The skies fortunately waited to pour yet again until just after Carlsbad Inn and Hennessey's Tavern finished their late game at Pine. Playing under an Atmospheric River, the players arrived by canoe, kayak and stand up paddle (just kidding). Hennessey's Tavern sailed out to a 3-0 lead, before Carlsbad Inn got their offense flowing and opened the flood gates by scoring in each of their last 6 innings, en route to a 13-4 victory.
Before we list individual accolades, first a BIG THANK YOU, for coming out in inclement weather, to Hennessey's subs Tom Benacka and Jimmie Martin, as well as to Russ and Dario for umpiring.
Hennessey's Tavern was led by Tom Benacka and Joe Uribe, both of whom had 3-for-4 days. Particularly impressive was the stout defense played behind strike-throwing machine Johnnie Martinez. Every Hennessey's infielder fashioned at least one great play: 3b Mark Pedote, ss Pat Steele, R Tom Benacka, 2b Joe Uribe, and 1b Jimmie Martin.
Making a big splash for Carlsbad Inn were Larry Wadalavage (4-for-4 with 3 RBIs) and Dale Miller (3-for-4 with 2 RBIs), both of whom hit home runs. Manager Randy Agadoni also had a 4-for-4 day. And spraying the ball all over the field with 3-hit performances were Gerry Itkin, Rick Skidmore, and Sherre Lovick.
Last, P Rod Johnson only allowed one run over his final 8 innings of work, as Carlsbad Inn played great defense as well.
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As you know we only got three innings completed before the rains came and washed out our game. However, I think there were some personal highlights that deserve to be noted in the game highlights page in the website. Cathy McDonald, Oscar Castillo and Oscar Lara each hit homers for PG and Jerry Galiley and Dave Ash homered for GA.
I would say both teams earned they salaries today as it was very cold and windy throughout the game. During batting practice, there were a “few” drops of rain coming down but stopped shortly after it started. Enough complaining about the weather and on to the highlights.
Both teams, though shorthanded, played well loaning each team a player or two as needed. In spite of the weather, both teams were focused on winning and as such played well. Good hitting by both teams was the key. The DR scored in every inning and VPS scored in every inning but two. While there were no plays that would make a Wide World of Sports highlight reel, the score remained close throughout the game thanks to good, steady defense by both teams. Our competitive composite bats moved the ball around the field well.
For DR, Dave Franz and Tom Winterbourne hit 4/4, T-Bone (thanks for subbing) went 3/4 along with Gary McBride, Jack Schwarzel and Steve Sexton. Going into the final 7th inning with VPS down by a bunch of runs, VPS launched a strong top of the 7th and final inning by bringing 13 batters to the plate which contributed to allowing nine runs to cross the score scoring line leading to a final score; VPS 17, DR 15.
In the top of the 6th inning Jeff Schneider for VPS slammed a home run to deep left-center. Larry Weinberger hit 4/4. Rick Shaw, Dan Smith and Jeff Payton each went 4/5. Bill Mead went 3/4. This resulted in a VPS team OBP of just under .700. VPS thanks Russ Roopenian for subbing as a strong pitcher.
“We know we're better than this, but we can't prove it”. — Tony Gwynn
“All I remember about my wedding day in 1967 is that the Cubs lost a doubleheader”. — George F. Will
Some may have seen it as the clash of the titans – ok, a bit excessive, or thought it looked like a shootout at the OK Corral, although no one got hurt unless you count bruised feelings. Nonetheless, enough fireworks to rival the 4th of July as Worden Williams bested Pizza Port Brewery 27-26.
The line score revealed that WW scored five runs in four different innings while PPB scored five runs in three separate innings and four runs twice.
WW banged out 36 hits and PPB no doubt matched that number.
WW was led by the three “Bobs” and a David; Buscher 3/3 with a homerun, Porter 4/4, and Loperena 4/5 and David Hartzog 5/5. But the story of the day was Lloyd Thorne and John Vivrett, both who went 4/4 with three RBIs each and Dan Griffin 3/3. As it turns out, what ultimately became the winning run was knocked in by John Vivrett to complete his 4/4 day. But a key to this win was an RBI single by Barbara Pardo with two outs in the second and a walk in the sixth to score the fifth run on a sac fly. It is hard to pinpoint exactly what contributed to the one run difference, but these were a few.
PPB was led by Rich Reynolds, who continued his hard hitting ways by going 5/5 and Teddy Badillo, Phil McCabe and David Ward, all of whom went 4/5. Also contributing to the PPB 26 run output were three-run home runs by Ed Silva and Dan Frye.
While the score would indicate that this game was not a tight defensive battle, there were a lot of hits but some nice defensive plays. Three that stood out for this writer were a catch of a long fly ball by David Hartzog, a snag of a line shot down third base by Joel Kudren, and a pick up by Dennis Kemp of a ball thrown in the dirt to first base to record the final out.
As per usual, Umpire Al C called a kerfuffle free game.
The beginning of this season has mostly been a struggle for That Pizza Place. Today's game vs a strong Nucci's team was questionable to even get started due to pregame rain that delayed the first pitch for twenty minutes.
For TPP, the atmosphere seemed different today. The team's collective confidence was the better than any time in the previous few weeks for an obvious reason. Tom Carney had returned to the team after five games off. As a team, we were determined to play well in his absence. Sometimes we did, and sometimes we didn't. We knew his playing skills would be missed, but the return of his modest, soft-spoken personality was just as important.
In the bottom of the first, TPP's first six batters delivered 5 runs without an out. Despite Nucci's battling to stay close most of the game, TPP held a steady lead throughout on the strength of some solid defense and strong run production.
Every player on the team had contributions. Most notable on defense was Ken A. at 1B who recorded at least ten putouts without a miscue, despite every throw not being perfect. On offense, Dennis scored four times, Tom and Mike H. scored 3 times. Don P. was 3 for 3. Mark R. had a HR and 5 RBI's. Mr. Carney had multiple great plays on defense and at the plate was 4 for 4, hit for the cycle and added 7RBI's. WELCOME BACK TOM!!!!!
Nucci's was led by Ronie Lewis's HR and 4 RBI's. Much thanks to Phil Heinz for subbing.
We are all thankful for Big Al's umpiring and patiently waiting for the rain to pass before our game could start.
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Bye Teams: That Pizza Place
Pizza Port Brewery
Standings are posted after all scores have been received (in a timely manner)
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