen but now he’s behind 2-1 the sprint here loses the inning that’s just two more balls away continuing to swing a better bat as the tour ages and strokes that one into right center ron Franklin and can’t make the play he ran it cataclysmic defensive miscues from the Firefighters as they continue to get the Bananas points it is now 3-1 now the firefighters have three trick plays missed in tonight’s ball game three errors as well it has been a nightmare game defensively for this team and it’s a second straight or two out of no second straight inning where the defense has failed them and led to a bananas point get another look at the E8 and let’s take a look at what happened this week in Banana Ball history 5 years and a day ago this was the first game I ever got to broadcast in my young Bananas broadcasting career bill Loy scored on the first ever sprint cowboy Kyle Luig stole a base we saw home plate stolen i think that was Jesse Cheryl and of course some things never change jesse Cole calling the world’s slowest race we ended up having showdowns a seven inning game and the green bananas took down the yellow bananas yeah it was truly an incredible game logan Workman had the first sub 2minute inning in history a 1 minute and 58 second frame the Green Bananas did not allow a single ball for sprint and you just seen how far we’ve come across this time that game played in front of a thousand total fans of course it had some COVID restrictions attached to it but now you see the all-time banana ball attendance well over 2 million fans have been able to enjoy a banana ball game and that number is only going to climb as we continue this world tour as the bananas from here on out on the road are playing in Major League Ballparks carell Prime guy who spent seven years in minor league baseball takes center stage second man out of the pen after Jared Donaldson provides two scoreless innings and earns points on the pair of them for the Nanners go to McFaden wasn’t able to get it done with the arm going to try and provide something with the bat who struck out both times against Noah Nisnik he will have to patiently wait for Vincent Chapman to shake his rump to the delight of the over 41,000 fans on hand here in Nationals Park [Applause] with ball and no strikes demac has to look out for primarily a four pitch mix from the 65 righty bounces this one to short fielded between the legs 360 Ryan Cox over to EJ who catches the throw between the legs another double trick play by the Bananas superb defense continues for the boys in white and yellow and another that starts the inning for the Savannah Bananas this is why the guys love having Carell Prime on the pitchers mound he’s one of just two bananas inducing more ground outs than flyyous this year and Ryan Cox Danny Hosley Jackson Olsson and even Eric Jones Jr know that means a lot of opportunities for them to increase their trick play totals
beautiful change up prime ahead of Mason Maxwell 02 and you see the change once again he’ll work the slider in he can back door it he can also back foot it against the lefty tries to back door it there does not get the call from Vincent as that was just a bit out primal smiles the sinker is the primary ground ball pitch though that’s what Prime throws more than anything as you get another slider this one fouled away he’ll work a cutter in as well so everything moves he’s got pitches that work in and away from both righties and lefties and he pounds the zone it is really a wonderful recipe for a banana ball pitcher and look he’s 2 and 0 on the season still undefeated in his banana ball career and putting up a pretty good battle against him is Mason Maxwell who goes the opposite way and that is going to be well over the head of Robert Anthony Cruz off the warning track an easy two bases for the firefighters right fielder second double third extra base hit for Maxwell here in his 10th game played [Music] and he will give way for South Trimble the firefighters designated runner getting out there for the first time this evening home time hometown game for South out of Virginia Beach Virginia and one of Danny Hosley’s teammates at George Mason just down the road boy that was a good look at first pitch called ball one to Ron Franklin Jr and the slider misses 2 [Music] make it 2-1 south on second base always a threat to run couple stolen bases on the tour so far he’s George Mason’s second all-time stolen base leader he was twice the Patriots sportsmanship award winner just a phenomenal human being through and through awesome to have him back on the firefighters for a second tour and a beautiful front door bender gets the bottom of the zone for Prime his first catch
good to see from Carell Prime and kind of a long time coming that’s his first strikeout since June the 6th in Charlotte North Carolina as you see that bender just clip the inside corner bouncer over the head of Prime olsson positioned perfectly though flips it under the leg and will retire Steven Cullen three trick plays on the inning a strike out for Prime Time and that is four straight goose eggs thrown up by Bananas pitching one from Nisnik two from Donnie now one from Prime they have silenced this firefighters offense that pushed three runs across the first two innings and now the young professor debuting the sheet race we have brown dark blue yellow and light blue and they are off my favorite promotion in all the world and it is a tight one yellow with an early lead the two blues neck andneck in second brown right on their heels slow and steady go the boys around the first turn brown making a big turn around the outside into first place from last he comes yellow trying to jostle back in front oh some bumping brown with a dive but that’s not the finish line that’s not the finish line that’s the foul line get up guys get up light blue knows what’s happening here he comes that is what smarts will get you a victory in the sheet race in front of over 41,000 fans yellow hobbling in second here comes Brown dark blue is going to get a DNF did not finish you’ve seen it time and time again as we get another look the line is confusing there’s a line there you may think it’s the finish line no that line is for fair and foul you got to go around a full another turn boys my my only question are are you positive that Brown thought that was the finish line or is it just a coincidence he fell in that spot
as a guy who has gotten to call and how blessed am I that I could say this dozens upon dozens of sheet races my time here in Banana Land that was a dive i thought it it started like it might be a fall i think it was a dive for a victory now I I can’t stake my entire reputation on it but I feel very confident as Marshall Schill the new man on the mound he’s got the top of the order for the Nanders dr Meadows Ty Jackson and Dan Oburst the pitching staff continues to throw up donuts the offense two straight innings has turned that into points [Music] this one flipped into right field matt Wolfin defensively at second under the leg trick play of course one of the trickiest banana ballers to ever grace our presence and he starts the bottom of the sixth in style he just makes it look so easy for the firefighters he’s collecting trick plays on the pitcher mound but getting plenty of opportunities at some point in ball games at the second base position and now he may have an opportunity for another with the lefty Kyle Jackson up in the box kj off the bench i wager he will take over at third base for Danny Hosley kyle Jackson hitting in Tai Jackson’s place and video game numbers you get to look at at the bottom of your screen as KJ smokes this one to right on the run nice play mason Maxwell takes extra bases what most likely would have been a triple away from Kyle Jackson on his first swing of the night that would have been big time trouble if it got down but instead of KJ in scoring position Alex Ziggler will swing it with two outs and nobody on he pinch hits in Van over spot ziggy’s been having really great results at the plate so far it happens yet again wider up the middle past the dive of Kaden Green and Ziggy told us the approach has not been to try and just unleash and connect on a home run every time but stay more on that back foot come across with a really even swing and you see another knock for the bat trickster and another entry into the game for Malachine Mitchell the Banana’s designated runner after a weekend off in bachelor party land up in Nash Vegas flash busy tonight third time on the bags that ball is smoked foul look out folks golly laser beam into the seats from Robert Anthony Cruz 0 for two on the night he’s grounded out and reached on an error another check on Flash wise move from Marshall Schul malachi Mitchell 13 steals in 20 attempts this year but he’s fallen one swiped bag behind Dr meadows for the team lead know he would love to even that back up look out holy moly i don’t know how that didn’t hit Robert Anthony Cruz i think it went between his legs
he megged him he made black marshall Schill how dare you that is disrespectful [Music] i mean I’d rather you hit the guy than nag him [Music] right down the road from home of DC United that would be throwing hands over there on the soccer pitch if that happened what a scoop that is a stupendous defensive play by Joe Lidle to keep Flash on first two-2 now with two down bounce to first whoa colin oh my gosh just barely beats wrath to the bag unique out call from David Pritchette nearly blew a tire trying to get over to first but the dive just ahead of Cruz [Music] fans are going to challenge the call on the play we need clear and obvious evidence to overturn the call made by first base umpire David Pritchette and I think we’re seeing the exact opposite if we could not have the Flames that would definitely be very helpful what are we doing that’s a riot though from what I’m seeing on this angle the call is upheld
i I agree i I see Glove on corner of bag before Reck is able to get the foot there
tremendous hustle by both ball players marshall Shell unfortunately get it from that angle
is screening us on that angle this is a great look at it [Music] we could go a little slower from what I’m seeing you cannot overturn this call i I agree 15 seconds left but I don’t think we’re going to see anything else call stands after further review the ruling on the field stands [Applause] tell you what great use of the fan challenge though that’s about as bang bang as they get [Music] let’s get a little firefighters cast call here because this is a squad that is fresh off their first headlining weekend you got the calendar crew at every one of these firefighters games they are the foil to the mananas matt Wolf I mean that guy’s been here since 2022 this is world tour number four for the trickiest pitcher in all of Banana Land on the fire line the firefighters own band and boy do they play the heck out of those drums can’t forget Bo the Beaver mascot was unveiled last weekend in Richmond Virginia beavers are nature’s firefighters look it up folks there’s some great podcasts out there about it and Chief the bat dog the bell of the ball what a superstar fans were going absolutely bonkers in the home of the Richmond flying squirrels last weekend and another look at the trick play from Matt Wolf that’s what kicked off our bottom of the sixth inning we just closed out right on time yeah just so cool to get a look at the cast of the firefighters also that trick play from Matt Wolf who’s done something very unique and kind of taken an approach similar to Jake Skull who decided to adopt X on the back of his jersey matt Wolf is just an exclamation mark this year and that trick play certainly came with an exclamation mark as well full House here in Nationals Park over 41,000 fans on hand in this beautiful banana ball arena built in 2008 this is year 18 of Mats Park’s existence and the second time we get a banana ball game we’ll be back in action tomorrow night handers and firefighters round two electric Bugaloo right back here on Bananas YouTube channel as well as ESPN 2 ESPN Plus and Disney Plus 910 and one due to swing it here for the firefighters kaden Green takes the slider in for strike one noah Bridges on deck joe Lidle in the hall check swing fouled away o2 big swing and a miss peanut the first strike out of his banana ball career carell Prime with a nasty bender to get the job done yeah and that slider is looking very nice for Carell Prime throws Ron Franklin last inning and Peanut couldn’t resist trying to connect with that one and goes down swinging as Noah Bridges struck out looking his last time up at the plate [Music] that was against Jared Donaldson he gets to face Prime for the first time tonight two balls and no strikes noah one for two played out an infield single his first time up pride of four oaks North Carolina it’s a big hullaloo about the hometown his brother Zachary Bridges when he reported to school said that ah you know what let’s just make it easier I’ll say him from Wilmington North Carolina backflip catch forget story time Robert Anthony Cruz dazzling backflip catch Round number two the former Washington Nationals minor leaguer breaks out the rack clip yet again back in Nats Park an unbelievable play for the Nanner’s left fielder who just continues to up the ante this season that is now his 27th rack flip of 2025 instead the goal coming into the tour was 40 [Applause] cruz is well on his way and a former Nationals minor leager dazzling the full capacity crowd here in our nation’s capital back to the top of the order we go [Music] and a 1-1 count on Joe who tried to send that thing to the Capitol building liner nice snag kyle Jackson called strike makes the catch and the call himself and an easy breezy one two three inning for Prime and company middle of the seventh inning manners still lead 3 to one and let’s talk shop because tomorrow night right on time Robert Anthony Cruz is going to be all over the broadcast it is going to be the rack show we’re going to have him miked up a multitude of times out in the field swinging the bat he’s really going to be a third broadcaster for us on ESPN 2 and YouTube it’s going to be a thrill to have so much insight from Rack back here in the park of his old big league club
yeah makes this somewhat of a special homecoming for Robert Anthony as good as a bunch
now we get a live look in over in Louisville Kentucky you see Jake Leios with a wild one getting away from Mike Vasis as believe it or not it’s the visitors rebounding so far on night two and leading 3 to one right now against the boys in black and pink that’s with three runs home here in the top of the eighth inning and a chance for plenty more this is a powerful visitors team got their feet underneath them last night in their first ever banana ball game played for everybody sans carrot de clue fell to the party animals and are back with a vengeance here tonight i mean they came out uber aggressive last night that was part of the reason it was such a quick game the party animals had quick walkoffs against them four in fact and on the visitor side of things they only saw 115 total pitches last night and were really going all over Delaney dakota Stilts Albert Britain he’s going to pinch it for Alexi to kickstart the last of the seven as you can see Marshall Shield out there for another inning of relief it’ll be interesting to see the sideliner try and find the elevated zone of the tallest athlete in the world he did it that’ll do the trick quick 02 count [Music] fouled away great opportunity for the fans they don’t catch it another life for Albertton [Applause] [Music] this one bounced to the right side diving play steven Cullen from his knees bounces it to Shill who has some fancy footwork for us and taps the bag just ahead of Still tustling down the line it’s a good piece off the bat of Dakota Stilts off Britain steven Coen not expecting him to hit that one over to the opposite side of the diamond and still has the wherewithal to gather that and give a perfect bounce pass to Marshall Schill for the first out of the seventh there’s the red hot Ryan Cox [Music] [Applause] [Music] singles in the second and fourth inning the latter of which won the frame for the Nanners gave the boys in white and yellow a lead they have not relinquished behind one and two he’s got to look out for six different pitches out of two different arm slots for Michelle he is a funky fellow on the bump look out that one high and tight 22 now and the count runs fall as it so often does with the glove magician at the dish as pesky a hitter as you will find this side of the Mississippi payoff pitch back up the middle backhanded by Matt Wolf between the legs 360 behind the back over to first just in the nick of time unbelievable trickery i mean this is just what you’re getting from Matt Wolf it almost feels like he’s spamming a video game controller when he’s collecting these trick plays you’re going to get a minimum of two to three different tricks every time he’s completing one of these sensational plays for the firefighters it’s been this part of the order that has been so powerful for the Nanners so far tonight duo count on EJ Cox Jones Jr and Loy who is on deck neither of them had been retired coming into this frame shill able to get Cox behind the former Mariners and Twins minor leager three out right down the shoot still EJ’s count and Shill able to work it back full marshall trying to produce the first one two three inning for the firefighters defensively so far tonight he’s a strike away nice fight by EJ too close to take we’ll do it again laric Jones Jr across his banana ball career has continued to be a killer against the firefighters batted over 400 against them last season and now trying to see if he can connect with one big one instead marshall Shield running this inside and it’s the second sprint earned by Eric Jones Jr tonight but he’ll be content with one base he loves a free pass why not he’s up to 18 sprints on the year compared to 13 strikeouts really impressive ratio especially for a power hitter now the Nanders have the inning winning run aboard bill Loy a walk-off double his first time he was plumped his last trip to the dish [Music] seen the ball well as of late ej got a killer jump he decides not to run snap throw by Letole behind him and he’s back to first safely [Applause] ej a perfect four for four in his stolen base tries on the tour does not run often but he picks his times very wisely and Bill Loy picks his spot to fire that ball through the infield very wisely just like EJ in front of him he’s reached base all three times tonight well we’ve mentioned DJ was a firefighters killer last year bill Loy so far is five for seven against the firefighters with a ball force sprint and the hit by pitch he’s just getting on base any way possible right now [Music] yeah reaching base seven out of nine times against the boys can’t complain with that big spot here for Daltton malden makes the first pitch wide pinch hitting here for Danny Hosley who is getting loose preparing to pitch the ninth inning and Daltton ahead two balls and no strikes the song bird of our generation continues to put up quality at bats every time he gets the call off the bench such a tough thing to do healthy hack as he fouls that one straight back all the while performing every day out on the party plaza
often in the pregame ceremonies here on the field as well wonderful sweeper there to even up the count back up the middle don Malden in the clutch ej’s getting the wave around throw home from Bridges not in time dalton Molden the walk-off winner in the seventh and the Nanners lead is up to three everybody’s getting it done tonight for the Savannah Bananas it’s another man coming off the bench and collecting a base knock this one one of the biggest of the ball games as Malden leads the team to the walk-off two innings to play nanners lead 4-1 another look good throw by Noah Bridges just off line and EJ able to hustle on in as we’ll send it down to the field for a fun relay race
they’re going to put their heads down foreheads down on the bat start spinning around and get nice and dizzy i’m going to count to 10 for these guys but everyone else has to keep spinning until the next family member gets to them this is called the dizzy family race all right boys and everyone heads down on the bats and on your marks heads down on a bats heads down on the bats on your mark get set spin here we go 1 2 3 4 what comes after four oh yeah five 6 7 8 9 10 go boys go everyone else keep spinning oh yeah they’re a little disoriented but they got to get to their brothers got to get spinning and there they are all right big brothers still hanging in there on moms oh here’s where things get interesting moms do not even know where they are mom goes down but we got one mom on the move get up girl it’s almost there dads are going hard all right the Calhoun family dad is up the Parrot family goes down by a landslide give it up for your winners the Calhoun family always fun to make the folks dizzy and then have them run around take a look now at the numbers here for Gage Vorhees in his first full world tour and he’s pitching for the fifth straight time for the Savannah Bananas with one win and three losses this season but he hasn’t allowed a ball four sprint here in the month of June and tossed the second fastest inning of his career last Saturday a 1 minute and 28 second frame big Boppers here to swing it for the firefighters two three and four in the lineup liam Spence Logan Lazy Dalton Cornette they need an offensive explosion a point earned in the eighth inning would go a long way to making this comeback a lot more feasible in the ninth where every run scored counts as a point [Music] [Music] one two pitch dispense [Music] called strike three engage borhees picks right up where Prime Donnie and Nisnik ended it third time tonight that the firefighters have been called out on strikes looking and it’s another one grazing the inside corner much like we saw from Carell Prime nice piece of hitting there by Logan Lacy nothing to show for it as he lines out to wrap and Dalton Cornet trying to kickstart a two-out rally that’s exactly what the Bananas just did in the bottom of the sevens with two down a sprint and backto-back singles to steal a point see if DC3 can get things going here singled his first two times up that will strike out victim number three of Jared Donaldelsson across his two scoreless innings of relief that is another weird ball kj cutting in front of Cox throwing off balance come on now the duck swims faster than the slow flying bird and KJ flying across your screen makes a stupendous play that is a major league play from Kyle Jackson whipping that one across the diamond and nearly losing his balance in the process cornet out by just a hair and it is another sub two-minute inning at the same time from Gage Morris and to see the insanity one more time from the rookie superstar the kid was parallel with planet earth Jackson Olsson can’t believe it let’s turn this place yellow kyle Jackson you’re out of your mind [Music] sing it loud washington DC [Music] [Applause] [Music] let me hear you Banana Nation [Music] what’s up [Music] we love you so much Banana Nation and my friend Helena has something to say too go Bananas [Music] what a scene here in Washington DC over 41,000 lightsing up the night and in the middle of it all it’s going to be Ben Dum he’s been the best pitcher on this firefighter squad downright dominant as of late tossed four sub two-minute innings for the firefighters has a 161 opponent’s batting average and we’re fortunate enough to welcome him into the broadcast ben how you feeling man
josh Ba what’s up how we living up there
it’s beautiful breeze coming in it’s the highest press box I think in the universe
yeah you guys are up there yeah it’s feeling good out here it was hot yesterday all right you got Jackson Olsen you’ve been dynamic all tour long what’s the key to getting this guy out
uh fast balls up and away and a little change up every now and then fans maybe give you a little help here that would be nice
no [Applause] all right we got a O2 here what do you guys want
i like heat up and away
we got a change up here we’re going to see what we got turns out that was a good idea that was disgusting that’ll play ben you’re about as good as anybody in Banana Ball at jumping ahead in counts getting quickly 0 and2 against guys and I’m curious right now you got a 257 minutes per inning mark what’s been the secret to you working so darn fast yeah my entire life my entire life my game plan in even in normal baseball has been to get the two strikes as quick as possible and uh work fast and that’s what this game’s all about for pitchers so worked out well back up the middle and Noah Bridges behind the back trick playable two quick outs for you yeah I’m not too worried about strikeouts honestly i’m trying to force contact in three pitches or less and let my let my defense do some cool stuff behind me
now you’re a tremendous athlete i mean the pedigree across the Twins and Braves organization the Atlantic League after that to Banana Ball it really speaks for itself but you’ve got the voice to be in the booth you ever think about doing some broadcasting
i’ve I’ve I’ve had that rim passed me a lot by by some coaches a lot of people when they first talk to me they say “My voice doesn’t really fit my I’ve had Scotty Mccuri um Josh Turner i sing a Me and Your Man karaoke let’s go
one two count here on Kyle Jackson what are you going with now
you want to see something crazy
i would like to [Music] [Applause] handstand pitch barrel out to right center noah Bridges is there ben Dumb you are That’s okay thank you for joining us my friend impressive work yet again from Ben and a 2 minute and 15 second inning tapped off with that magnificent handstand pitch to Kyle Jackson
kj was ready for it struck the ball well bridges nice play in right center i mean I just don’t think people can comprehend how difficult it is to get on a handstand like that and throw a pitch over the plate for a strike good enough for Kyle Jackson to offer up at that is one special guy on the mound ben Dum it was brief but it was beautiful this is what it means to get to our final inning when the clock runs out or we get to the ninth which is how we’ve gotten to our final frame every single game so far on this tour every run scored will count as a point in this iteration the firefighters come in trailing by three if they can even it up and then blank the bananas in the bottom of the ninth we will go to showdowns but it is a tall task one of the best pitchers in Banana Ball history a finalist for the John Olarude Award when he was just down the road at George Mason towing the slab the guy who slammed the door on the firefighters in this park a year ago
this is his 28th time at the center of the diamond for the Savannah Bananas he’s got five saves and nine opportunities this year and earned the save here in this ballpark collecting two strikeouts against the firefighters his career danny do it all has 15 innings pitched 15 strikeouts and a average minutes printing mark of 3 minutes and 32 seconds in MLB ballparks hoping for more of that sustained success as he’s got five six and seven do up mcfadden Maxwell and Ron Franklin Jr the
2021 Master Eastern Conference Player of the Year on the mound a three-run cushion [Applause] and a man who hit in the power showcase twice across his impressive college career dakota McFaden ahead 10 out no amount of power can tie this game in one fell swoop though the firefighters need two guys to get on then they can start getting ideas about knotting this up dmac flips this one right side into the stands not caught we’ve seen two foul balls caught cleanly by fans tonight both went against the firefighters at bat slow roller left side kj what do you got this time bare hand off balance come on the guy is unbelievable kj giving the fans in DC a little double vision backto back plays defensively where he’s got the bare hand whip that across the diamond and recorded and out first Cornet and now McFath the latest victim the kid is the gift that keeps on giving foul ball another opportunity for the fans they don’t grab it Jason Maxwell Well [Music] the only time he’s been out in three trips to the dish was a foul out to the fans that was back in the third sandwiched in between an RBI ball for Sprint and a double the 1-1 the one two swinging and a miss the Vulcan change up it is filthy the firefighters down to their final strike mason Maxwell tipping his cap to Hosley on the mound [Music] matt Wolf swinging here in Ron Franklin Jr.’s place [Music] stands in between Danny Hosley the Savannah Bananas and the night one victory here in Washington DC well the Firefighters still have the golden batter at their disposal very surprising that Matt Wolf who started his career as a pitcher is up to bat but rockets this one back towards Danny Hosley who moves over to collect it and then throws that into the bananas dugout and it turns into two bases for Matt Wolf so count that a single and an arrow would have been a remarkable play firefighters with that first base runner they needed so dreadfully so desperately rather and now a fast ball bottom of the zone a strike against Steven Cullen this is how it ended a year ago vulcan change up for a strike out against Cullen from Hosley the O2 danny do it all does it again the vulcan change is disgusting and the Nanners take care of business a 4-1 win as Hosley puts Todd Jackson on his seat this Nanner squad keeps on rolling 5-0 on the tour against the Firefighters the Secret Service not needed tonight for Danny Hosley a second straight game in Nats Park a second straight save for the banana superstar closer and they successfully blank the firefighters across the last seven innings of play to take this one four to one in our nation’s capital hosley slams the door with much less dramatics than he did last Saturday night and this Nanner’s team has been an unsolvable puzzle for the firefighters so far 0 and5 against the Nanners on the tour now 0 and6 lifetime in big league parks against the Bananas we will try and change their fate tomorrow night when we bring you Banana Ball once again here on the Nanders YouTube channel we’ll loop ESPN 2 ESPN Plus and Disney Plus in on the action as well then we’ll have Robert Anthony Cruz Coach Rack miked up for a majority of the ball game it is going to be a very unique broadcast we can’t wait to see how it goes but tonight Nanner’s domination after falling behind one- nothing four straight points unanswered and Eric Jones Jr in the middle of three of the four points scored ej impeccable
hey what’s up boys how we doing and how about this eric Jones Jr with the mic ifb locked in he gets to hear us from up on the fifth floor ej impressive victory man how did you guys do it against the firefighters tonight
well we played banana ball they did some tricks we did some tricks they got some hits we got some hits but we just stayed tapped in and locked in and uh played truthfully and uh had some fun out here so yeah it was a good good day
sounds like a man who’s been listening to the words of Reginald Horton if you ask me ej a great game offensively for you but I think you really shined over at the first base you’re now sitting just two trick plays away from the 54 that you had a season ago describe what was working for you and the boys defensively tonight
well you could just see really good today i don’t know whether it was like the overcast or what but there was no glare so you could see the ball the whole time so I was like you know if I get some balls let’s do some tricks you know that’s what we’re out here to do we saw the firefighters have some really impressive ones in the first and it was like “All right we got to step our game up.” So a lot of times it feels like we feed off of the trick plays so we can hit a good trick play parlay that into some good offense that’s winning banana ball right there boy and step your game up you guys certainly did now you’re a former minor leaguer out of the Twins and Mariners organization you were the Mariners bullpen catcher in 2022 for that magical run when they broke their playoff drought uh how cool is it to get to play in these full capacity big league parks with wonderful crowds like we had tonight
it’s amazing i got to be here with the Mariners in 22 and uh I’ I’ve I’ve written about it online but basically from getting to sit in the bullpen and wishing I was out here on the field to being on the field I try to take every moment I can to appreciate it not take anything for granted and just uh you know praise is up and just thankful to be here and thankful for everybody in the organization for making this happen well thankful you spent the time chatting with us it is always a blast getting to hear your insight Eric eric Jones Jr enjoy the rest of your night my friend
all right I’ll see you later
see you later Big Tiger
see you impressive stuff on the toss and on the ball game here in Nats Park ej one for one a pair of sprints a run scored and the four trick plays that really turned this game into a masterclass defensively for the nanners as we welcome you back inside the booth with Josh Tleski Bo Scala happy big Tiger Friday once again and thank you for spending it with us here in virtual banana land so that is now five wins zero losses for the Nanners against the firefighters this year two of those games just a one-point difference uh just one of those games rather a one-point difference it’s really impressive how sturdy this Bananas team has been against the Firefighters
and I’ll tell you what again it was very similar to what we talked about at the top of the show the pitching sensational yet again for the Savannah Bananas despite a rocky start from Noah Nisnick he bared down in the third inning escaped trouble and from there the bullpen was absolutely magnificent great games from Jared Donaldson Carell Prime Gage Vorhees and Danny Hosley at the end and the Firefighters they haven’t done a bad job of keeping games close against the Savannah Bananas except when they have had faulty defense and that was the same thing that we saw yet again three trick plays missed three errors for the Firefighters very similar stuff to what happened in Angel Stadium the last time that these two teams squared off against each other and Bea they’ve also got to figure out some things at the bottom of this lineup it felt like it was a black hole across the first four games against the Bananas the seven through 10 hitters tonight for the Firefighters were just two for 14 against the Savannah Bananas and they’ve certainly got to improve against that go prove that going forward yeah it was really a a tale of two games when you look at the first two innings for this firefighter squad offensively they pushed those two runs across in the first they’re touching up Noah Nisnik who’s been the best pitcher in all of Banana Ball for the majority of the last 2 and 1/2 months and then Nisnik a clean third inning of work and from then third through ninth the firefighters did not score a run so you combine that with the defensive miscues you’re just not going to beat a banana squad that is running on all cylinders like they are right now yeah and you saw it defensively for the Savannah Bananas tonight you saw Ryan Cox Eric Jones Jr with a really nice double trick play same can be said for EJ and Jared Donaldelsson and of course we don’t want to forget the history that we were able to be a part of tonight as Danny Hosley collected the 10,000th trick play of the 2025 World Tour a big accomplishment not only for the bananas but the party animals firefighters Texas tailgators and hey even the visitors they had some last night i’m sure they’ve had some more in tonight’s ball game as well
and they got a victory tonight 3-2 win for the visitors so that’s really thrilling as well because uh first of all we all love V’s up the the visitors are just they have an aura about them that is just you cannot resist it you just cannot and and watching them practice the last 3 weeks uh there is so much energy in that dugout in that locker room coach Croc is the perfect leader for this squad to succeed Thomas Simino who of course is on the party animals coaching staff here in his second year in banana land uh and we can’t wait for the Bananas to take on the visitors in July now before we wrap this thing up we do have to remind you tomorrow night it’s going to be a really fun broadcast we’ll be back here on the Span Bananas YouTube channel as we always are but also simal casting this thing on ESPN 2 ESPN Plus and Disney Plus and we have to remind you Robert Anthony Cruz is going to be miked up a ton it is a grand experiment coach Rack is one of the most wellspoken and most knowledgeable banana players that you will find out there so of course in Nationals Park as a Nationals minor leager we got to get his insight as much as we can tomorrow it’s going to be a really fun experiment for us can’t wait to see how it turns out with Robert Anthony Cruz
it’s just a little extra field access from Robert Anthony Cruz we see things up from a certain level here in the broadcast booth robert Anthony Cruz just going to give us even more insights up to what is happening whether he’s in left field or at the plate so it’s going to be really fun to have him miked up with us
can’t wait for it 700 p.m eastern we will have a first pitch tomorrow night and Rack is going to be with us for a whole lot of that broadcast big shout out to our executive producer of Bananas Television Ivon Trazac the rest of our crew here in Nats Park and the Washington National staff they have been a blast to work with for our folks in the control room back in Savannah led by our director of the broadcast Mr chad Reese I’m Scallala with Josh Tleski and down on the field Mr zack Stton saying “So long for now we will see you tomorrow night.” And of course we will see you later [Applause] [Music] super girl i got ice [Music] [Music] yeah yeah heat heat [Music] heat heat [Music] [Music] [Music]
The Savannah Bananas run it back in the nation’s capitol against The Firefighters!
🍌 Banana Ball Rules: 🍌
1. Every Inning Counts: The Team with the most runs at the end of the inning gets a point, the team with the most points wins the game! In the last inning, all runs count for a point!
2. Two Hour Time Limit
3. No Stepping Out of the Batters Box
4. No Bunting
5. No Mound Visits
6. Walks are Sprints
7. If a Fan Catches a Foul Ball it’s an Out
8. Batters Can Steal First
9. One on One Showdown Tiebreaker
10. The Challenge Rule
11. The Golden Batter
Get to know more about Bananas Foster, our new non-profit that brings families together:
https://bananasfoster.org
https://bananasfoster.org/make-a-diff…
https://www.facebook.com/bananasfoste…
WANT TO SEND US FAN MAIL?
BTV
P.O. BOX 5267
Savannah, Georgia 31414
Or, write us an email/send fan art to BTVFanMail@TheSavannahBananas.com
We love you Banana Nation!! 💛🍌✨
26 comments
I was there!
Good job boys
People who were at the game
👇
I I was at the game
We’re is KJ
36:52 ~ I’ve never heard that it needs to be a “clean catch” to be an out. I’m guessing that means because the ball hit the guy’s hand and then bounced up a foot before he caught it again means it’s not a clean catch. Maybe they need to do it that way because too many players would be out otherwise. I don’t know.
KJ’s 3rd base playing was so good in this game!! Caught a line drive and two unbalanced throws to first for outs!
Let's go bananas! 🍌🍌🍌
@1:54:43 ~ I’m confused why they’re saying the “challenge stands” when it’s clear the umpire was correct. I thought that meant it supposed to be “challenge confirmed”. Sometimes a video confirms that the umpire is correct, sometimes you don’t know which way is the truth so you just let it stand with the umpire’s ruling as is.
Go bananas 🍌
The explanation of the rules didn’t explain the purpose of the trick plays. Do they give you points or take points away?
This is just way too much fun … this is more than just the gimmicks… it’s a whole revolution of the game
Yoooooooooo
Let go rac
Eeeeeeeee
Umm
My friend was at this game
I was there! It was so much fun! Go Bananas! ⚾️🍌♥️
❤❤❤❤
0:33 seconds
For me
I love kJ
Yesssssss
I’m at the game
Go kj
Go Bananas!!@ Whats the song at 2:24:59 ????