Outlaws Tighten Things Up, 15-12

The Outlaws defied one of the prime rules of senior rec softball, which in Walnut Creek we call Curse of the First. That is, if the visitors score five runs in the first inning, they are supposed to then blow the lead and lose the game.

The Outlaws defied that law and kept just enough ahead to nip the Raiders 15-12 to tighten up the race for first place with two games left.

It's not that the Raiders played badly, we just had three innings that we allowed 14 total runs, including four in the crucial ninth. We had chipped away and taken our first lead at 12-11 going into the ninth but we did not answer their four in the bottom half.

We had some good defense to keep the Outlaws off the board in five scoreless innings. Gidget Blaquera and Mike Mooney made great running catches. Todd Evans made several stops: liners, long throws to first, and the relay on an out at home from Jay Sankey to Evans to Jim Dietrich. Gino Ilacqua snagged a line shot at the mound, and turned it into a double play on the runner at first. Steve Brown made a great stop on a hot shot at first base, and Don Ott dove into the 5-6 hole to get a force out at second base.

The hitting just wasn't up to our usual stuff, which ultimately is what cost us. But Ott was 3-3 with a double and a home run and a sac fly and four RBIs. Evans hit a triple and drove in three. Ilacqua and Sankey also had three hits and everyone in the lineup had at least one; it just wasn't enough.

We will try to lay our claim to the pennant again next week.

This Orange Is Peeled and Ready For The Juicer

I knew Whiteneck was up to something when BEFORE the game he brought two cookies over, and they weren't even Sandy Camp's cookies. And then after some lip service paid to our hero of the day, Rick Evans, who showed up to play less than a week after one surgery and in line for another, he stated that the cookies were for Rick, but he knew Rick couldn't eat them. Was he trying to fatten me up? I certainly do not need any help in that area. Then he said that he knew Helen Kostoff would eat them. Were they poisoned? Did he want to poison our protector of the middle? Provoke a brawl among our team over the cookies? Why, oh Why?

I decided to just ignore him (although I did eat the cookies tonight). Unfortunately, we couldn't ignore him on the mound, and we couldn't hit him either.

There isn't much to talk about. Orange pretty much did not show up, and lost 12-7. But I will say a couple of things:

Rick did show up, and prepared all week to be able to be there with us and had a fine game in the field and at the plate.

Tony Gorgone did show up, and went 4-4 with two doubles, and made innumerable outs at SS, including chasing down a blooper along the left field line like he was 25 again.

With Ace Mike Howard enjoying the clear waters of Tahoe, Mike Elmore stepped up and threw nine innings, and kept all of the power hitters on Light Blue in the park. With our sloppy defense, I'd say less than half the runs were earned. He deserved better. And he had a strikeout to boot, but to Charlie Uhlman's chagrin, I don't remember who it was so I can't name name.

But finally, I want to recognize this Orange team, a scrappy bunch who overachieved all season. We had no power and very few stars at the 'skill' positions, yet we turned in a record over .500 and even flirted with first place for a couple of weeks.

So here's to Mike Byrnes, Michael Callahan, Mike Elmore, Rick Evans, Tony Gorgone, Dan Halyard, Patrick Heide, Mike Howard, Leo Kay, Helen Kostoff, Jeff Kravin, Nick Lauria, Steve Rousso, Rich Sanders, Vic Santini, Bob Staples, and Jeff Waters. We are a TEAM.

Crows Crowed, We Ain't Done Yet, 14-10 over Leo's

Talk about your all around team game, the Crows came back from an early 6-1 deficit, and with a combination of great defensive plays and timely hitting defeated Leo's going away, 14-10.

Defensive gems abounded. Clay LeChe and Dave Balfour on the left side of the outfield made any number of catches on rockets their way. On the other side, Randy Cobb (welcome back!) and Don Devencenzi battled for the catch of the game, I think both in the eighth inning. Randy took a shot in the gap away for the first out. It was his second spectacular catch of the day. Not to be outdone, Devencenzi, sprinted in on a low liner, snagged it, and saw the runner on second had taken off on contact, and gunned it to second to double him up, inning over, and it was kind of Leo's last gasp.

Howard Reeves ran twice to the left field sideline to take away popups in the sun from Leo's shortstop. He dove in the hole twice to stop balls ticketed to left field, once getting the out on a one hopper to 1B Heffe at first. It was the second one hopper Heffe corralled - the other one was a neat double play on a grounder to Reeves, and a quick turn by 2B Lamont Thompson (also welcome back, what is this - Welcome back Kotter?). Am I forgetting anyone? Oh yea Leo's Pat Carman made a great catch for us at catcher to get an out. Showed integrity.

And of course, Pitcher Ed Cook pitched all nine and didn't walk a batter and enticed any number of routine outs to aid the Crows' cause.

The offense was spread around as well. Balfour - have a day, with 4-5, two HRs, a double and 5 RBIs. Cobb - readjusted to softball his first couple of times up and then walked a couple of times, and then smashed one in the middle gap for a home run. Barry Walter had a two run triple and was robbed on another gapper on his resume. LT blasted one to LC, and turned a home run into a triple. He also deftly moved up to second on an overthrow at first, which ended up netting us a couple of runs as he kept the force off. He was so tired by then he got a courtesy runner! In that inning, the seventh, Leo's pitcher disrespected Heffe by walking LeChe to set up a force and he became the fifth potential run of that rally. Heffe smashed a ball about an inch fair down the right field line past the right fielder and LeChe and Balfour on second were off to the races with the fourth and fifth runs of the inning. Pitcher Cook started that inning with his own triple.

And last but certainly not least, Manager Devencenzi was the only perfect hitter with three singles and two walks. Not a bad return from Covid.

Everyone was a hero, as it should be. We can take anyone in this league if we play like we did today.

Lt. Blue Defies Decades of Creaker History, Downs the Orange 22-9

Riding two innings that produced nine runs with two outs in each, Light Blue ran off with a 22-9 drubbing of the shellshocked Orange. Apparently they missed the memo - if you score five in the top of the first, you are supposed to lay down the rest of the game. They rode two crucial errors that gave them the 9-0 lead. After the five in the first, they made two great catches in the outfield in the bottom half, and there was the feeling of "so this is how it's gonna be" in the Orange dugout.

The highlights for Orange were few and far between but there were a few. Rich Sanders, who was 3-3, made a great play in the second, coming off first base to catch an errant throw, and then stomping on the base, just nipping the batter. Tony Gorgone, also 3-3, hit a bases clearing three run double in the fourth. He also started our only double play, Gorgone to Kostoff to Kravin.

Patrick Heide hit a two run double in the third. Steve Rousso made a nice catch in LC in the sixth, but the play of the game came an inning or two later. Michael Callahan was chasing a serious blast over his head and reached out and snagged it at the last moment. They were oohing and aahing way over on field six where Gold was playing Maroon.

All in all we were outplayed in all facets of the game, hitting, hitting with power, fielding and pitching. And our reward is we get to do it against the same team to open the playoffs! (hopefully a different outcome, eh?)

Raider Walk-off, 32-31!

Once in a great while, with your back to the wall, something great happens. That sums up what happened on field three today as the Raiders walked off the Wolfpack 32-31 in a thriller.

The Raiders scored early and often but the Wolfpack kept answering. We were cruising along with leads of 12-7, 14-11, and 17-14 through five innings. But when the Pack scored five in the sixth and we didn't answer, we suddenly felt the pressure. We gave up eleven runs in the eighth and ninth, and were faced with an eight run deficit at 31-23 going into the bottom of the last inning.

I'd like to make this about me (even though it's not). After all, I was playing probably my worst game ever defensively, and nominally was singularly responsible for giving up about ten runs. I couldn't do anything right at second base. Both teams were playing with ten players, so there were no rovers, but the middle was not the only hole in our infield; the right side was a sieve. My legs were hurting and I failed to cover second twice at crucial times. And so we came to the bottom of the ninth down the eight runs, and had two outs before we scored a single run. But a spate of singles, an intentional walk to Chris Hernandez, and a triple by Don Ott (that completed the cycle for him), and suddenly I found myself up with the winning run on third and I deftly sliced a single to left center to win it. It was total retribution and redemption.

Yes I would like to make it about me, but it was about much more than that - our hitting was just a complete onslaught all morning. A total team effort. Ott had a perfect 7-7 day including the cycle and drove in NINE runs. Jay Sankey, Barry Walter, Steve Brown, and yours truly were all 6-7. I can't remember a game when five players had at least six hits. Ott and Mike Mooney hit home runs, and Walter had five RBIs and Hernandez and Mooney drove in four. Everyone in the lineup had at least two hits, and drove in at least one run.

And in the ninth inning rally, Jim Dietrich, Sankey, Walter, Ott, Brown, and Mooney all got two out knocks when they could have made an out to end it. It was a special feeling to end it that way, but it was a testament to the whole team that we had no quit in us.

Most importantly, we padded our lead in first place over the idle Do Over Rovers.