ND: Unknown Shade of Green 31, Purple 20

For the second year, I am managing a team that has only the promise of new shirts as the season begins. Forest Green, Dark Green, or as the Handbook says, Silver - the color doesn't matter if we hit the ball the way we did today, winning going away 31-20 over a feisty Purple team.

It didn't look good in the first couple of innings, as Green threw the ball away and misjudged fly balls. We spotted Purple a curse of the first five - their hitters looked like Goliaths next to ours. But in the second, on a grounder to second, with Frank Coppa yelling "throw to second", Pat O'Day made a savvy veteran play, chased the runner down going by, and flipped to first for the DP. Suddenly we discovered defense and when Brian Connell took over 2B in the third, we turned a 4-11-3 double play with Helen Kostoff in the middle for another shutdown inning.

In the meantime our bats came alive. In the fourth, with two outs and nobody on, Bill Jeha's triple started a string of six consecutive hits by Dick Stanley, Jeff Olsen, Connell, Heffe, Howard Davis, and Kostoff, sandwiched around a walk to Coppa and we had five runs. In the fourth, more of the same, hits by O'Day, Michael Callahan (his second triple), John Banker, Shel Perham, Jeha and Stanley again, plated five more.

Suspect defense and the strong Purple lineup kept it close - it was a seesaw battle that saw six lead changes. Again in the seventh we scored five (Jeha had a three run triple), but we led just 22-19 going into the ninth.

Mike Howard, closer extraordinaire, took a flat pitch ball four that wasn't called with two strikes leading off the top of the ninth. After a walk and a flyout, we had nothing going. Then once again the two out heroics started. The next ten batters reached safely. After we scored a comfortable six runs, Kostoff strode up to the plate with the bases loaded and still two outs. She deposited a slicing line drive to right center, beating the Purple shift, and by the time she landed on second base three more had scored as we made it 31-20. All that was left was Howard shutting  Purple out in the bottom half and the celebration began.

Callahan with his two triples was 4-4 plus a walk. Kravin was also 4-4+BB. Coppa was 3-3 with two walks. Perham, Olsen, and Connell were 4-5. Jeha was 3-5 and all his hits were three baggers. "Superman" Davis had two doubles out of his three hits, and Banker, Stanley and Kostoff also all had three hits. Kostoff and Jeha led the team with six RBIs.

Not a bad start at all!

Practice Makes Imperfect

Well, since Team Green had a practice game, I thought I should do a practice writeup.

The final score was 18-15. It's too bad we couldn't pull it out - Howard (Superman) Davis would have been quite the hero. All he did was go 5-5 with a couple of clutch RBI hits and pitched well enough in the middle innings to have won if we didn't stop hitting while he was at the mound.

We built a lead of 10-6 through four innings, thanks to a five run fourth that featured back to back two run doubles by Leo Kay and Michael Callahan after the bottom of the order loaded the bases with no outs.

But Team Gold kept getting three run innings when we couldn't quite shut the door - in all they had six such innings to account for all their runs.

After falling behind, we closed to 15-14 with a four run seventh that featured seven straight hits by Dick Stanley, Heffe, John Banker, Frank Coppa, Helen Kostoff, Woody Whitlatch, and Davis.

In a good start defensively, we turned three double plays in the first few innings - Rover Kostoff was in the middle of all of them including one she took herself to the bag and then fired to first. Kay made a diving catch in the first - it may or may not have been worth it as he had sore ribs the rest of the game - we hope he is ok. In the second we prevented a run from scoring on a throw in from Stanley to SS Shel Perham to Whitlatch at the plate.

In the eighth, even though Gold scored three, the outs were loud. Callahan made a sliding catch for the first out. Later, Coppa snagged a hot shot at the hot corner, and Perham snared a shot at SS that seemed headed to LF to keep Gold from getting five.

Davis had the five hits, and Callahan had four, including a double and a homer good for a team leading four RBIs. Kay (two doubles), Stanley, John Banker, and Kostoff contributed three. Kravin had two and also walked three times - the starting pitcher wanted nothing to do with him.

We were missing some components, so it was a good start all in all. We will see next week when the games start to count.

BS Redemption in the Last Winter League Game, Wins 23-21 Thriller.

In one of the best games of the season, Team BS wouldn't be denied and rallied back from deficits of 5-1 and 10-5 and ultimately with a six run ninth and good pitching and defense toppled Team Blue 23-21.

There were many heroes. David Peterson thwacked the ball around for four hits, His blast in the first went to never never land in left field in the first but found a misplaced soccer goal so he was held to a ground rule double. After that shot, the other team played him deep so he put three liners into the outfield and drove in three runs.

Fill in Curt Wade also hit four crisp line drive hits. But it was the unlikely pair of Sandy Camp and David Thompson, also each with four hits, that made the difference. Camp had four clean hits, and to top things off, drew a bases loaded walk in the ninth to kick start the winning rally. She also pitched a couple of shutdown innings in the middle of the game to allow us to get back in the game when we were down 10-5.

All Thompson did was drive in six runs on four hits. His bases clearing, bases loaded triple in the fourth brought us back into the game right when Sandy came in to pitch. His two run single in the ninth, again up with the bases loaded, proved to be the game winner as he gave us a 22-20 lead.

Johnny G doled out his usual three hits and made a great falling down catch in left field in the second. Mike Nichols joined him with three hits and followed Johnny's catch with an equally difficult catch in right field for the third out that inning but didn't fall down!

Finally Steve Sloat and Chuck Corich filled in from the Green team and each also contributed three hits. Corich, in six innings minimized the damage done by the potent Blue lineup, getting the good hitters several times on lazy flies and easy grounders. Thanks go to the pair and Wade for helping us out.

Art Minor and Helen Kostoff were on each end of a deep flyout to center to second base double play (with Peterson as the cutoff/pivot in the middle) in the fourth.

Ken Gurgone had a rough day at the plate but came up in the ninth and drove in the last run with a line drive single to end the BS scoring.

And finally, yours truly finally got in some game action (for the first time since December) as I pinch hit in the eighth and played first in the ninth after Thompson's leg stiffened up. You see, I had had a dream the night before that I took BP and just whiffed and whiffed over and over again. I had to prove at least I could make contact! I went 0-1 but at least I hit a hard grounder!

Can't wait til next year. BS forever!

Nine Shades of Gray, BS Toppled 30-25

We've all been there, a close game where you are the home team, and you just keep saying, keep it close, we have the hammer. Well, Team BS did everything right, coming back from an initial 7-2 deficit to take early 11-8 and 16-11 leads, then answering two straight late five run innings with a five of our own in the eighth to send it into the ninth as a one inning game knotted at 21.

And then the roof fell in. Team Gray ran nine across the plate, and even though we gave it our best shot in the bottom of the ninth, we ended up on the wrong side of a 30-25 defeat.

Despite the high score, there were some strong defensive performances. Steve Rousso made a bunch of plays at rover, chasing pop ups in the sun, catching a liner headed to center field and getting a force out on a tough shot in the fourth. Dave DeWitt made his once a game putout from right center on a 'single' to get a force out at second. Ken Gurgone had a nice game behind the plate, lunging far to his left to catch a pop up in the sixth, and scooping a one hopper from Dan May at SS on a bases loaded grounder. Johnny Gutierrez made a fine catch on a sun fly in the third. And Mike Nichols did likewise in the sixth in right field.

For a while, we owned Gray's big hitter Mike Herrera. Sandy Camp got him out twice, by pitching just close enough to the strike zone that he lost his discipline. But then he put one over Brian Black's head in deep right center that ended up beyond the foul line fence on Field 2 - quite impressive.

We had enough offense that on another day would have been enough. Gutierrez led the way with a 6-6 day, and drove in six runs with those hits. DeWitt and May each went 5-6 and scored 10 runs between them at the top of the lineup. Art Minor hit a triple and a home run and led the team with seven RBIs. Frank Coppa showed extreme patience at the plate, walking four times in five plate appearances. I guess they were afraid of him. Black also showed a good eye, walking three times and scoring five times altogether. David Thompson got the last hit in our first five run inning in the fourth when we had six singles, a walk and then his hit.

I guess all things must end and there goes my one game winning streak as fill in manager. Come back Dave Rose!

Bombs Away! Crow Power Ousts the Devil, 27-25

The Diablos must have felt pretty good about themselves after their first two at bats. In the first the Crows gifted them at least six outs, and the visitors gave themselves the Curse of the First, taking advantage and scoring five. In the second, after Charlie Pastor got us on the board with his first home run in our half of the first, they slammed line drive after line drive and plated another five. 10-2 is a good start.

But the Crows kept hammering back, and the power onslaught overcame the lead and then helped stave off their comebacks, and we ultimately won 27-25.

We hit six bombs - I looked it up, and in the short time I have been a Crow, we had never hit more than four in a game.

The team has a never say die attitude. The individual stats are impressive, but everyone contributed greatly. Charlie had two HRs and three doubles, and drove in eight runs altogether. Brian Black was 6-6, scored five runs, hit one of the four-baggers, and drove in five - not bad for a leadoff hitter. Aram Boyd made the most of his two hits, adding a three run and a two run job for five RBIs in just two of his at bats. Somehow his bomb to left center in the fourth seemed like the statement shot of the game. It only gave us a 15-14 lead at the time, but in fact it was the game winning RBI as they never came all the way back after that. Dave Balfour rounded out the power with a two run shot the next inning.

Everyone had at least two hits, Clay LeChe and Lamont Thompson each counting a triple among their hits. Howard Reeves led the rest of the crew with four hits, also including a triple. He also came in to put out the fire on the mound in the third, pitching the last seven innings and 'only' allowing 15 runs, which is pretty good on a Danville sun field.

The Diablos did help us out with their own sloppy fielding but we actually had some pretty good defense. Charlie hopped off the mound in the first to nail the speedy Mark Pitzlin on a dribbler in the first. Center fielders Brian and Dave made a couple of big catches in the tough sun in the third and eighth respectively, and right fielder Barry Walter in the sixth. Don Devencenzi had a nice stop on a shot at third before he moved to second base. Tom Wagenseller and Aram talked about a 6-5-3 double play in the fourth - and then the Diablo hitter obliged by hitting the ball in the 5-6 hole just as they drew it up. Aram later turned a rover step on second and fire to first double play. He also gets the comic relief award. On a ball way over his head he leaped higher than anyone could believe, just got a glove on it enough to go gather the ball, and then heave it onto field four way over LT's head, even though the runner had already passed first base.

It was a close game in doubt until Clay fielded the ground ball and took it to second base to get the last out. This was the defining game that we are right in the middle of the pack. But if we can minimize the errors and hit like we did yesterday, we can beat anyone in this league (and have shown it). Starting next week against the Wolfpack.

Camp Black Shines in the Sun, Team BS Dominates the Tie Dyes 15-4

Home Team Tie Dye made the call to have the batters face the sun on Danville's Field 2 instead of the outfielders on Field 3 which we knew would result in a lower scoring game. Some players struggled all day with trying to hit a ball that they couldn't see at all, or just at the last second.

After seeing our outfielders struggle with the winter sun game after game on Fields 3 and 4, I was willing to accept that idea until I got to the field and saw and remembered who the pitcher is for the Dyes - Mike Howard. Howard kept the ball at his usual 11 feet 11 inch height, and we struggled to get hits off of him. We managed a lot of infield singles though, and at the end of the day, we won 15-4, nearly matching our average this season of 17 runs. The game was close through six innings (we led 5-4), but five spots in the seventh and eighth put away the Dye.

That was because pitchers Brian Black and Sandy Camp simply outdueled Howard and company. They may not have Mike's finesse, but they held Tie Dye to three runs in six innings and one run in three innings, respectively. They were helped by solid defense, including a few outstanding plays. Art Minor started things with a diving catch on a sinking liner to left center to end the first inning. It kept the opening inning to two runs; little did we know it turned out to be the opponent's biggest inning.

David Peterson took his turns next in the second and third, making diving stops on hard grounders at SS. Camp made her contribution off the mound in the fourth to snag a short pop up. Dan May stopped a couple of hot shots at the hot corner later that inning and later in the game.

But the clutch catch of the game came in the seventh when Mike Nichols hustled in from right field to rob a hitter on a shallow fly ball. We had just scored our first five run inning, and his catch signaled "un unh, no way are you coming back on us."

As the team is undoubtedly sick of me saying, the bottom of the order hits, we win. But Camp, Nichols and Ken Gorgone were collectively 9-12, and I rest my case. Camp had four of those hits (4-4), and Steady Eddy (Dan) May was 4-5. Black drove in Helen Kostoff, Camp and Ken Gorgone with a grand slam in the eighth, and behind him May made it back to back jacks to get our fifth run of the frame. Then Black shut out the Dyes in the last two innings to complete the win.

Steve Rousso, David Thompson, and Gorgone contributed three hits each. Everyone had at least one hit, and all but two scored a run and likewise drove in a run.

We won the battle of pride - the battle for last place in the non-standings. More importantly we broke a seven game winless streak. Feels good, don't it?

Stung Again, 30-19

"One of these days, Alice." We need to channel Ralph Cramden. One of these days, Hornets, we will channel the beginning of last winter, when we beat them twice in a row.

We stayed with the Hornets this time for five innings of perhaps the slowest game in the history of slow pitch softball. Rittenhouse even wanted to quit after seven innings in a close game. At the end of the fifth, the score was 16-15 Hornets. But they plated five in the sixth and we couldn't keep up after that, losing 30-19.

It took the air out of some otherwise good performances. Charlie had five straight singles en route to a 5-6 day with three RBIs. Coach Don was 4-5. But the hitting star of the game was no doubt Dave. All he did was go 5-5 with our only home run and six RBIs, a three run job that brought us close in the second when we ultimately tied it up after the Hornets scored the maximum ten runs in the first two innings.

Ultimately, we just hit into too many double plays (and I wasn't even in the lineup!). It happens.

By the way - kudos to Coach Dandy Don for calling us out when we started the game lackadaisical on defense the first two innings. For a while it worked, and our defense was much better after that. Maybe he should have yelled at us about our offense too!

Next (due to the fabulous scheduler in Danville), we have the Diablos two weeks in a row. We should win against them; it is an opportunity for us to get better, but they are no pushovers exactly. Hopefully we get Anthony and Barry and Ed back, and we are whole.

Go Johnny Go, Johnny Be Goode

I haven't posted since October 22. At the time, we were 2-1 and looking good. I've been a little busy since then - Moving. Hosting my extended family for Thanksgiving. The Rest of the Holidays. And it didn't help that Team BS went into tailspin - after that win we tied the next week and have since lost six in a row. Not like this team, yet there it is. The offense and the pen dried up.

And of course my leg/back situation kept getting worse and worse until I found a doctor who said shut it down for at least the winter. It's not the worst pain I have ever endured, but it just keeps coming back over and over again, and now I know what is like to live with pain. And worse, I felt like I was hurting the team, since I couldn't push off to hit, and in the field I could barely get to first base to cover the bag.

Enough about me. This is about how Johnny Gutierrez picked the best time to enjoy a great game (to get ink!), even if we lost a heartbreaker by a run, 17-16 (because I am finally calling out the highlights). There have been a lot of great individual performances in the last seven games, but they got neglected by this pundit. I apologize deeply to you who have starred in the interim.

Johnny and I have a running conversation about when to throw to the lead base to try to get a runner, and when to just "keep the force on" and not let runners move up. Play it safe (we also argue about how deep to play various hitters but that's for another time). Well today, he won the argument in spades. He threw out two runners at third base who foolishly tested his arm. I had no idea what a cannon he has.  And but for a tough skip on a ball that barely eluded Helen Kostoff at second, he would have had a third. Nice game Johnny! Oh and he was 2-2 plus two walks at the plate.

Those plays were not the only ESPN highlights. Dave DeWitt went into a full dive from right center after calling Steve Rousso off in shallow right field to rob a hitter. He went back on a ball playing left center later and caught it falling down, and nearly concussed himself but hung on. Dave also started a double play from right center, flinging the caught ball to Reymundo Aguilera at the mound who wheeled around and nailed a would be run at the plate.

All in all we turned five double plays. The other two were nearly identical - hard shots up the middle to Steve, who stepped on second and fired to first, leaving no doubt about the outcome.

And Dan May made a couple of diving stops in the 5-6 hole at SS to get outs.

All in all, not a bad day in the field, and it should have been enough. But we just couldn't finish, and didn't score in the last two innings to salt away the game when we had momentum from coming back  twice to take a lead.

The team's defense was not the problem and in general has been relatively good compared to the other teams'. There were some offensive highlights, just not enough. Art Minor collected three RBIs on a two run homer in the first that set the tone (if not for long) and a sac fly. But the Big Clutch was a two out bases loaded bases clearing monster shot by David Thompson over the right fielder's head in the bottom of the seventh. At the time, Team Blue had just scored their first five run inning to take a 15-11 lead. Big Dave's bomb gave us our only five run inning and the lead back at 16-15. It gave us the momentum back, but unfortunately we shut down the rest of the game.

DeWitt was 4-4. May, Aguilera, and Kostoff pitched in three hits apiece. Rousso set a personal high by walking three times.

Nothing stood in the way to have the best post game of any of the teams, and that's what I love about this team. All we can do is say we will get them next week or next time!