Gold turns Green Green

How do you lose a game when Frank Coppa hits a ball to the next field - practically to the third base dugout, Helen Kostoff hits two doubles, John Banker goes 3-4 with a triple (and only missed his fourth hit when he was robbed by the left fielder), and makes a catch for the ages on a smash that was right at him but was dropping like a deer taking a buckshot hit. He grabbed it out of the air like a Ricky Henderson snatch catch.

And that's not counting Jeff Olsen's perfect 5-5 with a double, and yours truly turning a triple or homer over the right fielder's head into a sciatica double.

Gold played better, that's how, and came out on top 20-15.

No excuses, but when you're missing three of your top players, in this league it gives the Manager extra challenges you don't really need.

We cursed ourselves in the first, with Banker's triple and Kostoff's two run first two bagger providing the highlights. In the second, Coppa's HR led us off and Olsen clobbered a two run double. We had a 9-4 lead at that point but Gold answered with two five run innings to take the lead. They won the middle innings but in the eighth back to back doubles by Kravin and Kostoff gave us our last five as we tightened it to 19-15, but that's as close as we came.

Olsen made a couple of nice running catches in LC. Coppa snagged a hot shot at 3B, batting it in the air but recatching the ball. Pat O'Day, turned a very head's up solo double play. A Gold batter, with the bases loaded, dropped a batted ball right in front of home plate. Catcher O'Day picked it up with his foot on the plate, and smartly tagged the batter, who was too shocked by what was happening to run. O'Day could have tried for the game's second triple play (we hit into one), because the other runners were madly dashing to go back to their starting bases. But in the excitement he was worried he would throw it away and decided to hold the ball. As it turned out we got the third out without a run scoring, so smart call. The other defensive highlight was Dick Stanley making a diving catch in RC to end an inning, which he seems to do every game.

Michael Callahan, Banker, Kostoff, Woody Whitlatch and O'Day all had three hits, Every Green batter had at least one. We will get back on the winning track next week.