Scores

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PG manager Janet sure picked quite a week to take some time off with a pair of close tough games that just about gave the interim manager, hubby Dick, a heart attack. (Just kidding!) 

PG and CPA both had their hitting shoes on, and at times their defensive shoes couldn't keep up with both teams scoring in six different innings. The biggest lead of the game was in the third inning when CPA had a 10 to 5 lead. Just like PG's game on Tuesday, this one wasn't settled until the ninth inning. CPA scored five runs in the top of the ninth, but PG pushed across four in the bottom half for the final score of 20 to 19. And just like Tuesday, the hero with a game winning RBI in the final inning was Dan Griffin.

There were plenty of hitting stars on both teams with Bob Loperena, Dan Miserany, Craig Wheatcroft, Sheree Parsons and Gary Fischer all collecting four hits with one of Bobs being the only home run of the game. Jerry Galiley, Nanci Watt and Elizabeth Bailey each had three hits..

PG was missing four players, but Joe Uribe and Mark Remas filled in big time with each of the going 5 for 6. Keith Richards was also 5 for 6 with five RBIs, Cathy McDonald was 5 for 6 with three RBIs and Dan Griffin also 5 for 6 with the aforementioned game winner. Rich Keefer and Dennis O'Hern each chipped in four hits. Everyone in the lineup had at least one hit.

Thanks to Bob Baptiste for umping for PG for the second time this week.

This game was not pretty.   It was played in two halves, with PPB leading 10 to 2 through the top of 5th inning, and TPP outscoring PPB in the second half of the game 14 to 5.  TPP is down by three in the bottom of the 9th and the second half of the lineup came through with Dave Buck,  Gary Soper, Dave Shinn, and Tom Winterbourne scoring. Still down by 2 and with two outs and the pressure was on Johnny Brand at bat and he delivers his usual, driving in 2 runs to finish the game with a final score of 16 to 15.

TPP was led by Al Castaneda going 4 of 5 at the plate along with three batters going 3 of 4: Jeff Van Siclen, Gary Soper, and Tom Winterbourne. And Johnny Brand had 5 RBIs including the game winner.

PPB was led by Roney Lewis who had 4 hits and 4 runs.  Pat Steele also had 4 hits. Ken Thompson, Andy Balas, Joe Dimambro, David Erwin, and super sub Erin Spoden all had 3 hits each.

A special thank you to Randy Agadoni for umping.

"Is the U.S. flag flying at half-mast to honor Pope Francis, or because our bats are missing-in-action?"

- Jimmy Smith, Nucci's third baseman

Jeff Payton and his motley crew of Draft Dodgers squared off against Lil Keehan and her League Leading squad of Eye-talians in what was sure to be a barn burner today at Pine Park. But as epitomized by Mr. Smyth, it was not their day. Truth be told Nucci's were missing some key players, including Tom Carney (a.k.a. "He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Hit-To"), Carlos Cevallos, and Robert Tahimic, so it seems highly likely any future match-up would be a bit different. 

The Eye-talian attack was led by Kevin Davidge and Jimmy Smith, both going 3/4, and Super-Sub Al Galviz who was 2/4 with 2 RBIs. 

The Dodgers offense was spearheaded by Bob (Yes, softball fans, he actually can take a called strike) Tompkins (4/4, 3 RBIs), and Kevin McBarron (4/4, RBI). Going 3/4 were Jeff Payton (3 RBIs), the indomitable Kirsten Mildbrant (3 RBIs), and Steve Doan (2 RBIs).

Pitching was solid on both teams, with Lil Keehan for NU and Margo Jacobo for DR logging complete games, and both teams played well on defense. Special props for the Dodger infield in executing several double plays, and to the defense as a whole for holding the  powerful Eye-talian bats at bay for most of the game. 

Nucci's wishes to thank Al Galavis and Sheree Lovick, and The Draft wishes to thank Kevin Lynch, for super-subbing. Both teams also wish to thank Rick Shaw for an excellent job umpiring. 

“The fog comes on little cat feet. It sits looking over harbor and city on silent haunches and then moves on.” Carl Sandburg

In the senior league, players are typically rated in four key categories: running, hitting, throwing, and fielding. But if I could add a fifth, it would be hustle—and no one embodies that better than John Vivrett (aka JV). While hits might not come easy for JV, you can bet that any ball he puts in play—no matter how routine it looks—he’s sprinting to first. Worden Williams can always count on him to run it out, never jogging, walking, or standing at the plate. Case in point: during the Dubs' 24–13 win over Gaspar, JV turned what looked like a simple infield grounder into a spark for a five-run rally, and later drove a solid single to center. No one was shocked. He runs out every ball, every game. That, my friend, is Hustle—with a capital H.

As for the game itself, both squads came out firing bullets. By the fifth inning, WW held a narrow 16–12 lead. But from that point on, the Dubs’ defense clamped down, holding GAS to just one run while tacking on eight more of their own. Every WW player recorded at least two hits. Ken Auerbach had a standout performance, going a perfect 4-for-4, scoring three times and driving in four.

Substitutes David Ward and Greg Lorton also made big contributions—Greg was 4-for-4 with four RBIs, while David went 4-for-5, scored three runs, drove in four more, and belted a home run. Tom Benacka and John Symanski chipped in with strong efforts as well, each going 4-for-5.

GAS didn’t go quietly at the plate either. Sub Phil Kay delivered a flawless 5-for-5 performance, and Gene Smith followed up an earlier shot off the outfield fence with a no-doubt homer over the left field fence. Dan Fry (3-for-4) and Oscar Castillo (3-for-5) also contributed to the offensive push.

On the defensive side, WW’s Bob Buscher showcased his range by snaring a line drive deep in the hole at shortstop and also doubling off a GAS runner by taking a throw from Mark Riserbato who added his own web gem on that play by snagging a sharp liner at first to erase what looked like a sure double.

With no official umpire scheduled, Bob Porter stepped up behind the plate, saving both teams from having to rotate in one of their own.

 
Bye:  Carlsbad Inn

          Village Pie Shop

 PPB jumped out to an 8 run lead after 2 innings, but CPD battled back to within 3 after 5 innings making the score 11-8. PPB added 9 runs the next 2 innings while. CPD added 4 more.

Leading hitters for PPB were Roney Lewis 5/5 w/a triple, homer, scored 5 runs and knocked in 8 runs. Ken Thompson was 4/5 w/a double & 3 rbi. Pat Steele, Joe Dimambro & Super Sub Jimmy Smyth (Homer) were all 3/5. Andy Balas, David Erwin, Dan Melendez, Joel Kudren & Ron Silverman were all 2/5

Leading hitters for PPB for CPD were Gary Fisher 4/4. Sherre Parsons & Dan Miserany were 3/4. Marty Topper, Steve Wagner and Linda Wolf all hit homeruns. 

These two teams had a real nail-biter at Alga this morning with the scores never being more than three apart at the end of any inning. Both teams started out with five runs in the first inning. VPS scored one in the second and then both teams again scored five in the third. The defenses sort of took charge in the middle three innings with only one run being scored by PG. The Groupies scored three in the top of the 7th to take a three-run lead, but the Villagers pushed across five runs in the 8th to take a 16 to 14 lead into the final inning. PG's first two batters made outs, but the next five got singles that drove in three runs for the lead that they managed to hold onto in the bottom half.

VPS had four perfect 4 for 4 batters, Phil Kay, Rick Shaw, Jerry Smith, and Nanci Watt and three 3 for 4 batters, Rod Johnson, David Ward and Sherrie Lovick.

Leading PG was Bill Ginty at 5 for 5 with 6 RBIs including a grand slam homer in the first inning. Dennis O'Hern was 4 for 5 with a solo home run and Keith Richards was also 4 for 5. PG was missing a couple key players, but the subs we got more than made up for their absence with Bill Codner and Ron Bondshu both going 4 for 5. Dan Griffin was only 2 for 5 but drove in three runs including the tying and winning runs in the final inning.

It was good to see Bob Baptiste back on the field and we thank him for a fine job of umpiring.

Things were looking somber for That Pizza Place Tuesday as the Pepperoni’s were trailing 19-13 with one out in the top of the ninth inning against Gaspar Physical Therapy. But That Pizza Place rallied for six runs to tie the game and then held Gaspar scoreless in the bottom of the ninth to squeak out a 19-19 tie.

Pizza late heroics kept Gaspar from tying them in the standings with six wins.

“They key play in the inning was Bob (Peters) getting a walk to load the bases,” said Pizza’s  Johnny Brand.  Peters correctly looked at a 3-2 pitch that was barely off the plate for his key base on balls. That Pizza Place then got five hits in a row to tie the score before Gaspar could get the third out.

That Pizza Place jumped out to a lead with a five-spot in the top of the first. Gaspar’s defense was stellar and held Pizza to a single run over the next four innings, while Gaspar’s hitting came alive with 12 runs for a 12-6 lead. The lead was 16-9 after six innings before Pizza added four in the seventh to tighten the score. A two-run round-tripper by Oscar Castillo was the key hit in a three-run eighth inning to give Gaspar the six-run lead heading into the ninth.

Gene Smith led the Gaspar hitting attack with a 5-for-5 day, with three doubles, a triple, and a home run for five RBI. Castillo was 4-for-4  with three RBI. Dennis “Ray Ray” Rayford was 3-for-4 with a home run, and Cord Cameron was 3-for-5 with a home run. Philip Urbina and Steve Berry each had three hits, and Paul Thomas, Barry Stangl, Jim Davis, and Rick Skidmore each had two hits.

Dan Smith led the Pepperonis with a 5-for-5 day and scored five times. Johnny Brand and Larry Weinberger each went 4-for-5 and scored four times, with one of Weinberger’s hits being a home run. Evelyn Schwartz enjoyed a 4-for-5 day, Jeff Van Siclen had three hits, and Al Castaneda, Gary Soper, and Tom Winterbourne each contributed two hits to the Pizza attack.

Both teams thank Barry Anderson for umpiring the game.

DeJa seniorVU

The spirits of Calavera sent a gut check across the diamond today. With Bobby Porter and Al Cabacungan umping and Kevin McBarron in LCF it was an eerie Cultura reunion of that infamous day at Calavera in 2018. 

Dave Ash (played by Jim Goertzen) started the game by blasting a shot deep into center field.  Bob Porter (played by John Symanski) took off full steam to track it down. Unfortunately, Porter/Symanski forgot they were just inches from the short fence to begin with.  As the ball cleared the fence for a HR and the body smashed into the fence, McBarron (played by older McBarron), Cabacungan, and real Porter all grabbed their stomachs to hurl as they watched Symanski trampoline off the fence 5 feet and crumple into a bloody mess. 

This is the exact same scenario in the exact same part of the fence that Bob “Crash” Porter earned his nickname and 36 stitches (in front of his wife who was attending her first ever softball game) 7 years ago!

There was a 20-minute break as The Draft Doctors tried to put Symanski’s face back together again.  And the ever-tough player trudged back out to finish the game…even catching the last out!

The game itself started out close and anyone watching could see these are two very good teams.  Today The Draft played its best game and was able to pull away from a CBI team having an off day as often happens in this league.

Both teams played solid defense with CBI’s Jim Goertzen not only hitting a HR but also recording multiple sparkling putouts. Kevin Lynch was a pickin machine with a nice snag at rover.  The Drafts D was once again dominated (and errorless?) by the stellar infield combo of Jeff Schneider, Steve Doan and Jeff Payton and even more stellar pitching from Margo Jacobo.

The INNmates batter's kept the game close with Oscar Delgado (3/3) and Joe Uribe (3/4) teaming with Donna Englemann (2/3) to go along with the Goertzen HR.

The Draft Doctors were led by McBarron hitting for the CycleSlammy (single, double, triple, HR and a Grandslammy) 8 RBI day, Steve Doan 4/4 3 RBI, and Jerry Nuanez setting the table by getting on twice to set up big rallies.  Kirsten Millebrandt continued with her deep bombs for a key sac fly, with Schneider and Payton also getting key RBIs as every member of the team had at least one hit.

The Draft thanks valued subs Kevin Davidge and John Symanski for playing tough D and contributing with 5 hits between them.  Now we wait to get the stitch count to see if there is a new Crash in the league!

Bye: Nucci's

         Worden Williams