BEVERLY HILLS, MICHIGAN – “So I’m back up in the game. Running things to keep my swing. Letting all the people know, that I’m back to run the show. ‘Cause what you did, you know, was wrong, and all the nasty things you’ve done. So, baby, listen carefully, while I sing my comeback song.”

Return of the Jack – hold on! Return of the Jack – don’t you know!

Jack made his first appearance since the 2020 Preseason Kick-Off Tournament, where he helped his “$80 of Baking Soda” squad to a semifinal appearance. Despite the five week absence, Jack had a really good week 6, narrowly missing the 10.0 KPM mark with a 9.7.

He partnered with KP, who was also his partner in the Preseason Kick-Off, in a convincing 21-6 win over Paul and Turley. He out-shot Turley in the head-to-head match-up, 20-15 and held a 4-3 cornhole advantage.

That victory was his only one of the night, which was cut short after just three games. He finished 1-2, losing a close match (21-15) to JV and Bushie. In that match he was head-to-head with JV, and held his own for much of the match – he was ultimately outscored by JV, 32-21 (including 7-4 in cornholes), but JV blew that margin open when he recorded three cornholes in the sixth inning on his way to a 9-1 explosion that erased a 15-14 lead for Jack and Paul, winning the game 21-15 for JV and Bushie.

Jack’s 47% shooting was solid given the lack of reps this summer, and he nailed 0.63 cornholes per round. Really nice showing for Jack this week.

PEACE, FLOWERS, LOVE, AND CORNHOLES

Turley joined the league in 2019, and had the tools to contend for Rookie of the Year honors. Unfortunately for him, Dibble was a mid-season joiner and ended up easily winning Rookie of the Year.

However, the talent was clear, and Turley was a sleeping giant, waiting to wake up. He finished the 2019 season with an 8.1 KPM, 42% accuracy, 0.47 cornholes per round, and 2.6 gross points per round. Those numbers aren’t reflective of a “sleeping giant,” but when watching his sweet, sweeping left-handed stroke, it was apparent that it was only a matter of time before Turley put everything together.

Well, 2020 has been the season where he begins putting it all together. So far he’s averaging 10.1 KPM, 57% accuracy, 0.53 cornholes per round, and 3.3 gross points per round. Those are major jumps in his sophomore campaign, and he’s just getting started.

This week he was a model of consistency, with his week 6 numbers mirroring his season-long averages.

	Week 6 Stats	2020 Cumulative Averages	2019 Cumulative Averages
Win/Loss Record	4 – 4	10 – 10	16 – 20
KPM	10.0	10.1	8.1
Accuracy	57%	57%	42%
Cornholes per Round	0.52	0.53	0.47
Gross Points per Round	3.3	3.3	2.6

The highlight of Turley’s night was when he helped lead a comeback victory in Game 15 (more on that in the Game of the Night section) by outscoring Bushie 29-23, including a 6-5 advantage in cornholes.

GAME OF THE NIGHT – “DON’T STOP, BELIEVING IN!”

As alluded to earlier, the Game of the Night featured a ridiculous comeback/choke! In Game 15, Galz and Bushie exchanged blows with Dibble and Turley.  Galz and Bushie couldn’t have started any better, jumping out to a 13-0 lead after two innings!

Galz was instrumental in the opening innings, scoring 12 of his team’s 13 points thanks to a four-bagger in the second inning, giving him a 12-2 advantage over Dibble!

It was blowout city, baby!

Facing a huge deficit and decent odds of a bun run, Dibble and Turley didn’t panic. In the top of the third inning Dibble posted a 9-4 score on Galz, getting his team on the board with five critical points.

In the bottom of the third inning Turley chipped in two more points, cutting his team’s deficit to 13-7.

Okay, we have a game now. Turley and Dibble took a knockout punch to the chin, legs wobbling beneath them as they fell into the ropes. But they survived the 10 count and stepped back to the center of the ring for more fight.

Battling through that early 13-0 hurricane appeared to boost Dibble and Turley’s confidence. In the fourth inning they tacked on five more points, shrinking the deficit to 13-12.

Galz halted Turley and Dibble’s 12-0 run in the top of the fifth inning with three points when he drilled a cornhole and two more bags on the board. It was now 16-12.

But that would be the final points scored for Galz and Bushie. Turley chipped in three more points over the next two rounds, setting the stage for Dibble to complete the comeback.

In the top of the seventh, Galz couldn’t find his stroke, landing only two bags on the board and missing the other two off the back of the board. Dibble also missed two bags, but he capitalized on the other two bags, both finding the bottom of the hole. A 6-2 advantage for Dibble gave his team a 21-16 victory, and etched a “choke” next to Galz and Bushie on the stat sheet.

The head-to-head between Dibble and Galz was worth the price of admission – okay, bad cliché since this is a free event. Anyway, each player dropped nine cornholes out of their 19 scoring bags (i.e., 47% of scoring bags were in the hole), and they played each other to a draw by scoring 37 gross points, respectively. Galz made a big statement early with the four-bagger, and a 12-2 win in the inning. But, Dibble got the best of Galz with the game on the line. It was a classic head-to-head match.

The real difference was at the other end of the board, where Turley was steady throughout the game, never scoring fewer than four points in a round. He outpaced Bushie for the game, 29-23, and helped keep his team in the game until Dibble could land the final TKO.

Galz was disappointed, and Bushie literally couldn’t swallow the choke. He walked off – pissed off – took his ball and went home.

CARDIAC CATS

Nick and KP have a penchant for dramatics. In week 4 they overcame a 19-14 deficit against Galz and Dibble to win 21-19 on a walk-off four-bagger (read about it here: https://legcornhole.com/2020/07/03/2020-week-4-recap/).

This week, they partnered against Dibble and Galz, again. They found themselves in familiar territory again, down 10-5 after Dibble and Galz went on an 8-0 run.

KP tied the game, 10-10, in the top of the sixth inning when he scored a four-bagger against Galz. But Dibble and Galz once again got “streaky,” going on another run, this one 10-3 behind a 10-point round from Dibble.

The score was 20-13 in the top of the 10^th inning. Galz was erratic but KP couldn’t capitalize, managing just a 3-0 win in their half of the inning. Nonetheless, he kept his team alive and turned the bags over to Nick with the game 20-16.

Dibble needed just one point to clinch a win. Nick had honors with the first toss. Cornhole!

Dibble missed his first bag completely off the board. Nick’s confidence boosted a bit more as he readied his second toss.

CORNHOLE!

Dibble’s shoulders slumped, pressure mounting. He *needed* to throw a good bag. He fired, short of the board!

Nick already bombed two cornholes and now had a clean board for his third toss. CORNHOLE!

Holy shit. It’s happening again, just like in week 4. Would we have another walk-off four-bagger?

Dibble faced a 9-0 hole. To keep the game alive, he needed to make two cornholes on his last two bags, and hope Nick didn’t make a cornhole on his last bag.

Dibble’s third toss was wide of the board! The game was now clinched, and Nick had a chance for a four-bagger just for fun. His final bag was long, off the back of the board.

He couldn’t complete the four-bagger, but his 9-0 10^th inning (Dibble also missed his final toss) ripped the hearts from his opponents’ chests and gave he and KP another thrilling, down to the wire win over Galz and Dibble.

MUSHROOM STAMP MOMENT

We’ve already highlighted two games where things didn’t go Galz’s way. But, don’t feel bad for Galz.

He earned this week’s Mushroom Stamp Moment in Game 11. He partnered with Turley to play Nick and Coach Mike. This game was tight throughout, and Turley had just given his team a 20-18 lead by outscoring Coach Mike, 4-0, in the top of the 10^th.

In the bottom of the 11^th inning Galz dropped three cornholes en route to a 10-point round, winning the game for his squad, 21-18 (Nick’s six points weren’t enough to keep his team alive). The 10-point closeout round deserves the MSM, but he earned it based on the totality of his Game 11 performance. He scored two 10-point rounds *in the game* and dropped 15 total cornholes and 61 gross points against Nick. It was a monster performance, deserving of the week 6 MSM.

To Nick’s credit, he also posted two 10-point rounds in this game against Galz, and made 15 cornholes and scored 59 gross points. Galz just got the better of him at the end, with the game on the line.

It was reminiscent of the Galz vs. Nick historic Singles Tournament championship match from 2018.

NEWS AND NOTES

• Bushie started the night 0/12 shooting in Game 1, but rebounded to shoot 55% for the night and posted a 10.8 KPM. His 4-5 record was okay this week, considering almost everyone hovered around the .500 mark.
• As we mentioned, Galz had two 12-point rounds and added two more 10-point rounds to earn this week’s MSM. Ironically, Galz lost both games in which he scored a 12-point round. His 16.2 KPM, 64% shooting, and 1.25 cornholes per round were incredible.
• KP added another 12-point round to his season, giving him three for the year. He shot 74% for the night and averaged 1.32 cornholes per round, helping him post a 17.8 KPM and 6-1 record.
• Nick played excellent, dropping four 10-point rounds on the night on his way to a 15.5 KPM. He shot 66% and had a 4-2 record to end the evening. He also had one of the most impressive shots on the night – in Game 9 he was head-to-head against JV, and in the top of the first inning JV held a 3-1 advantage with one of his bags halfway in the hole. Nick had one final bag to throw, and as he’s taking his back swing says, “Fuck it, I’m just going to airmail,” thinking he’d take both bags down in the process. He hit nothing but net, not even grazing JV’s bag sitting on the edge of the hole. It was the first inning and just a 4-3 advantage to tie the game, 1-1. But, it was a shot that required an absurd amount of touch to avoid dragging JV’s bag with it, and he pulled it off.
• Dibble had a 16.4 KPM and 4-3 record. He continues to sit at the top of the Power Rankings with a 15.4 KPM on the season.
• JV is receiving his first mention of the article, but he had an excellent night! He went 4-1 with an 11.0 KPM, despite shooting a season low 52%. JV was tinkering with his toss, trying to throw a lower, more aggressive bag. He’s like Tiger Woods making a swing change when his current form is already championship level. If JV can successfully revamp his throw, or at least add another layer of versatility to it, he’ll be hard to keep away from The Cup.
• Coach Mike had the back-handed taint tickler working this week, making 0.63 cornholes per round. He had a 9.7 KPM, which is very good, and would’ve been closer to 11.0 if not for 46% accuracy. Coach has a lot to feel good about with his game, as it looks like he’s turning the corner and finding the rhythm that makes him such a dangerous player. When he works his right-to-left draw that lands in the front right corner of the board and runs into the hole, you know he’s on. That’s his natural bag, and he had that working for much of the night. That toss is indefensible because he throws it with such velocity that it can run over, or through, any potential blockers. Coach is the second “Mike” in this league who is on the cusp of a breakout season.
• Paul rounds things out this week with a 10.5 KPM, while dropping in a season high 0.75 cornholes per round. He played very well, though his 1-3 record doesn’t reflect that. Paul lost his first two matches of the night before recovering to split his final two.