Mark Lombardi and DJ Dover hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning, and Ducks starter Ben Sorosky (W, 3-0) scattered seven hits over six innings to propel the South Oakland Ducks of the North Side to a come from behind, 10-9 win over the Bakery Square Bandidos (6-4) in Spring Hill last night.
With the victory, the Ducks (7-3) pulled within a half game of the Oilers (6-2) for second place.
The Bandidos took a 5-0 lead in the first, but the Ducks answered with four in the bottom of the second. Koshzow singled, John Zuzak doubled off the wall, then Gwin singled in two after the Bandidos right fielder fell down. With two out, Lombardi doubled and then Dover drove in two more with a line drive single to left.
Both teams scored a run in the third to make the score 6-5 ‘didos.
Koshzow singled in two in the fourth to give the Ducks a one-run lead. Then the Bandidos scored two in the fifth to go up 8-7, and Ducks outfielder Bryan Chvarak tore his quad.
In the bottom of the inning, Bryan Chvarek singled, hobbled to first, and was almost thrown out from center field. Two batters later, Lombardi hit a two-run home run to left, and Dover followed with a solo home run to give the Ducks a 10-8 lead.
Ducks reliever, Chris Heisler allowed one run in the seventh, but recorded the save after pulling his hamstring and striking out the last batter of the game.
South Oakland’s next game is Tuesday 6:45pm, at Mellon Park vs. Hebrew Oilers
Gutsy win. With a couple late no-shows, and a bunch of guys on vacation, we scored a lot of runs.
Great effort from Sorosky when he didn’t have his best stuff.
I think everyone in our lineup recorded a hit.
Not the best umpiring.
*The quote in the title was in reference to the Ducks, said by one of our players after one of the many errors we made last night. Both teams were 6-3 going into the game. The Bandidos are solid guys, and I don’t want them to think that was a disparaging remark directed at their franchise. Here’s hoping they can keep the same name, and group of core players for two consecutive seasons.
South Oakland looks to regain sole possession of third place with a win tonight vs Bakery Square. The Oilers (6-2) beat the Eagles (8-1) yesterday, setting up a potential log jam at the top of the division.
The Ducks are only two games out of first with two remaining against the Eagles, and two left against BIG OIL, but the rebooted Dirty Birds figure to be in the hunt down the stretch as well.
The Bandidos franchise won the A title in 2014 as the North AAmerican Lions. Then changed names, dropped some players, and won AA title two years ago as the Mon Valley Dirty Birds, then suffered through a dismal regular season in AAA that culminated in a playoff win over Ken Cool’s brother’s team in the playoffs. Then they split with half the team joining Clinton, and the other half starting the Bakery Square team. It would be funny if they won the title this year and had to keep repeating the process.
The Bandidos franchise arc is one that we may see play out again in the current league format that has the AA winners move up into AAA.
In 2014, the Ducks dropped from AA to A. That season the Rebels, Eagles and Devils moved up. They went a combined 19-52 that season, with the Rebels posting the best record at 9-15. South Oakland went 17-6, and that was the most fun I’ve had playing baseball.
The Devils allowed 196 runs that season. The Bulldogs, who finished first in the regular season, allowed 66.
in 2015, we went to three divisions, which allowed the WOLFPACK to skate by without having to play against the AAA teams after winning the A title over the North American Lions after the Beedle Park incident in Jefferson Hills allowed West View to reschedule the semi-final against the Ducks which lead to one of the most frustrating playoff losses in Ducks history. The following season most of AAA dropped down to AA, leaving 5 teams in the top division, and forcing inter-league play, which was pretty shitty.
In 2016 the Dirty Birds moved up and finished 6-18, which brings us back to this season, and the Rebels in AAA, who should stay there so we don’t have to play on that shit field at 6pm on a weekday.
So that’s some stuff that happened in our league over the last few years.
South Oakland looks to rebound after a tough loss to the Eagles when they take on Wexford today at noon.
Wexford hasn’t played a game yet, and they’re new to the league this year. Who knows what’s up with this team. I think they’re young. Their coach seems like a decent guy from the league meetings.
If you have the balls to name your team the Sorcerers, you’re either going to go undefeated, or be absolutely terrible. I don’t think there’s much of a middle ground in this regard.
Lots of disney hats and a few girls softball teams. Also a picture of this game:
Who’s still got a Dreamcast? I remember this game for Sega Genesis. Solid non-EA Sports baseball action. So thank you, Wexford, for allowing me to find this image. Sweet green helmet and batting gloves on that guy, love the two-stripe cleats that don’t violate the Adidas trademark.
Here’s a thirty minute video of this game on youtube:
South Oakland (4-2) dropped a nail biter to the South Side Eagles, 5-4 in Spring Hill Wednesday night. With the win, the Eagles (4-0) retain sole possession of first place.
South Side scored a run in the first off a couple walks, and a single.
The Ducks took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth but the Eagles tied the game in the top of the fifth, and added runs in the sixth and seventh.
Sorosky struck out seven batters and was cruising until he ran out of gas and walked some guys. Nichols gave us three solid innings in relief. He escaped a bases loaded one out jam in the fifth, and kept the game close. There was a suspect balk call that I didn’t really see which moved a guy to second, and he scored on a single.
Trailing 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh, the Ducks had runners on second and third with no outs, but could only plate one run. The Eagles relief pitcher worked out of trouble, and they threw out two guys at home.
It was a well played game by two evenly matched teams.
We ran ourselves out of a couple innings, but I’d rather we make aggressive mistakes than passive ones. Still, we need to pick our spots a little better.
Our pitching was good enough to win, and we had a shot at it in the seventh. Frustrating way to lose.
I like how we’ve battled in the first six games. 4-2 at the quarter mark is pretty good.
South Oakland’s next game is Saturday at 12pm. vs. the mysterious Wexford Sorcerers at North Allegheny Intermediate School.
South Oakland of the North Side (4-1) ,came from behind to beat South Hills 5-4 on a walk-off RBI single by Tom Pulice Monday night in Spring Hill.
Ducks super utility player, Joe Graff started the game when South Oakland’s scheduled starter arrived late due to work commitments. Graff allowed 0 earned runs over two innings, but the Devils scored 3 runs on a single, a walk and like seven errors. But Graff battled, and kept us in it until Patton entered the game and went the last five innings, also allowing 0 earned runs, and working out of a few jams created by bad hops on the pristine Spring View infield, and more Ducks errors.
I think the Devils had 3 hard hit balls all night. We need to make fewer errors going forward.
South Oakland trailed 4 -1 going into the bottom of the sixth, as the Devils pitcher was throwing pretty well and we hit a few balls right at their guys.
Bryan Chvarek (sic.) drove in two runs with a long single to right center. His first hit as a Duck, cutting the lead to 4-3.
Pulice threw out some guy at second in the top of the seventh after he bunted for a base hit.
In the bottom of the seventh, all with 2 outs, Casale singled in Gwin from second to tie the game at 4, J. Zuzak worked a walk, and Pulice singled in Casale.
Ducks win.
Last year, what fucked us out of a bye was losing games to teams that finished in the bottom half of the standings. Big time efforts by a bunch of guys who don’t normally start to keep that from happening last night.
The Ducks have won four straight, setting up a big early season match-up with the undefeated Eagles tomorrow at Springview Field.
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.
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.
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 Eagles lost to Shaler Tuesday night. The South Oakland Ducks will play the South Side Eagles on Saturday. Time and place TBD.
Oilers vs. WOLFPACK was rained out and rescheduled for Wednesday night. The winner will play Shaler in the winner’s bracket final on Saturday.
As noted previously:
Cranberry beat the Express in the other play-in game and then lost to Shaler.
Cranberry will play the loser of Wednesday night’s game between West View and the Oilers, next weekend.
Here’s an updated bracket for reference.
Round 1 Recap:
The Hebrew Oilers defeated the South Oakland Ducks 5-3 at Springview Field yesterday. Despite solo home runs from Koshzow and Chartier, South Oakland fell short in their opening round playoff game, leaving eight men on base.
Strom made a great diving catch in right field.
The Ducks led 2-1 going into the third, but the Oilers scored three runs and added one in the sixth. Trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the seventh, South Oakland scored a run to bring the game to 5-3, and had the winning run at the plate before a game-ending fly out.
We had a lot of hard hit outs, and wasted some opportunities. This was a tough one to lose, but the Oilers deserve credit for making the plays and not allowing us to extend innings. We had good enough pitching to win this game. Nothing would fall for us, and they hit it in the gaps. They made a couple errors but we didn’t capitalize.
South Oakland Ducks Baseball 