Burning Bats?

Well, some seriously hot bats anyway even if Nick Matta did sacrifice a bat to the softball gods before the game.

Field C

Cubs and Pirates fighting for the cellar dweller position took the field today in a battle back and forth almost every inning.  The Cubs with 5 players on the
DL got pool players Ron Pepin and Sam Cuscovitch and both players contributed HR for the Cubs. 

John Smith and the 2013 Pirates

Pirates started in the first inning scoring 4 on hits by Ducham,Wilcox, Burrell, Allen and a SAC by Waddell.  Ray Depalma singled and scored ona base hit by Manager Ted Taylor in the 2nd for the Cubs.  

After holding the Pirates scoreless in the 2nd, the Cubs rallied for 3 to tie the score at 4 all on a homer
from Ron Pipin.

The Pirates came back with a run in the 4th on hits by Waddell and Ayer.  

In the 6th inning the Cubs scored 4 on a walk
and singles by Depalma and Wilson plus a double by Sam C.   The Pirates came back
with 2 in the last of the 6th on hits by Allen, Waddell, Ayer, and Ragonese to tie the score at 9 runs each.

The Cubs found their stride with 5 runs in the 8th on
a walk and 4 hits by Pepin, Depalma, Wilson, and Taylor.  

Now going into the 9th inning ahead, the Cubs went down at the bat 1-2-3.  The Pirates came to bat with a gleam in their eyes and scored 5 runs on two walks, 3 hits and a few errors
by the Cubs.  

Congrats to the Pirates for their first win of the season.  

Cubs hitters:

• Reg Barnes 3 for 4 with walk
• Wayne Mundy 3 for 5
• Ron Pipin HR
• Ray Depalma 3 for 4
• Sam Cuscavitch 3 for 3 with HR and Walk
• Ted Taylor 3 for 4

Pirates hitters:

• Burrell 3 for 4 with walk
• Allen 2 for 4
• Waddell 2 for 3 with SAC
• Ayer 3 for 3 with SAC

 Field B

The early morning fog had burnt off by the time the game on Field B started. The sun was its usual tricky self. The batters were able to raise their hand if they could not see the pitch and the umpires could call it a no pitch. The Rays managed by Larry Powell were the visiting team and the leadoff batter, Eddie Gazarek, started the game with a nice hit. Frank Jacobs, Don Erb and Art Zakrowski followed with hits but only two runs were scored by the Rays. The Tigers, managed by Don Witmer, were not to be outdone in the first inning. The leadoff batter, Raul Torres got on by a walk and Don Keller and Chuck Duff had nice hits to plate two runs for the Tigers. The game stayed close until the7th inning when the Rays bats got hot. They scored five runs in the seventh inning and five more runs in the eight inning. The Tigers, who scored 33 runs on Tuesday, could not get anything going at the bat today. The final score was Rays 20 and Tigers 12.

Thinking about an Entertainment Book?

The Rays did a great job in team hitting today. They were led by Eddie Gazarek 5 for 5, Rick Brock 4 for 4,Don Erb and Art Zakrowski 4/5 and Frank Jacobs 3 for 5. There were a bunch of Triples. The rest of the team batted around .500.

The Tigers were led by Jimmy Laffoon 3 for 4, Don Keller 3 for 5, Chuck Duff and Kenny Ota were 2 for3. Kenny Ota hit an in the park home run with a sharp line drive between the outfielders.

Field D

The contest on Field “D” between the Red Sox- Rangers and Angels was a wing, ding, doodler.  Both the Sox and Angels started out like a “house on fire”, scoring 5 runs in the first two innings.  The Rangers bats were a bit sluggish, coach Matta thinks the team is reading too many of their press clippings. 

Meanwhile, the Angels found the long ball early and often, hitting 3 doubles in the first inning by Gonzalez, Drouilard and Wells.  In the 2^nd inning Gonzalez refused to cool down, hitting a home-run. Toro decided to spread his angel wings and went yard, as well.  Russ King joined in the halo party and smashed a ball into the gap for a triple. 

After 2 innings the score was Red Sox 10, Rangers 6 and Angels 10.

 The Rangers climbed back into the game scoring 3 runs in the 3^rd.  Not to be outdone, the hot halos came back and added 3 runs of their own, in the bottom of the frame and 5 more runs in the 4^th. The Red Sox, who had been swinging red hot bats, in the first two innings, went on a mini vacation. They were blanked in the 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th innings.

After 5 innings the score was Red Sox 10, Rangers 11 and Angels 20.

Nick takes a cut

That brings us into the 6^th inning, when the fireworks erupted. The Sox bats came back from their mini trip to the Bahamas.  Consecutive base hits by Andrews, Radlein, Hite and Simon produced 2 runs. Mohan and Wheeler joined in on the fun, producing a couple more hits and the Sox gathered 2 more runs. They jumped ahead of the Rangers with a four run, sixth inning.

The Rangers then came to bat in the middle of the 6^th inning. It is so dependable that you can set your clock on the fact that the Rangers bats will come to life, late in the game.  Home-runs by Dampier, Finnegen and Pinnick sky rocketed the Rangers back into the game.  All twelve of the Rangers players batted in the 6^th inning, producing 9 runs and tying the game…….temporarily.

Tom holds Joe at Third

The Angels came to bat in the bottom of the 6th inning and hit like Archangels. They scored three runs and recaptured the lead. The big blow came off the bat of Les Jacobson, who hit one so deep only a real angel could field it.

Les Winds Up

After 6 innings the score was Red Sox 14, Rangers 20 and Angels 23.

In the seventh inning, the Sox added a run and it was up to their defense to try and stop the Rangers from beating the Angels.  The inning started bad for them when the Rangers first batter, Don Ing, reached base on an error. Sox pitcher, George Radlein, was up for the challenge though. He sandwiched in two Ks, in between two hits and with the bases loaded he was able to get the last out, ending the game.

Final Score: Red Sox 15, Rangers 21 and Angels 23.

Leading Hitters:

Red Sox

• Steve Hill,  2 / 3 and a walk.
• Tommy Hamilton,  3 / 3 and a walk.
• Al Andrews , 3 / 4.

Rangers

• Joe D’ Herin,  4 / 4  with 2 doubles and a walk.
• Ron Butler,  3 / 5 with a triple and a double.
• Steve Pinnick, 3 / 4 with a HR.
• Nick Matta , 3 / 4 with a double.
• Jim Goodhue,  4 / 4

Angels

• Freddy Gonzalez,  3 / 4 with a double and a HR.
• Juan Toro,  3 / 4 with a double and a HR.
• Les Jacobson,  2 / 2 with two walks, a double and a HR.
• Pat Drouilard, 3/ 4, with a double and a triple.
• Russ King, 3 / 3 with a triple.
• Dennis Holder, 3 / 3.

Field E

Braves vs. Giants

The Braves opened the first inning with a barrage of hits scoring two runs.

The Giants plated five runs with five hits and an error.

In the third and fourth innings, the Braves scored ten runs with a combination of timely hits and costly Giant errors.

Starting with the third inning, the Giants started to eat away at the Braves lead.

The Giants scored in every inning the rest of the way.

The game featured quite a few errors by both teams.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Giants down by one run, a triple, and error and a double sealed the Braves fate.

The final score was Giants 17, Braves 16.