James Fago is our manager this season, and he’s in the best shape of his life.
Get in touch with him (or me, if you must) if you plan on playing this season. As always, roster spots go to returning Ducks before we fill in the gaps with Dominican League players Rob Cool knows through some ex-AAU coach, who used to play DII ball in Eastern Ohio, and sells sneakers out of the back of a truck at Waynesburg away games.
We owe the league our first $500 in the next few weeks, and Nike is sending people to my home trying to shake me down for the money we didn’t raise to cover our unis last year.
Jim Teyssier pitched a complete game shutout, striking out 9, while allowing just 3 hits and walking 2.
South Oakland scored its first run with two out in the bottom of the second, on three straight singels by Baumgartel, Smith and Gwin.
The Bulldogs left two men on base in the top of the third and would not threaten again.
In the bottom of the fourth, Fago walked, and pinch runner Tim Lipp stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error; he scored on Nick Berdine’s rbi single to left.
The Ducks will face Elliot in the finals on Saturday time and place to be determined.
A rematch of last season’s championship series. and I’m 99% sure it will be Teyssier vs. Chalfin.
Tonight’s game will be the first time the Ducks come into More Park as the team who ended the Sox season the previous year.
Until South Oakland defeated the Black Sox in the Championship last year, the Ducks had never beaten the Sox in a post season series.
We still haven’t finished the regular season with a better record than the Sox, but you can ask the Bulldogs how much regular season success means (sorry guys).
This is the best rivalry in the brief history of our league.
Since the days when Randy coached third, occasionally umpired, and would yell, “I got it,” at the Ducks infielders going for pop-ups, no two teams have played more games against each other or played harder.
The rivalry intensified when we absorbed the Owlz players (and more Black SOx hate) last season and then again when Guthrie beat Chalfin in game two of the Championship.
We beat them when it counted, and absolved seven years of futility.
But they’ve been waiting for this chance since they watched us drench Guth in beer while Joe brought down our trophy.
***
A Ducks win will give the Sox something to think about till mid July when we finish the season with a two-game series against Brookline.
Moore Park is a tough place to play; tonight, it will be filled with crew cuts and beer cans and profanity.
But this season they have to knock off the Ducks to win the title.
We are the defending champs, and we will play like it tonight.
Unrelated zeppelin song. Now for a letdown of a recap:
South Oakland of the North Side (7-2) won their seventh straight behind phenomenal pitching and timely hitting from the bottom of the lineup.
Ducks lefty, Mike Cinefra pitched a complete game, 1-hit shutout, striking out 12.
Ken Cool drove in the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the 8th.
Both pitchers threw exceptionally well. The Bulldogs’ guy allowed only 5 hits and went 7 and 2/3 with 9 Ks
The Bulldogs threatened in the second when Rankin hit a leadoff double to right but was stranded on 3rd after a K a groundout and another K.
In the top of the 7th, Ducks catcher James Fago threw out a runner trying to take third on a past ball to end the inning.
This was the first Ducks Bulldogs game in which we held Vinny Gala hitless.
In the bottom of the 8th with two outs, Nick Berdine walked to lead off the inning. Gwin singled to right, and Ken Cool drove in the winning run with a single to center.
South Oakland’s 8-9-10 hitters came through with two outs to preserve the win in one of the best games I’ve played in for some time.
Anthony Defilippo, Rob Baumgartel, and Mike Cinefra also had hits for South Oakland.
South Oakland of the North Side (4-2, 1,1) beat Cranberry 13-6 in Springview last night in front of an offended crowd of 3.
The hilights of the game were Rick Whalen’s sweet double off the wall in left, and Duffy’s blistering single down the 3rd baseline.
Mike Fletcher recorded the win, allowing 1ER over 3 innings.
Fago was a double and a homerun short of the cycle.
Cinefra hit a triple, I don’t think I’ve seen 2 legit triples in the same game at Spring Hill ever.
DeFilippo had infinity RBI
More doubles were hit by Ken Cool, DeFilippo, Cinefra, and Gwin, marking the first time Whalen and Gwin recorded extra base hits in the same game for the Ducks since Ken Cool was in elementary school.
Rob Cool reached base four times.
The game ended on a fantastic catch by 1b Nick Berdine
Big double header against the Militiaon Sunday.
We can almost knock them out of the division race if we sweep, thanks to Monroeville losing twice to Elliot last week.
I don’t think Elliot has lost yet.
***
The blog has been garbage lately and we don’t even have our stats up, the latter is certainly uncharacteristic for us and management is on it.
The Ducks look to rebound form an opening day beating at the sweaty hands of the bulldogs as the college kids come home to do laundry, get a free meal and hit doubles.
So far this season, the Militia robbed the pony express and, naturally, took out the senators who, allegedly continue to misrepresent the populous and take away our civil liberties, right? well shit. This is America. The Senators appear to be the league whipping boy this year, the royal whipping boy, which is the origin of the term I think, a royal one. Anyway, Monroeville looks to continue the hostile takeover, but will be without their best player tonight, and face a rejuvenated Ducks team looking to make history as the first repeat champs this season.
One game at a time.
Baconator vs. the Militia’s new recruit who replaced NABA legend Jeremy Barchie in the rotation.
Jeremy Barchie is coming out of retirement again
South Oakland will be without Guthrie and Nick Berdine who is still looking for the bat he threw in the woods behind Moore Park last season, so it looks like I’ll get to play tonight.
The battle for the Patrick Division starts tonight for South Oakland.
We’re using our September call-ups in May to fill out our lineup while we wait for the college kids to show up.
The Bulldogs are gonna be tough to beat this year and will give the Fightin’s all they can handle in the Norris Division.
They’re my sleeper pick to win it all in a league exactly like ours but without Ducks.
With three games in three days, the Ducks look to get in shape and discover hidden pitching talent before Patrick Division play starts on May 7th with a game against the Pony Express.
We’re returning all our starters from our championship team, and have a couple new guys I haven’t met or seen play.
That’s about as good of a preview as I can offer right now.
The Express have played some good teams tough despite a poor overall record.
