Cricket: Quarterfinals Game 4s

We return after a few hours off to bring you the latest games for the playoffs. We begin this cycle in...

The northern region, as the Central Warriors host the Eastside Sharks at Nestle's Warriors Park. Graham began by batting 162 for Eastside. Twilight slipped up with just 33 points for Central, digging her team an early hole. Chelsea made Twilight pay dearly for her poor effort, as the Sharks pulled far ahead on the former's 982-point blitz. Gizmo took only 51 for the Warriors, as his second-round suffering continued. Taylor Swift added 715 for Eastside to make their lead almost certainly insurmountable. Noelle slapped 176 to get Central some more meaningful points. Robyn finished off the Sharks' breakout performance with 719 of her own for a total of 2578. Adding insult to injury for the Warriors, Dustin took a 50% penalty for a false start, scoring 88 points to give the hosts a final of 348 in a massive loss. The series is now tied at 2 heading back to Eastside.

Out west, the Pacific Volcanoes welcome the Golden Pilots to Verizon Field. Valencia stumbled to a 96-point output for Golden, seriously harming their chances for surviving the round. Starlight posted a strong 480 for Pacific, giving them the early lead. Strut was stymied at 82 for the Pilots, furthering their impending doom. Ms. Kitty slugged 817 for the Volcanoes, extending their lead to a lofty height. Dusty cranked at 405 for Golden, but they still trail by a large margin. Jack answered with an even heavier 517 for Pacific, nearly assuring victory at this point. A. Charlton posted 397 for the Pilots, giving them a total of 980 in another harsh loss. Leonette blasted 1315 to give the Volcanoes a massive, morale-crushing 3129 final score. With the win, the Volcanoes have eliminated a high-powered Pilots offense with a thorough beatdown. Pacific is yet to lose in playoffs, advancing the semifinals with either the Sharks or the Warriors next on their list.

To the southeast, the Southridge Defenders bring in the Whitewater Shores to GE Stadium. Bear hauled in a controlled 431 for Whitewater. Boots answered by slugging 678 for Southridge to give them the early lead. Twinkie III got stuck with 33 for the Shores, leaving them in a bad position. J. Garcia added on for the Defenders by chipping 257 points. Cheddar put up a reasonable 288 for Whitewater. Debby Ryan extended the lead for Southridge by blasting 775 points, making it look like the series will end up being tied again. Jennifer confirmed this for the Shores, hitting only 60 to give them a weak final score of 812. Shaggy's 277 put the Defenders officially in the win column with 1987. The series is now tied at 2, which is more than anyone could have asked of Southridge going into it.

Finally, at Kraft Crowns Park, the Royal Crowns host the Maplewood Lumberjacks. Fluffina struck first with 400 for Maplewood, setting things up nicely. Frosty sputtered her way to 177 for Royal, starting the game from a deficit. Bryant had only 113 for the Lumberjacks, leaving the door open to be caught. Sydnee failed to take advantage of the opportunity, posting just 96 points for the Crowns. Diddley extended the lead for Maplewood by slapping 475. Jake got it all back and then some for Royal, hitting 497. Cubby scored 360 for the Lumberjacks, producing their final score of 1348. Nightfur got some back for the Crowns by hitting 400, but they ended up at 1170, which was noticeably short of where they needed to be. Maplewood now heads home carrying a 3-1 series lead and three straight games worth of momentum, with the chance to advance coming the next time out.

Stay tuned for Game 5s in a few minutes, if you happen to see this between now and then.