Gold Country Buzzards

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #19

Game: August 26, 2012

Buzzards fall to Valley Cats in see-saw game, 13-12

     Fun season ends with tough loss

The morning was cool, bright and breezy as the Gold Country Buzzards gathered for a playoff game in far-away Elk Grove to take on the Valley Cats for the right to advance to the division championship series. The game was played on the home field of the second place Cats (13-5-2), at the Hal Bartholomew Sports Park.

The third place Buzzards (13-6-1) were 1-2 this season against the feral Cats, last year's champs. This single-elimination game was played on the newest baseball field in the area with nicely shaded stands and nearby facilities.

The starting pitchers for this critical battle were a couple of mound veterans known for being tough to hit. The visiting Buzzards sent big lefty, Jim 'Moxey' Steiger #13, to the mound. Moxey's surgically repaired left elbow was feeling good and ready for the contest.  The Valley Cats countered with their crazed right-hander, Dave 'Nut Job' Nutter #12.  The breeze became a cool wind to left field as the game began.

For the umpteenth time, Dave 'Evy' Everingham opened a game with a base hit. Batting next, Taylor 'Welzy' Welz hit into a fielder's choice with Evy forced out at second base. Troy 'Action Figure' Nogosek up next, singled to left putting runners at second and first. Batting clean-up in the line-up, Bob 'Woody' Wooden was hit by the second pitch to load the bases for Mike 'Bake' Baker. Bake lifted the 0-1 pitch to center field for a sacrifice-fly scoring Welzy to end the first frame's scoring.

The Valley Cats can score at any time with this high caliber offense including several especially charged bats in the line-up. The Valley Cats responded with a run in the bottom half of the opening inning. A two-out double, followed by an infield error and a single tied the game at 1-1.

The Buzzards threatened in the top of the second with two hits and a hit batter, but did not score. The Cats, however, did score and didn't stop until they had four more to take the lead 5-1. The damage was done by a walk, three singles and a double.

The Buzzards battled back in the third with four runs of their own. With one out, Action Figure got an infield hit to start-off the rally. One out later, Bake singled up the middle. Woody ran for Bake at first. Tony 'Honey Badger' Brashear then hit an 0-2 pitch on a line into right-center field driving in Nogy with the single. Now with two outs and runners at the corners, Dave 'Keppie' Kephart hit a slow bouncer up the first base line for an infield hit that scored muscle-bound Bob, make that Bobio for the way his pony-tail bounced and glistened (like Fabio) as he scored at the plate and with his fan club later.

Now, down by two with two runs scored, two runners in scoring position and two outs, Jim 'Milli' Milligan stepped to the plate. On a 2-2 count, Milli launched the fastball way over the head of the left fielder. The rocket shot then bounced once before going over the fence for a ground-rule double and scoring two key runs to tie the game at 5-5. Mega clutch.

The frisky Cats fought back with another run in the bottom of the third inning on a single, walk, stolen base and fielder's choice to make the score 6-5 after three innings. The expected pitcher's duel was turning into a hit fest. Through the first three innings, the whinny Cats had eight hits and the Ol' Buzzards had nine.

Both teams were scoreless in the fourth and fifth digs. Both pitchers found their groove by the fourth inning and began to mow down batters. Moxey held the Cats to one hit in the next three innings, while Nut Job, after hitting Action Figure with a pitch on the left wrist, held the Buzzards hitless for the next two innings.

The high inside fastball that hit Nogy's wrist bone was ordinarily not a good place to get hit hard by a pitch. However, in Action Figure's case he wears the trendy wristband sports ensemble and that came in handy. Amongst the prayer beads and other items on his left wrist, Troy wears a rubber sports bracelet that covered the wrist bone as the ball hit that spot. Nice work by the bracelet as it prevented a potentially serious injury. So, those bracelets may be worth the cost after-all.

The Buzzards took the lead in the sixth. After a walk to Milli and a fielder's choice by Donut, the Buzzards had a runner at first with one down. A fly-out then brought Evy to the plate and time for a two-out rally. Dave hit an 0-1 pitch sharply into left field for a single putting runners at the corners. Up next, Welzy crushed a 1-1 fastball into the right-center field gap for a double scoring Donut. The score after six innings was 6-5 Buzzards.

In the seventh frame and with two outs, the Buzzard bats got hot as the next six batters got base hits. 1) Honey Badger singled up the middle - Welzy runs, 2) Keppie hit a high chopper through the infield to right field to put runners at first and second, 3) Milli hit a bouncer through the middle to score Welz - Welzy then runs for Milli, 4) With runners at first and second, Donut hit a line drive single to right-center field scoring Kep. The throw to the plate was wide and bounced through the infield, as an alert Welzy scrambled home. An equally alert Donut advanced to the uncovered third base due to infield confusion on the play. Great hustle.

5) Next, Don 'Redondo' Colbert singled on an 0-1 pitch to left field - Wookie runs, 6) Evy blasted a 1-2 pitch deep to the left-center field gap for a double scoring Donut and a hustlin' Wook from first base. The six consecutive hits with two outs scored five runs, but the Buzzards were not done yet.

Batting next, Welzy hit a sky high pop-up to the second baseman. With Evy running on the play, the second baseman misjudged the ball with the high sky and wind and it dropped behind him to score Dave from second on the error. The big inning produced six runs for a 12-6 lead.

The fighting Cats scored one run in their half of the seventh on a lead-off single followed by a two-strike double to the fence by Mike 'third year in the league and now 45' Watari for a 12-7 game.

The Buzzard offense stopped scoring after the big seventh inning. The growing size of the strike-zone, especially the outside pitches called as strikes, was discouraging and one-sided by a seemingly hurried plate ump.

The Valley Cats took advantage and caught the Buzzards in the eighth inning with five awful runs. With two outs!, the feral Cats turned two walks (one intentional), two flare singles and an improbable bases loaded, two-out, two-strike, eyes-closed gaper into right-center field to clear the bases. Buzzard wildness then struck with a wild pitch followed by a wild pick-off throw to third from behind the plate and the Cats had tied the game, 12-12.

At the time, the cute blonde Buzzard scorekeeper had miscounted the runs scored (a real blonde) in the seventh inning and the team thought the score was 12-11, so the Buzzards batted in the ninth thinking they were down by one run. Cue the Twilight Zone music.

With only an Evy single before the third out in the inning, the Buzzards were thinking the game was now over and not really ready for the bottom of the ninth. But the reprieve felt good and the Buzzards anxiously took the field. Moxey took the mound with 151 pitches already thrown.

After an extremely rare fielding error on a tough back-hand play by the best shortstop in the league, Evy, the next batter hit a high flare to short left field near the foul line. The ball landed just fair (wind aided) with hustlin' Buzzard fielders after the ball. Evy almost made an amazing acrobatic catch, but the hit put runners at first and second.

The next two batters struck-out on seven pitches. With a 2-1 count, the next batter hit a sharp line drive to left field. The charging left fielder, Kevin 'Flash' Krantz, was ready to glove the ball on one hop and make the strong throw home for a play at the plate to nail the not-so-fast running Cat. Except the one hop took a very bad hop and made a sharp left turn away from the running Flash. The ball kept rolling in the outfield as the jumping Cats rushed home plate for their exciting and pretty unbelievable win.

The stunned Buzzards congratulated the smelly Cats and then each other for the enjoyable, but suddenly too short of a 2012 Buzzard baseball season. The game was exciting for the fans and players, but could have easily had a different ending. Damn those lucky, frickin' Cats.

The Buzzard offense was pretty awesome against the always tough Dave Nutter. The Buzzards out hit the Valley Cats 21 to 16. The hit club for the final game of the season included: Action Figure (2), Bake, Donut, Evy (4), Honey Badger (3), Keppie (4), Milli (2), Redondo (2), Welzy and Woody. The muscle-up extra base hits were key doubles by Evy, Milli, and Welzy. The runs-batted-in were courtesy of clutch hitters: Bake, Donut, Evy, Keppie, Honey Badger, Milli (3), and Welzy (2). The only Buzzard walked by Nut Job was eagle-eye Milli, one of the few catchers to wear glasses.

Buzzard pitching was solid and good enough to win. Moxey faced an extremely talented offensive machine and pitched a hell of a game. The Buzzard defense was not solid like usual and counted up a season-high six errors. That was the game difference. Moxey faced 49 ugly Cats and threw 164 pitches (100 strikes & 64 balls). The tough Steigelpuss gave up 5 earned runs on 16 hits with four walks and nine strike-outs. Wearing masks, calling pitches and handling Moxey's repertoire of pitches were Donut for the first four frames and Milli the next five.

The NABA Gold Country Buzzards and the MSBL Auburn Braves have come to share a lot of players the last five years or so, and have been the key to the success of a very strong Ol' Buzzard baseball team. Starting with the new Buzzard team in 2006 with a 2-18 record and improving quickly with the addition of Mike Baker and his gang of Braves.

The Buzzards won the championship in 2008 and have been to the playoffs every year since. The Buzzies had played in five consecutive Sacramento NABA championship series'.

The Buzzards are more use to a longer season and playing ball into mid-September.   Ol' Buzzards may have to revert to playing with their wives or girl friends now on Sundays.

It was a fabulous season with lots of good fundamental baseball followed by good fundamental beer. The Buzzards are really just a bunch of great guys that happen to play excellent baseball and they get together on Sundays to enjoy each other's company, have some laughs and drink beer. But before the beer, we kick some butt on the baseball field.

It's good to be a Buzzard.