Scores: Week 13

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These two teams shared the dubious record of most tied ball games in the league, and this game added to that distinction marking the third time they have each had a tied game. It was pretty close throughout with low scores in the beginning with TPP having a 5 to 4 lead over PG at the end of the fifth inning. Then the bats caught fire with TPP scoring five runs each in the sixth and eighth innings to take a 15 to 7 lead at the top of the eighth. PG's bats took a little more time to heat up but put up four runs in the eighth and five more in the ninth to tie the game. TPP's defense stiffened after that and stranded the winning run on base for the final 16 to 16 tie.

The top of the TPP lineup was pretty hard to keep down with Pat Driscoll going 5 for 5, Robert Kroger 4 for 4 with 3 RBIs, Rick Shaw 4 for 5, Tom Redmond 3 for 4 with 2 RBIs, Kevin Lynch 3 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBIs, Stand-in manager and pitcher Mike Berry batted 3 for 4 and didn't walk any PG player.

Everyone in PG's lineup got at least one hit but they were led by Gary Conway's 5 for 5, David Hartzog's 3 for 5 with a homer and 6 RBIs, Dave Erwine's 2 for 5 with a homer and 3 RBIs, and Jack Schwarzel batting 4 for 5.. PG was missing five players and were very thankful for our two subs, Tony Coppin and Mike Wallman. Tony was 3 for 5 with a homer and three RBIs, which BTW was the game tier in the bottom of the 9th. Mike's stay with PG was unfortunately too short as he drove in the only two runs in the second inning but suffered a leg injury rounding first base and had to leave the game. Thanks to TPP for loaning PG a catcher for the rest of the game. Also notable was Rod Johnson's pitching that yielded no walks. I don't know whether that has ever been accomplished with no walks in the entire game.

The Pizza Port Beer Buddies hosted the Carlsbad Police Coppers at Calavera on a field in remarkably good condition considering the recent heavy showers of the past few days.  The Beer Buddies came into the game having run roughshod over just about everyone in the league for a 19-1 record, more than doubling their opponents for an average 19-9 score – not unlike an M1A1 Abrams tank.  The Coppers came in riding a one-game winning streak, tied for their longest of the season, with a record of 6-14 and an average score of 11-13 – not unlike a remote-controlled Marine target vehicle.

But the Coppers came in with a high level of irrational exuberance, at least partially attributed to cheapo tequila and also an altruistic sense of sympathy toward Beer Buddies manager Mark Lehman to give him a short respite from the pesky and monotonous task of writing game summaries.  The Beer Buddies showed up more depleted than the uranium on the Abrams’ armor.  They were missing Tom Carney, Johnny Brand, and Mark Pedote, but partially made up for it with new sub Tom Butch.

Feeding off their exuberance, the Coppers jumped out early, scoring five in the top of the first.  They led 6-2 going into the bottom of the third when the Beer Buddies rallied to take a 7-6 lead.  That lead held until the seventh when the Coppers scored to take an 11-10 lead, only to see the Beer Buddies retaliate in the bottom of the seventh with five for a 15-11 lead.  But the Coppers scored five of their own in the top of the eighth and two more in the top of the ninth for an 18-15 lead.  The drama was far from over in the bottom of the ninth with the Beer Buddies scoring once and putting the tying and winning runs on base with the meat of their lineup before finally succumbing to a game-ending fielder’s choice, 18-16.

The Pizza Port loss was not due to a lack of offense.  David Frantz went 5 for 5 and Tom Butch was 4 for 4 with five RBIs and a home run that it still heading toward the Artemis II splashdown site.  Ken Thompson was 4 for 5.  Mike Gallagher, Frank Weishaar, and Steve Newberg were each 3 for 4.  Andy Balas, Roney Lewis, and Cord Cameron were each 3 for 5.

Carlsbad Police also mounted a strong offense with Jimmy Smyth and Jeff Payton each going 4 for 4.  Jerry Smith was 3 for 3 including a single, double, and home run plus a sacrifice fly driving in a total of six runs.  Craig Wheatcroft went 3 for 4.  Dan Miserany was “only” 2 for 4, but his two hits were a triple and home run that drove in three.

So now riding their season-high two game winning streak, Carlsbad Police joins That Pizza Place in the highly exclusive “We Beat Pizza Port Club”.  

Pizza Port thanks Tom Butch for subbing.  And many thanks to Gene LaChimia for an uneventful day umpiring.

 Somewhere between a bakery mishap and a blue-collar symphony, the last-place Village Pie Shop nine served up something that tasted a whole lot like pride—even if the scoreboard insisted on calling it a 17–17 tie.

As Studs Terkel once suggested, “It’s about the stories we tell ourselves to get through the day.” And for Village Pie Shop, this was one of those stories you hang onto—warm, imperfect, and somehow just right.
The game began not with a bang, but with a polite cough—each team plating a single run in the first inning, like two cautious bakers testing the oven temperature. But soon enough, the ingredients started flying. Paul Wilson turned on a pitch and baked it deep, circling the bases on a dinger that had just the right rise and crust.
Randy Agadoni—arguably the nicest man to ever lace up cleats—was as automatic as a preheated oven, going a perfect 5-for-5. He was gracious enough to sub for VPS. Bocai launched what looked like a no-doubt homer, only to have it settle into a triple—like a pie that puffed up beautifully but sank just a touch in the middle. Meanwhile, Dario Santana went 3-for-4, consistently delivering line drives like fresh rolls out of the oven.

On the other side, Worden Williams—the league’s upper-crust—showed why they sit near the top. Bob Lopreno homered early, and six WW hitters (Bob Buscher, Phil Urbina, Pat Steele, Jim Goertzen, and Joel Kudren) each went 3-for-5, keeping things balanced like a perfectly measured recipe. Still, they never pushed more than three runs in any of four innings, leaving the door just slightly ajar.
Village Pie Shop had just one five-run inning, but like a slow bake, they kept adding a pinch here and a dash there, eventually tying things up 14–14 in the 7th.

And then came the flavors unique to senior softball: the occasional buttered ball, a base coach’s whispered advice lost to the wind, and those “I thought you had it” moments that stretch innings longer than expected. Errors and effort mingled like sugar and salt—sometimes hard to tell apart.

Heading into the bottom of the 9th, down 17–16, Village Pie Shop needed one more taste of magic. Enter Al Castenada—small in stature, mighty in spirit—who gapped a ball into the outfield and turned on the jets, racing home to tie the game. It was the kind of hustle that would make any dugout rise like a perfectly proofed dough.

With two outs and the winning run perched on third, the bakery nearly delivered its masterpiece. Dario Santana sent a ball screaming down the line—only for it to drift foul by a whisper. Inches. Just inches from the kind of ending you frame and hang on the wall.

Instead, the game ended in a tie.

But for Village Pie Shop, this was no ordinary tie. This was a moral victory, a blue-collar triumph, a pie that didn’t quite win the ribbon but stole the show anyway.

Or as Studs Terkel might frame it: the dignity isn’t always in the outcome—it’s in the doing, the grinding, the showing up and making something meaningful out of the everyday.

For a last-place team, this tie felt a bit like taking your sister to the prom… when deep down you hoped for the homecoming queen. Not exactly the dream—but on this day, it was close enough to dance.

The kissing twin sisters were out in the crowd today at Alga as both games ended in ties.  This one was a defensive battle throughout before things spiced up in the last two innings.

Nucci’s jumped out to a 5-2 lead after one as Kevin McBarron 4/4 started things off with a single and Tom Benacka and Dave Surh both 3/4 adding RBI singles to put Nucci’s ahead.  With Lil Keehan and Rich Kiefer (2/3) locked in a pitcher’s duel it was still 6-2 into the seventh inning.

Carlos Cevallos got his 4th hit of the game (not including the hit to the head on a scary thrown ball) and Jeff Schneider (3/4), Dave Bosque (2/3), and Rich Keefer (2/3) got RBI singles to put The Draft ahead 7-6.  Nucci’s answered right back with 5 runs over two innings with Steve Sexton 3/4 and Delta Farrington doing the damage.  Randy Biard then blasted a fly ball well over the head of Kathy O’Neill for a HR and an 11-7 lead going into the 9th inning. 

But O’Neil had revenge on her mind as she started off the 9th with a big leadoff single. Steve Wagner followed with a hit allowing the top of the lineup to play pinball with Schneider clearing the bases with a triple. It could have been worse if not for a couple nice putouts from behind the plate for Brenda McBarron (2/4) before Nucci’s finally got the last out to keep it tied.

In the 9th inning Nucci’s loaded it up but couldn’t get the winner home in a fair outcome for a well-played defensive game.  

The teams thank Russ Roopenean for umping, Cevallos’s head for not imploding and wish Joni /Mike Wallman well as we await his injury update.

Bye:  Carlsbad Inn