The Ducks lost a heartbreaker to undefeated Cranberry, 2-1 in Spring Hill Wednesday night. South Oakland starting pitcher Brandon Blackstone (L, 1-1) gave his team a chance to win. He scattered 9 hits over 7 innings with ten strike outs in his second complete game of the season.
After Cranberry scored a run on two hits in the first, the teams traded runs in the third. Cranberry starter Andy Germani worked out of a bases loaded no-outs jam in the second. Former Hurricane, Cranberry reliever Jon Hart (W, 1-0) got out of trouble a few times in four relief innings. The game ended on a bases loaded double play.
The Ducks have benefitted from great starting pitching so far this year. Timely hitting has been a problem for a team that historically scores a lot of runs. When the bats come around, South Oakland should be tough to beat.
The Ducks’s next game is a Sunday morning hair of the dog match against the Bandidos in Bakery Square.
Billy Welsh (W, 1-1) allowed 5 hits and struck out 16 in nine innings of work. Welsh out dueled veteran Brandon Bouchard (L, 1-1) from South Hills who was lifted after surrendering 5 runs in the eighth.
South Oakland had eleven hits but couldn’t break the 1-1 tie until Mike Brandt singled home two in the ninth, followed by an RBI infield hit by Gwin that scored two runs. Lombardi added his second RBI of the game to put the Ducks ahead by five, and they would need the insurance runs. The Devils scored four in the ninth with the help of a couple walks and HBPs around singles by Rodi and Rush.
This game should have ended 2-1 in regulation. Ducks utility player/relief pitcher Ben Sorosky was safe by two steps at home on what should have ben an RBI fielders choice, but was called out to the surprise of everyone.
Cranberry
Here’s a link to the Cranberry blog. It would be great if their 8-3 extra innings win from last year wasn’t still in the “last game” section. Here’s some new art for future blogs, Andy:
Cranberry is historically a terrible matchup for us. Even in the pre-Stumpf era when they didn’t really have a short stop, and Andy’s dad was manager, we struggled to hit their pitching. We do better against pitchers who try to overpower us. This isn’t news. We need to find a way to beat them. Two years ago, they finished in first, and we were a half game behind them thanks to two one-run losses. Last year, they swept us, and if we had split that series, we might have avoided the Oilers in the semi-finals. If we had just split those games, all of which were one-run or extra inning games, we could have had a much easier draw in the playoffs.
Tonight should be a good test for both teams, if the last two years are any indication, it will come down to the last inning.
I like our chances in a tight game at home tonight.
After a rainy week, Ducks look to get back over .500 with a win against struggling rival South Hills. The Devils have had some bad luck early this year, but they are still a solid, experienced team that can score runs. Eventually the back luck will swing the other way, they have too many good players. Last year we split the season series and the run differential was even. It will be a close one tonight.
We need to keep wining games to stay in the top half of the standings. With the monsoon last week, there will be a backlog of games later in the year. We need to position ourselves for the stretch run before we start playing four games in ten days in June. We have the bullpen rested and most of our starters tonight.
Weather permitting, the Ducks look to knock off the undefeated Grizzlies tonight in Spring Hill. Bauerstown has averaged ten runs a game while allowing three during its current winning streak. Also during the streak, the Grizzlies have comeback twice when trailing after six innings against the Bandidos and Devils respectively. It seems they have benefitted from their year off.
The Ducks send Billy Welsh (0-1) to the mound tonight to get the team back on track after a tough loss to the Eagles on Sunday.
Both Bauerstown teams are winning all their games this year, as the single A Turtles are in first place with a 5-0 record.
Realignment Watch 2021
This year we will keep track of how the Senators and BIG OIL fare after moving up a division.
The Senators are 0-2, losing both games by a combined 35-5, including a 20-0 opening day defeat at the hands of the Eagles.
The Oilers have not played a game yet.
The Grizzlies eliminated South Oakland from playoff contention the past two seasons. This is always a tough matchup for us, but I like our chances at home with Billy pitching in cold weather.
The Ducks (1-1) lost a heartbreaker in the West End this afternoon, dropping a close game to the Eagles (2-1) at Herschel Park.
The Eagles scored a run in the first off a HBP, and a double. Ducks starter, Randy Patton (0-0) settled down, scattering four more hits over five innings. The Eagles added their second run in the fifth when two Ducks collided in shallow center, leading to a two base error. The Eagles runner would later score on a single.
The Eagles starter was pulled after two effective innings due to arm trouble, but their relief pitcher was effective. He allowed two hits and worked out of trouble in the fifth thanks to a line out double play with the bases loaded.
The Ducks trailed 2-0 going into the seventh but tied the game on a walk, two hits and an RBI groundout to the right side that plated two runs.
The Eagles took advantage of another two-base, Ducks error when their leadoff batter advanced to second after an errant throw on a squibber to the infield. Their next batter hit a ground ball through the right side to win the game.
It’s tough to waste a good pitching performance, but at least we battled back to tie in the seventh. We had a few hard outs with guys on base. Overall, we played well but couldn’t hit their junk baller. This has been the recipe to beat us for a few years now. The Eagles haven’t looked this good since the days of Noonan, and I expect them to be in the mix this year.
The Ducks next game is Wednesday, 9pm vs Bauerstown at the Duck Pond.
The Ducks look to continue their hot start today in Elliot against the revamped South Side Eagles, fresh off a 20-0 dismantling of the expansion Senators. Last season, South Oakland went 1-2-1 against the Eagles, including a 15-5 loss at home. Their worst loss of the season. Ducks starter Randy Patton (0-0) looks to avenge that loss when he takes the hill today. The Eagles are probably throwing a new guy. It looks like they have a bunch of new pitchers. I’m not sure what happened to last year’s ace, Horowitz, but I think we should expect a good effort out of South Side and a hard fought game.
Even when the Eagles had down years, they beat us. This will be a good early season test for both teams. Double A is wide open this year, as expected. With the Grizzlies at 4-0, these early games are important. No one wants to fall back too far in the standings before the season even gets going.
Patton is starting today, with our full staff backing him up. Kenny and I are managing while Tom is at work.
Pittsburgh NABA legend, Dough Ryba, pictured above, was a member of the original Piranhas in 2003. Sponsored By Amica
South Oakland (1-0) defeated the expansion Piranhas (0-1) by a score of 15-0 in 3 innings last night in Spring Hill.
Ducks pitcher Brandon Blackstone (W, 1-0) pitched a complete game no-hitter. Two Piranhas reached via an error and a walk respectively.
The Ducks sent twelve batters to the plate in the first inning and scored six runs. They added five runs in the second, and four in the third, capped by TJ Morgan’s walk off, two-run single to right.
The commissioner stopped by, and gave us baseballs.
The win marks the ducks first shutout win since 2019, and the fourth no-hitter (Dickman (2), Tessier) in team history, be it abbreviated.
East Pittsburgh could have used Ryba’s bat in this one. Sounds like they were missing some guys, and should improve as the season goes on.
After blowing a seven run, third inning lead in Cranberry last opener, this was a much improved start.
We hit really well, and did a good job of staying patient at the plate. I don’t have the book in front of me, but if I recall correctly, Pulice, Rayl, and Morgan all had multi hit games. Pulice, Rayl, and Gwin hit doubles. Eleven different Ducks reached base at least once. I’ll link the box score when it’s updated, and make any corrections.
South Oakland will face the revamped South Side Eagles at Herschel Park, Sunday at 12 pm
The Ducks enter their nineteenth season with title aspirations, again. At the very least, South Oakland figures to be in contention down the stretch. There are a lot of variables during the regular season that can prevent a team from getting a bye, or force a team into a bad draw. Over the last few years, we’ve had terrible post season luck. We’ve also run into some buzzsaw pitchers. We’ve lost to better teams, worse teams and teams that were just as good as us after having several relatively successful regular seasons since we moved down from what is now AAA in 2014. Hopefully things fall our way this year.
It’s already been a wild start to the 2021 season with Herschel Park serving as the venue for a near brawl and a suspended game due to the lights shutting off during the Devils/Grizzlies and Cranberry/D2 games respectively. Incidents like this were much more common in the league’s early days.
In 2003, The Ducks won the inaugural championship vs. the Pittsburgh Piranhas (later the Warriors). Their logo looked like the one below. South Oakland’s team was me and my college friends from Pitt. We played high school and legion ball, along with a few guys who probably never played above JV or rec leagues. On that night, Piranhas manager Craig Boley must have been short on guys so he brought in a bunch of ringers. We faced a team of college players that night, including their starting pitcher who played at Waynesburg.
Boley was commissioner at the time, and umped most of the regular season games, so we didn’t really have anyone to whom we could report roster violations. Adding to the mystique, the championship game was supposed to happen a week earlier, and was “rained out” on a night where John Herb Field was immaculate, and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. We took infield and then I got a call that the game was rescheduled. We came back the next Monday, under the lights for the first time in years, and we won. We rolled on a team full of college players hand picked by the commissioner. We won 9-6. Then we were kicked out of Hemingways.
There are probably players on this Piranhas team that weren’t born when our team was founded. It’s a fitting opener. The oldest team against the newest team that bares the name of another original 6 squad. Hopefully the weather cooperates. Our veteran roster and young pitching staff had a season to gel, and we’re ready to go.
The schedule is up on the league site. The Ducks open with East Pittsburgh at home on Wednesday night, and travel to Herschel Park to play the Eagles on Sunday.
Grizzlies, Eagles, Devils, Bandidos Complete Cold Weather Games in Week 1
After one week of AA action, Bauerstown has jumped out to a 3-0 start and a solid +18 run differential. Grizzlies pitchers threw a combined no-hitter against the Bandidos to open the season.
The Devils sit at 1-2 and have allowed a bunch of runs. They look to reverse that trend against the Grizzlies tonight at Herschel Park.
The Bandidos (0-2) are off to their usual slow start, dropping two games to the Grizzlies, while the Eagles sit at 1-1 after splitting their opening series with South Hills.
I don’t know what conclusions can be drawn from such a small sample, this early in the year, but AA figures to be competitive from top to bottom.
Realignment Watch 2021
This year we will keep track of how the Senators and BIG OIL fare after moving up a division. Neither team has played a game yet.
The Hebrew Oilers have drafted a Division I pitcher with the first pick of the supplemental draft, and may already have a burgeoning rivalry with West End Elliot.
The Senators have a solid Twitter presence. There may be some lingering bad blood between our teams due to a misunderstanding last fall ball season.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 