The Score Was 23-NINE, Don

I don't know why the other teams are always taking away runs from us, even while they are destroying us. The score was 23-NINE, Don. Jeez.

I won't bore anyone with much of a write-up for such a blow out. Just mention one on the hill and one on defense and offense:

Mark Narciso pitched excellently in his four innings. White is fearsome and hit well, but we gave them about six or eight extra outs in Mark's four innings while they were building their 13-2 lead. In that time, Mark struck out three of White's best hitters, including inducing a swing and miss from one.

And Tony Gorgone - what a specimen of a softball and a team player. Tony contacted me Sunday and asked if he could sit this one out as his legs were acting up. At that point it looked like we would have eleven or at most twelve players including him. I said we night need him, and he said ok as long as he could play third base or catcher where he wouldn't have to move much. I said sure. He made a fine stop of a smash off Joe Peterson's bat with the bases loaded and got the force out at home. Then it turned out that the best defensive alignment would include moving him to second base, and I asked him to do it. He did it willingly and it did tighten up our infield. Team player.

In the mean time, he went 3-4. He hit a bases loaded bases clearing single (only because he was hobbling) over the right fielder's head. Later he nearly duplicated that with a towering smash down the left field line but it was just foul. I want to be Tony when I grow up, if I ever do.

There Aught-a Be a Law

Monday night, the Coneheads made perhaps the best case argument that there ought to be two divisions in the Orinda Senior softball league as we shut out the hapless Usual Suspects, 30-aught. And it wasn't that close as guys were batting from the opposite side of the plate and playing out of position by the fourth inning.

And then we unleashed Chopper (on the hill) on the suspect Suspects in the seventh inning, and he tried his best to give up the shutout, but in the end the opposing pitcher got so frustrated waiting for a decent pitch to hit, that he lunged for ball four and grounded out weakly to end the game.

Really the game was over when Pope got the third single in a row to start the game and it was 1-0. But then we poured on another 15 runs in the first inning, and the rout was on. Pope hit his first of his two home runs in his second time up in the inning. Hew totaled six RBIs for the game. It was one of those Pope games - he led the teams with five hits. 

Raul, Chopper, G, and Gene had four hits, and a bunch had three. Lefty had a nice line drive to left hitting righty for the prize of best hit from the opposite side.

Really, it was all great high jinx but next week we find out how we measure up - The Old Scouts are coming to town, and Scout Coach Steve wouldn't let us share Randy on his birthday Monday. What is he thinking? Bring your Monday best.

Milestones:

7/11:

Pope          1200 ab (#5)

7/18:

Pope          850 rbi (#1)

Heffe         1800 ab (#2)

Heffe         500 g (#3)

Gene         700 h (#7)

Hazel        450 ab (#20)

Hazel        10 3b (#22)

Randy       30 2b (#22)

Randy       300 ab (#24)

Green Wins! Green Wins!

April 26th. That was the last time Emerald Green sampled the taste of Victory Beer after a game. That's right, 0 for May, 0 for June and 0 for July until today.

Today's battle against Scarlet was a tale of three games - we won the first three innings 11-3, Scarlet roared back and took the middle innings 12-3 to take a lead, but then we took momentum, and the game back with a five run eighth and won that last third 11-4 for a final score of 25-19.

It was a complete team win. We hit .702 as a team, with everyone getting at least one hit We had but three extra base hits, but with that many dingers, we didn't need the power. We had many lucky bloopers and a few Scarlet wrapped gifts, but that evened out between both teams, and the difference was the late runs to win the game.

Greg Wilson and Ray Gerungan were 5-5, Angie Rizzato, Lamont Thompson and Mark Narciso each had four knocks, and Tim Orr, Darren Bobrosky, Tony Gorgone, and Paul Lisi each had three. Thompson and Narciso each had booming doubles. LT's was probably the hit of the day, as it provided two important insurance runs in the ninth. The measure of how balanced the lineup was, was that no one had more than three RBIs, and 10 of the 13 batters brought in two or three runs.

On defense there was one outstanding inning, the second. Kevin Fisher made a great running shoestring catch for one out. The first baseman robbed Clay Kallum on a hard liner rising and moving to his left. And for the final out Narciso, got two strikes on the hitter, and then made a brutal pitch tailing away, and all the hitter could manage was a weak one hopper back to the mound. Later in the game we turned a double play - Gorgone stopped a hard smash at third, and started a round the horn DP with Rover Rizzato the pivot man.

Ah, if only we played this way in the middle of the season. Oh well - there are the playoffs coming up, and everyone has a chance in that 'season',

There Was No Joy in Greenland

 Sometimes you don't have to think of the story - it just writes itself.

Team Green was having another of those days. In the first and the third we scored five runs each, and in the eighth down seven, we came within the tying run on second to make it a one run game going into the open ninth. That's right, sixteen runs in three innings and one in the other five.

We held the top of the Royal lineup to just two runs and it was all set up for someone to be a walkoff hero. And lo and behold, after four of the first five hitters got on, it was 19-18, bases loaded, one out, Darren Bobrosky was on third with the tying run, and Angie Rizzato was on second with the game winner. And up strode to the plate, Casey...er Greg Wilson. This is just what you wanted - a fly ball ties it, a deep fly, which is Greg's specialty, probably wins it, as does a routine single.

I don't know what Bill Eppinga threw him, but next thing we know, Greg pops up, then there's a ground out, and game over.

Now I broke the rule about singling out Greg for the missed opportunity, and let me set the record straight - I have been fortunate to play with Greg the last two years and he is one of the best, if not the best power and overall hitters in Creakerdom. Everyone fears him. And way more often than not, he comes through. Coming into this game he was hitting .767 with nine doubles, four home runs, and 31 RBIs (Lamont Thompson was second on the team with 22). He leads the team in ABs, hits, doubles, home runs, RBIs, and slugging percentage. And he is a gentle giant of a man to boot. So I don't know what kind of magic Billy was throwing up there, but it worked and Royal walked away with the 19-18 win,

On offense it was a tale of two teams - the top seven were 24-33. Rizzato was 5-5, and Tim Orr, Bobrosky, and (LT) Thompson had four hits. David Partridge and LT had the big 2 RBI hits ending the five run first and third innings respectively, and LT drove in the fifth and sixth runs with a double in the six run eighth.

In an unbelievable turn of events, Green turned double plays twice on Gerry Dasey - I don't think he has hit into two double plays in his whole life. and we turned a third DP in the late innings to keep it close.

We may not be the top teams in the league, but these are two teams very close in talent, and our games have shown this. The last two games have been decided by one run, total. I am hoping we meet in the playoffs.