It is with deep sadness we announce the passing of Hank Plotkin. Hank was a longtime member of NCSS and a favorite of so many players through the years. After he stopped playing he became a sponsor (Plotkin Group) for our league which continues to this day. The league sends its sincere condolences to his son Jim (who was also a player in our league) and all of Hank's family and friends.
NCSS sent a donation to Wounded Warriors in memory of Hank Plotkin.
“May his soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.”
(Jewish Epitaph)
Today was the funeral of Hank Plotkin, a longtime member of the senior softball league. Although Hank had not played for a number of years, players who remembered or played alongside him attended the graveside ceremony to pay their final respects. On behalf of the Plotkin family, his son Jim, also a former member of the league, gave a poignant eulogy tracing Hank's life from his upbringing in Brooklyn to settling in San Bernardino and finally in Carlsbad with his wife of sixty five years. For those of us who knew him, he was an unparalleled storyteller and his work experience was just as extraordinary, rocket scientist (“true”), movie theater owner and management consultant. Hank was also a neighbor and on occasion, I would stop by for a short chat to see how he was doing that usually turned into two hours of captivating stories. Some might say he was a character with character.
Hank’s passing serves as a reminder to all of us in the senior league that we play our best until we can’t and move on.
Rest in peace, Hank. You will be missed but not forgotten.
Joe Paul
“Open the pod bay doors HAL” – 2001: A Space Odyssey
In its penultimate game before the playoffs, Worden Williams showcased its hallmark strong defense, securing a 14-7 victory over a resilient Carlsbad Inn. The game was a defensive battle, with both teams struggling to score runs through the first six innings. Worden Williams eventually broke through, scoring five runs in its final two at-bats while keeping Carlsbad Inn scoreless.
The game was tied at six after four innings, and Worden Williams held a narrow 9-7 lead after six. Notably, Carlsbad Inn's Dale Miller made three outstanding catches at Rover, preventing additional scoring opportunities for Worden Williams. Despite these efforts, WW managed to shut out CBI in seven of the nine innings.
On the offensive side, WW was led by Bob Porter's home run, five RBIs, and perfect 5-for-5 performance at the plate. Bob Buscher also went 5-for-5, and Mike Henderson, subbing in, contributed with a 3-for-3 performance and two walks. Every WW player recorded at least one hit. For Carlsbad Inn, Manager Randy Agadoni led with a 4-for-4 performance, and Rod Johnson added two hits.
Special thanks to Russ Roopenian for volunteering as umpire and to Mike Henderson for subbing in for the ailing David Hartzog.
Heading into the next to last game of the season, Gaspar had the eyes focused firmly on the standings in terms of the playoff positions. Perhaps they might have better focused on the opponents in front of them, The Draft Dodgers. Gaspar was in third with Carlsbad Inn and Pizza Port nipping at their heals in a near tie for fourth. The Draft was in a duel with Nucci’s for the cellar, with The Draft sitting at the bottom by mere tenths of a percent and identical records except that Nucci’s had one more tie. But The Draft Dodgers had bolstered their lineup with several recent additions, and the game turned out to be a lot more competitive than Gaspar hoped for.
Gaspar jumped out early, and led 6-0 through the top of the fourth inning. But then the Dodgers scored three in the bottom of the fourth to tighten things up. Gaspar added three runs each in the fifth and eighth innings while The Draft added a single run in the sixth and was only able to score once in the bottom of the ninth. Final score: 12-5. Defense really shone on both sides, although both sides were muttering about missed opportunities and a few base-running errors.
Jimmie Martin pitched a gem in the loss, striking out two batters (author included). Dave Frantz hit a home run and Kathy O’Neil went 2 for 3 for the Dodgers.
Skip Moyer’s legs supported the entire Gaspar team as backup pitcher, while Greg Lorton’s legs cast an annoying glare at catcher that disrupted The Draft’s fielders. (He played nine innings as the Gaspar catcher, and four innings as the Dodgers’ catcher.) Joe Dimambro went 4 for 4, while Dave Ash, Bocai, Guy McCord, and Brian Turner all went 3 for 4. Dave Ash hit Gaspar’s only home run. Dave Bosque likes to be in the writeup, and he went 1 for 4. 😊
In the end, Gaspar clinched third place, and the focus now turns to CBI versus PPB for the fourth playoff slot. PPB carries a half-game lead into the final day. Thanks to Jonathan Brand for umpiring.
Two teams out of the playoff race had a nice, friendly, tight game at Calavera today with PG finally pulling out a win for their dear departed sponsor Hank Plotkin who recently passed away. A moment of silence was conducted at the conclusion of the game.
It was a close game the first six innings with the score being tied in four of them with NU leading in one and PG also leading in one. With the score tied at 8 runs in the bottom of the sixth, PG bats finally woke up and plated four runs in the 7th and five in the 8th while holding NU to only two runs in the last three innings for the final score of 17 to 10.
There were plenty of hitting stars for PG with the leader being Oscar Castillo going 4 for 5 with a homer and five RBIs. Right behind him was Steve Newberg, Leo McFall, and Oscar Lara also going 4 for 5. Of particular note was Gene Foreman and Lou Chartz going 4 for 4 including leading off the five run rally in the bottom of the 8th. Also of note in that inning was Michiko Lischen knocking them into scoring position for the start of the rally.
NU batters who managed to avoid the gloves of the PG fielders were Roney Lewis 4 for 4 with a homer, and Robert Kroger and Paul Thomas going 3 for 4.
We thank John Symanski for subbing for PG and Barry Anderson for umping. Several members of both teams, plus some others, met for a congenial Italian lunch at Nucci's.
VPS clearly brought their “A” game for this game. VPS (visitors) opened the game by posting two runs in the first inning and scored in almost every inning thereafter. This game was won off of VPS hits given that HEN made very few (if any) errors in the field. VPS was able to hold HEN scoreless until the HEN flipped-final at bat where they posted 6 runs with some good hitting.
For Hen, Phil Kay hit 3/4, Joe Uribe broke through the scoreless innings with a double. Thanks for subbing go out to Mike Brower and Joel Kudren.
For VPS, Jeff Schneider and Donato Domiguin went 4/4 with a home run. Dan Smith (with a home run), Rick Shaw, Jeff Payton went 3/4.
Both teams thank Gene LaChimia for umpiring the game.
Bye Teams: That Pizza Place
Pizza Port Brewery
I am going to forego my usual summary and I trust that my players who performed so well today will understand that other things matter as much as a victory on the ball field. (Joe Paul)
Joe Paul's tribute to Hank Plotkin can be found in the memorial at the top of the page.
In a game with significance for the playoffs, fourth-place Carlsbad Inn attempted to knock off first-place That Pizza Place to secure a post-season spot but came up short as TPP prevailed 21-5.
CBI got off to a fast start with 5 hard hits in the top of the first, including a 2-run homer by Randy Agadoni, but John McDaniel snuffed the rally when he turned a double play after snagging a hard grounder to him at third base.
TPP answered with 4 runs in the bottom of the first and then continued to add runs in all but one inning to build up a solid lead. CBI hit the ball hard, including an RBI-double by Randy Agadoni, a double off the left field fence by Gene Smith and a home run to deep center by Jimmy Smythe, but TPP’s infielders turned 2 more double plays and made several other good catches and throws to keep any potential CBI rallies short-lived.
Hitting highlights for CBI included Daniel Malchow’s perfect 3 for 3 at the plate, Rod Johnson going 2 for 3, Randy Agadoni hitting 2 for 3 with a homer and a double, and Jimmy Smythe’s previously mentioned home run. CBI infielders also turned 2 double plays of their own and recorded a number of other fine putouts.
For TPP, Mike Brower was a perfect 4 for 4 at the plate with 3 runs scored, and 5 other batters went 3 for 4, including Johnny Brand (HR, 2 RBIs), Tom Carney (HR, 6 RBIs), Mark Riserbato, Mike Henderson (HR, 4 RBIs) and Ken Auerbach (double, 3 RBIs). Gene LaChimia, Gordon Recht, Martin Wai and David Buck also chipped in 2 hits apiece.
Both teams thank Joe Raffa for a solid job of umpiring behind the plate.
With the season winding down, the battle for the last two playoff spots is heating up between Carlsbad Inn, Pizza Port, and Gaspar. Going into today’s games, Gaspar had a slight lead over CBI, and both were a game ahead of Pizza Port. Gaspar headed to Calavera to host a resurgent but battle-weary and depleted Hennessey’s team. The Hens were only able to field nine of their own players, but got two valuable subs that contributed big-time to the team.
Hennessey’s came out firing on all cylinders, scoring five in the first. Gaspar began chipping away, and by the third inning the game was tied at 7-7. At that point, Gaspar got it in gear scoring eight to lead 15-7 after five. The Hens scored four in the sixth to cut the lead to four, but Gaspar responded with four of their own to lead 19-11. Although Gaspar had scored in each of the first six innings, by that point, Gaspar was done scoring for the day. The Hens continued to keep the pressure on with three in the seventh and one in the top of the ninth, but it was too little too late, and Gaspar hung on 19-15.
Leaders for the Hens were Dave Grull and newcomer Ed Strong who both went 4 for 5. Phil Kay was 3 for 4. As subs, Cathy McDonald and Steve Newberg both were 3 for 5. Dave Ash went 4 for 4 for Gaspar, including a home run and five RBIs. Complaining about the Carlsbad heat (65°) after returning from their Alaska vacation, Leigh Peterson was 3 for 3 plus a sacrifice fly, as was Bocai. Ken Thompson was also 3 for 3, but no sacrifice fly. Jerry Galiley, Guy McCord, Skip Moyer, and Brian Turner were all 3 for 4.
With two more days in the regular season, Gaspar now has a one-game lead for third place over CBI and Pizza Port, with CBI holding the slimmest of leads for fourth. But none of the three are locked in yet.
Thanks to Al Cabacungan for an uneventful umpiring job. And thanks to Cathy and Steve for substituting for the Hens.
Defense was great for these 2 teams today and a very fast played game with both teams turning 3 double plays each. PPB pitcher Russ Roopenian and Nucci’s Steve Berry pitched excellent games.
Leading hitters for PPB were John Symanski 3/3 w/2 doubles & a triple, Teddy Badillo 3/3 w/a triple & 3 RBIs & Mark Lehman 3/3 w/3 doubles. Super sub jeff Peyton was 2/3 w/a homer & 2 RBIs, Joel Kudren 2/3, Rich Lavacot added 2 hits & a double & David Ward added 2 hits & a triple, Phil McCabe & Dan Frye made some nice outfield catches along with a hit.
Leading hitter for Nucci’s was Kevin Davidge 2/3 w/a homer.
Both teams thanked Barry Anderson, who umpire a perfect game.
Bye Teams: Plotkin Group
Village Pie Shop
Standings are posted after all scores have been received (in a timely manner)
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