Ducks pitcher, Chuck Zuzak (W, 1-0) allowed 3 runs, (1 earned) over six innings, striking out 7 and hitting four batters, to lead South Oakland (1-1) to its first win of the season.
Not to be outdone, Cranberry pitchers combined to hit four Ducks. They unfortunately also threw a bunch of wild pitches/past balls, which allowed many Ducks runners to advance and runs to score. The loss drops the newly minted Crusaders to 0-1.
South Oakland scored 4 in the second, 3 in the fifth, and 2 in both the sixth and seventh innings. The Ducks never trailed.
South Oakland of the North Side lost to rival BIG OIL 7-1 in a rain-shortened, 5 inning game in Spring Hill last night. The loss drops the team to 0-1.
Throwback night, 2014
The Oilers scored four in the first with two walks, two doubles, a single and a run-scoring, two out error. They added two in the second and one in the fifth.
After a rough first inning, Ducks starter Randy Patton (L, 0-1) settled down and kept his team in it through four, striking out 2 and scattering 7 hits.
The Oilers starter threw well, striking out 9 and working out of bases loaded jams in the second and third innings when it looked like South Oakland might crawl back into the game. The Ducks couldn’t get a big hit with runners in scoring position.
Ben Sorosky had the lone Ducks RBI on a bases loaded walk in the second following infield singles by Pulice and Morgan and a Joe Graff walk.
South Oakland’s best chance came in the third when TJ Morgan drew a one out, bases loaded walk, but the umpire forgot the count. Morgan was not awarded first, and we had a runner picked off first base, attempting to advance as one normally does on a bases loaded walk. Morgan then lined out to left to end the inning.
South Oakland’s next game is 2pm Sunday vs. Cranberry at Veteran’s Park of Cranberry (Not the one in Etna).
No ringers on the Oilers, but something tells me the player eligibility discussion is not over yet.
The Oilers have a few new guys who are solid. They hit well as a team, and if they get pitching, they will be tough to beat. This is true for almost every team in our division.
The Scooter will be in the building on Tuesday at Mellon. Big early season matchup
We need to hit a better, but as a team our approach at the plate was pretty good. Facing a tough lefty for the first real at bats of the year was a good test, and I think we will improve in this area.
There were multiple requests for Garrett Moore to return to his role as bench coach/bullpen catcher
Great to be back at it for a fourteenth NABA season, and a run at a third title.
It only took a week for the first player scandal of the season.
Apparently the Oilers brought in a former minor league player to pitch for them this summer. Seems surprising given their managers concern for the competitive balance of the league as expressed in the winter meetings when he complained about the prospect of the WOLFPACK! and the 2 Dirty 2 Birds: Return of the Bandidos rostering Division III college players.
Save the fucking sanctimony about how West View hurt your team’s feelings if you’re gonna bring in some dude who is obviously a ringer.
This is the most BIG OIL move I’ve ever seen. The fucking yuppie, white collar team brings in essentially a Dominican refugee, in an attempt to make up for the fact that their team is soft. Soft as cotton.
This explains why they wouldn’t play us on back to back nights. This dude can only pitch one of those days. I didn’t press the issue as the Pens were on last night.
The Oilers are scared.
Maybe three guys have any heart on that team, as much as I love them as human beings. Seriously though, just embrace being villains as far as the league is concerned because there’s no way around it. Get your fucking neoliberal councilman to throw out the first pitch across from Google in God awful Bakery Square and flout your Asian players and your nice unis, then he can go back to helping our mayor force Pittsburgh’s working poor into Penn Hills so ya’ll can bike to work without having to look at them.
So, where does that leave us?
I am excited for the opportunity. If you’re not pumped about the prospect of playing against a pitcher this good, you should go join PSL, or see if the Oilers will take you.
We have the opportunity to beat a team that thinks it’s going to cruise tonight because they networked their way into a stud pitcher. We are throwing an ex-Black Sox, ex-Oiler, and one time Duck junk baller who is already telling me he doesn’t want to come out of the game.
We haven’t seen live pitching yet, so should be a good test off the bat to see where we are hitting wise.
Send in your league dues. Let your coach know if you need a new hat or jersey. Do this ASAP. We have nine awesome pairs of stirrups still unaccounted for, and guys who have paid their dues get first dibs.
Personnel Moves: 2017 PITTSBURGH NABA (AA) HOT STOVE ADDITION
The South Oakland Ducks welcome longtime reader, Larry Z’s favorite player and Gray Bats all time leader in slugging percentage, average, HRs, RBI and ground rule doubles, Mark Lombardi to the team. He joins former Gray Bats, Ben Sorosky and returning catcher Rob Galvanek on the 2017 Ducks. If Lombardi wants stirrups, he can have them as he has paid his dues for the season. This move will sure up the outfield and make up for the loss of Brendan Chartier in the lineup.
Related, the Spring Hill Scooter will be named the Brendan Chartier Memorial Spring Hill Scooter, as Brendan played for the Oilers and Ducks and has now retired. The one-game stint with the Oilers occurred this summer when a few of us joined BIG OIL for an exhibition against Kenyon College in Ohio. That was a fun time. Thanks to Zach Ciccone for the invite and the Oiler’s organization for putting it together. Chartier retires tied for second all time in Ducks post-season home runs (1). (Gwin, 2, McCray, Ken Cool, Scioscia, Koshzow, 1).
A nod to Pat DiPaola who retired after two solid seasons. We always had a chance to win when he pitched. Doc leaves tied for the all time lead in post-season ejections (1).
Pitcher, Randy Patten has given the Ducks a verbal commitment to return to South Oakland after a few seasons with the Black Sox and Oilers.
Ken Cool’s brother is trying to release him so he can come play for us.
DJ Dover looks to return full time after becoming an air traffic controller and missing the last 3/4 of 2016 with work commitments.
Number 55 is in the best shape of his life.
Still no word on our field permit situation.
That’s about it. Not much turn over from last year’s third place team.
So far we’ve won a title every seven years. Unbelievably this is our fifteenth season coming up, so we are due to win it all again.
South Oakland (2-1) upset the top two seeds to advance to the loser’s bracket final in a wild Sunday double header at John Herb Field yesterday. The South Oakland Ducks beat the second-seed Eagles 9-8, and the one-seed WOLFPACK!!! 12-8.
South Oakland plays tonight 8:30 vs. BIG OIL for a spot in the finals.
Game 1 Recap:
Ben Sorosky drove in five runs and the Ducks infield made several high-level plays on defense to lead the Ducks past the South Side Eagles (0-2).
South Oakland scored a run in the first on TJ Morgan’s RBI groundout, the Eagles answered with 2 in the bottom of the inning, but had a guy thrown out at home and another picked off second.
The Ducks scored two in the second on Sorosky’s single and three more in the third behind an RBI single by Koshzow and sacrifice flies by Graff and Moore.
6-2 Ducks after 3.
The Eagles worked out of a jam in the fourth, and scored a run in the bottom of the inning to bring the score to 6-3 after 4.
In the fifth, Sorosky drove in two more runs on a fielder’s choice, with Graff hustling all the way from second to score.
8-3 Ducks going into the bottom of the fifth.
The Eagles were doubled off on a fly-out to right when the runner didn’t re-tag second. He was not happy. The Eagles added one run in the inning.
8-4 Ducks going into the bottom of the sixth.
The Eagles rallied. they scored four in the inning and had the bases loaded with one out when Dipaola got their two hitter to ground into a bases loaded, 5-3 double play.
The game was tied 8-8 going into the seventh.
Koshzow leadoff for the Ducks with a HBP and went to third on Moore’s single to right. More stole second. Then with one out, Ben Sorosky drove in the winning run with an RBI groundout to the shortstop.
In the bottom of the seventh, after a lead-off single, South Oakland turned a 4-6-3 double play, and then the game ended on a legit Jeter play on a ground ball in the hole to Ducks, shortstop Tony Casale. Casale had maybe the best defensive day I’ve seen by a shortstop in this league.
Final: 9-8 Ducks.
The Eagles made a few base running errors in the game. We ran the bases well. That was essentially the difference in this one. We had a chance to crumble in the 6th and 7th but held it together with a couple clutch plays by the defense.
Zuzak (ND) started for the Ducks, pitching five strong innings before giving way to the bullpen who held on for the win. Pat Dipaola pitched two innings in relief for the win (1-1).
Game 2 Recap:
Pat DiPaola won his second game of the day and Jon Moore pitched a scoreless one and two thirds innings for the save, as South Oakland out-hit West View to advance to the loser’s bracket final.
With two outs in the second, Moore walked and Nichols singled. Then Casale singled in a run, Gwin singled in a run, and Morgan doubled in two. 4-0 Ducks with two out and a man on second. Chartier singled in Morgan. 5-0 Ducks. Then Koshzow singled and Graff hit a two run double and was thrown out on a close play at third.
7-0 Ducks going into the bottom of the second.
We kicked it around a little, and West View took advantage. They scored three unearned, five total, on two errors and a couple clutch hits.
7-5 Ducks after two.
In the third, offensive force, Ben Sorosy scored on a past ball, and Gwin drove in two runs with a single to right. Our defense kept West View off the board in the bottom half of the inning. No one scored in the fourth. West View scored two in the fifth.
10-7 Ducks after five. After a single, a fielder’s choice, an error and a triple lead to a Westview run, Jon Moore took the mound for the Ducks.
One out, Ducks up 10-8 with runners on second and third. Moore struck out the first batter he faced, walked a guy, then struck out another batter with the bases loaded to end the threat.
10-8 Ducks after six.
Gwin singled in two runs in the seventh to give the Ducks some breathing room.
In the bottom of the seventh, Moore closed the coffin on West View’s season, retiring the side in order.
Ducks win. 12-8.
I’d like to thank all the Ducks fans who came out to support our team, and the West View fans who came out to yell stuff at our team. What a great atmosphere. It felt really good to eliminate that team.
In defeating the Eagles and WOLFPACK!!! yesterday, the Ducks beat the two teams who eliminated them in the previous two playoff campaigns. South Side eliminated South Oakland in the 2015 play-in game. West View defeated the Ducks in the 2014 semifinals.
The South Oakland Ducks of the North Side defeated BIG OIL 7-5 behind Brian Strom’s 3-for-3, 3 RBI night and another strong start from Zuzak (W, 4-1).
The Ducks jumped out to a 4-1 lead after three innings, the teams traded runs until the seventh, when the Oilers pulled to within 7-5 with two outs and a runner on second. Then Ducks relief pitcher Chris Heisler struck out their clean up hitter to end the game. Big time pitching.
Morgan drove in two runs for the Ducks and Sorosky laid down his team leading, second sac bunt of the season.
A. Ciccone went 3-for-4 with an RBI double, reached on an error and stole three bases in a losing effort.
South Oakland wins the season series against BIG OIL 2 to 1, and retains the Spring Hill Scooter, which was thrown at the home dugout during their loss to the Eagles a few weeks ago.
Chartier is holding the scooter. I’m holding Chartier’s arm in its socket.
The Ducks (10-7) have won four of their last five and are now in third place, 1.5 games behind West View (10-4) and half a game behind the Eagles (12-8).
The Duck’s next game is Wednesday night, 9PM at Spring Hill vs. the South Hills Devils.
South Oakland of the North Side (5-2) won its third straight game, defeating the South Hills Devils (2-4) by a score of 15-5 Wednesday night in Spring Hill.
Doc Brown (2-0) relieved starter Brian Strom in the third and pitched two and a third scoreless innings for the victory. Strom (ND) allowed one earned run, struck out one and did not bean the Devils catcher.
Erik Tuomisto went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a single and 3RBI and made a spectacular diving catch with the bases loaded and two out with runners on in the fourth. Brian Strom, batting in the eleventh spot in the order, went 2-for-2 with 2RBI. Casale went 2-for-2 with a walk and 3 runs scored, and made the defensive play of the game. On what looked like a sure single up the middle, he made a diving stop and threw the runner out from his knees. Ducks outfielder TJ Morgan was hit by a pitch and threw out a guy at second.
South Oakland started slow, possibly still in shock that the field was in such good shape, and kicked the ball around in the first couple innings. The Devils jumped out to a 5-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third.
The Ducks scored two in the bottom of the third on an RBI ground out and a single. In the 4th inning, the Ducks scored three runs with two outs to take a 6-5 lead.
Then in the bottom of the fifth, South Oakland chased the South Hills starter, and scored 9 runs. The Ducks drew five straight walks off the Devils situational lefty, followed by a strikeout, a single, two more walks, another single and an almost grand slam by Tuomisto that lined into the ivy covering the centerfield wall for a double. The game ended on a bases loaded walk to Zuzak.
After playing seven games in 18 days, the Ducks are tied for first place with a record of 5-2. Aside from the yet-to-be-rescheduled Express rainout, the schedule thins out a little for the next month or so, and our pitching will be back from honey mooning/the disabled list. It’s early, but things are setting up well for us. I like our depth.
South Oakland’s next game is Sunday night, 8:30pm at John Herb Field vs. the WOLFPACK!!!
I trust everyone has been following the intense off-season training regimen put in place after last season, and that we will all be in mid-season form tonight.
South Oakland will start with four games in seven days. Of course, there’s a stretch from the end of May to mid-June where the Ducks play once a week. Fun scheduling quirk.
The Ducks added a few guys through the draft, and another pitcher off the street. Additionally, the team is in talks to bring back Ducks legend, infielder Andrew McCray, whose retired number 21 will still be worn by outfielder, TJ Morgan. The Commish might also make his long awaited debut in green and gold.
The Eagles upset the Ducks in the first round of the playoffs last year and then made a run to the semis, losing to the eventual champion Dirty Birds. South Oakland was without ace Doc Brown, who was busy saving the clock tower in Hill Valley.
We played the Eagles close in 3 regular season matches last year, but they beat us when it counted. Their manager is a solid guy. Really not much animosity here, considering they ended our season. Hopefully they’re coping with the tragic loss of Glenn Frey.
The start of every season brings optimism. The Ducks have added pitching depth, kept the core of last year’s team intact and look to make a run at the title again this year. Our lineup will produce runs and we will play solid defense. If our pitching holds, and our staff throws strikes, we can beat anyone. We still have some question marks, but we will figure something out. We really just need guys to throw strikes. Can’t stress that enough.
The best part of this season will be not driving five hours down route 51 to lose to Jefferson Hills by 13 runs and waste pitching in meaningless games.
So we will start this season on the night of a Pens playoff game, in cold weather at our field that will probably be in barely playable shape, with a few starters missing and one practice under our belt. Sounds like a recipe for domination.
South Oakland lost 12-5 to the Eagles today in Shaler. A couple key errors led to seven unearned runs.
This was a really frustrating game. We were missing our ace, and a couple starters, but we played poorly and the Eagles took advantage of our mistakes. They put the ball in play and we missed it and every error led to runs. Apparently the Eagles beat the Express today too.
This was a microcosm of the whole season for us. We got down after a few errors and we could not come back. Something was off this year and it’s hard to pinpoint. I think if we had some success early in a couple games we blew in the late innings, we could have had a better mentality throughout the season in tough spots. I don’t know. It was a rough year. Collectively, we underachieved right to the end.
But we will be back next year, and with little turnover and a season playing together we will be fine if we can add a couple arms to the top of the rotation. If the Black Sox disband, it might help up in this regard.
I take the blame as manager for not doing more to put guys in o to succeed this season.
My personal highlight of the season was the game at Pie Traynor when my daughter came to watch and I hit a ball about as far as I’ve hit one in ten years, for a triple to center. She was so fired up about it. Her dad hit a triple. That was worth all the hassle of running the team for me. That’s while I do it again next year, because my daughter likes watching her dad play baseball, and that won’t last for much longer.
One time she said to me, “Dad, remember when you lost ten to nothing? That wasn’t very good. But it’s OK. It doesn’t matter if you win or lose.”
So there’s some perspective, I guess, as I sulk in front of the TV, trying to muster the energy to shower.
Thank you, Ducks for giving me another year of baseball, and keeping the team going. Thanks, Joe Graff for doing the thankless job of running the league, again.
Thanks, Bob Faust and Garrett Moore for your years of service to the Ducks. Both Bob and Garrett retired folowing this season. Bob played for a total of five years in 2005-07 and 2014-15, while Garrett logged six seasons at various intervals between 2006 and 2015. Both guys showed up and helped out and played hard. You will be missed.
Thanks, to the fans who showed up every so often, sorry we couldn’t give you something better to watch this weekend.
Big thanks to the Limbachs who kept score and provided all kinds of support and positivity during a tough season.
I hope Jefferson Hills looses, whatever else happens in the playoffs.
Here are the team awards:
MVP:
Pat DiPaola
Defensive Player of the Year:
DJ Dover
Offensive Player of the Year:
Brandon Culp
(with a nod to great seasons at the plate by Morgan, Strom, Koshzow and Tuomisto)
South Oakland of the North Side has won three straight and four of their last five games to finish with a semi-respectable 10-11 record. The Ducks clinched the 5th seed with a 10-0 win over the Devils, last Sunday.
The Ducks have won their last two games by a combined score of 26-6.
Our game vs. the Bulldogs tonight was cancelled becuase the city gave our rain date to the youth league that plays at Spring Hill, didn’t tell anyone until this afternoon, and we couldn’t find an open field anywhere else tonight on such short notice.
I guess it’s fitting. The regular season was somewhat disappointing (as was the blog), but high points include beating the defending champion WOLFPACK 7-1, the wild, 13-12 walkoff win vs. Cranberry, and the walkoff come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Eagles last week.
We can make up for all that mediocrity with a couple wins this weekend.
Our lineup matches up well. We scored 121 runs in 21 games. If we keep playing sound defense, we can make a run at it, especially given the playoff format. We just have to get past the play-in game. The one and done round is intense.
Here is the bracket:
Here are the standings, pending the outcome of tonight’s Carrick / WOLFPACK! game
On Saturday morning we will play the Eagles, with whom we have split a pair of really close games this season.
If we lose to the Eagles our season is over.
If we win, we will play the winner of the Cranberry vs. Oilers Game immediately following the Eagles game.
I remember when the Eagles had a lefty shortstop for like 3 years and routinely beat us anyway. Bad times.
Hopefully we have 3 games next weekend for me to not recap.
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South Oakland Ducks Baseball 