Another Creaker Squeaker: ND Gold over Cardinal Red 21-20

Full disclosure: The Gold manager (that's me) bites his nails.

Well, this season, this team has me biting down to the first knuckle.

Yes, we are 7-2, but every week, it seems to come down to the last AB, the last breath. We won, 21-20, with the tying run on third and the speedy Darrell Hoh on second with the winning run and powerful Rob Dousa at the plate. Rob had already planted one almost all the way to Heather Field Five earlier in the game.

But Tom Gonzales pulled out his bag of magic tricks, and gave Dousa no chance. With first base open, he threw one about 16 feet high and a foot short, and then a ball about four feet high. The other team's coaches were grousing about intentional walks. Gonzales came in a little closer but a ball. Dousa turned his back, and Gonzales snuck in a strike on the front left corner on 3-0. Now Dousa had to hit, and the pitch came in high but not too high and probably a strike and Douza tomahawked a scorching grounder to SS Hugh Vasquez, who picked up the tough hop and fired a strike to first, game over.

This game we had the double curse of the first AND second. In the first inning, Gary Namanny hit a two run triple and eight of our first nine batters hit safely, and that gave us our first five. In the second the bottom of the lineup stood up tall, and after three straight hits and a sac fly turned it over to the top and five more hits turned in our next five. We were hitting on all cylinders, and through three it was 13-5. It was going to be a laugher, right?

Except.

We scored two runs in the next four innings (one on Rob Katzer's massive home solo home run) and Red closed it to 15-13. We started hitting again in the eighth - again the bottom of the lineup, Doug Carlson, Stan Bielecki, Steve Bedrick, Anthony Pucchio, and Jeff Mertens, and we had three more.

But Cardinal answered with five and there we were again, tied (18-18) going into the ninth open inning. Namanny got us on the board and into the lead with a big bomb to left. After a walk and a single, the clutch hit to follow was a two run double int a gap by Steve Mastronarde. He's still arguing over which is the Game Winning RBI.

Because as described above, three runs was not a comfortable lead. Red pushed across a couple of runs and that set up the final face off, but we persevered.

Defensive highlights: Gonzales cut off a throw from the outfield, and fooled Dousa into trying for second on a hit early in the game, and threw him out easily at 2B. The manager chased down a foul pop up almost at the first base dugout, and his momentum took him nearly crashing into the fence. Bielecki made a nifty step on second throw to first double play in the fifth to keep the opposition scoreless.

But the offense was clicking most if the game ouside the middle innings. Namanny hit for the cycle (4-5, 3 RBIs), Katzer went 5-5 (3 RBIs), Vasquez 4-5. Steve Alvarez, Curt Wade, Carlson, Kravin (3 RBIs), Bedrick, and Puccio all had three hits.

But I think I need therapy now.

Gold Walks Off at Rudgear, 17-16 over Gray

On another beautiful spring day at the field of dreams, Rudgear, Gold barely squeaked a walk off win over Team Gray 17-16.

The game was close early. Much improved Gray took a 3-0 lead in the first that we matched, the big hit being the first of two Steve Alvarez gapper doubles, this one for two runs. The bottom of our lineup (Joy Dardin, Steve Bedrick, and Anthony Puccio) set the table in the third for our first five run inning, and the top (Tom Gonzales, Bob Fulgham, Gary Namanny and again the Batman) cleaned up the bases. In the fifth we had a nearly identical rally, this time it was Dardin, Pooch, and Jeff Merten getting on, and Gonzales and Namanny clearing them with a two run double and a two run triple for our five. Namanny's shot in the left field corner was one of the deepest hits I have seen at Rudgear without going onto the berm, and it bounded away from the left fielder, and Gary was so excited he just kept running for the sixth run (that did not count).

We were just starting to get comfortable at 13-6, but Gray came roaring back to tie it in the sixth, and then shut us down for two innings. So it was tied going into and out of the eighth - Rob Katzer's two run double knotted it up to answer their pair.

They managed to push one across in the ninth, and after a groundout, Curt Wade got us going with a line drive double. Doug Carlson moved him to third and yours truly hit a line drive that the usually surehanded right fielder nearly ran down, and it was tied. Stan Bielecki got a hit to move Carlson to third with the winning run. Dardin followed with a chance to win the game and hit a line drive right at the RC fielder who was playing at the cones, but the runner on third could not score (I am begin generous here). Up stepped backup pitcher Steve Bedrick with two outs and he planted the ball between the two right fielders and when Bielecki beat the throw to second in an attempt for a force play, it was all over, and the fat lady sang.

Other than our pitcher Gonzales we didn't have many highlights defensively, but he ran to the third base line to catch a short pop up, snared a shot up the middle that he knocked down and got the lead runner at 2B, and ended an inning on a similar grounder this time to his back hand, and a toss to first. All while staying behind the screen until the ball was hit!

Gonzales, Namanny, Alvarez, and Dardin lead the way with three hits apiece. Every single hitter in the lineup had at least one hit. Another great team game.

The Devil Made the Diablos Route the Oaks, 25-19

Despite practically everyone moaning about the condition of the Pleasant Hill Park field, there was a lively TriCity game there today between the PH Diablos and the PH Oaks, that ended 25-19 in favor of the Diablos.

The Devils scored three in the first to avoid the Curse, and the Oaks answered with four to do likewise. But five of the lower six in the Diablos' order came through with singles in the second - Bob Carver, Don Devencenzi, Bobby Vitro, Steve Shapiro, and Bill Hoffman - and the top of the lineup (Dan Roach, Ed Hendrickson, and Jim Krochka) finished the job and we had our first five run inning. It set the tone for the rest of the game and the Oaks had to play catchup the rest of the way.

Krochka (5-5, double, 4 RBIs) and Bobby V (4-4) led the way, and Roach, Hendrickson, Mark Childress, Jim Wilcox, Greg Lagomarsino, Shapiro, and Hoffman contributed three knocks each. Devencenzi was 2-3 plus a sac fly, and had a booming double in the eighth that added on a couple runs to make it 24-12 and leave no doubt as to the outcome, despite the Oaks making a late run.

There were several defensive plays of note. Devencenzi made a nice stop at 3B and touched the base and threw home for a double play in the first with bases loaded and no one out that temporarily gave us hope we would hold them that inning. The next inning Howard Davis took over at the hot corner and stabbed a hot shot line drive. Wilcox and Childress and Jeff Mertens made some fine running catches in the middle innings. Lagomarsino started a line drive, throw to second double play when the runner on second lost his mind and took off for third. First baseman Jeff Kravin used his gut (literally) to chase down a pop up toward the dugout in the seventh, and SS Krochka followed suit on a pop up near the mound with a juggling catch. In the eighth, we turned a more normal Short to Rover to First double play with Bob Carver bending low to corral the low throw. Finally, on the penultimate play of the game, Vitro put the Oaks to bed by snaring a hot shot up the middle with a couple of runners on for an easy out at second to end the game.

This is the way the Diablos should play every week, everyone contributing and taking it to the opposition.

Gold Melted Down by Orange 31-13

After generously giving Orange the Curse of the First, Gold fell behind 12-3 and then 21-9. We were channeling last week's comeback win over Purple. This time nine runs wasn't enough of a challenge for a comeback, let's so make it twelve! Only we failed to score in the sixth. OK, how about sixteen runs? Nope, double play rally killer. And so on. Orange gave us an old fashioned whooping, 31-13. They piled on 19 runs in the last four innings. In the meantime, Gold hit under .500 as a team for the first time all year. We are humbled, and never mind the talk of tanking. No one tanks when there are four teams within a half game in the standings. It's just not the Creaker Way.

A few players had a good game. Tom Gonzales was 4-4 again, and is 11-13 since being placed in the lead off spot while Hugh Vasquez recovers from his sore legs. Bob Fulgham not so quietly went 3-4 with two doubles and a team leading four RBIs. Gary Namanny (triple) and Rob Katzer joined him with three hits. Yours truly had two doubles in three trips to the plate, but that was it for extra base hits on the team. It just wasn't our day.

On defense the only thing of note was Stan Bielecki tied an all time record with three assists in the fourth inning. Not much else to talk about as Orange sprayed the ball all over the place, and when they hit it to us we found a way to drop it.

Next week will be better. It has to be.

There's Gas in the Tank: Gold Comeback Win Over Purple 22-21

They were clamoring for the Gold players all over Heather Farm the last few weeks. "We'll take Namanny!" "We want Katzer!" "We need Hugh!" "Break up Gold!"

We thought, we gotta tank a game. And there were the Powerful Purple People Eaters next on our schedule. Perfect! How do you spell Tank? G-O-L-D.

And before I could explain to the rest of the team how to make it look like we were trying, but actually play like the 1919 Black Sox (I did show by example by letting an easy ground ball elude me), we did just that without any purposeful effort - played bad defense, didn't hit, left runners on base. And to boot, we had the curse of the first, when we scored five on seven singles and a walk without making an out.

It was all going swimmingly well, we were down 21-9 going into the top of the eighth. I heard Dasey yelling over from Field three, "Are you enjoying the tanking?"

And then...

Four straight hits started us on our way, and a critical error turned the lineup over, and we didn't stop until we had tied it up. Big hits from Jeff Merten and Rob Katzer (doubles) and Steve Mastronarde (triple) highlighted the comeback. By the time I came up, we had batted around, and with the tying run on third, all I had to do was hit a grounder through the gaping hole they gave me at shortstop and it was all knotted up.

There was still the matter of getting the Purples out for two innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Merten went out to right field, and made two tough catches to keep them scoreless. Bear in mind that he had been beaned last week running to second base on a grounder, and was playing on day seven of a recommended nine day layoff. And he tripped on the second base bag earlier in the game and thumped his head pretty good again. But he gutted it out and helped save the day.

In the ninth, we scratched out a run on two hits and what amounted to a bunt when Steve Bedrock hit a grounder to first to advance the runners to second and third. And who was up - of course Merten, who got the hit to put us ahead.

It wasn't much, but in the bottom half the first baseman dug one errant throw out of the dirt, and he ran in to catch a pop fly in foul territory on the next batter. Then pitcher Tom Gonzales coaxed a third pop up in the inning, and when it settled in shortstop Hugh Vasquez' glove, it was all over. Fun game.

It was a total team game. Every single hitter drove in at least one run. All but one scored at least one. Katzer had a monster game, 5-5, four RBIs, double, triple. Right behind him, Steve Alvarez knocked in five runs on three hits. Four hits by Gonzales, Mastronarde, Doug Carlson, and Vasquez. Three by Bob Fugham, Namanny, Alvarez, and Joy Dardin.

Besides the late inning heroics, we turned a 5-11-3 double play from Carlson to Fulgham to first in the second, and on a pop fly to Vasquez in shallow left, he fired to second to double up a runner that wandered too far off the base.

As it turned out, Gold had some gas left in the tank!

ND Gold Sinks the Navy 25-22

On a beautiful day on the turf at Heather One, relentless offense and clutch defense enabled Team Gold to top a stubborn Navy team 25-22.

We could get used to playing on the Field 1 - in fact we are 3-0 on the turf the last three games. Sadly we are not there again until June.

The game started off simply enough. The talented top of Blue's lineup avoided the curse of the first, scoring four. But Gold would not be denied and with two runs in and two outs scored three times more, punctuated by a triple to left by Doug Carlson, who came back from a few weeks off with a groin pull. Welcome back Doug!

It was the first of six triples, and the power barrage included four home runs (yet nary a double). In the third Gary Namanny slammed a three run homer, but we weren't done as Steve Alvarez blasted another and Jeff Mertens a triple and scored the fifth run on Steve Mastronarde's single. In the fourth the bottom of the order did their part, scoring on a leadoff single by Jeff Kravin (that went about 50 feet), another hit by Carlson and then a triple by Stan Bielecki.

In the top of the fifth, Navy refused to give in and using the catch up rule tied it up at 13. In the bottom half though, the relief pitcher could not find the strike zone and a couple of walks and hits brought in two with the bases loaded and two outs. The starter came back in but Kravin hit one of his patented liners to the opposite field from his past life that eluded the left fielder and cleared the bases.

Navy still would not cry uncle but Anthony Puccio brought in two more with a two out single in the bottom of the sixth, making it 20-14. A six run lead in this game was nothing. Navy closed to 20-18, but Gold would not be denied. Back to back Jacks by Namanny and Rob Katzer brought up Alvarez who planted yet another bomb over the outfield. He ran out of gas, stopping at third, and left it up to Mertens to bring him home. After a forceout, Heffe came up with run number five again on first, and made the Navy pay for playing too shallow one more time, blasting it over the right fielder for a second triple in three innings, making it 25-18.

Tom Gonzales came back in to pitch, and although the Navy brought in four more in the final two frames to make it interesting, Gold had a big enough lead at that point to weather the storm.

The defense had just as many highlights as the offensive barrage. Mertens made two outstanding swipes at high line drives playing 2B, and smothered a hot shot there in the eighth, and he also had a great catch in right field in the ninth for the all important first out in the open inning. Namanny added two shoestring catches in left center robbing guys of good hits - we don't take him for granted but he does this every week. Pitcher Gonzales, when he went to the outfield, robbed Ah-rahm don't call me Airum on a blast deep to left in the third inning. Pooch made what in senior ball is about the toughest catch there is - a pop up behind home plate in the sixth. And on a throw in the dirt up the line (er I mean turf), the first baseman twisted himself into a pretzel and snagged the errant toss laying on the ground while toe tapping the bag.

Overall:

Gonzales 3-3+BB

Bob Fulgham, quietly also 3-3+BB, 4 Runs

Namanny 3-4 2 HR, 6 RBI

Katzer 1-4 HR

Batman 3-4, 3B, HR

Mertens 2-2+2 BB, 3B

Maestro 2-3+BB, 3 RBIs

Heffe 4-4, 2 3B, 4 RBIs

Carlson 3-4, 3B

Bielecki 2-4 3B

Joy Dardin, 2-3

Steve Bedrick (Bedrock) 1-4

Pooch 2-3

On a beautiful day on the turf at Heather One, relentless offense and clutch defense enabled Team Gold to top a stubborn Navy team 25-22.

We could get used to playing on the Field 1 - in fact we are 3-0 on the turf the last three games. Sadly we are not there again until June.

The game started off simply enough. The talented top of Blue's lineup avoided the curse of the first, scoring four. But Gold would not be denied and with two runs in and two outs scored three times more, punctuated by a triple to left by Doug Carlson, who came back from a few weeks off with a groin pull. Welcome back Doug!

It was the first of six triples, and the power barrage included four home runs (yet nary a double). In the third Gary Namanny slammed a three run homer, but we weren't done as Steve Alvarez blasted another and Jeff Mertens a triple and scored the fifth run on Steve Mastronarde's single. In the fourth the bottom of the order did their part, scoring on a leadoff single by Jeff Kravin (that went about 50 feet), another hit by Carlson and then a triple by Stan Bielecki.

In the top of the fifth, Navy refused to give in and using the catch up rule tied it up at 13. In the bottom half though, the relief pitcher could not find the strike zone and a couple of walks and hits brought in two with the bases loaded and two outs. The starter came back in but Kravin hit one of his patented liners to the opposite field from his past life that eluded the left fielder and cleared the bases. 

Navy still would not cry uncle but Anthony Puccio brought in two more with a two out single in the bottom of the sixth, making it 20-14. A six run lead in this game was nothing. Navy closed to 20-18, but Gold would not be denied. Back to back Jacks by Namanny and Rob Katzer brought up Alvarez who planted yet another bomb over the outfield. He ran out of gas, stopping at third, and left it up to Mertens to bring him home. After a forceout, Heffe came up with run number five on first, and made the Navy pay for playing too shallow yet again, blasting it over the right fielder for a second triple in three innings, making it 25-18.

Tom Gonzales came back in to pitch, and although the Navy brought in four more in the final two frames to make it interesting, we had a big enough lead at that point to weather the storm.

The defense had just as many highlights as the offensive barrage. Mertens made two outstanding swipes at high line drives playing 2B, and smothered a hot shot there in the eighth, and he also had a great catch in right field in the ninth for the all important first out in the open inning. Namanny added two shoestring catches in left center robbing guys of good hits - we don't take him for granted but he does this every week. Gonzales, when he went to the outfield, robbed Ah-rahm don't call me Airum on a blast deep to left in the third inning. Pooch made what in senior ball is about the toughest catch there is - a pop up behind home plate in the sixth. And on a throw in the dirt up the line (er I mean turf), the first baseman twisted himself into a pretzel and snagged the errant toss laying on the ground toe tapping the bag.

Overall:

Gonzales 3-3+BB

Bob Fulgham, quietly also 3-3+BB

Namanny 3-4 2 HR, 6 RBI

Katzer 1-4 HR

Batman 3-4, 3B, HR

Mertens 2-2+2 BB, 3B

Maestro 2-3+BB, 3 RBIs

Heffe 4-4, 2 3B, 4 RBIs

Carlson 3-4, 3B

Bielecki 2-4 3B

Joy Dardin, 2-3

Steve Bedrick (Bedrock) 1-4

Pooch 2-3