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Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #14
July 12, 2009
Buzzards Rout Sultans, 23-2
In the first evening game of the season, The Ol’ Buzzards laced up the cleats and put on their shades for a 6 pm start time at Mahany Field in Roseville. The sinking sun played havoc for the left-side fielders until the shadows covered the field in the sixth inning. With the sun to the batter’s back, it did allow for good vision of the ball from the pitcher’s hand and probably contributed to the 25 hits and 23 runs by the Gold Country Buzzards.
The Buzzards were the visiting team for this game and got to bat first. Starting for the Sultans was their right-handed all star pitcher, John “Big Arms’ Davis #9. Southpaw Dave ‘Keppy’ Kephart #21 took the mound for the Gold Country gang in a battle of all star pitchers.
Taylor ‘Welzy’ Welz started the game with a single to center and then stole second and third bases but was stranded while the next two batters struck out and the third popped-up to the shortstop. The Buzzards would have to wait until the next time thru the batting order to get a better read on ‘Big Muscle Arm and Tattooed’ John’s mix of pitches. That time came ‘big time’ in the third inning when the Buzzards exploded for 12 runs on 11 hits and two walks with two Sultan errors.
The Buzzards did scratch out the first run in the second inning when Barry ‘Brooklyn’ Forman was hit by a first-pitch fastball that nailed him solidly on the right elbow at the funny bone. It took Barry a few minutes to shake-it-off as his throwing arm went numb and the ‘not so’ funny bone nerves screamed while the bruise began to form. Ol’ Buzzman - unable to medicate himself until after the game - stayed in the game and moved-on to first base rubbing the elbow. Keppy, batting next, fouled off a bunch of pitches before hitting the ninth one for a base hit to center field advancing Brooklyn. Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan then hit a long fly to right field that was misplayed for a run scoring error. The inning ended with the one unearned run.
The top of the third was the biggest scoring inning of the year for the Buzzards. It started with a 2-0 pitch blast by Welzy that cleared the left field fence by plenty for his and the Buzzard’s first home run of the season. Being unaccustomed to trotting around the bases after a homer, Welzy ran the bases with a quick pace and was greeted with high-fives and fist bumps as he crossed home plate. Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir then hit a liner to right field for a base hit. Bob ‘Woody’ Wooden followed with a nice double to left putting runners at second and third. With one out, Barry then took the ice off of his elbow long enough to seek revenge from #9 by knocking in a run with a single to center field on a first-pitch inside fastball. Keppy drove in the next run with another single to center. Pete “Baron’ Von Zboray then hit a sharp ground ball that ate up the shortstop for a run scoring error. After the Baron stole second, Milli knocked in two runs with a line drive to center field keeping the Sultan outfielders busy. Mark ‘Ronnie’ Wronski continued the inning with a flare to left field that ended the day for their starting pitcher.
The Sultans then brought in Dan ‘FIGJAM’ Hasey #23, a former Buzzard in 2007, to face his ol’ mates. Showing ‘no mercy’ to Dan and his funny wind-up, Gary ‘Stoney’ Stonebrook hit a 3-1 pitch down the line in left for a base hit scoring the seventh run of the inning. Ray ‘Bull Dog’ Henry, batting left-handed, knocked in the next run with a slow roller down the third base line that he beat out with good hustle. David ‘DK’ Kelley followed with a walk on a full count pushing in another run. Welzy, batting for the second time this inning, got his second hit of the inning by using the sinking sun with a fly ball hit to left field. Wookie then proceeded to walk on four straight high ones from Hasey to force in another run. Next, Woody singled down the line in left driving in run number 12. Wow, 17 batters came to the plate during the inning with 11 batters in a row getting on safely at one point in the third. The Buzzards took command of the game with a 13-0 lead.
Defensively, the Buzzards backed by good pitching, battled the sun effectively and held the Sultans to a run in the sixth and seventh innings. Keppy came out after three innings with a pitching line of no runs with two hits, four strikeouts and no walks, throwing 46 pitches to 11 Sultans. Gregg ‘Surf Dawg’ Novotny #1 came in to pitch the next two innings. Ol’ Surf Dawg has not pitched for quite a while recovering from ‘tennis’ elbow – should be called ‘too much pitching’ elbow for an ol’ guy – and held the Sultans to no runs on one hit with two walks and a strikeout. Gregg threw 31 pitches to nine batters. He walked the first batter of each inning, then settled down to get the outs. It was nice to see the Surf Dawg throwing again.
The Buzzards then sent southpaw, Bull Dog Ray #7 to the mound to pitch the last two innings and close out the Sultans. Ray has not pitched much this season, so the workout will help down the line. Ol’ Lefty’s pitching line was two runs (one earned) on three hits with no walks and a strikeout. Bull Dog hit the first Sultan batter he faced on a 0-1 pitch, and the second batter singled to left. The first guy stole second and went to third on a wild pitch and scored on the single. The second runner was picked-off with a nice move to first that resulted in a pickle and a ‘text book’ 1-3-4-3 put out. Ray faced nine Sultans in throwing 22 pitches.
The ‘no mercy’ Buzzards scored two more runs in the fifth inning. Bull Dog started the inning with a one-out grounder to the third baseman, who then rushed his throw for an error. Kelley then was hit squarely on his butt, big bruise on a small tushy, with a 3-2 pitch from Hasey. Now, DK used to catch for Dan in the old days, but there is a rumor of David mouthing off to #23 which resulted in the behind-the-back pitch. Come on DK, ya got to move that booty with more quickness and style. Ya better practice ‘cause we will face the Sultans and Hasey again.
With two outs in the inning, Wookie then got a base hit to right-center field and credit for a double when the fielder could not see the ball and driving in another run. Woody followed with an infield hit scoring the second run of the inning. The Sultans changed pitchers again and brought in righty, Dennis ‘Mac’ McNamera #20 to try and stop the carnivorous Buzzards. He walked Mike ‘Bake’ Baker on seven pitches before getting the last out. The Sultans still had not scored, so after five innings the massacre was on and the score was 15-0.
Since the 10-run ‘mercy rule’ does not kick-in until after the seventh inning, the Ol’ Buzzards could not help themselves and continued to feast on Sultan pitching in the top of the last inning. 13 Buzzards batted in the seventh inning adding eight more runs to the score board. Ronnie started it off with a base hit to right field. With one out, Ray got on base with another tough ground ball to the third baseman. DK followed with a line drive to left to load the bases. Welzy then got his fourth hit of the day with a liner to left field driving in Ronnie. Next, Wookie knocked in his third run of the game with a single down the right field line. Woody’s base hit to right-center drove in the next run. Bake followed with a run scoring single and Barry knocked in a run with a sharp grounder down the first base line for a base hit. Surf Dawg’s infield grounder knocked in run number 21. Next, the Baron hit a long single to left scoring the final two runs. Milli singled to center on a full count to keep the inning going, but by now the Buzzards were exhausted from the heat, sun and lots of base running as the inning ended with the next batter. The game was great for Buzzard stats, but a near nightmare for the scorekeeper with lots of long innings plus numerous defensive changes, and a long game report.
The Sultans scored once more in the bottom of the seventh on two hits and an error, but a double play started by Baker at third and finished by Surf Dawg at second base put a damper on the Sultan offense in the final inning. Final score is 23-2. Season record is 13-1.
The Buzzard offense was awesome. Every Buzzard got at least one hit and there were lots of runs and ribbies to go around. The multi-hit list is nice and long this week including the Baron, Brooklyn, Keppy, Milli and Ronnie with two hits; Woody and Wookie with three; and Welzy with four hits including the home run. T-Welz also scored four times and knocked in three runs to impress his daughter, Savannah, who was watching daddy play shortstop and hammering the baseball all game long.
The next game will not be as easy, as we face the American Division leading, 14-1, Valley Cats. So bring your same hittin’ stix to the upcoming double-header.
Buzzard Note #1: There has been a schedule change. The Yankees’ double-header on August 2 will now be a single game against the Sultans. Hopefully, we can play them in Colfax.
Buzzard Note #2: The KAHI radio game is getting closer, July 26. Bio sheets will be passed out and need to be filled out with your information for the live broadcast. Advertising time is still available and needs to be purchased soonest. The radio station does a terrific job producing the ads. The 1 o’clock game is scheduled for James Field in Auburn. Our battle against the Dragons will immediately follow the 10 am broadcast of the Oakland A’s at the New York Yankees game. There should be a good size audience listening to the game (locally on 950 AM and on the world-wide web), so advertise your company or your kids’ accomplishments. A CD of the game will be available to everyone shortly after the event.
Buzzard Note #3: The Buzzards caught a break, actually it was Gregg’s persuasive powers, so the upcoming double-header against the Valley Cats will be played at Colfax High at 10 am. Try to get their extra early to help with field prep. Cold drinks and munchies will be at the Ball Park up the hill after the games.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #13
June 28, 2009
Buzzards Use Two-out Rallies To Defeat Patriots, 8-4
On the hottest day of the year with temps of 100 degrees in Colfax, the California Patriots travelled from Woodland to the Gold Country to take on division rival and the National Division leading Ol’ Buzzards. The Patriots are grizzled veterans that would love to clip the Buzzards’ high scoring wings. The Patriots noticed right away and several commented that Gary “Stoney” Stonebrook was missing from the Buzzards’ line-up and would not be pitching today. The Patriots sent righty, Dave “Nolan” Ryan #12 to the mound and the Buzzards sent the ace left-hander, Dave “Keppy” Kephart #21 to face a strong team led by Lanny Ropke #25.
The Buzzards were short-handed today with injuries to Jim “Milli” Milligan (still badly bruised wrist - throwing hand), Bob “Woody” Wooden (broken left foot & work) and David “mMumbles” Kelley (volleyball injury - sprained right thumb). Stoney had to work. Also missing the game but on the road traveling with their ball playing all-star kids were Ray “Bull Dog” Henry (daughter won the national qualifier in Folsom) and Pete “Baron” Von Zboray (in Colorado coaching his daughters’ team in a national tournament), were all unavailable to play in the record heat. So, that meant that only 10 Buzzards were physically able and present to start the game at 10 am. As they say in Aussie Land - No Worries, Mate.
At game time it was pretty warm and quickly turning to hot while the Buzzards took the field with a pitching staff of one, Keppy, to carry the day. Kep went through the first three innings with just one hit, a pulled curve ball down the right field line for a double by their number nine hitter, Dave “Curly” Franz #7. The look-a-like of the Three Stooges’ Curly was 2-3 with a walk. Meanwhile, the Buzzards threatened in the first inning against the tough, hard throwing and crafty off-speed pitching of “Nolan” Ryan. The guys in orange did break through in the bottom of the second by scoring all five runs after two were out. The inning started with a line drive double to the right-center field gap by Charles “CJ” Jackson on a full count after fouling off several pitches. CJ’s quad injury isn’t fully-healed and he was catching today, so Mark “Ronnie” Wronski ran for him. Ronnie then advanced to third base on the grounder to the right side by Jim “Wags” Wagner.
Next, Barry “Brooklyn” Forman walked on five pitches. Buzzman stole second base before Steve “Cookie” Cook followed with a ground ball to a deep playing shortstop that ordinarily would have scored the run from third base. Ronnie thought differently and did not charge for home plate once the grounder got past the pitcher. Well, Brooklyn thought Ronnie was going to head home, so he raced to third base to discover Ronnie was also still hanging around the bag. Since the rule book doesn’t allow this kind of base sharing, we had ourselves an early game pickle. Ronnie was caught in the run-down between third and home for the second out of the inning, while Barry grabbed third. Taylor “Welzy” Welz knocked in Brooklyn for the first run of the game and Cookie moved over to take second base. Dan “Wookie” Wukmir then hit a laser over the right fielder’s head for a triple scoring Cookie and Welzy. Keppy then hit the next pitch for a run scoring single and moved to second on a muff by the right fielder. Keppy scored when Mike “Bake” Baker drove the next pitch to center field for the fifth run with two outs in the inning. Excellent clutch hitting guys.
The Patriots scored two in the fourth inning on three hits and a walk. But thrown in for an exciting measure was a swinging strike-out that got loose and required CJ to throw the ball to first with a runner, speedy(?) Lanny, on second base. The throw got away from Charles and sailed way over Baker’s head at first. By the time Wags retrieved the ball down the right field line, Lanny had scored and the struck-out runner was standing on second. “Nolan” Ryan, batting next, hit the second pitch for a single to left-center driving in the second unearned run to make the score 5-2 Buzzards.
The Gold Country gang got one back in the fifth when Bake and Ronnie started the inning by both hitting sharp grounders to Lanny playing shortstop. Well, Lanny let both balls ‘eat him up’ for E-6’s putting two runners on. CJ followed with a base on balls to load the bases before Wags knocked in Bake with a fielder’s-choice. The score after five was Buzzards 6 - Patriots 2, and it was getting hotter and vulture tails were beginning to drag.
The Pats scored one more run in their half of the sixth. A walk to Lanny and a double to left-center by “Nolan” drove in the run. Keppy still looked sharp and had struck-out seven, but he had thrown 109 pitches and it was getting hotter.
The Buzzards scored two more in the bottom half of the sixth inning. Cookie led off with a walk. Gregg “Surf Dawg” Novotny then hit a line drive single to right field moving Steve to second. Welzy then hit a shot down the third base line that was snagged by the infielder who stepped on third base for one out and threw to second to get a quick double-play. Welzy then stole second base before Wookie knocked him in with an infield hit to the left side hole, his fourth hit of the game. Good hustle by T-Welz scooting around those bases and beating the throw home got that extra run. Wookie stole second base and then scored on Keppy’s hard single down the right field line for the eighth run of the game. Seven of those runs scored after two outs. Good job Buzzards.
The Patriots scored once more in the eighth inning on a walk, a couple of wild pitches and a tough, yet dropped, pop-up in the sun. The Pats threatened in the ninth with bases loaded, but with Keppy still throwing heat to match the temperature and the defense making the plays, the Buzzards shut them down to secure the victory.
Keppy did a remarkable job battling the hot sun and a curve ball that was not cooperating. His fast ball and change-up though worked mighty fine. He threw 165 pitches while facing 42 Patriots (99 strikes & 66 balls). The pitching line was four runs (two earned) on nine hits with ten strike-outs and five walks. Great job, Keppy.
The defense did not melt under the heat and made good plays all day. Of the 18 registered outs that were not strike-outs (fourth inning had a strike-out followed by the over throw at first base), there were only three fly ball outs. Welzy made two nice running catches in the second and third innings, they then stayed away from center field. Barry charged in and caught the first out of the ninth inning with the now standard Forman trademark flair of the hat flying off by his third step when chasing a ball in the air. Baker was busy at first base with nine put-outs and snagging all of the infielders’ challenging throws, even with that probably broken toe from last week’s diving stop of a key grounder. Surf Dawg played a little second base and made the second out on a pop-up catch in the long (32 pitch – 8 batter) fourth inning. Cookie, playing second base in the seventh, had a nice assist on a hustle play on the lead-off hitter for the first out by charging hard to pick up the slow roller on the grass and quickly fling that ball to a stretched out Bake to nail the runner by a quarter-step. Good looking plus a big play ‘cause the next two batters got singles.
Wookie had three assists (1st, 6th, and 9th to end the game) and two put-outs (7th inning 1-3-6 run down play and a running catch ‘snow cone style’ of a liner in the 8th). Ronnie had an easy assist in the first inning (5-3) but had a more painful one in the sixth inning. Lanny ripped a hot one down the third base line that Ronnie snagged with his bare hand as the ball took a funny hop. He then threw to Cookie to force the runner at second base for the first out in the inning. Then his hand screamed at him with redness and swelling. Good looking play, but tough on the throwing hand. Besides throwing like a young Ol’ Buzzard, Keppy fielded his position well with five assists including the pick-off in the seventh. That good move to first led to the run-down. He also gloved the four come-backers (1st, 2nd, and two in the 5th) with the first one knocking him down. Not to be forgotten was CJ’s work behind the plate for 9-innings. Sometimes it’s not so good to be the youngest on the team. Excellent job.
The Patriots pitcher also went the distance as “Nolan” Ryan was effective in holding the Ol’ Buzzards to eight runs on 11 hits with four walks and one strike-out. The four errors hurt the Patriots, but the two-out rallies hurt them more. Only six Buzzards got base hits with the multi-hit group including Keppy and Bake with two and Wookie with four hits today. Ribbies were knocked in by Bake, Wags and Welz with one, Keppy with two and Wookie had three. Extra base hits were limited to CJ’s double in the second and Wookie’s triple also in the second inning.
Terrific pitching was the key today with good defense and clutch hitting getting the victory for a season record of 12-1 and leading the National Division by four games. Good overall game, however, the Buzzards were cooked ‘well-done’ when the nearly three hour game was over.
Buzzard Note #1: A big thanks to Wags for the outstanding after-game party. His new place, on Humbug Way, where’s Scrooge Street, in Auburn is a good party place with multiple decks, lots of room and a pool. The smoked and slow cooked ribs were wonderful and Beth was the perfect hostess always looking to make a tired Buzzard happy with another cool one and providing the delicious home-made salsa. She also revealed her secret recipe for the salsa. Thanks to everyone who brought appetizers, side dishes and desserts.
Buzzard Note #2: The team selected six representatives for the upcoming all star game. Everyone received votes but we could only send six. Probably every Buzzard would make the all star team if they played for other teams, but it is more of a pleasure playing on the winning and mighty Buzzards. The reps for this year’s game are: Kephart, Milligan, Stonebrook, Welz, Wronski and Wukmir. The game is Wednesday, July 8.
Buzzard Note #3: No game over the July 4th holiday weekend. A double-header is scheduled for July 12 in Sacramento.
Gold Country Buzzards Game Report #12
June 21, 2009
Buzzards Slaughter Astros, 22-0
On a gorgeous Father’s Day morning in Colfax, the Gold Country team was giddy with the fact that the Dads were ‘king for the day’ and they got to spend part of it playing baseball with a bunch of Ol’ Buzzards. The Buzzards were hosting the Astros in a match-up on paper that foretold of an easy Buzzard prey. The League Commissioner, Barry Spiller, and his Astros gave it a shot, but the Ol’ Buzzards put it to them all day in an easy 22-0 victory. With plenty of fans out to watch the Father’s Day game, the Buzzards were looking to feast on Astros’ pitching. The Astros sent big, no make that huge, Steve Bredy #27 to the mound to face the Buzzards’ southpaw, Dave “Keppy” Kephart #21.
The Buzzards started the scoring in the first inning with three runs. The Astros’ Big Man Bredy was having a hard time throwing consistent strikes. Taylor “Welzy” Welz walked then stole second before Dan “Wookie” Wukmir got his base on balls. Keppy hit a 2-0 pitch to left field for a deep double scoring two runs. Mike “Bake” Baker then walked on five pitches. With one out, Gary “Stoney” Stonebrook hit a pop-up to the third baseman, who tripped trying to catch the drifting pop-up. With bases loaded, Steve “Cookie” Cook walked on five pitches to force in the third run. The Astros changed pitchers after Cookie’s base on balls. They brought in Ron Turner #13 from first base to take the mound against the Buzzards. Turner struck out the next two batters on questionable calls to end the inning.
In the second inning, the home team scored six runs to take a commanding 9-0 lead. Mark “Ronnie” Wronski started it off with a nice line drive single to center off a very low 3-2 count pitch. Welzy then singled to center to put runners at second and first. With one out, Keppy singled sharply to right field to load the bases for Baker. Mike did not disappoint when he crushed a double to the fence in center field driving in two runs. Pete “Baron” Von Zboray followed with his own double to the left field fence sending in two more Buzzards. Stoney followed with an infield hit and Cookie was then hit by a 1-1 pitch on the back of the leg to load the bases again. Charles “CJ” Jackson, today’s catcher, hit a screaming liner to the left fielder playing real deep for a sacrifice fly-out knocking in a run. CJ hit the ball ‘scary’ hard all day, but usually foul. CJ got some tough calls with two strikes from the ump during the game. Barry “Brooklyn” Forman ended the scoring by hitting a soft liner to right-center field driving in Stoney.
Many of the Astros were flailing at Keppy’s pitches. The first hit was an ‘excuse me’ to right field in the third inning with one out. The runner advanced to second on a wild pitch, but he was stranded there with a fly-out and strike-out to end the inning. The Astros did get two hits in the next inning, but a nice defensive play shut them down. The fourth inning started with the top of the order getting two solid singles. The next batter #23 bunted a ball off of his foot and gimped around for awhile before finally getting back in the batter’s box. This pesky batter not only points his bat at the pitcher until the wind-up begins, but he also tried to call a quick time-out and jumped out of the box as Keppy was in his motion. He was asking to get plinked, but Keppy threw wicked strikes instead to get him to pop-up in front of home plate. Keppy made a nice running, stretching catch of the short pop-up. Their clean-up hitter then hit a sharp grounder to Cookie playing second base. Cookie fielded the ball nicely and threw a strike to Welzy covering second base from shortstop. Welzy’s toss to Bake at first made a sweet looking 4-6-3 double play and squashed any attempt to score by the Astros. That was the last hit and scoring threat for the visiting team from Citrus Heights.
The Buzzards added two more with one out in the third when Wookie scored from second base on Baker’s single to left-center field and the Baron knocked in Welzy, running for the pitcher, from third on a fielder’s-choice to make the score 11-0.
The fourth saw the Buzzards explode for seven runs as they sent 14 men to the plate. The inning started with Cookie gettin’ hit by a pitch again. Something was attracting that ball to Steve today. The second time it hit him was in the rear end on a 1-2 pitch. Cookie needs to work on his dodge ball routine and avoid those pitches better. Cookie did lead the team last year in being hit by pitches and is now tied for the lead this season with two bruises along with Welzy and Woody.
After an out, Barry smashed a double to left field scoring Cook. Brooklyn advanced to third on a wild pitch and Ronnie knocked him in with a single to left field. David “mMumbles” Kelley brought his brand new bat to home plate and walked on five pitches. Welzy followed with a deep double to left field driving in a run. The Astros then changed pitchers for the third time. This time little hot head, John “former 2008 Valley Dog and 2009 Yankee” Lenzie #44 was going to the mound. We faced John in the second game of the season, April 5th, at Antelope High when he was a Yankee. Wookie then walked on a nine pitch at-bat. Keppy, wasting no time, blasted the second pitch to deep left field scoring two more Buzzards. The Baron kept it going by hitting a line drive to center field scoring two more runs to make the score 18-0 Buzzards.
The circling Buzzards struck their Astros prey once more in the sixth inning. Ronnie led it off with a towering blast to deep center field over the head of the tumbling commissioner, Spiller, for a huff and puff triple. Kelley then hit a liner to the shortstop moving toward third. The shortstop made a nice catch but then knocked the ball out of his own glove with his knee while still running to allow mMumbles to get to first. Strange play. Welzy then singled home a run with his line drive to left. With one out, Keppy then hit his third double of the day, this time to right field and pushed two more runs in for a total of six ribbies today. Bake then finished the scoring by knocking in the 22nd run with a flair to left field. Wow, that’s a lot of work for our scorekeeper. Thanks Diane.
Proud Keppy, returning from his daughter’s graduation at UC Irvine, had a terrific Father’s Day performance. Not only did Big D throw a three-hit shutout with nine strikeouts and no walks, he got four hits, scored five times and knocked in six runs. Wow! Keppy faced 23 Astros in the seven inning (mercy-rule) game, throwing 82 pitches (61 strikes & 21 balls).
The defense was excellent with no errors and good plays when Kep wasn’t striking out the batters. Of the 12 defensive outs only one was a fly ball out - to Barry in left field in the third inning. Bake was busy at first base with seven put-outs plus two throws from the catcher, CJ, on loose balls after a swinging third strike. Ronnie had the first assist of the game on the opening play of the game. A nice play on the slow roller up the line followed by a strong throw to nail a fast runner, and a solid play on Big Steve Bredy’s huge swing ground ball to third in the fifth. Wookie caught a line drive for the third out of the first inning at shortstop and got an assist playing second base with a grounder for the first out of the fifth inning. Cookie played second base especially well today. Steve caught a liner in the first, a 4-3 in the second, a good looking 4-6-3 in the fourth inning to stop a rally, and he showed good range in making the last two outs of the game as 4-3’s.
The offense was very impressive – scoring early and often is always a good goal. Eight Buzzards got 19 hits and everyone got on base. The multi-hit group includes Keppy-4, Welzy-3 Ronnie-3, Baron-2, and Brooklyn-2 hits each. There were seven extra base hits with six doubles, three by Keppy, and the triple by Ronnie to open the sixth inning. Today’s ribbies were brought to you by Keppy-6, Baron-5, Bake-4, Welzy-2, Barry-2 plus Cookie and Ronnie with one. Lots of hits and runs make for fun score keeping and a long game report.
The fans seemed to enjoy the one-sided game, while the Buzzards enjoyed scoring 22 runs. An 11-1 record is the important point, so good job again, Buzzards.
Buzzard Note #1: The Father’s Day game brought out family and friends for Stoney, Welzy, Ronnie, Cookie, Wookie and CJ. The Baron’s family was there in spirit as they called Pete dozens of times during the game – to report that his daughters were winning the Folsom national qualifier softball tournament. Pete is missing the next two games taking the girls team to Colorado and may miss more games now as they have qualified to go to Las Vegas next month.
Buzzard Note #2: Wagner’s team and family party is this weekend, right after the Patriots game. Jim will be providing the ribs, burgers and dogs plus soft and hard drinks. We get to bring the other stuff. A-J bring an appetizer or chips and dip or salsa, K-V bring a salad or side dish, W’s bring dessert. If you have something different you want to bring, that’s OK. It will be warm-hot this Sunday, so cooling off in the pool is advised. You will be getting a phone call for RSVP purposes prior to the game.
Buzzard Note #3: All Star voting ballots will be passed out prior to the game. The Buzzards will get five spots on the National Division team plus a manager. You will get five votes. The All Star game will be Wednesday, July 8.
Buzzard Note #4: The KAHI radio game is coming up on July 26. Bios will be needed for the announcer to use when you come to bat and make that great play in the field. Bio sheets will be passed out to be filled out and turned into Kelley. The radio station is receiving weekly press releases from the Gold Country Buzzards Baseball Club to use on the daily, Afternoon Show, from 4-7 pm on 950 AM or at their web site: kahi.com.
Buzzard Note #5: The Wednesday night Auburn baseball league starts on July 1. If you want to play some baseball and get some more swings, this is a casual and enjoyable way to do it. See Kelley for more details.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #11
June 14, 2009
Buzzards Sweep Free Agents, Win Second Game 8-3
For the second game of the double-header, the Free Agents sent hard throwing Don “High Kick” Rogers #26 to the mound to face Bob “Woody” Wooden #22 of the Buzzards. The Buzzards were the visiting team for the second game and started the scoring right away with three in the opening round of the seven inning battle.
Rogers was throwing harder than we’ve seen in a long time, but the first two batters, Taylor “Welzy” Welz and Dan “Wookie” Wukmir walked. Woody singled Welzy home for the first run of the game. Milli hit a liner that the shortstop caught, but the wide pick-off throw back to first base allowed Wookie to score from third and Pete “Baron” Von Zboray, running for the pitcher, to move to second base. On the next pitch, Pete showed lots of hustle in scoring from second base on a deep sacrifice fly by Gary “Stoney” Stonebrook for an early 3-0 lead.
In their half of the inning the Free Agents scored one run on three hits with Big Tim getting the RBI on his fifth consecutive base hit today. The Buzzards bounced back with another run in the second. Brooklyn hit a loud double to right field on a Rogers’ fastball with one out. Steve “Cookie” Cook singled to right to drive in Buzzman Barry. The Baron then smashed a shot off of the pitcher’s leg that ricocheted towards first base. The fielder then alertly picked it up and shovel passed it to the covering pitcher for the called out on a very close play. The pitcher, Don, then rubbed his upper leg where it appeared the ball was partially deflected by his glove for a 1-3-1 put out. He was alright and pitched the rest of the game.
In the third inning the Buzzards scored to take a 5-1 lead. The inning started with Wookie leading off with a line drive single to right. Wookie stole second before Woody hit a sinking line drive to a charging left fielder. It appeared the ball was going to drop before the left fielder stuck his arm out and the ball hit his glove but it did not stick. Wookie ran half way to third and was returning to second on the seemingly great catch. Since the ball bounced out of his glove and in front of the left fielder, Wookie returned to second after doing at least two pirouettes in the base paths. Welzy ran for Woody at first base. Wookie then witnessed a good pick-off move by High Kick Rogers and was nailed going back to the bag. After an out, Gary “Stoney” Stonebrook knocked in the fifth run of the game with a single up the middle. After three innings, the score was 5-1 Buzzards.
Woody pitched a hell of a game against the big bats of the Free Agents. The FA’s got hits in all but one inning, but only scored in two of them. Woody held them to one run until the sixth inning. Two doubles and a single accounted for their two runs. Woody threw 106 pitches to 32 batters, 71 for strikes and 35 balls, with two strike-outs. With his “I think I broke my foot kick-boxing” story before the game, we were worried about his pitching performance and his staying power. But as they say in Australia - No Worries, Mate - as Woody looked solid all game long. He gave up 11 hits with one walk and three runs (one earned) in winning his third game of the season.
The Buzzards were not done scoring yet and added one more in the fifth inning. Welzy started it off with a double down the left field line. He advanced to third on Wookie’s grounder to the right side. T-Welz scored on Woody’s sacrifice fly to left field for a 6-1 advantage.
In the sixth the Buzzards scored two. Stoney led off with a walk and brought his cheering section to their feet when he stole second base. After an out, Charles “CJ” Jackson singled to left moving Stoney to third. Brooklyn knocked in Stoney with a fielder’s choice to the second baseman. Forman then scored on a nice double to left-center by Cookie for the last Buzzard run of the day.
The Buzzards were out hit again 11-10 by the Free Agents. However, the hits were timely and the defense was strong to match the pitching performance by Woody. Eight Buzzards got hits in this second game of the day. The multi-hit group included only Wookie and Cookie with two hits each.
The defense shined with several excellent plays to hold down the Free Agents. In the bottom of the second, Woody shook-off the catcher’s sign from Milli three times before throwing a slow curve for an inning ending strike out. In the third with the runner going, Cookie chased down a short pop fly behind second to make a tumbling over-the-shoulder catch. Wow, great catch and concentration to snag that ball as he fell and then landed ‘not very softly’ on his butt and hung on to the ball. In the fourth, Gregg “Surf Dawg” Novotny playing second base, made an excellent catch of a line drive and then stepped on second to end another Free Agent threat. In that same inning, Stoney made a strong throw to Wookie covering third to nail a runner trying to advance to third after Mark “Ronnie” Wronski went far to his left to make the initial play on a grounder in the hole. Wookie also made a nice back-handed catch of a line drive running toward third in the sixth.
There were only three fly ball outs in this game. One high fly to Barry in left field in the second, one to Welzy in center in the fourth and a running catch by the Baron in right field to end the game. The infield was busy with eight put-outs at first base to Stoney. Stoney also had an assist with the strike (what else would he throw) to third base to nail the aggressive runner for the first out of the fifth inning. Cookie made two of the three outs in the third - one was a tricky bouncer to open the inning and a pop-up to end the inning. He also made a nice double play turn at second base for a 6-4 and almost a -3 in the first inning.
Surf Dawg played some second base and made a nice double play in the fifth inning when he caught a line drive near second base and stepped on the bag to end the fifth inning with two runners on base. Wookie was busy at short with three assists (1st, 2nd, & 4th innings) and four put-outs (Stoney’s throw to third in the fifth, two pop-ups in the sixth, and the back-handed snag of a liner for the first out in the seventh inning). David “mMumbles” Kelley returned from the Disabled List and played some third base late in the game and had an assist, 5-3, to end the fifth inning. Kelley is still looking for that guy that stole his good wheels. He used to be much quicker and faster. The ol’ beat-up wheels he has been using for the last couple of years on the field probably need to be upgraded either with HGH or bionics. Woody not only pitched well hurt, he grabbed both ‘hot’ come-backers hit toward the mound in the first inning, the second one knocking him down with a nice recovery and throw to get the speedy runner. Milli was nicked by a foul ball off of his wrist playing catcher. He finished the game, but will likely miss the next one with a swollen wrist.
Another solid game and a Buzzard win. The season record at the half-way point is 10 wins against 1 loss. Good job you Ol’ Buzzards.
Buzzard Note #1: Thanks to Ray and Liz for hosting last week’s team party. The kids swam, but it was too cool for the adults. We just got splashed a lot by cannon ball kids. Tri-tip with fixin’s and drink worked out real well. Pete manned the grill and did a fabulous job. Everyone behaved themselves pretty well.
Buzzard Note #2: The next game will be on Father’s Day. Several Buzzards have to run to family affairs after the game, but there will be cold drinks and munchies afterwards at the Colfax Ball Park. Game time is 11 am vs. Astros.
Buzzard Note #3: Wag’s Buzzard & family party is June 28 after the home game against the Patriots – probably an early game. You will be asked at this week’s game if you plan to come the following week. A-J bring an appetizer or chips and dip or salsa, K-V bring a salad or side dish, W’s bring dessert. If you have something different you want to bring, that’s OK.
Buzzard Note #4: All star voting is June 28. The game is July 8.
Buzzard Note #5: The afternoon radio show on KAHI 950 AM is hosted by Dave Rosenthal. His show runs 4-7 pm daily and features local news, sports, etc. Last week David Kelley provided game information for broadcast and Rosenthal used it twice an hour during the show. They want more, so we will be providing a press release each week to the radio station for their Afternoon Show. If you live or work out of range of the radio signal, the station is available to you and the rest of the world at kahi.com.
Buzzard Note #6: Don’t forget about advertising on KAHI during our radio game coming up on July 26. The station does a good job of producing the commercials, not just reading them. The ads will be broadcast frequently during the afternoon game and a CD of the game will be available as a keepsake or a Frisbee. Bring your radio that day, it’s pretty cool to listen to the game in the dugout or for the fans in the stands, while it’s being played.
Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #10
June 14, 2009
Buzzards Beat Free Agents, 10-3
Sunday’s double-header was a mid-season match-up of last year’s NABA championship series opponents. The Buzzards have not faced the Free Agents since they swept the three-game series to end last season as champs. On a picture perfect day in Colfax, the ol’ adversaries warmed up before taking the field for a 10 am first game. On the mound for the Buzzards was Gary “Stoney” Stonebrook #13 and for the Free Agents Tim “Big Man” Burkitt #27.
The Free Agents were looking to score early and put some pressure on the home team, Buzzards. The first batter was hit by Stoney on a 0-2 pitch. After a strike out, the next batter hit a single putting two runners on first and third. The clean-up hitter, Tim Burkitt, then hit a grounder heading for the whole between shortstop and third base. Dan “Wookie” Wukmir playing short dove for the ball, knock it down to keep it in the infield and prevented the runner on third from scoring. The next Free Agent hit a sharp grounder to Jim “Milli” Milligan playing first base. Milli fielded the ball and turned to throw to second base for a potential double play. While Wookie was running to cover the bag, Milli threw a bouncer to the base. On a nice snag, Wookie took the second bounce on the short hop, stepped on second base and threw to first. The runner standing-up, ran into Wookie as he released the ball causing the ball to hop to Milli a couple of times preventing the double play and allowing the runner to score. After a brief protest and a reminder to the umps about runner interference, the game continued. The inning ended with just one run for the Free Agents when the next batter hit a come-backer to Stoney.
Big Tim Burkitt started the game throwing effectively for the Free Agents and cruised through the first two innings - only facing six batters. The starting catcher, Charles “CJ” Jackson, was the first to get on base. After fouling off four pitches, CJ hit a grounder to shortstop that was bobbled allowing CJ to beat the throw to first base. With his quad muscle injury still affecting his running, Ray “Bull Dog” Henry ran for CJ. Bull Dog stole second and also pulled a leg muscle, this time a high hamstring pull, forcing him out of the game after he limped to third. After two outs, Taylor “Welzy” Welz hit a line drive double to left-center scoring Pete “Baron” Von Zboray, running for Bull Dog, to tie the game at 1-1. Wookie then hit the next pitch to left-center for a double scoring Welzy and taking a 2-1 lead.
Stoney was holding down the potent offense of the Free Agents. They had runners in all but two innings. The Free Agents out hit the Buzzards today in both games, but it is the runs scored that counts. Good pitching and good defense held the FA’s until they scored two more in their last at-bat. In the seventh inning the Free Agents scored the runs on an infield throwing error, a walk, and a double followed by a single.
The Buzzards scored five runs in the fifth inning to give us some breathing room in the seven inning game. CJ started it off again with a hard infield ground ball to the left side. The Baron, running for CJ, then stole second base before Mark “Ronnie” Wronski walked on a full count. Steve “Cookie” Cook, batting left-handed, then failed to bunt on the first two pitches before driving the 1-2 pitch to left field to load the bases. Welzy then hit a bases clearing double to left-center field and advanced to third on the throw home attempting to get the trailing Cookie. A huge hit by Welzy to knock in three important runs. Welzy then scored on a failed pick-off play by Big Tim throwing to third. Bob “Woody” Wooden followed with a screaming double to left-center on the first pitch. Woody scored on the wild throw from the shortstop of Milli’s grounder for a 7-1 lead.
The Ol’ Buzzards scored three more in the bottom of the sixth. The inning started with Ronnie hitting a high bouncer to third. The infielder rushed his throw and Ronnie was aboard on the error. Cookie then hit into a fielder’s choice and replaced Ronnie on the base paths. Barry “Brooklyn” Forman then got on base when the second baseman muffed Brooklyn’s bouncer. Welzy then knocked in Cookie on a liner to center field. The fielder made a strong throw to second making Welzy hesitate and head back to first, putting himself into a pickle with Barry at third. After the second throw of the pickle, Brooklyn broke for home. A good throw beat Forman to home plate, but the catcher was reaching for the throw and Barry used an old Brooklyn trick – don’t slide and kick the ball out of the glove. Well, it worked and Barry scored, while Welzy was now standing on second base. Wookie then sent a 1-2 pitch to right-center field scoring Taylor with a double and ending the scoring at 10 runs.
Stoney pitched a superb game against a tough team. He faced 33 batters and threw 122 pitches (81 strikes & 41 balls) in scattering nine hits for three runs (one earned) with two walks, eight strike outs and one hit batter. The defense helped with some noteworthy plays. Welzy’s hard charging catch in center helped to stifle a Free Agent rally in the second inning. Milli’s fine work at first base in the third inning including blocking an errant pick-off throw and his leaping catch of a hot liner to end the inning with two runners on.
Stoney kept the ball in the infield for most of the outs in the game. There were three fly ball outs in the game – all to Welzy in center (2nd inning), right-center (3rd inning) and left-center (7th inning). Two of the infield outs were come-backers to Stoney. The rest were spread out to: Milli at first base with seven put-outs and one assist; Cookie with a grounder in the fourth and a pop-up in the seventh; Wookie had a sweet put-out in the first by scooping the bouncing throw on the run near the bag and stepping on second base before being smacked by the oncoming runner. This play was right after Wookie came up limping after a diving stop to knock down a grounder and hold the runner at third. Rough first inning for Ol’ Wookie. He also had a 6-3 to open the fourth inning and a pop-up in the sixth. Ronnie at third base handled Mark “Big Dude” Vendiero #21’s hot smash in the third inning. And CJ behind the plate threw a strike to Cookie covering second base to nail an attempted stealer for the first out of the sixth inning.
The Free Agents got three hits in the fifth, but with CJ gunning down the first runner on an attempted steal of second, a strike out and Milli’s play at first prevented the frustrated Free Agents from scoring. Welzy also made a fine running catch in the left-center field gap to end the game. The Buzzards played relaxed and had only one error during the game, while the Free Agents were tight and threw the ball away four times. Side note: Tim Burkitt was 4-4 and three Free Agent batters had multiple hits. Mark Vendiero was 3-4 with a double. Tim and Mark were pretty unstoppable offensively today.
The Buzzard offense scored 10 runs, but only had seven hits as Big Timmy kept the team off-balance at the plate. The Buzzards took advantage of the six errors and two walks to produce the runs. Four Buzzards had hits against the 52-year old Burkitt. Welzy had three hits (two doubles & a single) and Wookie had two doubles for five of the hits. Woody and Cookie were the other Buzzards to get a hit off the Free Agent All Star pitcher.
A solid game by the Buzzards made the difference in the first game of this double-header. The next game will start in 45 minutes.
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