by Pete

The Beat Comes Back to Tie the Other Guys Beatniks dodge bullet as late surge ends in 7-7 draw

Over the past year, The Other Guys have become The Beat’s most perplexing opponent. In a span of 4 games since last summer, OG leads of more than 1 run have seemed like mountains to climb.

After the Other Guys went ahead 7-3 in the 5th inning on August 4, The Beat goose once again appeared cooked. Having stranded 9 runners and playing without the slugging Wilsons, Dave Maxion and Steve Hinkebein, the boys in gray were flailing in the clutch. As usual, crafty knuckleballer Ron Hamilton was confounding the Beat bats primarily by shutting down several Beatnik batters who had done well against Hamilton in the past. Indeed, Gunnar Rosenquist, Jim Colletto and Pete Wenner were tied in knots by the wily white-haired tosser. Big Daddy hit several moonshots that kissed the sky, but the OGs outfield, playing over in the East Bay, hauled them in. The Beat left 12 men on base, including a bases-loaded situation in the 2nd inning and runners at 1st and 3rd to end the 6th.

In the Spring this might have been an automatic loss given The Beat’s frustrating inability to come back in games. Despite the fact this dynamic had changed in previous weeks as The Beat turned around deficits in the tournament and summer opener, a 2-out bases clearing triple by Other Guy Wayne Tsujisaka in the 5^th felt like the death knell. Kevin Austin’s valiant effort on the mound, after being victimized early by a defensively challenged 4-run 1^st, appeared doomed by our dormant offense.

Blast from the past

But The Beat parlayed a surprise visit from old friend Anne Spoon into a late game charge. Anne arrived shortly before the game began to add a nostalgic touch to the first warm afternoon in San Francisco in weeks. It was like old times to hear Annie screech out the lineup before innings as if it were 1997 again. Some of the faces on the field had changed, but 7 Beat players remained from the bygone Spoon era.  

Finally in the Beat half of the 6^th, the bats responded and came alive thanks to the speedy lower half of the order. The Beatniks scored 3 runs on a single by Kevin, a double by Brian Arcuri, and RBI singles by Greg (Luki) Lukoski, BJ Bateman and Javier Urdiales.

Getting onto the field with 6 minutes left and retiring the Other Guys quickly got us to the decisive 7^th inning. With Pizza Man on 2^nd, Donnell (Big Daddy) Moody tomahawked a 2-out RBI single to score Michael Weiss with the tying run. Special K set down the OGs in order to end the game.

Brian (2 for 2, double, walk, run) and BJ (2 for 2, 3 RBIs) returned after a month-long summer absence to pace The Beat offense. Mark St. Georges went 3 for 4. Pizza Man handled 10 chances at shortstop flawlessly and Kevin, in the absence of the OB safety net, pitched masterfully (6 ER, no walks) to put his team in position to chip away after a shaky 1^st inning that saw the OG’s take a commanding 4-0 lead.

Though hardly optimal, a tie never felt so sweet especially in view of the aftermath of the HGA/Nicoya game.

Scrambling the division

The C-7 division standings took a surprising turn at Jackson #2 on August 4th. Following the Beat/Other Guys tie, The Beat took over sole possession of first place as HGA came back from a 9-1 deficit to stun pre-season favorite Nicoya 12-11. Nicoya fell to 0-2 in a division the Las Vegas oddsmakers expected them to take in a walk. This sets the stage for a critical 2-week stretch for Nicoya with successive matchups against the Other Guys and The Beat.

Following 5 Saturdays of scrimmage, tournament and season games, The Beat takes a well deserved bye next week. Catch all the action on August 18^th as the boys in gray visit Nicoya at 11.15am on Jackson #2.

Notables:

Jim Colletto ended a 2+ year hitting streak Saturday, setting a new team record with hits in 33 consecutive games. Congrats Jim! 

    - Ed

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