White Turns Green Green, 28-22

The Key Moment of the game came with the score I don't know to not sure how many. Art Minor strode to the plate, with maybe someone on base. Maybe not, but there were two outs. Art had crushed the ball to Field 5 his first time up. Barry Gronenberg saw right through that. He had pitched that gopher ball, and he was now playing second base. Who better to know the mind of the power hitter?

Barry intuited that of course with him not on the mound Art would try to go to right field. So what he does is open up the whole right side of the infield and plays him up the middle. Now Art is so intent on going to right, he takes an inside pitch and hits a bounding one hopper to me playing first, and it's an easy end to the inning.

Barry therefore takes credit for the whole win as we stomped Green 28-22.

Apologies to Barry, but that was but one key out we got in the game.

Overall, White put together a complete game today. Our hitting was tremendous, and our defense was nearly as good. With the score 10-9, Dave Siegel relieved Gronenberg in the fourth inning, and held a good hitting Green team to three runs in the next three innings and five over four innings as we built a 28-13 lead through seven. We turned four double plays to help him out, Mike Saindon, Clay Kallam, David Partridge, and Jeff Kravin all taking part. There were scoops at first and the outfield was solid. Even when Green had hits the outfield kept the damage minimal - for example, Paul Lisi cut off one seeming gapper to hold the hitter to a single. Only a late surge by Green made the score a respectable 28-22.

Everyone got into the act at the plate. I have to start with Saindon just because he hit two home runs and drove in six. But the team hit .706 all together so there were a lot of good individual games.

I could see Kallam pounding the ball in practice, and he continued it into the game with 4-4 plus a walk including a home run and was second on the team with five RBIs.

With Rich Brown out, Dave Rose took over at the leadoff spot, and was 4-5 with two doubles, a triple plus a walk.

Partridge, probably the most under the radar player in the league, was merely 5-5 with a home run and three RBIs.

Gronenberg, besides saving the game, had one of his patented chalk raising drives down the right field line, and was 4-5 with a double and a triple.

Lisi was drooling every time he came up because they were giving him so much room in right, where he loves to hit. He nailed it over there three times.

The other highlight of our game was when Bob Muegge struck me out swinging, but I made him pay later with a booming triple down the right field line, among three hits.

Siegel, besides pitching a masterful game, had a couple of hits and got the game winning RBI on a ground out. Helen Kostoff beat the extreme shift for two early hits, and Bruce Spenser, despite an off game still managed a hit and a walk, so every single person on the team was on base at least twice.

We have our adversity with losing the shoe-in Rookie of the Year Tom Meyer, and Brown off for a few weeks, but if we play like we did today I will take our chances against anyone in the league.

All It Takes

Apparently all it takes for Kapsch to get a win is for two or three late scratches in the lineup, a couple of wounded warriors playing their hearts out, and a few fielders out of position. Add to that a coach who shows up at game time, and kills two rallies by hitting into double plays.

And yet we nearly run-ruled Pleasanton Auto Mall. The final score was 19-15, but it was 19-8 with 2:20 on the clock and a runner on first with two outs in the bottom of the sixth (take a pitch D!). A third double play, by the Brave D, ended our ability to finish the mauling of the Mall team; But even though they rallied furiously in the top of the seventh, we were never really worried.

Gregg, Cage, and D in the middle of the order were a wrecking crew. Gregg put three balls over the fence, but only the first counted as a home run since Cage had taken the other one by the time Gregg put his second ball over the fence. Finally it was our turn hitting past the two home run limit. In the first, after the Mallers put up a four spot in the top half, Gregg's three run bomb tied it up and we never looked back. In the second, D's two run, two out single gave us an 8-5 lead, and Cage's three run Jack gave us the commanding 13-7 lead we built in the third.

We nearly put them away in the fourth. We worked the bases loaded and with two outs Bo came up. He worked the count and with two strikes hit a slashed line drive down the left field line. It dropped inches foul, and the scored remained locked at 13-7 instead of breaking the game open. I later asked
the home ump how far foul it was, and he held his finger and thumb about an inch apart. I said, "You can't tell if it's that foul 275 feet away!" Of course the call stood.

At any rate we did put it essentially away in the bottom of the fifth. Consecutive hits by B, Gregg, D, Pauly surrounded a walk and plated three runs. At that point there were no outs and two on. I swear they walked JT intentionally to get to me in order to set up the triple play after I had already hit into two double plays! But their pitcher had gotten progressively wilder, and I took four not close and I had an RBI! After that and a couple of outs, Bo got his retribution and a two out two run single, and we were up eleven at 19-8. After a scoreless sixth, Pleasanton Auto Mall had their too little too late rally and the game ended in our victory.

Kudos and appreciation especially to Pauly and D. They each played on one leg. Pauly made some stops at third and went 4-4 to boot. D hobbled to two hits and a walk, and he made a tremendous play at first - there was a hot shot one hopper and he stood there and picked it without moving or even attempting to bend down, and in one motion, fired it to second to get a force. He never would have made it to first base if there were no runner on first to start.

Gregg hit three of his four hits over the fence, and on the fourth there was a huge gust of wind that knocked it down and it fell in front of the stunned left fielder. B joined the four hit club and was his usual pesky self, scoring four runs. Bo and Tom each had three hits.

In a lighter moment, the catcher-manager came out to settle down and check on Tom at the mound in the last inning after he started getting lit up and was throwing everything short. Instead he got an earful from the stubborn, intrepid hurler, and it worked like a charm as he got the last outs shortly after that just to defy me.

Two games left against tough opponents. I still have no idea how they are arranging the playoffs this season with the whole mixed division concept - do we all make the playoffs? If there are only four teams, we have our work cut out for us as we trail Bat Pitches Only by a half a game but they have a much easier remaining schedule.

Whatever that outcome we showed a lot of guts in getting this win.

Milestones:
5/8
Cage                1050 ab (#4)
Mark (W)        50 ab (#52)

5/15
Pauly                300 rbi (#6)
D                      50 bb (#7)
Tom                  200 h (#15)
B                      250 ab (#24)

What Happens in Vegas...

Softball is a cruel game. As a softball player, you live for those moments. One run down, ninth inning, tying and lead run on. White had made a great comeback, eight runs in the eighth, five in already in the ninth. All we needed was one or two more hits (for the time being, we will ignore the fact that Vegas Gold still had their half of the ninth, and they had been hitting the ball all day).

All I wanted to do was not make the last out, and grind out a hit like Dave Rose did in front of me. So what did I do? I hit it too hard, a line drive one hopper to Greg Eby in center field and he threw out Rose at second to end the game. Clay Kallam, umping in the field, made a tough call against the good guys. Where was my blooper when I needed it?

So despite the grand comeback, we came up short 25-24 to the relentless Gold attack.

We had our moments: Neil Henry had an early home run. Rich Brown had a gapper triple in the fourth. The biggest hit of all was when Bruce Spencer came up in the eighth as our rally unfolded. We had been making some noise - Helen Kostoff had started it off with a shift defying single and a few walks and hits later it was 20-15. Everyone knew that the at bat by Bruce was going to let us know if we could climb back in the game. So what does he do? He parks it between the speedy left side Gold outfielders for a bases clearing triple. When he scored, we trailed by just a single run.

Give the Gold credit - every time we threatened, they answered, especially in the eighth to get five and enter the ninth with a six run cushion that we ultimately coudn't overcome.

We had two tremendous defensive gems. Tom Meyer, playing left field, made a running stumbling catch for one out. Kallam, playing SS in the eighth, leapt high to nab a line drive ticketed for left center field. David Partridge in right center made a fine running catch to end the third. Mike Saindon grabbed a shot back-handed in the 5-6 hole to get a force at second in the first inning. And David Siegel snared a hot line drive at the mound in the sixth.

Rose led the team with four hits, and Spencer with four RBIs. All but one of us had at least one RBI and all but one scored a run, so the hitting was balanced throughout the lineup. Kallam and Saindon had the other extra base hits.

WHITE HEREBY DECLARES THAT OUR GAMES WILL START IN THE SIXTH INNING from now on, because we don't actually hit until then.

It Wasn't in the Cards, White Washes Out 21-13

There were three separate games between the Cardinal and White today. We won one, they won one, and we tied one.

Unfortunately, the one that counted was the overall score and the Cardinal whooped us 21-14 in that game.

For the first four innings, timely defense and hitting kept the Cardinal in their nest, and we assumed an 8-3 lead. We kept the big hitters from hurting us too badly - we threw out Lee Namanny trying to stretch a hit into a double, we threw out Chewy Little recklessly going to third base. Yours truly made a couple of scoops at first - on the first one in the first the runner was called safe, and we all know the history of the Cardinal calls on close ones (see Game 1). But the second scoop minimized the damage, and kept the Bird to two runs in the opening inning. In the second, a Clay Kallam to Mike Guerrero to Dave Siegel double play shut them out in that frame. In the fourth, on a single, a relay from David Partridge to Mike Saindon to Mike Guerrero covering second cut down Namanny, and held them to a single run.

In the mean time, we scored four in the third with the biggest hit a double by the shortish first baseman. In the fourth five of six hit singles, including RBI hits by Neil Henry, Rich Brown, and Paul Lisi, as we turned the lineup over to plate three.

But in the fifth through the seventh, the Cardinal dominated, scoring 13 runs to take a commanding 17-9 lead. Namanny drove in six or seven of those alone on two hits, I think. Our offense shut down in the meantime and we could answer with but a single run over four innings on a double by Saindon.

In the last part of the game, we tied 4-4. We rallied again in the ninth, as we did last game, with Brown providing fireworks with a blast over Namanny's head in left field for two run triple. But it was too little too late, and we never really got them nervous.

Saindon, who was supposed to be out with a broken finger on his throwing hand for months, returned unexpectedly after the doctor determined it was just a little boo-boo. Then he took a ball off that hand in the first inning and we all held our collective breath until he said he was fine. I think he just wanted to bandage and splint that middle finger last week so he could show us what-for. But the point is, sore finger and all he led us with four hits.

Brown and Lisi were next with three knocks, and Kravin had two and a walk. Also enjoying multiple hit games were Partridge, Dave Rose, Guerrero, Helen Kostoff, and Coach Henry.

Dots Got the Blues

In an epic comeback, Kapsch stormed back not once but twice, including from four runs down going into the sixth and last inning, and held the Blue Dots scoreless in the bottom of the sixth to win 18-17.

We were feeling pretty good about ourselves after scoring five times in the top of the first. We played with just 10 players, and without the power duo, Bert and D. But the Blue Dot pitcher was wild and we started with two walks (and a K but we won't talk about that). Sandwiched around the walks was a run scoring double by Gregg and a two run base knock by Bo. All in all there were four walks in the inning, including one with the bases loaded.

That's a pretty good start. The Blue Dots were even shorter - they played with 8 1/2 bodies (their catcher's hamstring was as bad as D's on our side, but he sucked it up so they could field nine players). The problem is that when a team plays short but their good hitters are present, they get more at bats. We had some shaky defense in the bottom half, and they batted around almost twice to go up 11-5. Talk about your slap upside the head!

But last night there was no quit in us - we responded in the second with six this time to tie it up 11-11. The big blow was a moon shot by Gregg, a three run job over the left field fence.

On a Tom ground out, we re-took the lead but 12-11 proved to be precarious, and the Dots added on and built a 17-13 lead going into the final inning.

It started innocently enough - the first baseman bobbled the ball on a grounder to short by yours truly. I say it often: "And that's how it started!" In fact that was how it started. After a force out, Jay came up. The other teams scout him pretty well - he's always looking to go to right field. They were about 100 feet off the line in left. He got the inside pitch, and yanked it a foot fair down the line for a double.

More clutch hits, singles by B and Cage, who finally got a pitch to hit. He had been 0 for 1 with a foul ball K which we are not talking about and three walks, and was threatening to tie my team record of four walks in a game. After another hit and a force out, Tom brought us within a run with two outs. Mario strode to the plate. The scouting report was pull, pull, pull. The left fielder showed no respect and came way in. Mario then sent a ball flying over his head, slicing and twisting with the breeze. The tying and lead runs came in, but that was to be all.

We had to protect a one run lead. The Blue Dots average about 16 runs a game, which is about two runs an inning. They had some of their big hitters coming up. But Nick caught a ball, and Mario, playing second in shallow right got an out on a grounder. They got the tying run to third but Tom shut down the last hitter, and the win was ours, 18-17.

Very satisfying. The lost season is not so lost as we catapulted into fourth place. It will be tough, with the top three teams still on our schedule in the last four games. But at least we are competitive.

Milestones:
4/24
Monty      1100 ab (#3)
D              20 hr (#4)
Jay            700 ab (#9)
Bert          250 ab (#22)

5/1
Coop AND Heffe
                 1500 ab (T#1)
Heffe        400 rbi (#3)
B              20 bb (#15)
Gregg       50 ab (#52)

Teal Wins by a Field Goal over White, 24-21

A valiant effort fell short with the winning run at the plate as Teal defeated White 24-21 in a very competitive game at HF4.

White took an early 5-2 lead with five in the first. Not a curse exactly but still. For the next two innings we couldn't keep Teal off the bases and away from home as they took a 12-5 lead in the top of the third. From then on, it was catchup the rest of the game, but we kept coming back time and time again. We narrowed it to 19-17 through eight, but some sloppy defense and timely hitting by the Teal left us looking uphill at seven runs going into the bottom of the ninth. We had two outs and no one on in our half, but then hit eight straight singles to get the tying run on base and the winning run to the plate. Alas, there were no more heroics to be had, as our last batter grounded out to second.

As it was, Mike Guerrero singlehandedly kept it from being more out of hand than that as he made the best defensive plays of the game for two of the ninth inning outs. He leaped high to snag one line drive ticketed to center field for one out, and dove into the 5-6 hole to grab a grounder to get a force out at third on another. Other fielding gems included two double plays - Partridge (3B) to Helen Kostoff at the plate to Bruce Spencer at first, and Guerrero (SS) to Partridge (R) to Kravin. In the fourth inning, Tom Meyer in left, Paul Lisi in left center and Spencer in right all made good running catches. And Barry Gronenberg made one of his classic spearheaded grabs at the mound for an out in the fifth.

Rich Brown had himself a day. In his first two at bats, he hit hard liners just inside the left field line, and when they skipped into the dirt track on the side of the field, it was off to the races for two homers. The second one was with 2 1/2 strikes too - pretty gutsy trying to pull the ball hard with two and a half on him. He added a run scoring triple in the seventh and played his usual flawless defense in right center.

Lisi and Partridge were each 5-5 in the three and four spots in the lineup. The former had a home run and a double to tie Brown with team high four RBIs, and scored every time he reached base. Lisi cleaned everyone off the bases, so Partridge didn't get an RBI, but behind him Dave Rose drove in three on his three hits. Guerrero also had a perfect day: 4-4 plus a walk. Spenser and Gronenberg each had a double among three hits, and Meyer's three included a triple.

Teal is pretty loaded, but this year's league seems to be pretty balanced, and we'll get them next time!