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Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #19
August 16, 2009 Buzzards Walk All Over Astros, Win 18-0
The last game of the regular season was played against the weak Astros at Mahany Park in Roseville. The Buzzards were scheduled for the early start time of 10 am, allowing the team to beat the Astros before the day got too hot and to enjoy the victory with ice cold drinks and cigars in the shade before lunch. The Astros had a double-header, so they held back some pitching for their later game with the Free Agents. The pitching match-ups for the game were George “Web Master’ Bettencourt #26 with his wide array of curve balls starting for the Astros and Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden #22 throwing for the visiting Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards.
The Buzzards scored first with three runs in the top of the first inning. Taylor ‘Welzy’ Welz led off with a line drive single to left field. Welzy then stole second base a few pitches later. Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir choked up on the bat with two strikes and punched a hit through the left side of the infield for a run scoring single. Wookie stole second before Woody followed with a walk. After a double-play grounder, Jim ‘Wags’ Wagner walked on a full count to put two runners on. Next, Charles ‘CJ’ Jackson took a base on balls to load ‘em up. Gary ‘Stoney’ Stonebrook, fresh off the Buzzards’ Disabled List, hit a grounder to third that was misplayed scoring two runs.
Woody took the mound with David ‘DK’ Kelley behind the plate. Woody threw strikes all day long and did not have a three-ball count on a batter until the fourth inning and then only had three all game. Bob threw eight pitches in the first inning and seven in the second to efficiently mow down the ‘Stros. Charles ‘CJ’ Jackson caught the last three innings and the terrific pitching continued. Woody faced 25 batters in the seven inning game giving up five hits with no walks and eight strikeouts. He threw 85 pitches, 61 for strikes and 24 balls. He did give up a hit to Barry Spiller, league president, a flare to left field in the third inning, to make Barry’s day. Woody struck him out the next time in the fifth inning. Good job.
The Buzzards scored a run in the top of the third with Woody’s solo home run. Bob hit a curve ball over the left field fence on a 0-2 pitch. The score after three innings was 4-0. The Buzzards scored again the next time Woody came to bat in the fifth inning. After a double to left-center by Welzy and a walk to Wookie, Woody blasted the curve ball way over the left-center field fence for his second homer of the game and the season. What a stud Buzzard, pitching a three-hitter up to this point, and swinging the bat with authority while knocking curve balls over the fence on consecutive at-bats. Woody also took the lead in homers for the season with two. Welzy and Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski have the other homers this season.
In the sixth inning, the Buzzards struck again when Stoney walked after tweaking his right groin muscle again on an awkward looking swing. After a wild pick-off throw to first base advanced the runner to second, DK knocked a two-out single to center scoring the run. The score after six was 8-0 Buzzards. In the seventh inning the Astros changed pitchers and the Buzzards scored 10 runs. Going to the mound was big Steve ‘Huge’ Brady #27. He does look intimidating on the mound, but he has lost velocity and he had a hard time getting the pitches down for strikes. Brady walked Wookie, Woody, Mike ‘Bake’ Baker, Wags and CJ all in a row before they lifted him for the shortstop Craig Burford #34. After an out, Craig then walked Stoney, then Brooklyn, then Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray before nicking Welzy with a pitch across the arm.
With two outs, Woody drove in the last two runs of the game with a sharp single to left field. After polishing off the Astros in the bottom of the seventh, the mercy-rule kicked in to end the game with the final score of 18-0. The score was high, but there were only 10 Buzzard hits during the game. The 16 walks are a Buzzard record and added many of the runs to the score board.
Lots of Buzzards scored runs, but only two had multiple hits in the game. Welzy had a single and a double, and Woody had three hits - a single, two walks and two home runs for six RBIs. Wow, did Woody have a great game or what? Bob’s pitchin’ and hittin’ was awesome. The ribbies were brought to you by the Baron, CJ, Stoney, Wags, and Welzy with one each. Kelley and Wookie knocked in two, while Woody tied the Buzzard record of six RBIs in one game. Kephart had six ribbies against the Astros in June.
The defense played well and made good plays on potential hits to limit the ‘Stros. Wags made a tough play look easy in the third inning with a hard charging catch of a sinking liner in center field. In the same inning with Barry Spiller at first base, Wags charged another line drive to left center that appeared to be a sure single. Jim fielded the ball on the run and threw a strike to second base to get a force out of ponytailed Spiller at the bag for the second out of the inning. Great coverage and throw to a hustling second baseman, Steve ‘Cookie’ Cook, to nail the runner. Barry was not happy at all as he kicked dirt on his way back to the dugout. This game concludes the regular season with our record at 19-2.
So far the Buzzards have performed well and look to be tough in the upcoming playoffs. The pitching is nicked-up with injuries to Kephart and Stonebrook, but Wooden has pitched extremely well since his return from the Disabled List and is 5-0 on the season. Now the real pressure packed fun begins. The Buzzards will enjoy the playoff bye weekend with a light practice at Colfax High on Sunday.
The next game will be for the National Division title on August 30th, either against the Dragons or the Patriots. The Buzzards will need a strong healthy team going into the championship series (three-game) starting with the double-header on September 13th.
Good season so far you Ol’ Buzzards. The stage is now set to repeat as NABA champs.
Buzzard Note #1: CD’s of the KAHI radio game will be passed out at the next game. Kelley made copies of the radio station provided recording. Copies will also be mailed to the Dragons. Thanks again David for the work in securing the KAHI broadcast again this year. KAHI has expressed interest in broadcasting a playoff game. The radio station continues to use Buzzard provided news releases on their radio shows. Be sure and tell your agent or maybe your kids.
Buzzard Note #2: Check out the team and individual statistics. The team batting average for the regular season was .385 with five Buzzards batting over .400. Team fielding was .944 percent and the pitching ERA was 1.69. Wow! The web site is www.eteamz.com/gcbuzzards/
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #18
August 9, 2009
Buzzards Shot Down By Reds, 10-5
On a hot 100-degree afternoon in Davis, the Ol’ Buzzards faced a fired up Reds team that was playing a must-win game to stay ahead in the American Division race with the Free Agents. Since the Buzzards had already clinched first place in the National Division, the motivation was different against the only team the Buzzards have not beaten this season. In addition, the normal pre-game warm-up routines for the team were disrupted with all the late arrivals due to the terrible traffic jam leaving Sacramento at the I-80 interchange.
The pitching match-ups were righty, Danny ‘Former Dragon’ Harvey #25 throwing for the Reds and southpaw, Dave ‘Keppy’ Kephart #21 on the mound for the Gold Country Buzzards. Keppy is throwing with a pulled quad muscle in his left leg, but insisted he could go nine even in this heat.
The visiting Buzzards batted first and got off to a good start. With one out, Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir walked on a full count, and then stole second base on the next pitch and advanced to third on a wild pitch. With two outs, Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan walked for the first of three times in this game. Running for Milli, the catcher, was Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden who then stole second base putting runners at second and third. Next, Keppy came through on a 2-2 curve ball with a nice swing and a big hit up the middle to drive in the first two runs of the game.
The Reds bounced back with a lead-off double. Two ground ball outs later, the clean-up hitter singled to drive in their lone run in the bottom of the first inning. The second and third innings were scoreless and both teams scored in the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.
The Buzzards scored one run starting with a lead-off walk to Milli. Woody, running again for Milli, stole second base and advanced to third on a passed ball. Keppy followed with a sacrifice fly out to center field scoring Woody to take a 3-1 lead.
The Reds struck back with two runs in the bottom half of the fourth. The inning started with a double to right field. The next batter hit a long shot to deep center field. Jim ‘Wags’ Wagner made a great running and leaping catch for the out. After catching the ball and before tumbling to the ground from the jump, Wags tried to toss the ball to the trailing right-fielder, David ‘DK’ Kelley to relay the ball back to the infield. Good idea and looked great, but the toss was too far from DK. While DK chased the ball down, the runner scored from second base on the sacrifice fly. The next batter singled and then moved to second base on a passed ball and then to third on a wild pitch. After a walk, the next Reds’ batter grounded out to Woody at third base, but scoring the runner from third to tie the game.
The Reds took the lead in the fourth inning with three runs on a walk and three hits. All three runs scored with two outs. The Reds scored three more in the sixth inning on a walk and three hits. Several of the hits in these two innings were flares off the end of the bat or dinkers that found a hole for base hits. Very frustrating for Keppy and the Buzzards.
The Buzzards were also not enjoying the umpire’s moving and seemingly large strike zone, especially with two strikes. The offense seemed to have to be on the defensive with their bat when at the plate. In the seventh inning, the Buzzards scored a run when Wags was nicked by a pitch across the chest. With two outs, Ray ‘Bull Dog’ Henry, batting left-handed, hit a looper down the left field line for his second of three hits and moving Wags to second base. Next, Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray hit a grounder to the shortstop, who then threw wildly to the second baseman covering the bag, allowing Wags to score from second base to make the score 9-4 Reds.
The Reds bounced right back and scored one in the bottom of the seventh inning. Keppy clipped Danny Harvey, the opposing pitcher on the left shin, with a curve ball to open the inning. A walk, a misplayed high and deep fly ball to left field for a third out, followed by a single made the score 10-4.
The Ol’ Buzzards went down fighting and scored once more in the ninth. Milli led off with his third walk of the day, with Woody then running for Milli. With one out, Wags, taking a mighty swing, dropped a spinner between the pitcher and first baseman, for an infield hit and two runners on. After a fielder’s choice out, Bull Dog then knocked in Woody with his third hit of the game, this time a deep flare to right field to make the final score 10-5.
The Buzzards did play good defense and the pitching was strong, but the offense was off-balance all day against the tough Danny Harvey. His velocity is not his strength any longer, so he used his off-speed pitches, especially his curve, to set up the fast ball. With the large strike zone, Harvey’s curve ball was working for him. The Ol’ Buzzards got only eight hits in the nine inning game, three of the hits were by Bull Dog. The multi-hit group for this game consists of Bull Dog Ray. This is the first game this season without multiple Buzzards being in the multi-hit group. This was also Ray’s first Buzzard game since mid-July. Nice Hawaiian tan there, Bull Dog. Danny Harvey for the Reds struck out six and walked five Buzzards plus he hit Wags.
Keppy pitched a strong game, especially with that bum left wheel. He faced 43 batters and threw 160 pitches, 105 for strikes and 55 balls. The strong hitting Reds team got 15 hits, but 12 of them were by the top five guys in their 10-man batting order. Six Reds struck out and four walked with one hit batter. 160 pitches is a lot of pitches on a nice mild day, but Sunday was a scorcher, even so, Keppy hung in there and pitched well. Milli also hung in there behind the plate catching those 160 pitches. Late in the game, Milli could be found laying on the ground behind the dugout in the shade looking for some relief while the Buzzards were on offense. Tough ol’ birds those Buzzards.
The offense did not do their part with only five runs in this game, and Keppy knocked in three of them. The Buzzards lit up Ol’ Harvey when we last faced him back on May 31with nine hits and six runs in his five innings. Anyway, he pitched well and we played a little flat at times. Based on what we saw on Sunday, it is likely the Reds will represent the American Division in the NABA Championship Series. The Buzzards need to prevail in the division finals on August 30th, but it is likely we will see them in the championship games. Buzzard revenge is the plan.
Buzzard Note #1: As a reminder, the remaining 2009 season schedule is August 16 – game at the Astros, followed by the playoff bye of August 23. The division finals will be on August 30. No games during the Labor Day weekend. The championship series (best of three) will start on September 13 with a double-header. The ‘if necessary’ game will be the following Sunday, September 20.
Buzzard Note #2: This Sunday’s game is in Roseville at Mahany Park at 10 am. There will be cold drinks and munchies after the game.
Buzzard Note #3: Notice from Management and Sponsors: Get healthy by September.
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #17
July 26, 2009
Buzzards Soar On Radio Waves, Slay Dragons 15-8
With the Buzzards’ first game this season at the other home field, James Field in Auburn, they prepared to take on the Dragons from Folsom. The game was special due to KAHI Radio Station setting up the equipment behind home plate for a live broadcast of the game going over the local air waves and streaming on their web site. As the Buzzards and Dragons warmed up, David ‘DK’ Kelley was runnin’ around getting player information and taking care of last minute details with the radio announcer, Dave Rosenthal, to make sure this game was a success and enjoyable for everyone. DK provided Buzzard history and factoids to be used during the broadcast. Great job again, Kelley, with the radio game.
The Buzzards and Dragons played nervous for the first couple of innings before settling down. Probably the radio game plus there were also quite a few boisterous fans at the game. It was a nice surprise to see Dennis and Sherry Viegas at the game also. She shouted out the Ol’ Buzzard call she used last year (Caw - Caw - Caw) many times during the game. The pitching match-up was righty Steve ‘Sidewinder’ Shaw #19 for the Dragons versus Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden #22 throwing for the Buzzards. This was Woody’s first game as a pitcher since he broke a bone in his left foot (kick boxing) in June.
The Dragons came out swinging and scored a run in the first on a walk and two singles. The Buzzards countered with one of their own in the bottom of the first inning. Taylor ‘Welzy’ Welz started it off with a single to left field. He stole second base and moved to third on a ground out. With Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan at bat, Welzy raced home on a pitch in the dirt, that got past the catcher, for the first Buzzard score of the day to tie the game at 1-1.
The second inning started out with two base hits for the Dragons. With runners on second and third, the next batter hit a line shot at Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski playing third. Mark snagged the ball and then threw a strike to Steve ‘Cookie’ Cook quickly covering second base to nail the returning runner. A nice quick double play like that usually leads to a quick inning. Not this time however, as the Dragons sent seven more batters to the plate to score four runs and take the lead. The long inning took a bad turn right after the double play. The next batter, speedy ‘Little’ Salazar #16, then hit a multi-bouncing, slow roller going slower in the thick grass toward second base. Cookie rushed up to field the ball and then pulled a ‘Billy Buckner’ as the last bounce slowly hopped over the glove and threw his legs for a memorable or forgettable miscue scoring the runner from third. The top of the Dragons order then came up. Their first five batters had 12 of their 14 hits and were tough outs all day. Mark Weathers #47 was 4 for 4, Mark Parsons #32 was 3 for 4 and the catcher, ‘Dicky’ Dicksons #3 was 3 for 4. With some sloppy play, plus four hits, a walk and another catchable pop-up between infield and outfield Buzzards, the Dragons scored their four runs after the two outs to make the score 5-1.
After the long frustrating inning for Woody taking 39 pitches, the Buzzards needed to settle down and start hitting the ball and making the plays - which is what they did. The Gold Country gang came back with three runs to close the gap. Ronnie led off the bottom of the second with a liner to left for a base hit. Next, free swinging Barry ‘Brooklyn’ Forman walked for only the second time this season. Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray then took a mighty cut at the first pitch to hit the mighty bunt that didn’t go very far, but far enough so he could show good hustle and beat out the throw for an infield single. Charles ‘CJ’ Jackson, fresh from spending most of July on the Disabled List, hit a rocket shot to the gap in left-center for a double knocking in two runs. CJ moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Welzy’s double down the left field line to make the score after two, Dragons 5 - Buzzards 4.
After throwing 65 pitches in the first two innings with too many batters, too many deep counts and lots of foul balls (example-Weathers had a 10 pitch at-bat ending with a single in the 2nd inning), the Buzzards needed to hold the Dragons back with some short innings. Right on cue, the Dragons were swinging and Woody got the next three batters on five pitches with two grounders (5-3 Ronnie to Baker and a hot come-backer at Woody with a nice 1-3 play) and a 1-2-3 strikeout to end the inning.
After stopping the Dragons, the Buzzards kept scoring with five runs and took the lead for good in the third inning. Woody started the rally with a flare to left. Woody stole second base on the second pitch, but the umpire called out Milli for batter interference and sent Bob back to first. Milli had a late swing that looked good at the curve ball, but the catcher bumped into Milli in throwing to second base. Tough call. Mike ‘Bake’ Baker then got an infield single putting two runners on base. Batting next, Ronnie stepped to the plate and pointed toward left field or was he scratching his nose, he then launched the 0-1 pitch over the left field fence for a three-run homer. The ball appeared to bounce on the warning track before sailing over the fence, so it will count as a ground-rule home run, as the umpire’s vision was blocked by the - running toward the fence - left fielder and ruled a home run. Still, a nice shot and three big runs. Mark brought lots of family and friends, so the cheers were loud while he circled the bases and was met by the team for high fives and fist bumps at home plate.
Barry hit the next pitch for a single to left. The Baron hit a tough chopper to shortstop to get on base via error. With two outs and Jim ‘Wags’ Wagner at the plate, the catcher threw down to first base in an attempt to pick-off Pete. The throw was wide and Barry hustled around the bases to score from second. The Baron moved to second on the play. With two outs, Wags then singled down the line in left on a 3-2 count scoring Pete. The inning ended with the Buzzards leading 9-5 after three.
The feisty Dragons fought back with three runs in the top of the fourth. A walk followed by a couple of looping singles, then a line drive single to left by their clean-up hitter, Mark Parsons, also playing shortstop today. Mark was then picked-off with a nice move by Woody for the second out of the inning. A real good move, ‘cause the next pitch was a gapper double to left- center field by the catcher, Dickinsons for two ribbies. The Dragons would not score again, as the defense stiffened and Woody began to mow them down with decent pitch counts (14 pitches in the 5th, 12 pitches in the 6th).
The Buzzards took control of the game in their half of the fifth inning by scoring six runs. With one out, the Baron - showing off his wheels - beat out a slow ground ball again for a base hit. CJ then lined to left to put two runners on. With two outs, Welzy followed with a grounder to shortstop that was misplayed allowing a run to score. Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir then came to the plate never having been hit by a baseball in his three years batting with the Buzzards. The 1-0 fastball that nailed him squarely in the right buttocks ended that streak. Diane thought the bruise was cute, who knew chicks liked bruises.
With the bases loaded, Woody fouled off four pitches in a six count at-bat before singling up the middle to score the run. Milli then hit a bloop single down the left field line for another run. Bake then knocked in a run with a line drive to right-center. Ronnie batting next was the 10th batter in an 11-batter inning. His pop-up, that landed over and past the second baseman, was the last hit and run scored in the inning and the last run of the game for the Buzzards. With the high scoring game, we were only able to get in seven innings in the three-hour time limit.
The Dragons had two more chances to score runs. The sixth was a 1-2-3 inning (two Ronnie to Baker 5-3’s and a screaming liner to Wookie at second that nearly took his glove off). The Dragons did get two hits and used an infield error to load the bases before their last hitter, Dragon Wagner #24, hit a fly ball out to center field to Buzzard Wagner #24 to end the game. Final score Buzzards 15 - Dragons 8.
This was a good win against the team we will likely face in the division championship game on August 30th. The Dragons did have six errors that helped the Buzzards. The hits were pretty even with 14 for the Dragons and 16 for the Buzzards. Woody pitched a hell of a game and handled the early sloppy play well. He faced 38 batters and threw 134 pitches (85 strikes & 49 balls). Woody struck out two and walked three Dragons this afternoon in collecting his fourth Buzzard win of the season.
The Dragons brought their hittin’ sticks, so there were plenty of fly balls and ground balls to go around. Bake had 10 put-outs at first base, while Cookie had two put-outs and an assist playing second. Wookie had two assists and two put-outs playing short and second. Welzy had a put-out playing center and two assists playing shortstop. Ronnie was picked-on by the Dragons and made all the plays with four assists to go along with two put-outs at third base. Woody had two assists (come-backer in the 3rd and the pick-off play in the 4th). Milli was flawless again behind the plate. Wags had two catches, one in right field and one in center. And the Baron caught the first out of the last inning with a nice catch of a mean looking slice by big righty, the catcher, Dicky. With two on and no outs, that was the first time big #3 did not get on base. The Dragons were tough outs all day.
The offense clicked with 15 runs on 16 hits with three walks and one hit Buzzard. Sidewinder Shaw struck out seven Ol’ Buzzards in his six innings on the mound. The big hit was Ronnie’s home run in the 3rd inning. Ten Buzzards got hits today. The multi-hit group included Bake, Baron, CJ, Milli, Woody, and Welzy with two hits each and Ronnie with a big day with three hits and four ribbies. Mark apparently plays well for his wife, Kathy, and a crowd of friends. Be sure and bring ‘em to the playoffs.
The KAHI radio game was a good one for the Buzzards. CD copies of the game will be available soon. The season record is now 16-1.
Buzzard Note #1: The Buzzards have clinched first place in the National Division and therefore will have a bye on August 23, while the Dragons and Patriots battle for the play-off spot to face the Buzzards on August 30, maybe at James Field.
Buzzard Note #2: Next Sunday’s game will be against the Sultans at Colfax High at 10 o’clock.
Buzzard Note #3: Factoids heard on the radio during Sunday’s game: The four year record of the Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards is now 51-28-2. The 50th victory was the second game win of the double-header sweep last week of the Valley Cats. The 50th win was not celebrated since it was not known until DK added up the season records in preparation for the radio game. The Buzzards now lead the all-time series between the two teams at 6-3. And the only triple play in Buzzard history occurred against these Dragons in 2007. A good looking, running snag of a liner by Wookie at shortstop, then beating the runner on second back to the bag, then the throw to Baker at first base for the third out.
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #15
July 19, 2009
Buzzards Devour Valley Cats 9-3
The day was going to be long and hot. Near record temperatures of 103 hit Colfax on Sunday to greet the ol’ guys’ baseball team from the Gold Country as they faced the mouthy Valley Cats visiting from Elk Grove. In the anticipated showdown of the American Division leading Valley Cats (14-1) and the National Division leading Buzzards (13-1), the double-header was key to both teams this late in the season. The V-Cats, managed by Tony Jackson #24, are in a close race in the American Division with the Reds and Free Agents, so they came with their A-Team and some trash talk to knock-off the Buzzards in at least one of the two games.
The Valley Cats sent their right-handed perennial all-star, Craig ‘Slugger’ Parker #20, to the mound. The Ol’ Buzzards countered with ace southpaw, Dave ‘Keppy’ Kephart, who pitched his first no-hitter ‘ever’ earlier in the week for the MSBL Auburn Braves.
The Buzzards were the visiting team for the first game of the two-game battle. Ol’ Parker started the game effectively and got thru the first two innings with just a base hit by Keppy. However, the wheels came off during the third inning as the Gold Country gang scored eight times on five hits, two walks, an error and a baseball size bruise on the back of T-Welz.
The inning started with a four pitch walk to Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray. Barry ‘Brooklyn’ Forman then hit the second pitch to right field for a single. Batting next, Taylor ‘Welzy’ Welz fought off seven pitches before number eight nailed him in the middle of the back to load the bases with no outs. Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir followed with a looping single to center field to score the Baron for the first run of the game. With one out, Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden hit a chopper to short that was misplayed to allow Barry to score the second run.
Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan then hit a long single to center field to score two runs. Mike ‘Bake’ Baker followed with a short flare to load the bases. Pete walked again, this time on five pitches, to force in the sixth run. Brooklyn hit the next pitch for a double deep down the right field line. As the ball was heading to the fence it was also curling toward the foul line. When the ball landed fair by a foot, Buzzman could not contain himself and yelled out, fair ball!, loud and clear so the umpire dare not see it differently. That double was Barry’s second hit of the inning. The inning ended with the excellent eight run outburst for a big early lead that also dampened the spirits of the frisky Cats.
It looked like the Buzzards had Parker in their sights as the inning ended. However, Craig would pitch the remainder of the game by giving up only three more hits and just one run. Ol’ #20 gave up nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts with three Cat errors in the losing effort. If it wasn’t for the big third inning, this would have been a way different ball game.
The only other Buzzard scoring threat came in the sixth inning with one-out and T-Welz on first after an infield error. Welzy stole second base before Wookie launched a 3-2 pitch over the right fielder’s head that bounced once before going over the fence for a ground-rule double driving in Welzy. As the ball was bouncing over the fence, the outfielder was swatting at the air. It turned out that a small swarm of hornets were hanging around the water just past the fence and did not like being disturbed. One of them dodged his waving arms and bit him on the neck. He then ran to the dugout looking for a bee sting kit since he was allergic to bee stings. Because there was no stinger present, it appeared to be a hornet’s bite. However, to be cautious Keppy gave him some antihistamine pills to alleviate any swelling. The player came out and the game resumed.
The inning didn’t last much longer as Wookie, one pitch later, was fooled by the hidden ball trick. After a pick-off attempt at second base with Wook sliding back safely, he sat touching the base with his feet and began to brush himself off to stand up. Meanwhile, the pitcher, Parker, was walking back to the mound looking down as if holding the ball in his glove. Well, the covering infielder still had the ball in his glove and tagged Wookie hard on the helmet as he got up for the embarrassing out. On a play you don’t see very often - and work - the Valley Cats would use this same play on T-Welz in the ninth inning after he stole second base after a lead-off single for another ‘trick’ out. You’ve got to give them credit for pulling that play off, but we need to improve our runner vigilance, ask Blue for time-out, and/or get more help from the base coaches and bench in that situation. Those sneaky Cats were successful with the tricks, but the Buzzards prevailed in this game 9-3.
The pitching by Keppy was superb. The day got hotter as the game went on, but it didn’t seem to bother ol’ rubber arm, who still had it going late and struck out the side in the eighth inning. He held the strong Valley Cats team to three runs on eight hits with two walks and eight strikeouts and dealt well with the five Buzzard errors. Kep threw 151 pitches, 95 for strikes and 56 balls in the three hour game.
The circus music heard in the background occasionally was the Buzzard defense with five fielding and throwing miscues. On the bright side, there were lots of ground balls so Baker had 13 put-outs at first base while smoothly handling grounders and several challenging throws, and Wookie had seven assists and two put-outs playing second base. The second out of the sixth inning is worth mentioning as Wook was running to his left to field a grounder by Big Jackson #24 batting right-handed. When he bent over to field the bouncer, the ball stayed low and Wookie stepped on his glove as the ball entered. The glove came off with the ball inside and the momentum pulled him down into a complete somersault on the ground with his hat flying off as he landed back on his cleats, a few feet away from his glove. Ol’ #2 reached over and grabbed the ball out of the glove and threw it to Bake to get the runner at first, then acted nonchalant like he’s done that one before.
Milli, who caught both games, had three assists in this game. The first was a nice pick-off throw for the first out of the fifth to get an aggressive runner looking to steal second. Milli came out of the crouch for a pitch-out and threw a bullet to Baker at first base to tag the sliding runner. The next batter attempted to bunt, but Milli chased it down and threw a strike to Mike for the second out. In the seventh inning, the Valley Cats had two hits and a walk to score a run with no outs when Milli alertly started a 2-3-4-3 run down after catching the runner on first base leaning the wrong way after a pitch. That Cat rally ended with a double-play grounder from Welzy to Wookie to Bake for a nice looking 6-4-3 inning ender.
Offensively, the big third inning was just about it. Besides the five hits in the third, there was Kep’s single in the first, Wook’s ground-rule double in the sixth, Woody’s liner to left and stolen base in the seventh, and T-Welz’s flare to left and stolen base in the ninth. The multi hit group for the first game consisted of the two oldest Buzzards, Barry and Wookie, with two hits (double & single) each. The ribbies were knocked in by the Baron, Brooklyn-2, Milli-2, Woody and Wookie-2.
The 9-3 victory felt good and the Buzzards had 45 minutes to savor it before game #2 was to begin. The sweaty Ol’ Buzzards had lunch and Kelley brought the traditional double-header watermelon, so we were set for the next game.
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #16
July 19, 2009
Buzzards Sweep Out The Valley Cats With 6-3 Win
The Buzzards were ready for game two, but we were a little short of players on this hot, hot day. With Jackson still on the DL, and the hula boys, Henry and Cook in Hawaii, it was great to see the second game’s Buzzard pitcher, Gary ‘Stoney’ Stonebrook arriving from work during the middle of the first game.
The Valley Cats sent Big Lefty Lou Valdez #44 to the mound for the second game while pitching for the Ol’ Buzzards was #13, Stoney. The determined Cats had a single in the first inning, and scored two runs in the top of the second on four base hits. The last one, dropping into shallow center field, between infield and outfield Buzzards for a catchable out, to take an early 2-0 lead. Tough play, but do-able for the Buzzards.
The Buzzards struck back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden led off with a line drive to right-center field. Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan followed with a liner to center. Mike ‘Bake’ Baker batting next, laid down a perfect bunt toward third base for a hit to load the bases with nobody out. Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray must have looked scary to the pitchers ‘cause he walked on four pitches (third walk today) to push in the first run. Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski then hit a chopper to third for a fielder’s choice and scoring the second run. Score tied at 2.
The Valley Cats clawed out one more run in the third inning with three singles, and led the game until the bottom of the fourth. The Buzzards scored one run when Woody led off the inning with a double down the left field line. With one out, Mike ‘Bake’ Baker hit a 2-0 pitch on a line to left field, knocking in the tying run. After four the score was 3-3.
The V-Cats put up a good fight, but they would only get one more hit (a double in the seventh) off Stoney in the last four innings. There was lots of commotion and fuss in the fifth inning by Tony Jackson when the Valley Cats added a new batter to the bottom of their order. Not normally a problem, but the batter did not announce himself, nor did manager Tony, so the umpire called him out after he singled to right field and after our alert scorekeeper, Diane, brought it to his attention. Ol’ Jackson was not happy and held up the game while calling the commissioner and then he whined long and loud until officially protesting the game. Protesting what, that he can be a loud, dumb ass. He may win that one.
He should also learn, don’t tick off the Buzzards. The Gold Country team scored the decisive three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning of the seven inning game. After Valdez #44 was worn out by pitching and running for six innings, the V-Cats brought in Junior Boreggo #5 to start the bottom of the sixth. Dave ‘Keppy’ Kephart led off with an opposite field hit down the left field line for a huge double. Wookie then ran for Keppy. Woody followed with his third hit of the game, spanking a single to left putting runners at first and third. Woody then stole second base. Three pitches later a curve ball becomes a wild pitch and Wookie races home sliding safely for the go ahead run. Woody advanced to third base on the wild pitch and Milli then drove him in with a deep drive, sacrifice fly, to right field. Next, Bake walked on four pitches and the Baron singled to left to put two runners on. Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski then hit the first pitch into left field for a base hit scoring Bake for the third run of the inning. With one more at-bat for the Valley Cats, the Buzzards now had a 6-3 lead.
The Valley Cats did put one runner on with a double to left field in the seventh inning, but Stoney induced a strike-out and two fly outs - a nice running catch by Jim ‘Wags’ Wagner in right field for the second out and a deep fly out to Dave ‘DK’ Kelley in left field - to end the game and sweep the Valley Cats.
Nice victories for the National Division leading Buzzards, now with a 15-1 record. The pitching was the strength today with complete games by Keppy (9 inn.) and Stoney (7 inn.) in the near record heat. As the mercury hit 103 degrees for Colfax, the 2 ½ hour game was ending. Those cold drinks tasted especially good after the game. And the cigars added the right touch for the team gathering at the Ball Park.
The game’s pitching line for Stoney was three runs (two earned) on nine hits, no walks and nine strikeouts. He threw 108 pitches to 31 batters (77 strikes & 31 balls). Those rubber arms sure come in handy. Stoney was chastised by the field umpire for his hand-to-mouth and hand-to-jersey action while walking around the mound with the ball. It was reported later that the ump was looking at Stoney for loading-up the baseball before the delivery. Gary denies all charges and said “if the ball was loaded-up, it would drop a lot more than it already is.” Gary’s curve ball was awesome today, but it was not due to any foreign or domestic substance on the ball.
The offense generated six runs from the nine hits, two walks and one error in the second game. Only six Buzzards got hits against the three Valley Cat pitchers in the second game. The multi hit group for this game was small again today including Woody 3 for 3 with 3 runs scored and Bake going 2 for 2 plus a walk. The ribbies were delivered by Bake, Baron, Milli and two for Ronnie.
The defense was solid giving up just one error in this game. With Stoney striking out nine Valley Cats, that only left 12 fielding outs for the rest of the team. There were five ground ball outs and Bake only had three put-outs at first, Wookie had three assists and two put-outs playing second base, while Welzy had two assists and one put-out playing shortstop. Milli got two put-outs, one for tagging the first strikeout victim in the third inning after the dropped third strike, and the second one was by rule for the Valley Cats batting out of order. The catcher gets credit for the put-out in that situation. The fly balls were caught by Woody playing center in the first, Kelley in the fifth and seventh inning playing left, and Wags in right field in the last inning. The two pop-ups were caught by Stoney leading off the fourth, and Wookie to end the second inning.
This was a tight game until the bottom of the sixth. The Ol’ Buzzards did a good job of keeping cool and calm, making the plays and getting some key hits. Woody and Bake with their five hits were over half of this game’s nine-hit offense. Good game and a season record of 15-1. The Buzzards did not clinch the division crown with the sweep. The Dragons are 3.5 games back with four games left, so a victory over the Dragons next Sunday will sew up the National Division for the second year in a row and earn the team a bye in the first round of the play-offs, on August 23.
Buzzard Note #1: This Sunday the game begins at 2:30 at James Field in Auburn. This is the live radio broadcast game by KAHI 950 AM. The announcer does a good job, but if you want your name pronounced correctly put a phonetic spelling next to your name on the bio sheet. After the game we will have cold drinks and munchies over by the picnic area. A CD of this game will be available at the next game.
Buzzard Note #2: The following game on August 2 will be against the Sultans in Colfax and is probably our last home game of the regular season. The rest of the schedule looks like 8/9 at the Reds, 8/16 at the Astros, 8/23 play-off bye, 8/30 division championship game. There will be a Labor Day weekend break before the three game NABA championship series begins with a double-header on September 13. If necessary, a third game will be played the following Sunday on the 20th.
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