Gold Country Buzzards

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #4

Game: April 19, 2015

Ol' Buzzards defeat young Dodgers, 9-4

The Gold Country Buzzards have opened the season with four home games at James Field with one more to follow. Game four was a morning game against the younger division Dodgers. Last season the (42+) Dodgers came from behind with five runs in the last two innings to hand the Buzzards one of their two losses in the 9-7 game in June at C-Bar-C Park. This season the two divisions will play each other twice.

On a beautiful morning with temps in the 70s for the game, the 2-1 Buzzards faced the 2-1 Dodgers. The starting pitcher for the visiting Dodgers was big lefty, Phil 'Captain' Morgan #11. On the hill for the Ol' Buzzards was the crafty right-hander, Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri #6.

The Buzzards jumped on the scoreboard first with two quick runs in the first. Taylor 'Welzy' Welz led off with a smash to the left-side for an infield hit. The late throw from the third baseman went out-of-bounds to move Welzy to second. Next, Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir hit a sharp one-hopper into the hole between first and second. The first baseman got a good jump and dove to knock the ball down to keep Welzy from scoring from third. There was no play at first base as Wookie waltzed to the bag for a hit. With Dave 'Evy' Everingham at the plate, Wook stole second to put both runners in scoring position. Evy then scored Welzy with a ground-out and Wookie moved to third. Mark 'Thunder' Weathers, batting next, knocked in the run with a grounder to the right-side to make the score 2-0 Buzzards.

The Dodgers came back with one run in the top of the second with a lead-off single and a one-out double down the left-field line for a 2-1 ball game.

In the bottom half of the same inning, the Ol' Buzzards tacked-on three more big runs. Kevin 'Flash' Krantz started it off with an opening single into left field. After Flash stole second with one out and moved to third on a wild pitch, Mike 'Mickey' Wilson took first with a base-on-balls. Flash then scored on a wild pitch with Mickey moving up 90 feet. With two outs, Welzy walked on a full-count to put Buzzards on the corners. With Welzy going on the first pitch to steal second, the Dodgers had the cut-off play called in an attempt to nail the runner trying to score from third. The throw was cut-off by the shortstop in front of second base, but Mickey got a good jump from third on the play and scored on a good looking double-steal to steal the run. Wookie then wacked the next pitch on a line to center to score T-Welz from second base. The score after two digs was 5-1 Buzzards.

The Buzzard defense and pitching held the blue and red clad Dodgers to no runs for the next three innings, while the Buzzies added a nice crooked number to the scoreboard in the fourth frame. In the last inning for Captain Morgan on the mound, Mickey led-off with a line-drive single to left-field. Up next, Barry 'Crush' Forman, fresh from the disabled list, walked to put two runners on base. After a fielder's choice bunt forced Mickey at third, Crush was picked-off of second base on a terrible call by the ump.

With two outs, Wookie walked on five pitches to put runners at first and second. Evy then battled Captain Morgan deep into the count before hammering the ball down the left-field line for a two-run double. Still with two outs, Thunder came to bat and blasted a 1-1 pitch into the gap in right-center for a nice double that scored the last run of the inning. The Dodgers changed hurlers and brought in the lanky hard-throwing righty, Jim 'Pancho' Rivera #55 to stop the Buzzard scoring rally. Through four innings of play, the Buzzards were ahead 9-1.

The Dodgers were not giving up and added a run in the sixth on a single, fielder's choice, stolen base and a ground-out. The Buzzard defense was solid and the good pitching kept the Dodgers under control. Entering the seventh frame, Salmo had thrown 80 pitches and was on a nice roll, so the Buzzards stayed with the 'hot hand'. 10 pitches later and 1-2-3, the seventh was over.

The Buzzies threatened with runners on base later, but did not score after the fourth frame. The Dodgers continued to fight for runs and added another one in the eighth dig. With one out, the top of the order hitter, doubled to the fence in left-center. The next batter hit a high fly to short center with the runner going on the pitch. Flash was playing a little deep and after a long run and with the runner now passed third and heading home, Flash reached out to snag the ball in short center-field. With the runner a long ways away from second and Flash slowing down with the ball, this had the ingredients to be an easy double play.

However, Flash, taking the advice being yelled to him to 'take it easy' on the throw, subsequently flipped the ball 'but not that easy' to second base while still moving. The ball then floated toward the bag, but the speedy runner caught a huge break, as his prayers were answered when he slid safely into second. Apparently with circus music playing nearby, the Buzzards then could not finish off the Dodgers, again, on a squigglier in front of the plate. That throw hit the runner on the backside for an error with a run scoring. The ball then rolled out of play and advanced the Dodger to second base. With two outs and down by six runs, the runner on second thought he would surprise everyone by stealing third base. Well, his plan fell short as the Buzzard catcher, Jim 'Milli' Milligan, threw a strike to the bag. Wookie caught the throw and kept the glove down for the Dodger to slide into it, for the third out of the eighth inning and leaving the score at 9-3.

The Buzzards changed pitchers and brought in their tough right-handed closer, Welz #26, to finish off the game. Down to their last inning, the Dodgers opened the ninth with their lead-off batter getting on base. Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny made a slick play on a hard hit bouncer at third, but the runner was save on the throw. Welzy struck-out the next batter on five pitches for the first out. Then on a two-strike pitch, the runner tried to steal second base. The batter swung and missed at strike three and the throw down from Milli to Wook at second nailed the sliding Dodger to end the game on a strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play. Wow. What a great way to end a game.

The final score of the 2-hour and 35 minute, nine-inning, game was the Ol' Buzzards 9 and the younger Dodgers 4.

Buzzard pitching held the swinging Dodgers to four runs and seven hits with no walks. Salmeri pitched for eight inning and threw 103 pitches (68 strikes & 35 balls). Rick faced 31 Dodgers and gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits with no walks and seven strike-outs. Taylor pitched the last frame and faced only four batters in throwing 11 pitches (9 strikes & 2 balls). Welzy gave up one unearned run on no hits or walks with two strike-outs. The game was a nice pitching masterpiece with Salmo painting the plate all day and Welzy as the closer - to put away the young Dodgers on this day. Good news worth repeating, Buzzard pitching gave up zero walks in the game.

The Buzzard offense cooled off later in the game, but carried the day with nine runs on 14 hits and four walks. The hit club for the game included: the Baron, Evy (2), Flash (2), Mickey, Milli, Surf Dawg, Thunder (2), Welzy (2), and Wookie (2). The seven RBI's were knocked in by: the Baron, Evy (3), Thunder (2), and Wook. The always important runs were scored by: Evy, Flash, Mickey, Thunder, Welzy (3), and Wookie (2). The four eagle-eyed Buzzards earning a walk down the first base line were: Crush, Mickey, Welzy and Wook. The back-to-back extra base RBI blasts with two outs in the fourth were launched by Everingham and the Weatherman.

The Buzzies excelled at defense for most of the day. Of the 27 defensive outs, there were nine strike 'em outs. There were only two fly ball outs. The Baron caught a high 'can of corn' in the fifth in right and Flash's excellent long-running catch in center in the eighth was followed by a not-so-excellent toss for a good laugh, but later. The toughened, nine-inning catcher, Milli, had three assists. Two were throw-downs to nail young runners at third and second bases, trying to steal on the older team. Mill-dog also had nine put-outs behind the plate with the Ks for a nice statistical day.

There were four evil pop-ups that were handled nicely by the infield. Welzy and Evy caught two in the second inning. Welzy showed off his range in snaring the first one. Evy came a long way to barely grab the next one near the mound with runners on. Welzy took care of the next two in the third and eighth innings with nice catches of sun balls falling out of the sky and landing in his glove. Buzzard infielders love their dirt combined with bouncing baseballs and they will eat up grounders all day long. Evy at shortstop had four tough assists and three put-outs, while Welzy at second had one assist and two put-outs. Surf Dawg snagged two difficult bouncers at third, while Wook had two put-outs on stolen base attempts at two different bases. Thunder had eight put-outs playing a slick first base with a sore knee.

Two noteworthy defensive gems include the hot grounder in the sixth that deflected off of Salmo's glove to Evy for a very close 1-6-3 play. Evy was already calling the runner 'out' as he bare-handed the ball before the throw to assist the umpire in the making the decision. The great sales job worked on the nice play for the out. The only double play of the game ended the nine-inning contest. The 1-2-4 double play is fairly rare. Welzy to Milli for the strike-out followed by the throw-out, to a late arriving Wookie at second, was an exciting way to end the game.

The manager of the Dodgers, Vince Miles, expressed compliments to the Buzzards after the game, and asked where the Fountain of Youth was hidden in Auburn. Because we had obviously found it and were using it to play baseball so well.

Great job in this first game against the younger division. The next three games will be against the 42+ division teams. Next Sunday is a 2 pm game at James Field against the always tough Miners.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #3

Game: April 12, 2015

Buzzards shoot down Astros, 16-6

The first morning game of the new season was a beautiful 70° day in Auburn. The third home game to start the season matched the 0-2 Astros against the 1-1 Buzzards. The Astros tied and almost beat the Buzzards in a game last season. The Buzzards have always enjoyed beating this team because the current and past league presidents of the NABA league, George Bettencourt and Barry Spiller, play on the Lastros.

The starting pitcher for the visiting Astros was the gritty right-hander, Rankin 'Fire Plug' Lyman #01. On the hill for the Gold Country Buzzards was the tough righty, Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri #6, making his first start of the season.

The Astros opened the game with a surprising five hits in a row. The ball had eyes on a few sharp grounders and the two outfield flares to drive in four runs.

No worries, mate. The Buzzards then batted-around in the bottom half of the first inning to put a nice crooked number (6) on the score board. The inning started with Taylor 'Welzy' Welz getting an infield single. Welzy stole second on the first pitch to Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir. Wookie then hit a real high chopper to second that he beat out for a hit, while speedy Welz turned on the jets and scored from second on the play. After an out, Mark 'Thunder' Weathers singled on a 1-1 count to drive in Wook.

With two outs, Jim 'Milli' Milligan singled to left and put two runners on. Up next, Tom 'Tomahawk' Keatley hit a short infield pop-up near the first base line that ticked off of the pitcher's glove. Rankin made a good play to get there, but by not getting that third out, he allowed the inning to continue. Batting next with two outs and the bases loaded, Kelly 'Cagey' Garcia hit a liner to left to knock in Thunder and keep the bases loaded for Mike 'Mickey' Wilson. Mickey worked the count to 3-2 before blasting a rocket shot over the leaping left-fielder for a bases clearing, three-run double. That play ended the scoring for the Buzzards with the lead 6-4 after one inning of play.

The Astros fought back in the second with two to tie the game. A two-out rally produced the runs with two hits and an infield error after a nice double play by the Buzzard infield, 5-4-3 that cleared the bases earlier.

The Buzzards added six more runs in the second to take early control of the game. Wook led-off with a first pitch single up the middle. After second was stolen, Dave 'Evy' Everingham punched a single to left putting runners at first and third. Batting next, Thunder then wacked a single to right to score Wookie from third. Two outs later, Tomahawk got to first with a shortstop misplay on a bouncer. Cagey followed with a run-scoring single to center. After Cagey stole second, Mickey slapped a single up the middle to drive in a hustlin' Kelly. Welzy followed with a full-count smash to deep left field for a stand-up double to knock in Mickey for the final run of the second dig.

The score after two innings was Buzzards 12 and Astros 6. The third inning was scoreless for both teams. The Ol' Buzzards added two more runs in the fourth. Mickey started the frame with a shortstop misplay to get on base. Mickey stole second with Welzy at the plate. Taylor then nailed an 0-1 pitch and sent it on a line with a sizzling hiss for a base hit to left field to knock in Wilson. Up next, Wook walked on four pitches before Evy singled to drive in Welzy. With two outs, Flash hit a flare for a single to put two runners on, but the dig ended with just the two runs scored to make it a 14-6 ball game at the end of four.

The Buzzards changed hurlers in the fifth and righty Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny #1 took the mound and shut down the Astros for the remainder of the game. The Ol' Buzzards, however, were not done scoring and put another run in the book in the last half of the fifth. Tomahawk led-off with a sharp single up the middle. Tommy stole second before Cagey walked. A passed ball then moved up the runners to second and third. Welzy crushed a 1-0 pitch to left, but the fielder was playing deep and caught the sacrifice fly to send Tomahawk home.

In the last offensive inning, the Buzzies scored one more in the sixth. After two were out, Milli laced a shot to left for a hit. Flash then ran for Mill-dog at first. After Flash stole second base, Tomahawk followed with a single to center to drive in Krantz with the 16th run of the game.

If the Buzzards could hold the Astros to no runs in the top of the seventh, the game would end early with the 10-run mercy-rule.

Surf Dawg mowed 'em down in the final inning, 1-2-3, to end the game at the 2 hour and 35 minute mark with the score 16-6.

Buzzard pitching got off to a rough start with the first five batters getting hits, but the seeing-eye hits by the Astros stopped after the second inning. Salmeri pitched four inning while facing 21 batters and throwing 69 pitches (45 strikes & 24 balls). Salmo got the win and gave up three earned runs on seven hits, no walks and four strike outs. Surf Dawg took the bump in the fifth frame and finished the game with three innings of work. Novotny threw 31 pitches (20 strikes & 11 balls) in facing 11 Astros. Gregg gave up no runs on two hits and no walks with two strike ‘em outs.

The Buzzard offense was up to the challenge of hitting slower Astro pitching. The mighty Buzzies peppered four Astro pitchers for 18 hits and five walks to score 16 runs. The hit club for the game included: Cagey (2), Evy (2), Flash, Mickey (2), Milli (2), Thunder (2), Tomahawk (2), Welzy (3), and Wookie (2). The always important ribbies were knocked in by: Cagey (2), Evy, Flash, Mickey (4), Thunder (2), Tomahawk, Welzy (3), and Wook. The Buzzards showed off their legs by running around the bases for 16 scores. The responsible Buzzies (in batting order) are: Welzy (2), Wookie (2), Evy, Thunder, Flash, Milli (2), Tomahawk (3), Cagey (2), and Mickey (2). The eagle-eyed Buzzards that were awarded first base were: Cagey, Flash, Milli, and Wookie (2). There were 10 stolen bases, but none bigger than Evy’s steal in the second inning to remarkably show that he is coming back stronger every week from his major leg injury at the end of last season.

The Buzzard defense was solid, as usual. There was only one fly ball out in the game. It was a nice catch by Mickey in left-field of a line-drive smash that he charged, then he caught the sinking liner sliding on his knees in the sixth. For a time early in the game, the Astros were picking on our new first baseman, but the Weatherman showed how cool he can look in grabbing hot shots in the second and third innings. Mark had four consecutive unassisted outs at the bag. After that display, the Astros hit the ball mostly the other way. Thunder came out of the game defensively with a sore knee in the fifth and was replaced by Garcia. Kelly was greeted with a hard hit by the first-batter for his wake-up call and unassisted out. There were 11 put-outs at first base (7 by Thunder and 4 by Cagey).

There was only one double play in the game. In the second inning with one on and no outs, Rankin hit a grounder to Surf Dawg at third. Gregg fielded the ball and threw a strike to Welzy at second, T-Welz completed the play with a nice easy turn at second and strong throw to Thunder for a good looking 5-4-3 double play.

This was technically a come-from-behind victory over the feisty Astros. A victory with no injured Buzzards is always a good win.

In the next four games, the Buzzards will be playing the 42+ division teams in the league. Next Sunday’s game is at 10 am at James Field against the young Dodgers.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #2

Game: March 29, 2015

Buzzards stomp the Yankees, 29-6

The second Sunday of the new baseball season put the Ol’ Buzzards up against the older Yankees in a 2 o’clock game on a warm afternoon at James Field in Auburn. In spite of the mixed-up world of today, it still seemed bizarro-backwards that the undefeated Yankees (1-0) would be playing the yet to win (0-1) Buzzards. The Gold Country Buzzards would not take long to settle the pecking order of the division with the Yanks.

The starting pitcher for the pumped-up Yankees was veteran lefty, Jerry ‘Dealin’ Whelan #11. On the bump for the Ol’ Buzzards was the tough right-hander, Gregg ‘Surf Dawg’ Novotny #1, who was anxious to get back on the hill after last week’s loss.

The Buzzards jumped on the score board in a big way in the first inning with seven runs crossing home plate. Kevin ‘Flash’ Krantz started it off by getting hit by the third pitch of the game. Flash then stole second base before Dan ‘Wookie’ Wukmir hit a soft liner up the middle for a single. After a fielder’s choice, Mark ‘Thunder’ Weathers walked to load the bases. Up next, Pete ‘Baron’ Von Zboray was nicked by a 3-2 fastball to push in the first run of the game. Tom ‘Tomahawk’ Keatley followed with a base-on-balls, and then, so did Jim ‘Milli’ Milligan to force in two more runs. With the score quickly 3-0, the Yankees changed hurlers and brought in right-hander, Randy 'Dented' Dettman #28 to stop the early rally.

Kelly ‘Cagey’ Garcia then greeted the new pitcher by lining a 2-1 pitch into left-field for a two-run single. With two outs, Flash got on base via a misplay by the shortstop, and the runners advanced to second and third before Wookie hit one into the left-center field gap, with his second hit of the inning, to score both runs. The score after the first frame was 7-zip, Buzzards.

The raging Buzzards were nearly unstoppable in the second inning as they showed ‘no mercy’ to the Yanks. The inning started with a long double by Thunder to left-center field on a 2-2 pitch. The Baron was hit by a pitch again to earn first base. Tomahawk followed with a single to left to score Thunderman. One out later, Cagey knocked in the Baron with another run on a sharp single to left. Batting next, Mike ‘Mickey’ Wilson drove a 3-1 pitch into left-field for a run-scoring single. Flash then hammered a single to left-center to drive in two runs.

The runners then moved up to second and third on a wild pitch, before Wook crushed the first pitch for a double that rolled to the right-center field fence to score both runs. Up next, Dave ‘Evy’ Everingham knocked in Wookie with a single to left-center. Batting next, Weathers got his second hit of the inning with a line-drive to right. The Baron followed with a shot to left for a hit. Tomahawk, batting next, hit a high fly to center-field for a sacrifice fly that scored Thunder with the 15th Buzzard run of the game.

The Yankees scored four runs in the top of the third on a walk, infield error and four hits to tighten the score to 15-4. The Buzzards answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the third inning.

Flash led off the inning with a walk. After a fielder’s choice, Evy singled to right putting runners at first and second. After an infield-fly-rule play for the second out, the Baron hit a rope down the left-field line for a two-run single. The score after three digs was now 17-4.

The Ol’ Buzzards scored in every inning of the game. In the fourth frame, the Buzzies ran around the bases two more times. Milli started it off by getting nailed by pitch number two squarely on the upper left arm. Up next, Barry ‘Brooklyn’ Forman singled to right and Mickey walked to fill the bases with Buzzards. After an out, Wook, on a roll, knocked in a fifth run of the game with his fourth hit, a liner to right, in the fourth inning. Evy then got nailed by a pitch, after quickly backing away and into the pitch, for a free ride to the bag before the inning ended with the score Buzzards 19 – Yankees 4.

The still hungry Buzzards went for the batting buffet in the fifth inning and feasted on Yankee pitching to score seven more times. Tomahawk led-off with a single to center. Milli then hit a flare to right for a base hit. Two outs and a couple of Yankee errors later put Surf Dawg at the plate with runners on. Gregg walked on five pitches to load the bases. After an E-4 on a hot grounder by Thunder, the Baron knocked in two RBIs with a single to left-field. Next, Tomahawk slapped a run-scoring single to right-center for his second hit of the inning. Milli then followed with a sharp single to left for his second impressive hit of the fifth. The score through five frames was 26-4.

The Yanks scored twice in the sixth inning to the excitement of the Yankee fans. Lefty Mickey Wilson #21 took the mound in his 2015 Buzzard debut. After two outs were quickly recorded on nice plays at third base by Surf Dawg, the plate and strike zone seemed to vanish. The next five batters got on base via walks or HBP to score two runs and make the score 26-6.

With time still on the clock the Buzzards batted in the bottom of the sixth and added the last three runs. Mickey and Flash started the inning by walking. After an out, Surf Dawg laced a solid single to left-center to drive in Mickey. Thunder followed with his patented line-drive to right-field to plate Flash. The Baron ended the scoring with a single up-the-middle for his fourth hit of the game and his sixth ribbie.

The Yanks did not score in the seventh inning as Wilson mowed 'em down, so the final score of the seven-inning, three-hour game, was 29 to 6.

Buzzard pitching and defense held the Yankees to six runs, while the offense went to town getting 24 hits and with nine walks to dominate the game early. Surf Dawg pitched five innings and threw 79 pitches (46 strikes & 33 balls) to 21 batters. Gregg gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits with one walk and two strike-outs. Mickey pitched the last two frames and faced 12 Yankees and threw 49 pitches (21 strikes & 28 balls). Wilson gave up two runs on one hit with four walks, one hit batter and one strike-out.

The Buzzards brought their hittin’ sticks to this game and knocked around five Yankee pitchers for 29 runs on 24 hits. The hit club for the game included: the Baron (4), Brooklyn, Cagey (2), Evy (2), Flash, Mickey, Milli (2), Surf Dawg, Thunder (3), Tomahawk (3), and Wookie (4). The always important ribbies were knocked in by: the Baron (6), Cagey (3), Flash (2), Mickey, Milli, Surf Dawg, Thunder, Tomahawk (4), and Wook (5). Every Buzzard scored at least twice (in batting order): Krantz (4), Wukmir (2), Everingham (2), Novotny (2), Weathers (4), Von Zboray (3), Keatley (3), Milligan (2), Garcia (2), Forman (2), and Wilson (3). Four Buzzards joined the 2015 bruise club with one batter earning double entry by taking two for the team. The bruised boys in this game were: Evy, Flash, Milli and the Baron twice.

The Ol’ Buzzards were solid on defense, but only pulled-off one double play. In the fourth with runners on first and second and one out, a sinking liner was hit to center field. Flash charged hard and quickly closed on the ball and caught it just above his shoe laces, while the runner was on his way to second base. Kevin then fired a bullet to Weathers at first base to gun down the sliding runner for the inning-ending double play.

This was an easy win for the Ol’ Buzzards and we’ll take it. It was a nice offensive showing and no one got hurt. Evy continues to amaze the team with his recovery and fine play at shortstop. And now he is running the base paths and sliding, so even the sky is not a limit to an Ol’ Buzzard. As another famous Buzzie once said, “Infinity and beyond …” by Buzz Lightyear.

No game this Sunday, while we all enjoy Easter. The next game is April 12th at 10 am at James Field versus the Astros. The NABA schedule is being corrected this week and should be available soon. We start playing the younger division, 42+ teams, on April 19th.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #1

Game: March 22, 2015

Buzzards can't score early, almost claw back,

Fall short to Solons in exciting home opener, 16-12

After a winter of warm, sunny Sundays, it seemed ironic to open the baseball season on a cool day with heavy clouds and rain in the late day forecast. The 2015 NABA baseball season's opening game pitted the Buzzards and Solons in a rematch of last year's championship game, which was won by the Buzzards 13-1.

The starting pitcher for the Solons was their lefty ace, Tom 'Foz' Defazio #31. On the hill for the Ol' Buzzards was the tough righty, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny #1. No jinks intended, but Surf Dawg was 8-0 last season.

The Buzzards tacked the first run of the game on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Taylor 'Welzy' Welz led off with a bouncer through the infield for a base hit. Up next, Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir walked on five pitches while Welzy stole on the first pitch. With one out and after both moved up on a wild pitch, Mark 'Thunder' Weathers, the new clean-up hitter, came to the plate. Thunder then hit a grounder to the right side to score Welzy for a 1-0 lead and the first Buzzard ribbie of the season.

Surf Dawg cruised through the first two innings on 22 pitches with 16 strikes. However, in the third frame the Solons placed five short flares into the outfield for hits along with two walks to score six runs. Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri #6 took the mound in relief to end the Solon rally.

The Buzzards answered with just a run in the bottom half of the third inning. With two outs and Kevin 'Speedy' Krantz on second via an infield error and a stolen base, lefty Wookie hit a chopper over the third baseman's head for a single to score Speedy and make the score 6-2 Solons after three innings.

Salmo held the swinging Solons until the fifth frame. Then seven singles, one ground-out and an unfortunate missed double-play opportunity put Welzy #26 on the bump in relief. Then one double-play groundball later and the 10-batter inning was over with the Solons up 12-2.

The Buzzards had a hard time with a sharp Foz and his mix of pitches on opening day. It was not until their bullpen got involved and John 'Hag' Hagen # 24 entered the game in the sixth that the Buzzards' bats started working. The inning started with Speedy knocking a single to left-field, then swiping second before Welzy sends him home with a sharp single to left. Wookie then looped a two-strike single to short center with Welzy holding at second. Both runners advanced on stolen bases to put Buzzards at second and third with one out. Welzy scored on a catcher's error, while Wookie scored later on a single to right by Thunder.

Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray followed with a line drive to left-center to put two on. One out later, Jim 'Milli' Milligan singled to drive in Thunder. Up next, Salmo was hit by a fastball on the left upper arm, just north of the elbow, to load the bases. Mike 'Mickey' Wilson followed that move by using the baseball magnet to also get hit by a pitch (left side) to push in the Baron from third base. With Buzzards still on all bags, Krantz cranked a two-run single to left for his second hit of the inning. The score through six was 12-9 Solons.

Just when momentum seemed to shift, the frickin' Solons banged out three more hits, two with the infield playing in, after an infield error to score three more times in the seventh dig. The Buzzards added three more runs to keep pace, but time was running out.

Four straight Buzzard hits to start the inning looked promising. To lead it off, Wookie slapped a single to right field for his third hit of the day and proceeded to steal second. Batting next, Dave 'Evy' Everingham singled sharply to left-center with Wook scoring from third on an over-throw from the outfield. Welzy ran for Evy and swiped second before Thunder, up next, hit a laser beam to right field to score T-Welz. The Baron then blasted a shot down the left-field line for a stand-up double with Weathers racing 'round the bases to score from first. However, the inning ended quickly after that with two good defensive plays and one K to make the score 15-12 after seven innings.

The Solons scored once more in the eighth on a hit, sacrifice bunt, hit batter, single, strike-out, single and strike-out inning. The Buzzies put up a valiant fight in the ninth. Speedy led-off with a bunt single for his third hit of the game, but was left stranded as he watched the shortstop make three excellent plays to end the game with no more runs. The final score of the 3 hour and 10 minute, eight-inning game was Solons 16 - Buzzards 12.

The Buzzard's solid pitching was throwing strikes (only 3 walks), but the good hitting Solons were finding the holes with lots of flares fielded on one hop in the outfield. The Solons scored in four innings and sent 47 to the plate. They collected 20 hits to out-hit the Buzzards by four. Of the 24 defensive outs, the pitchers got nine by strike-outs leaving 15 for the rest of the guys. Sadly, 20 hits were easier for the Solons than getting 15 outs for the Buzzards.

The Buzzard offense showed up in the sixth and almost had enough in the seventh to make up for the slow start. The Buzzards scored in only four innings, and seven runs in the sixth helped. The hit club for the game included: the Baron (2), Evy, Milli (2), Speedy (3), Thunder (2), Tomahawk, Welzy (2), and Wookie (3). The always important RBIs were knocked in by: the Baron, Milli (2), Speedy (2), Thunder (3), Welzy and Wook. The runs were scored by: Baron, Evy, Milli, Salmo, Speedy (2), Thunder (2), Welzy (2), and Wook (2). Salmo and Mickey were the first to get hit by pitches this season and get to join the 2015 bruise club.

The defense for the first game of the season was solid with just two errors and two nice and timely double-plays. There were only three fly ball outs in the game. The first was a deep drive to Kelly 'Cagey' Garcia in left field to open the fourth. In the sixth, Speedy charged hard from center field and made a terrific shoe top catch to end the inning. Tomahawk got under and smoothly caught the last out of the seventh inning in right field.

The two infield double plays are worth noting. The first one in the second inning was with two runners on and one out. The good looking Welzy to Evy to Thunder (4-6-3) ended the inning with no runs scored. In the fifth the bases were loaded and six runs had already scored in the frame. On Welzy's fourth pitch, Big Frank Smith hit a grounder to Wookie at second to start the inning ending 4-6-3 double play to Evy then on to Thunder at first. The other Big D highlight was the gun down of Foz in the seventh inning when he attempted to steal second base. An excellent throw by Milli and a good tag on a hook-sliding Foz by Wookie covering second got the exciting out.

The Buzzards will do better in the next game and as the season progresses. We will not lose many games, but it is apparent that the opponents will be coming hard at us, so we best not get in the habit of getting down by 10 runs early.

Next week, the Buzzards will tear apart the Yankees on James Field starting at 2 pm. The Yankees are 1-0 by beating the Astros last week.  

Buzzard Note #1: The Buzzards heartily welcome two new studs to the roster. Kevin Krantz was a Buzzard before and is now old enough to be an Ol' Buzzard. Kevin now lives in Auburn and is the closest to our home field. Mark Weathers has been a long-time nemesis while playing with the Dragons for years and recently with the Reds. The Reds broke up and Mark has joined the Buzzards. Mark comes the second farthest, Clarksburg, to our home games. Both guys are great athletic and personality pick-ups and add to an already strong team. This is going to be a fun season and another good year to be a Buzzard.

Buzzard Note #2: The NABA schedule is still not settled, but getting closer. The next four weeks are home games at James Field. Those dates are: Mar 29 at 2 pm, April 12 at 10 am, Apr 19 at 10 am, Apr 26 at 2 pm. No games on Easter Sunday Apr 5.

Buzzard Note #3: Team score-keeping note. Runs in the book count toward the original hitter/runner, not the courtesy runner. Stolen bases or caught stealing count toward the runner.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #18

Game: September 21, 2014

Buzzards slug Solons 13-1 to repeat as champs

All available Ol' Buzzards flocked to Davis to put an exclamation point on the 2014 season. On a cool Sunday morning at Playfields Park, the National Adult Baseball Association's Sacramento championship game between the Gold Country Buzzards and the Sacramento Solons was an earlier than normal, 9:30 am, start time to allow for two more age division finals to take place on one of the nicest fields in the region. So, the old guys in the 52+ division got the early game.

The Buzzards had beaten the Solons four times this season, but they have been an improving team, especially with that new catcher, Jurg 'Igor' Ramelvik. The 4-0 record began with the season opening day drubbing of the Solons 21-4 at C-Bar-C Park way back on April 6. On May 4 at James Field the Buzzards beat the Salamis 11-4. Then on August 3, the Solons came to Auburn to lose 9-2. The last match-up was on August 24 with a 7-1 Buzzard victory at James Field. It would be easy to assume the Buzzards (15-2-1) would prevail over the Solons (10-9), but the Ol' Buzzards knew better than to be cocky, just confident and determined.

However, heard bragging before the game, mostly from the loud New Yorkers on the Salamis, which was easily over-heard in the parking lot, that they were the hot team after whopping the Astros in the first round of the playoffs last Sunday. And they love fast pitching and had their bat swings tuned and timed for the Buzzards' starting pitcher. So the challenge was on, minus the starting first baseman in route from James Field to Davis.

Based on season record, the Solons were the visiting team. Their starting pitcher was the tough southpaw, Tom 'Not Fazed' DeFazio #31. On the mound for the Ol' Buzzards was the regular starting second baseman and the hardest thrower and now for the big game a fine-tuned pitching machine with recently bruised ribs, Taylor 'Welzy' Welz #26. Taylor was nailed by a fastball in the rib cage on Monday night.

The Buzzards opened the final game of the season with three runs in the first inning to jump on top 3-zip. Welzy led-off with a flare to center for a base hit. Welzy moved to second on a pick-off attempt when the ball scooted under the first baseman's glove and rolled away. After an out, Welzy stole third base and scored on the catcher's errant throw into left field. Dave 'Evy' Everingham, up next, battled fellow Sac City baseball program alum (5-years apart), DeFazio to a six-pitch full-count situation before singling sharply to center-field.

Batting next, the catcher, Jim 'Milli' Milligan slapped a 1-0 pitch into left-field to put runners at second and first. Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir then ran for Milli at first base. After a double-steal, Evy and Wook moved up 90-feet to both be in scoring position. The next batter, Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray smacked a 3-2 pitch into right-center for a single that scored Evy with the second run. Tom 'Tomahawk' Keatley followed with a sacrifice fly to right-field to score Wookie from third to end the scoring in the first frame.

The Buzzards tacked on a run in the third inning. With one out, Milli walked. Evy ran for Milli and immediately stole second base. After the second out, Tomahawk came to the plate and hammered a liner for a hit to right-center to score Evy. Norm 'Burner' Tucker then walked to put two Buzzies on again before the inning ended with the score 4-0 Buzzards.

The Gold Country gang of 12 scored two more runs in the fourth dig to put additional pressure on the Solons. Barry 'Brooklyn' Forman started it off by hitting a bouncer through the legs of the second baseman. Welzy followed with a bunt single putting runners at first and second. Wookie then hit a high bouncer wide of third that froze the fielder momentarily before everyone was safe with the bases loaded for Evy. On a full-count, Evy was walked to push in Barry. Next, Milli sent a 1-0 pitch skyward to deep center for a sacrifice fly to easily score Welzy with the last run.

The Ol' Buzzards held a 6-0 lead after five-innings of play. Welzy was pitching a heck of a game and was working on a two-hitter with only 68 pitches thrown. However, the Solons had runners on in four of the five innings and were a hit or error away from a scoring rally. The Solons broke through in the top of the sixth and were held to a single run. It took a two-out bouncer into left-field that was followed by a stolen base, then an opposite field run-scoring flare down the right-field line to break up the shutout.

In the bottom half of the seventh inning, the Buzzards added two more to the scoreboard. Cagey led-off with a long fly ball to center-field. The ball popped out of the fielder's glove as he back-pedaled at the last moment for an error. Batting next, lefty Brooklyn was nicked by a high inside fastball on the right forearm and took first base to put Buzzards at first and second. Next, Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny chopped one that was misplayed by the first baseman and allowed Cagey to score from third. One out later, Welzy singled to center to knock in Barry and up the score to 8-1 Buzzards after seven innings.

The Buzzards continued with the good pitching and excellent defense through eight innings and still led 8-1. The Ol' Buzzards wanted more and then piled on five more runs in the eighth to stretch the lead to 12 runs. The frame began with Evy blasting a ball way over the center fielder's head for a stand-up triple. Next, on a 3-2 pitch, Milli sent Evy across the plate with a line-drive single to center. Wook ran for Milli. The Baron followed with an eight-pitch, full-count at-bat resulting in a smash hit down the left-field line putting two runners on base. One out later, Burner beat-out a bobbled grounder to third that also scored Wookie. Cagey, up next, battled to a six-pitch, 0-2 count, before drilling a single to left-field to score the Baron. With two outs, Surf Dawg spanked a ball through the second baseman and into right-field to score the final two runs.

After shutting down the Solons in the top of the ninth inning, the Buzzards celebrated briefly on the field before lining up to exchange greetings with the Solons. The Buzzards posed for photos then received plagues and t-shirts from the league. The final score of the last Buzzard game of the year was: Champion Buzzards 13 and the Solons 1.

Terrific pitching shut-down the swinging Solons. And whenever the Solons did not strike-out or hit the ball anywhere near the mound, the rest of the Buzzards made the plays to support the almost one-man baseball machine called Welzatron (patent pending). Taylor was fabulous on the hill in throwing a four-hit complete game. Welzy threw 118 pitches (71 strikes & 47 balls) to 35 Solons. Welzatron gave up one run (unearned) on only four hits with five walks and struck out nine.

Where the Welzatron really shined is defensively. After releasing the projectile toward the strike zone, Welzatron activated a ball magnet which snagged five hot shots on or kind-of-near the mound. Welzatron also picked-off the first runner of the game and later covered first base in record time in the fifth on a long toss from Cagey playing wide of first. Welzatron was responsible for 16 Solons going back to the bench disappointed.

It's great having a Welzatron for the game, but it is obvious the downside to baseball, if production was allowed, would be a single Welzatron baseball machine that produces up to 60% of the outs per game could eliminate the need for nine players in a game. The Welzatron (patent pending) will probably remain a one-of-a-kind baseball machine for Buzzard use only.

The Ol' Buzzard offense showed its pep by scoring 13 runs on 16 hits with four walks. The hit club for the game included: Baron (2), Brooklyn, Cagey (3), Evy (2), Milli (2), Tomahawk (2), Welzy (3), and Wookie. The ribbies were courtesy of: Baron, Cagey, Evy, Milli (2), Surf Dawg (2), Tomahawk (2), and Welzy. The all-important runs were scored by: Baron, Brooklyn (2), Burner, Cagey (2), Evy (2), Milli (3), and Welzy (2). The four walks were issued to eagle-eyed Buzzards: Brooklyn, Burner, Evy, and Milli.

The defense was excellent all season and continued through the final game. There were not a lot of chances with the Welzatron dominating the game defensively. The outfield was bored with only one fly ball out during the game, plus chasing just four base hits. The Baron caught the high fly in right field to end the sixth inning. The one pop-up in the sun was handled by Wook at second base in the ninth.

The infield grounders were efficiently disposed of during the game. Evy smoothly handled four assists showing off his range, three were to first base and the last one was the game-ender with a flip to Wook at second. Burner had one assist playing third base in the eighth. Wookie was involved in three put-outs and two assists at second. Cagey had 12 slick put-outs at first base, while the Baron had two put-outs covering first in the first inning. Milli was rock solid as usual behind the plate. Jim had two assists, one early and one late, in the game. The initial assist ended the first inning with a throw-down to first on a loose third strike. The second was more exciting as Milli nailed the head-first sliding Igor trying to steal second base for the first out of the last inning. A fast and big Igor had stolen second base earlier in the game.

There were two controversial incidents during the game, and both surprisingly involved the shy Burner. In the second inning with Buzzards on first (Tucker) and second (Garcia), Welzy hit a fly ball to deep center that was caught. Cagey tagged up at second and moved to third on the play. But before he could get to third, Norm was standing on second. None of the umpires noticed that Burner had forgotten to tag up, but the Solons thought it was suspicious and called-out that Burner had left first base too soon. After a long umpire pow-wow, they determined that since Norm did not have super powers that he must have left early and was declared out.

The second incident occurred in the fifth. With Barry batting and Norm at first, a wild pitch sent Burner hustling to second. The ball bounced off of the backstop and right back to the catcher. Igor was able to grab the ball quickly and throw a bullet to second base to get Burner sliding into the bag. The throw was toward first base a little and Norm’s arm and shoulder met the shortstop’s face (John Hagen) on the play. Hagen’s glasses were smashed on his face and briefly injured his eye. John had no vision initially in his left eye, so in frustration he threw his hat at Norm lying on the ground and followed quickly by the ball. The cap hit Norm, but the ball missed him.

Burner, not sure what happened, then quickly stood up and chest bumped the shortstop for throwing the hat and ball at him. At this point the ump jumped between them and calmed the situation down. Tucker returned to the dugout, while the Solons gathered around Hagen for a few minutes until his vision returned and the game resumed. There were no hard feelings, but there were several comments from the peanut gallery and the Solon dugout, since Burner has a little bit of a reputation for tough play with the Solons. One of the umps later told Norm that the play was a clean, hard slide.

Other than that it was a fun, fast-moving three-hour game. The Buzzards celebrated in the parking lot for quite a while before leaving Davis with the NABA booty. The Buzzards received team and individual plaques, as well as two t-shirts.

What a great Buzzard season and it is too bad that Fall is here and we have to put away the orange jerseys until next year. Thanks for the good times and the championship memories.

Several Buzzards are playing in Phoenix next month for other teams and gold rings. Good luck to all. The Buzzards will return in 2015. It’s good to be a Buzzard.

Buzzard Note #1: The team party will be this Sunday at Rick and Vickie’s house in Rescue. Salmo sent out directions and the gate code earlier. The plan is to cater in Felipe’s Mexican food for lunch with margaritas and probably Coronas at 1 o’clock. The cost will be $10 per adult with food and drink provided. There is a solar heated pool available. Family and kids are invited.

Buzzard Note #2: The 42+ championship game between the Dodgers and the Athletics, following our game, included the only two teams to beat the Buzzards this year. Now that’s impressive for a bunch of ol’ guys.

Buzzard Note #3: There are only about 120 days until the next Buzzard practice.