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Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #4
April 25, 2010
Buzzards Swoop In From Behind To Beat Sultans, 11-8
On another gorgeous Sunday for NABA baseball, the Gold Country Buzzards travelled to Antelope High School to do battle with the Sultans. The Sultans have good pitching, but are not strong defensively. Larry “Chief” Rehberg, their catcher and a former Buzzard, flew in from his new job in Las Vegas as general manager of the Desert Rose golf course for this game. The Sultans were going to give it their best shot to take down the Buzzards.
The Buzzards were without their ace, Dave “Keppy” Kephart, so the plan was to pitch by committee to hold off the Sultans and to hit like we can to out-score them. Good plan, now we play the game. The starting pitcher for the Ol’ Buzzards was righty Mike Hayworth #13. On the bump for the Sultans was southpaw Mike “Sidewinder” Bishop #30.
The visiting Buzzards went down in the first inning on just one hit, a liner to left field by catcher Fred “Freddie” O’Donoghue. The Sultans jumped on the scoreboard with four runs in the bottom half of the inning on three errors, a hit batter, and three hits, including Chief’s two-out double to the fence scoring the last two runs.
After the first inning smack across the mouth by the Sultans, the Buzzards played better baseball, but had a tough time getting ‘good wood’ on Sidewinder’s assortment of nasty pitches and speeds early in the game.
The Buzzards did score two runs in the second. Dan “Wookie” Wukmir led-off with a short flare to left. Mike “Bake” Baker followed with a hot-one up the middle and off the glove of the pitcher for a single. Next, Pete “Baron” Von Zboray walked to load the bases with nobody out. After a strike-out and a swinging bunt for a force out at home, there were now two outs. Mike Colbert #8 then hit a hard grounder to the left side that was bobbled by the third baseman who then over-threw first base on the rushed throw to try and nail the speedy center-fielder. Two runs scored on the misplay to make the game 4-2 Sultans.
The pesky Sultans scored again in the fourth inning with two runs on two walks and two errors to the bottom of their line-up. Ouch again.
The Buzzards scored one run in the top of the fifth on a lead-off single to left by Mark “Ronnie” Wronski. Several fielder’s choices and two Sultan infield errors later, Scott “Donut” Reeves found himself in a pickle between second and third on the ground ball to short by Taylor “Welzy” Welz with two outs. Donut stayed in the run-down long enough for an alert Colbert to race home from third with the valuable run.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Sultans efficiently scored a pair on a walk, single, stolen base and two ground ball outs. The score after five innings was 8-3 to the fired-up Sultans.
The Ol’ Buzzards fought back in the sixth with three runs to close the gap. With one out Bob “Woody” Wooden walked and stole second base. With two outs, left-hitting Wookie hit a sinking slider sharply over first base and down the right field line for a stand-up triple scoring Woody. Bake then got on board with an error by the three bagger, putting runners at third and first. Baker gets a runner, so Charles “CJ” Jackson came in and stole second base, setting up both runners in scoring position with two outs. The Baron, batting next, drove both runners in with a hot grounder to the left side that resulted in a wide throw to first base trying to get the hustling Baron. The score was now 8-6 Sultans.
The pitching and defense held the Sultans to no runs for the rest of the game, while the Buzzards scored in each of the last three innings. Chipping away at the Sultans lead, the Ol’ Buzzards scored once in the seventh frame.
Donut started the action with a two-out single down the left field line. Welzy followed with a line drive to center field to put two runners on. Freddie knocked in Scotty courtesy of a misplay by the first baseman. Donny, running for the catcher, stole second base before the inning ended with the score 8-7.
The eighth inning started promisingly with a lead-off double to the fence in center field by CJ. With Sidewinder bearing down, he got the next two batters to strikeout before the Baron came to the plate. After watching a fast ball for a strike, Pete dug-in and then lined the next pitch into left field to tie the score at 8-8 in the eighth. A huge clutch hit by the Baron.
Entering the ninth inning the game was also bumping into the 3-hour time limit, the Buzzards needed to score some runs now and put this game away. The inning started well with a line drive lead-off single by Barry “Brooklyn” Forman to left-center field. Colbert followed with a solid single to left field putting the first two Buzzards on base. Donut, batting next, sacrifice bunted a tough second pitch to advance the runners to second and third base. Welzy was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Freddie, in a huge at-bat, got two strikes early then battled back against Sidewinder for a tie breaking walk and a 9-8 lead. Woody then hit a grounder to the shortstop who stepped on second for a force, but then threw the ball past the first baseman trying to get the Wood, which allowed two more hustling Buzzards to score taking an 11-8 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
The Sultans were tamed in their last at-bat and the Buzzards celebrated a hard fought victory on the field and after the game, putting the 2010 season record at 2-2.
The Buzzards used three pitchers in the game. Hayworth started and threw the first three innings. Mike threw 46 pitches (31 strikes & 15 balls) against 18 Sultans and gave up four runs (zero earned runs) on six hits, no walks, and one hit batter with three strikeouts. Ray “Bull Dog” Henry #7 took the mound in the fourth inning. Southpaw Bull Dog made all of the outs that inning. A lead-off strikeout and two come-backers with easy tosses to Baker playing first, however, after the strikeout there was ugly action including a dropped fly ball near the line in right, a stolen base, wild pitch and two walks before the second 1-3 play ended the inning with two runs scoring. Ray faced six batters throwing 25 pitches (9 strikes & 16 balls) with no hits.
Woody started pitching in the fifth inning and allowed the first two runners to get on base with a walk and a single to right. Those two runners scored later in that inning to make the score 8-3 at the time, but Woody shut the Sultans down the rest of the way and finished the game letting only two more runners get on base. Once he got rolling, Woody mowed down Sultans quickly and efficiently (6th inn.- 9 pitches, 7th inn.- 4 throws, 8th inn.- 9 pitches, 9th inn.- 8 throws). Bob faced 18 batters in five innings with 56 pitches (38 strikes & 18 balls). Woody gave up two hits and two walks and had six strikeouts.
The Buzzard offense was slow to emerge. There were 12 hits, but just five threw the first five innings when the score was a gloomy 8-3. The Sultans’ #30 Mike Bishop is a strong lefty with lots of pitches from various arm angles and he threw the whole nine inning game. He lost some of his sharpness late in the game and the Ol’ Buzzards pounced when they smelt weakness.
It ended up being a fairly good offensive showing with 10 of the 11 Buzzard batters getting base hits. The multi-hit group though consisted of only one player this week: birthday boy Wookie got three hits including that nice triple right down the line and into the right field corner with two outs in the sixth to get a 3-run rally going.
The Buzzards remained calm and focused early in game in spite of being down by five runs midway thru the game. The come-from-behind win and scoring over 10 runs are god indicators for the rest of the season. Keep swinging those big bats and the girls will be impressed.
Buzzard Note #1: We have a double-header this Sunday against the Gold Country Coyotes at Colfax High. First game is at 10 am, the second game (seven innings) is scheduled to start at 2 pm, but may start 15 minutes early if we are set to go. That means we are likely to be done between 4 and 4:30. The Gold Country BBQ will start shortly thereafter, up the hill at the Ballpark. Pete and Ray will bring their grills and we will have burgers, potato salad, chips, sodas and beer. The BBQ is for both teams and their families. The cost will be determined by the number of participants, so bring some money, but it should be good weather, good Buzzard food and good fun.
Buzzard Note #2: If you have summer vacation or family plans that will mean missing some games. Please notify Dan know for team planning purposes.
Buzzard Note #3: Last week after the game at Antelope, the Buzzards gathered behind the fence in center field to enjoy the victory with cold drinks and munchies. Just as the bottles were getting opened and we were getting settled to watch the Free Agents and Coyotes play for awhile, the incident with Dave Langness happened. It was heart wrenching even from 100 yards away to watch the valiant efforts of Terry Kelley, Tom Luck and Chris Sanders of the Coyotes trying desperately to save his life. The ambulance seemed to take forever, but apparently his massive heart attack took him by the time he hit the ground right in front of the visiting team’s dugout. Unbelievable but real. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family in Missouri.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #3
April 18, 2010
Astros Fall to Buzzards, 6-1
On a perfect day for baseball, the Gold Country Buzzards faced the Astros, led by the league president, Barry ‘Ponytail” Spiller, at Colfax High for a 10 am Sunday game. The Ol’ Buzzards, still looking for their first win of the season, sent their ace lefty Dave “Keppy” Kephart #21 to the mound. The Astros starting pitcher was their big right-hander, Ron “No Hit” Turner #13.
Keppy’s hard stuff versus Turner’s off-speed junk combined with the umpire’s large strike zone, made the game interesting for the hitters on both sides. Those two cagey veterans were hard to hit all day long and made for a quick game today.
The Buzzards scored first in the bottom of the second. Charles “CJ” Jackson was hit by a 1-1 fastball on the left shoulder to lead off the inning. Turner apologized then and later to CJ because he really reached back to add extra zip on that pitch, but lost control, and nailed Charles squarely on the left arm just above the elbow. CJ was now fired-up and stole second base while Mike “Bake” Baker, #53 this year in honor of Don Drysdale, was at bat. Bake hit a two-strike outside pitch looping into center field. CJ had to hold as the ball tipped off the glove of the hard charging center fielder putting runners at second and first.
Charles got the steal sign for taking second base, but the amped up CJ stole third base on his own with a surprised Bake trailing along to take the bag at second for his first stolen base of the season. After an out, Mark “Ronnie” Wronski hit a two-strike breaking ball on the ground to the shortstop to drive in an anxious CJ, going on contact, for the first run of the game with Baker moving to third. Next, Scott “Donut” Reeves walked on a full-count putting runners at first and third. With Barry “Brooklyn” Forman batting and two outs, Donut got the steal sign and beat the throw to the bag as the ball sailed into center field scoring Bake and advancing Scotty to third base. The inning ended with two runs for an early 2-0 lead.
The Buzzards scored one run in the fourth. Dan “Wookie” Wukmir led off with a two-strike grounder to the second baseman that was bobbled for an error. After a fielder’s choice by the newest Buzzard, Fred “Freddie” O’Donoghue, Wookie ran for our catcher. After Wook tried to steal second base two times but returned due to a foul ball, he advanced to the bag on a wild pick-off throw at first. CJ then walked after eight pitches, putting Buzzards on first and second. Bake batting next, hit a grounder to the shortstop, who then threw to third to get a hustling and hard sliding Wook, but the throw was off a little and everyone was safe. Pete “Baron” Von Zboray up next, walked on four pitches to push in a run.
With one run in and bases loaded with only one out, a big inning was brewing, but the rally was snuffed out with a pop-up to third and a fly ball to left field to end the inning. The Buzzards were up 3-zip on the Astros, but had yet to get a hit.
The Buzzards took advantage of Astro errors in the bottom of the fifth to score three more runs. With one out, Ray “Bull Dog” Henry hit a grounder to third that was misplayed slightly and a hustlin’ Bull Dog beat the throw. The play was ruled an error after much discussion on the bench with the scorekeeper ruling for an error since the first hit this late in a game must be a clean base hit.
Don “Donny” Colbert followed with a fielder’s choice then stole second base with a hard head-first slide. Mike Hayworth then hit a hopper to the third baseman, who bobbled the ball as he looked at the dancing Colbert off of second base, and then we saw the turbos kick-in as Hayworth beat the throw to first. With two outs, Taylor “Welzy” Welz walked to load the bases for a salivating Wookie. On the second pitch of the at-bat, the Astro catcher tried to pick-off that dancing Donny at third base, but the throw was over the third baseman and into left field scoring two runs. The inning ended with the score 6-0, but again no hits and all of the runs were unearned.
The pitchers changed before any more notable action. Turner left the game after the sixth inning with his no-hitter, and was replaced by a slower thrower, Rankin “Smiley” Lyman #1. The 63-year old Rankin, pitched the final three innings, giving up only three hits and no runs. Keppy gave way to Hayworth in the eighth inning to finish off the victory.
The Astros did score in the ninth inning to avoid the shut-out. A single to right, a fly out to left, followed by a botched play at second base as converging infielders caused confusion on a come-backer to Mike on a double-play ball. With two on and one out, the Astro batter, Van Kempen #5, hit a shot to the right-center field gap bouncing to the fence. Speedy Donny in center field chased the ball down and threw a bullet to the cut-off man, Donut. Scotty then added the wow factor on a good looking 8-4-2 by throwing a strike to Freddie to nail the runner at home plate trying to score from first base. A run scored on the hit, but what a terrific play. Mike struck-out the next batter to end the game, 6-1 Buzzards.
Buzzard pitchin’ was excellent. Hayworth pitched the last two innings to close out the victory for Keppy. The Astros only got four hits, two off of each pitcher. Kephart looked good and his left foot did not bother him much until later in the game. Kep did not bat. He threw 87 pitches (58 strikes & 29 balls) to 22 batters in seven innings, just one batter over the minimum. Hayworth looked comfortable on the improved Colfax mound and threw 26 pitches (15 strikes & 11 balls) against eight Astros.
The Buzzards got fewer hits than the Astros with only three. The big hitters were: Donut broke the no-hitter with two outs in the seventh with a hard ground ball through the third-short hole, after he smacked the previous pitch foul down the line, thus making the third baseman take a couple of steps toward the line and opening up that hole for the grounder. Boy, hits were tough to get today. Bull Dog led off the eighth with a flare toward the left field line for a single and then Donny followed with a solid liner to left-center field for the last Buzzard hit of the game.
Batting averages are posted on the web site - this game didn’t help - but you’d better wait to check yours until after a few more games. The team batting is abysmal and the batting average is lower than a snail’s ass.
It was nice to put a game in the win column. Good pitching and solid defense looks to be a Buzzard forte again this season. Hit the batting cages this week and bring your best hittin’ stick on Sunday.
Next week’s game is an away affair against the Sultans. There will be a double-header the following week, May 2, against the Gold Country Coyotes. BBQ afterwards with the Coyotes at the Ballpark.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #2
March 28, 2010
Dragons Get Fired Up and Beat the Buzzards, 6-4
The Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards came to Colfax for an afternoon home opener on a gorgeous Spring Sunday, temp 69°, against the always tough Dragons. The Dragon games are usually close and for the last couple of years the Buzzards have come out on top to include last year’s playoffs. Last August 30th, the Buzzards won the National Division title by beating the Dragons 4-1 by scoring late in that game. So, the Dragons really wanted to clip the Buzzards’ wings and today they came in force to take on their nemesis. Meanwhile, the Ol’ Buzzards are warming up and talking about not repeating last week’s performance while the team is looking good and determined to win. Despite several injured key starters playing hurt, the Buzzards liked their chances.
On the mound for the visiting Dragons was their big right-hander, Alan “Mean Look” Van Ness #31. The Buzzards started their ace, lefty Dave “Keppy” Kephart #21.
The Buzzards struck first with two runs in the first inning. Taylor “Welzy” Welz led off with a deep double to left-center field. Batting second, Dan “Wookie” Wukmir, after looking awful on the strike-two fastball swing, stayed back on the next pitch and hit the knuckler for a single to right-center field driving in the first run of the game. Next, Bob “Woody” Wooden lined an 0-2 pitch to center field for a single putting runners at first and second. While Jim “Milli” Milligan was batting, a wild pitch got past the catcher and Wookie took off for third. However, the ball bounced right back to their all-star catcher, Mark Parsons #32, who threw a bullet to third base. Wookie’s hook-slide appeared to be safe, but the umpire from his bad angle called it differently.
After Milli’s bad call third strike, Charles “CJ” Jackson, drove Woody home with a base hit to left field. With two out, Mike “Bake” Baker hit a clutch double to the fence in left-center field. CJ tried to score from first base on the hit, but a good relay and strong throw home nailed Charles at the plate to end the inning. Two runs are nice, but on five hits (two doubles) – that is actually hard to do.
The Dragons scored two runs to tie the game in the top of the second inning on a single and two doubles. They scored again in the fifth inning to take a 3-2 with a lead-off single, a stolen base and then an over throw at third base on an attempted steal of the bag, scoring the run.
The Buzzards tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Woody led off by getting hit by a pitch for the second time. This time it was a fastball to the back of his shoulder. The ball was bruised though by Woody’s hard-body. The first HBP in the third inning was a knuckle ball to the left butt cheek. That one probably just tickled Ol’ Buff Bob.
Woody then stole second before moving to third base on Milli’s two-strike line drive single to left. CJ, batting next, knocked in the tying run with a sacrifice fly to left field. In the eighth, the Buzzards broke the tie with their fourth run. Welzy led off with his fourth hit of the game, a drive to left-center. Taylor then stole second base on the first pitch. Wookie missed a couple of bunt signs before Welzy advanced to third on a wild pitch. T-Welz then scored on lefty, Wookie’s two-strike grounder to the right side of the infield to make the score 4-3 going into the top of the ninth inning. The Buzzards now needed three outs to finish off the Dragons.
Mike Hayworth #13 took over for Keppy on the mound in the eighth inning and was now facing the strongest part of the Dragons lineup in the ninth. A lead-off single, then an eight pitch strikeout, followed by a double to the fence with a play at the plate tied the game at 4-4. Another strikeout for the second out made extra innings look possible. However, the next Dragon fouled off four pitches, and on a full-count looped a single into left field to score a fifth run. The next batter hit a grounder to short that was fielded cleanly, but the throw in the dirt was not scooped up and the sixth Dragon run crossed the plate. Still, the Buzzards could score on these guys and had three outs to see.
Well, the second Dragon pitcher of the game, Haward #39, kept the Buzzard batters off-balanced in the ninth and the only offense was a walk to Ray “Bull Dog” Henry. Three ground outs later and the 3 hour and 12 minute game was over. Ouch, the Buzzards let this one slip through their talons. The Dragons played well and they will be a formidable foe during the season. We will see them again on June 13th and July 25th.
Buzzard pitching was solid. Keppy threw 105 pitches, 68 strikes & 37 balls, to 31 batters. Kep struck out five and walked one with 10 hits and only two earned runs in seven innings with his injured left wheel. The injured left foot was tightly wrapped and that helped with the push off foot, but Keppy was clearly not 100%, maybe 75% minus his older age, so maybe he’s like 70% of last year’s DK. Uh oh, Keppy, get better soon. Hayworth continues to look good on the mound. He threw 46 pitches, 30 strikes & 16 balls to 12 Dragons. So far, the defense has not played that well behind Mike. His pitching line was 2 innings with 3 runs, 2 earned on 4 hits, 1 walk and 2 strikeouts.
Buzzard hitting (11 hits) was not timely and the base running needs to seriously improve. The defense looked a little rusty, but there were some nice double-plays mixed in to make the game a low scoring affair. In the third inning, a Welzy to Wookie to Baker nice 6-4-3 closed out the inning with two runners on. And, after a lead-off double in the seventh inning, Keppy snared the smash liner up the middle and then turned toward second base for an easy throw to Welzy covering the bag and catching the runner way off base. The poor start to the season can almost be wrapped into the lack of offense. Scoring four runs in two games will not get victories. We need hot bats next game, put them in the oven if you have to.
Buzzard Note #1: Next game will be an away game against the Valley Cats in Elk Grove at 10 am. Team travel info to come.
Buzzard Note #2: Thanks to Ray and Liz Henry for inviting the team to their pretty cool house in Eden Valley for a BBQ. We stayed too late that evening eating and drinking, but it is hard to leave with such gracious hosts. Thanks again for the BBQ.
Buzzard Note #3: That was one ugly foul tip into Mark Parsons’ nose in the 6th inning. His nose was broken (flattened), but no major damage.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #1
March 21, 2010
Buzzards Stunned By Free Agents, Shutout 5-0 in Opener
The Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards opened the 2010 baseball season at Lembi Field in Folsom with a 2 pm game against the always tough Free Agents. Lembi Field was not in good shape with very long grass, a low mound and stones piled up in the infield dirt area. The day was beautiful with scattered clouds and the temperature was 74 degrees. The Buzzards got there early for warm-ups, plus a little wiffle ball hitting and infield before the game. The new Buzzards, Don Colbert #8, Mike Hayworth #13, and Scott Reeves #1, were outfitted in their candy-corn orange jerseys and the distinctive black and orange hats with the Buzzard logo. The new Ol’ Buzzards are welcomed additions to this team of guys who still play ball pretty well and enjoy getting together on Sundays to play the great American game and then drink beer afterwards.
Everything appeared set for a good competitive game with each team sending their aces to the mound. The visiting Buzzards sent southpaw, Dave “Keppy” Kephart #21, to start Opening Day, while the Free Agents countered with their sneaky right-hander, Don “Quick Pitch” Rogers #21.
The Ol’ Buzzards had a hard time getting solid wood on Donny’s pitches and did not get their first hit of the game and season until Ray “Bull Dog” Henry’s looping single to left field that followed a Pete “Baron” Von Zboray walk to open the third inning. With the Baron on third base, Bull Dog got the signal to steal. On the next pitch, Ol’ Bull Dog, breathing loud and hard, stole the base, putting runners at second and third with Keppy at the plate. In the previous two innings, Kep had hit two Free Agent batters, so Dave was expecting to get hit by Roger during this at-bat. Lefty fouled off the first inside pitch and then lined the next outside pitch down the third base line. Great idea and a hard hit ball, but it was snagged with a great play by the third baseman with an out-stretched glove and moving toward the base. He easily beat the Baron back to the bag for a rally killing double play. Pete was only three steps from the base when the ball was hit, but the bang-bang play worked in their favor, this time also.
Even though it was a gorgeous Spring Day, the bounces and calls did not go the Buzzards way. Starting in the first inning with the inconsistent strike zone and the - appeared safe, but was called out - questionable call on the two-out pick-off of Dan “Wookie” Wukmir at second base, after stealing the bag on the previous pitch. Continuing with Charles “CJ” Jackson’s strike-out in the third on the ankle biter - called third strike. To letting runners come standing up into second base and not give the infielder some latitude in touching the base while catching, pivoting and throwing around the incoming runner. The tough calls during the game bugged the Buzzards a little and probably caused them to press a little at the plate and in the field. But let’s not get bitter, just even.
The classic was in the disastrous third inning, when with the first two runners on, Keppy fielded a sharp ground ball to his right. When he turned to throw to the shortstop, Taylor “Welzy” Welz covering second base, the umpire was standing in the line of the throw. The double-pumped throw by Kep was delayed just enough for the speedy TWelz to have crossed past second base and then caught the ball standing a half-step off the bag and moving toward first base. The missed timing also forced a hurried throw in the vicinity of Mike “Bake” Baker playing first base to continue the long ten batters, four unearned runs third inning.
To make matters worse, Keppy hurt his left foot later in the inning after making a terrific catch of a little pop-up in front of home plate. After reaching out to snag the ball nearing the ground, he spun toward first base for a surprise throw to the bag hoping to nail the runner. A good idea but his planted left shoe twisted awkwardly, hurting his push-off pitching foot for the rest of the game, and taking his potent bat out of the batting order.
The Free Agents scored their only earned run in bottom of the first inning with a combination of a hit batsman (pitcher Don Rogers was hit on the left calf), a couple of wild pitches, a walk and a fielder’s choice scored the run. Except for a couple of costly rushed infield errors, the Buzzard defense, especially Mark “Ronnie” Wronski at third base, played well and held down the strong hitting Free Agents. Key outs were made including several fly outs with runners in scoring position and twice with the bases loaded.
The Buzzards only produced two hits and six runners in nine innings. You don’t win games with those stats. The Buzzard offense consisted of Ray’s single in the third and Barry “Brooklyn” Forman’s first-pitch blast down the right field line for a double with two outs in the seventh inning for the second and last hit of the day for the Ol’ Buzzards. Only 32 Buzzards came to the plate to face the slick throwing Rogers. He struck out four and walked three with only seven balls hit to the outfield, four of them for outs, in the quick two hour and twenty minute game.
Keppy pitched well, throwing 138 pitches (probably half with the sore foot) 81 for strikes and 57 balls. He struck-out six Free Agents, walked five and hit two batters in seven innings. Mike Hayworth #13 pitched an effective eighth inning throwing 15 pitches (11 strikes & 4 balls). His curve ball was breaking sharply as he put the top of the order down 1-2-3 with a strike-out and two infield pop-ups.
This game was not a typical Buzzard performance and it will serve as a motivator for the rest of the season. The league has been trimmed to eight teams (some real tough, but all have improved), so we will have to play better to win. The good news is - it should be easy for us to play better ‘cause we are.
Buzzard Notes #1: The Gold Country Coyotes lost to the Dragons 12-1. Both Gold Country teams combined for just one run on Opening Day. It appears we’re both saving it up for the home opener next Sunday.
Buzzard Note #2: Next Sunday’s game will be at 2 pm at Colfax High against the Dragons.
Buzzard Note #3: To answer an inquiry. The last time we faced Donny Rogers was June 14, 2009 at Colfax High. He pitched the second game of the double-header sweep by the Buzzards (10-3 & 8-3). We collected ten hits that game including a Barry Forman double down the right field line, just like last week’s only extra base hit. Nice double with that heavy fiber glass bat.
Buzzard Note #4: Team BBQ after next week's game at Ray Henry's place in Eden Valley.
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #20
August 30, 2009
Buzzards Beat Tough Dragons, 4-1
Win 2009 NABA National Division Title
On a warm and breezy Sunday morning in Hagan Park along the American River Parkway, the Gold Country Buzzards arrived for the game earlier than normal, anxious to warm-up and get ready for the single elimination game against the Folsom Dragons for the national division title. While the Buzzards enjoyed the playoff bye weekend, the Dragons won the previous week’s playoff game against the Patriots in dramatic fashion by scoring three runs in the ninth inning to win 8-7.
The Buzzards have beaten the Dragons all three times this season. The first time was a double-header in Folsom on May 17. In the first game the Buzzards won 6-5 by scoring four runs in the last two innings. The score after six innings was Dragons 5, Buzzards 2. Gary ‘Stoney’ Stonebrook pitched a complete game for the win. The second game was an easier win at 12-6. Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden also pitched a complete game and broke three Dragon bats in the victory. The third win was the radio game at James Field on July 26, as Woody beat them a second time in a 15-8 game.
The Ol’ Buzzards were confident, but the Dragons are pesky and have come close to beating the Gold Country gang a few times in the last two seasons. A good game in all facets of the game would be required to slay the Dragons one more time in 2009.
The pitching match-ups were Alan ‘Sneaky’ Van Ness #31 for the (12-10) Dragons, and throwing for the (20-2) Ol’ Buzzards was southpaw Dave “Keppy’ Kephart #21. The Dragons have not faced Keppy since July 2008; however, Dave’s left wheel still isn’t healed and so no running and not much push-off from the mound on his pitches.
The Dragons scored first in the second inning with a lead-off double to the left field fence. A one-out single to left scored the lone Dragon run. After the next batter singled to put runners at first and third, the next Dragon hit a sharp grounder fielded by Taylor ‘Welzy’ Welz at shortstop to begin a sweet looking double-play with a toss to Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir at second and the nice turn and strong throw to Mike ‘Bake’ Baker at first base to end the inning. This was one of three consecutive innings with double-plays by the Buzzard defense to deny the Dragons any more runs.
The Buzzards scored twice in the bottom half of the second inning. Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray led off with a single to right-center. After a fielder’s choice play, Charles ‘CJ’ Jackson was on first base. Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski then pulled an 0-2 count curve ball down the third base line, but fielded by the third baseman. The Dragon throw to second base for a force-out was wide of the bag putting runners on first and third. Keppy hitting next repeated the same scenario with a grounder to the third baseman followed by a throw in the dirt at second base allowing everyone to be safe and scoring CJ for the first run. Barry ‘Brooklyn’ Forman followed by sticking his bat out and hitting an outside pitch for a flare to left field to drive in the second unearned run.
The game was really a pitching duel with both Keppy and Van Ness getting batters out and keeping the score 2-1 until the bottom of the eighth inning. Van Ness kept the Buzzards off-balanced all game with his pitching assortment consisting of a zippy fast ball, a slow and medium curve and a knuckle ball. Keppy hung in there with his sore left quad and struck out 10 Dragons in throwing seven scoreless innings after the lone Dragon run in the second.
The Buzzards score two more in the bottom of the eighth when Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan singled to lead off the inning. Wookie running for Milli advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Baker. The Baron then hit a grounder through the left side hole putting runners at the corners with one out. CJ then blasted a 1-0 pitch deep to left field off the fence for a run scoring double Ronnie followed with a line drive to left scoring the Baron for a 4-1 lead.
Keppy mowed ‘em down in the ninth inning with the assistance of two nice plays at shortstop by Welzy to secure the victory and the National Division crown. Keppy threw 131 pitches in facing 34 Dragons giving up one run on six hits and two walks with one hit batter and 10 strikeouts.
The Buzzard defense played well with several noteworthy plays. The double-play in the third inning started with a hard hit grounder to Welzy who fielded it near second base. He stepped on second and threw to Bake at first to beat the runner. In the fourth inning the double-play was a 6-4-3 with the Welzy to Woody to Bake combination with a Baker leap? to catch the ball and nail the runner by a thin hair. In the sixth inning, Keppy caught the runner at second off the base and ran toward him to start a run down. In text book fashion Keppy tossed to Wookie covering second, then a throw to Ronnie at third, followed by a toss to Welzy back near second base and a run-down tag by T-Welz toward third. The outfield Buzzards were lining up in case the pickle continued. A good pick-off move by Kep started that one. In the seventh inning, Ronnie back-handed a hard hit ball down the third base line and threw a strike to Bake at first for a terrific out. And the game ended on a nice running catch by Jim ‘Wags’ Wagner in center field.
The offense got 12 hits, but they were scattered throughout the game. Two of the four runs were earned. The multi-hit group for this game was CJ and Ronnie with two and the Baron with three hits. The ribbies were knocked in by Keppy, Brooklyn, CJ and Ronnie. For a while it was tense and close, but this was a good win over a tough Dragon opponent.
Up next, the Sacramento NABA Championship series.
Buzzard Note #1: The Reds won the American Division title with a 10-7 victory over the Valley Cats. We will face the Reds on September 13th in a double-header. The third, if necessary, game will be the following Sunday, September 20th. The site of the championship series will be announced next week.
Buzzard Note #2: Ray Henry will host the end of season team party at his place in Eden Valley the Sunday after the playoffs end. If the season ends on Sept 13th, the party will be Sunday afternoon on the 20th. If we play on September 20th, the party will be on the 27th. More info to come on the team party.
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