South Oakland scored 7 runs in the 4th inning, overcoming a 3-0 deficit en-route to a 8-5 victory in game 1 of the semifinals at Springview Field Monday night.
Jason Fetter threw five innings, allowing 4 earned runs, and recorded his first playoff win as a Duck. Ben Sorosky pitched a scoreless sixth inning, and Anthony Ciccone recorded the save, striking out the West View cleanup hitter with the bases loaded in the seventh.
Matt Limbach went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs, Rob Galvanek went 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBI, Brandon Culp and DJ Dover each had multi-hit games.
Ducks catcher, Rob Galvanek threw out 2 runners out at second.
Short stop Tony Casale made a diving stop behind second base and threw out a runner from his knees to save a run. It was one of the best plays by an infielder I’ve seen in person.
Game 2 is Wednsday night, 8:30PM at John Herb Field.
I got the tie breaker scenarios wrong in figuring out where we would have to finish record wise to get the 2nd seed.
The first tie breaker is head to head record. Then it’s runs allowed head to head. I thought it was overall runs allowed.
We’ve outscored the WOLFPACK 19-16 in head to head play, but have a 1-2 record against them. However, our rain delayed game has essentially been ruled a forfeit in our favor since there is no time to make it up. Therefore, we have avoided the 3/6 matchup against the Monsters, and will play the winner of Sunday’s Monsters/WOLFPACK game on Monday night. Time and place TBD.
The South Oakland Ducks of the North Side lost 11-10 to the Monongahela Monsters Wednesday Night. The Monsters really hit well, and we didn’t make enough plays in the field to help out our depleted pitching staff. On the bright side, Brandon Culp looked really good in a relief appearance, and no one got hurt who wasn’t already injured. We had our four hitter at the plate in the seventh with two outs and the tying run on second, and we couldn’t get a run across.
The Ducks fell behind 6-0 early, and came back to tie the game at 6, scoring six runs with two out in the fourth, but after a season full of come from behind wins, we couldn’t pull out another one on the last day of the season. The Monsters took an 11-7 lead into the seventh, and we couldn’t complete the comeback. We paid for digging such a big hole for ourselves. Hats off the Monsters, who we will likely play Sunday night at 6pm in a terrifying first round matchup. The Monsters beat us twice this season, and played us close in a 11-10 Ducks victory in Brentwood a few weeks ago.
This loss hurt, given that the Warriors upset the WOLFPACK!!! on Wednesday night, and if we’d won, we likely would have secured a bye. Whatever.
It’s still possible we will have a first round bye, but we should plan on being ready to play Sunday at 6 pm vs. either the Monsters or Senators.
(Ben Sorosky, Anthony Ciccone Esq., Ben Gwin, Matt “The RBI Collector” Swetz, Jason Fetter, Brandon Culp, Matt Limbach, Tony Casale, Donnie “The Windmill” Petril, Bob Faust, Iceberg Galvanek, Mike Brandt, Garrett Moore, Brian Storm, Alex Riley. Not pictured: Ben Hartranft, Larry Zalewski, TC Jones, “Hatless” Shawn Dorsek, Mike Playmaker, DJ Dover.)
Game 2:
Another pitcher’s duel. This game featured a fly ball that bounced off our backup right fielder’s chest and into the murky area between second, center and right before it was thrown aimlessly back towards the pitchers mound by our backup center fielder, allowing a run to score. That play summed up the double header pretty well.
Brandon Culp hit a home run to right center for the Ducks. That third baseman for the Bombers hit one out to left center. Jason Fetter had two hits for the Ducks, including one on the last play of the game–a shot to right field before the lights went out with the ball still in the air.
South Oakland’s Donnie Petril had the game winning RBI in the top of the fifth.
Barring a highly unlikely scenario, which I will discuss in a subsequent blog post, South Oakland will start the playoffs on Sunday, July 20th, 6pm at Moore Park.
We’re getting down to it. This is the first double header at Spring Hill in Ducks history. Of course we are the away team in game 2.
Here are the Standings:
If North America beats the Warriors at 6:15 in Etna, they clinch the top spot, and it will come down to us and the WOLFPACK!!! for the other first-round bye. I don’t know how West View is going to get five games played in three days. We are probably going to play them on the 19th.
Today we have two games against teams that have played us tough, but are below us in the standings. We need two wins to get a bye. I don’t know who is going to be available to pitch, or who can still walk at this point in the season. We are really banged up right now. We’re going with throwback unis in game 2 vs the Bombers.
Tomorrow might be the first time the Ducks play a game at Spring Hill that’s not under the lights. We have the Monsters at 6pm and then a throwback night against the Bombers. To celebrate the history of the Pittsburgh NABA and it’s oldest team (both in terms of average age of players, and years with same team nickname) players are asked to wear their oldest NABA uniform they still have in their closet. We expect to have players in uniform representing Ducks from almost all eleven seasons and potentially: Pythons, Graybats, Oilers, Militia, Orioles, Phantoms, Rakers, Knights.
Bombers players are welcome to join. Though I assume this would mean Joe Graff in a Bulldogs/Pythons Jersey and everyone else in last years Bombers unis.
In other news it looks like the Lions have about clinched the division. North America has won something like 15 straight games. Their magic number is 1.
Since we technically started the WOLFPACK!!! game, it is considered a suspended game and will only be made up if it affects the standings. West View has four other games to get in before the regular season ends on the 19th.
We might have to play them on the 19th with a first round bye at stake. They’ve also not entered any stats or a roster or anything on the league site. I hope we don’t have another Hurricanes situation on our hands.
The Bombers have clinched at least the six seed, holding the tiebreaker over the Monsters and Senators. The Titans can’t finish any lower than fifth. The Monsters hold a half game lead over the Senators for the six-seed. The Warriors need to win out and get lots of help to make the playoffs.
First round games start on Sunday the 20th. The best-of-three semifinal series start the following week.
So far the game is still on tonight. Since it’s the Ducks’ umpire money, and it’s West View’s call as to whether or not the field is playable, I don’t expect to hear anything.
We need to win tonight if we want a shot at a first round bye, and to stay in the hunt for the one seed.
I found this awesome Rambo/Captain America picture in my files, and I think it’s time to re-tread this one. Whoever photoshopped this is my hero.
I’ve always wondered why someone would coach an adult league team and not play. It doesn’t make a great deal of sense to me.
It takes a lot of stress out of things when Limbach or Sorosky’s dad just keeps score for us. Having someone take care of coaching a base effectively or, better yet, doing all the bullshit admin stuff would make things so easy. Too easy! I might not have to get to games 2 hours early, and then worry Fetter will tell our 3-hitter to bunt in the first inning, or Shawn will send someone home when the ball is in the infield, or have to think about what to do with the bullpen while I’m trying to also play a game, position the outfield and look for the opposing pitchers tendencies. Be ready for some delegating in the playoffs.
Since the 2014 Ducks two biggest rivals have non-player coaches, I thought I’d take a look back at others who have bravely blazed the non-player coaching trail.
One common thread to teams that employ non-player coaches, is that they are typically good. Except for Cranberry. The worst of these types are found in the 28+ league.
Ok. Here is a list of coach onlys. It’s possible I’m leaving out someone. Feel free to mention omissions in the comments.
1. Randy. Black Sox third base coach (2004-2009)
1A. That other random Black Sox base coach. (2005-10)
The first non-player coach to leave a mark on Pittsburgh’s semi-semi-professional baseball league. He is a legend.
While the Black Sox have been run since there Stampeder days by owner operator, Kenny Powers, they have at times employed both Randy, and some weird guy who had either rad, white-guy dreads or a sick mullet and coached first. I think there were sunglasses worn at all times by the second guy. I don’t think he ever took the field for an official plate appearance.
The Black Sox were the Ducks oldest, fiercest rivals until this season when we dropped down, and gave the Sox the rights to half our players. Randy added to this rivalry by occasionally pulling signature moves such as, yelling “I got it” when our third basement would attempt to catch pop-ups, and umpiring terribly when the regular umps wouldn’t show up. To his credit, he never tried to pretend he was unbiased in the umpiring situations. I don’t think the Sox ever had signs, but Randy gave them. Perhaps decoys to throw off the opposition.
Randy was initially an irritant, but he’s mellowed in his old age. He’s grown on me. Especially since he stopped coaching third for them a while ago.
The other guy, with dreads/mullet I think is mentally ill and/or homeless, and Kenny gave him a jersey just to be nice. Or, perhaps, the anonymous occasional first base coach was the Sox dealer for a while in the mid 2000s when things were a little crazy for all of us.
2. Cranberry Coach 2009-2014
Cranberry is always pretty mediocre. I’m never sure if I’m talking to this guy, or his son on the phone or via text or whatever. They are both at the team meetings. Morgan is not a fan of the Cranberry coach. Coach has his team bunt a lot. I think that’s what coaches do, they feel compelled to put on plays, so they have their team bunt. Bunt bunt bunt. Keep giving up outs, and finishing in seventh place. Really this guy isn’t too bad, though. He seems like a decent human being.
3. Elliot Coach. 2011
He was pretty nice to me. I have nothing bad to say about this guy. Some teams really hated him. (Seriously, Trojan, update your blog.)
4. The Day Toyota/Jefferson Hills Coach. 2013-present
No idea what this guy’s name is, but he basically forces everyone in 18-AA to make a couple trips a year to West Virginia to play 6pm games in those sweat box, metal-roofed dugouts, and get dominated by a team of Ju-Co guys and high school all stars. The field is well maintained, to his credit.
J-Hills coach’s credentials include getting kicked out of the Daily News League after going 8-13 and not being allowed in the Fed League, and not bothering to pay his dues on time in two seasons in the Pittsburgh NABA. His team is also 18-2, and are the defending champs so good job there. Seriously, that field is fucking two hours from anything, i feel like I’m one wrong turn from Deliverance.
4. North American Lions, 2014
I’d put money on this team trying to weasel out of making up the West View game, and trying to avoid having to play all 24 games this season. This is the weirdest one because dude is like in his mid-20s and can’t play or won’t or whatever. I don’t get it. Get number #22 under control. There’s a few shit talking assholes on this team, and it’s the lack of leadership that lets that happen, in part, anyway. At least pretend to give a shit how your players conduct themselves.
Which brings us to…
WOLFPACK!!! (dates unknown)
Both of them. Unreal.
Third base coach has been around a while. He was not involved in the bribery thing a while back. Some of the WOLFPACK!!! 3B coach’s signature moves include:
Telling our attorney and third baseman to go fuck himself, and spewing profanities at him throughout last game. And he didn’t even know Ciccone was a lawyer.
The best was when the kids in the stands were in ear-shot of this tirade. Where are the umps on this? How is the third base coach allowed to say anything to the third baseman aside from “nice play?”
There was the berating and brow beating of the umpires by both coaches during our last game, the repeated illegal runner substitutions which I won’t overlook in the playoffs, and the general dick-headedness that characterizes many of the players on his team.
In summation, I still don’t understand the appeal of coaching adult league baseball not playing, and it seems the biggest assholes never have to step in the box.
In other news, I passed Mike Brandt for the team lead in hit-by-pitch last game.
Our fearless leader, aka Papa Duck, has been at the pond being fed popcorn by infants and the elderly so another fearless Duck was required to take the initiative of informing the fan base of recent transgressions between the South Oakland Ducks and their opponents. As Papa Duck gorges on popcorn and bits of bread, fan favorite ILikeKevinYoung/ILikeKevinYoungEsq will update you on the 7/2 game vs. the Senators and the 7/6 game vs. the Titans.
Benny Photography…
The 7/2 game vs. the Senators presented a shorthanded, 8-man Senators squad versus a veteran-laden, hungry Ducks team. The Senators, however, filibustered the Ducks effort of rolling them over, bringing their bats to the duck pond, a.k.a. the capital of NABA baseball, and thoroughly brow-beating anything the Ducks’ pitchers threw. The game was a back in forth affair between two worthy adversaries. The game ended up going to extra innings, where, Ben Sorosky, aka The Big Sorosky, aka the Dude walked it off with a shot to right-center. In a rage of anger, Bob the Duck bashed ILikeKevinYoungEsq. in the head with his helmet while ILikeKevinYoungEsq. was attemping to revel in the glory of The Big Sorosky’s walk off shot. I don’t remember the score, but there were a lot of runs and the Ducks won by 1 in 8 or 9 innings.
The 7/6 matchup vs. the Titans was another nail-biter between these two teams. On a side note, I generally have a lot of respect for the Titans. They play good ball in spite of being perpetually short handed and don’t engage in any nonsense. The Ducks, however, were pulling all kinds of shenanigans with a QUACK cheer before the game reminiscent of the great Quack Attack of 2008, a fine year for this South Oakland team. Versus the Titans, Gator Fetter, aka Cheddar aka Cheese aka Cheeseball aka Swiss Cheese aka the Big Cheese aka Jason showed the same grit he has all season, starting the game off with some fastballs that caught too much of the zone but preceding to shut the Titans down when it mattered. A timely hit from Brian Strom-Arm Strom broke the game open for the Ducks and broke the Titans’ spirit.
The next South Oakland game is versus The Soviet Union. Or is it the West View Wolfpack? Its on Sunday at 830 PM at John Herb Field. To keep with the consistency of the blog, here is a recent photo of the Wolfpack’s esteemed manager.
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