Gold Country Buzzards

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #2

Game: April 14, 2013

Buzzards beat up Astros, 28 - 14

The second game of the season for the Gold Country Ol' Buzzards was a 10 am game in Citrus Heights against the Astros at C-Bar-C Park. It was a great day for baseball, sunny with temps in the low 70's and a mild breeze. Both teams were looking for their first win of the new season.

The starting pitcher for the Astros was righty Rankin 'Fire Plug' Lymon #01. On the mound for the Buzzards was right-hander Rick 'Salmo' Salmeri #7 making his Buzzard debut. Everyone was set at 10 o'clock except the umpires. They were lost and arrived a little late. The game started at 10:15, so the delay was not too bad.

Leading it off for the Buzzards in the top of the 1st inning was Tom 'TK' Keatley with a single through the hole on the left side. Next, Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir hit an 0-1 pitch hard down the first base line for a run-scoring triple. Ray 'Bull Dog' Henry followed with an RBI double to right-center field. Kelley 'KG' Garcia, batting next, hit a flare to left field putting runners at the corners. Up next, Norm 'Burning Man' Tucker singled to center field driving in Bull Dog. Salmo used the element of surprise in his first Buzzard at-bat and bunted nicely on the first pitch for a single that scored KG on the play.  Mike 'Big Mac' McCabe was hit by a pitch on the hip by a curve ball that didn't break to load the bases.

The Astros changed pitchers at this point and brought in another fire plug sized pitcher, Henry 'Bull' Torrez #26. This righty was a hard thrower, but the Buzzards hit him hard also.

After Dave 'DK' Kelley's fielder's choice scored a run, Steve 'Cookie' Cook walked to reload the bases. Keatley batting for the second time this inning, singled again, this time up the middle driving in two runs to end the scoring at nine in the first frame.

A big early lead is nice, but the Astros are a good hitting team and were not giving up. The Astros bounced-back with five runs in their half of the inning for a 9-5 game after one long first inning.

The Buzzards scored two in the second dig (Aussie for inning). Salmo walked on five pitches to open the inning. DK followed with a run-scoring lined double to right-center. A TK walk and a Wookie run-scoring looper to center field added the other run.

The Astros scored a run in the bottom half for an 11-6 score after two frames. The Buzzards continued their onslaught on Astro pitchers by scoring seven more runs in the third inning. After one out, Burning Man was hit by a pitch on his right elbow's funny bone. Not a good spot to get hit and certainly not funny on the throwing arm. The behind-the-back wild pitch found the inside part of the back elbow (nearly an impossible angle) to nail him good. Since there is no crying, just cussing, in baseball Tucker took first base.

Batting next Salmo walked, and was followed by a hit parade. Consecutive hits by Big Mac, DK, Cookie, a double by TK, a single by Bull Dog, a base on balls to KG and a single by Burning Man accounted for the scoring in the seven-run dig.

The Astros changed pitchers again during the inning and another veteran righty Ron 'Belly' Turner #13 was the next Buzzard victim. The Astros scored three runs in their half of the third inning on two doubles and three singles to make the score at the end of three inning, 18-9.

The Buzzards were not done and scored two runs in the fourth. Hits by David, then Steve, a walk to Dan, and more hits by Ray and Kelley scored the runs. The Astros did not score in the fourth, so the score was 20-9.

The Ol' Buzzards added three more in the fifth frame. Salmo started it by advancing to first base on a passed ball strike-out, Cookie and KG were hit by pitches and Wookie and the Bull Dog took a walk for RBI's.  The Astros scored two in the inning to make the score 23-11.

Showing no mercy, the Buzzard struck for five more in the sixth inning. Walks to Salmo and Big Mac started the inning. The latest hit parade followed with singles by Cookie, TK, Wookie, then a long double by Bull Dog, followed by a Garcia single ended the Buzzards' scoring at 28.

The Buzzards sent Ray 'Bull Dog' Henry #27 to the mound in the last inning to get some work. The Astros scored three runs in their last at-bats in the seventh inning to make the final score of the three-hour game 28-14.

The Buzzards were a little short-handed for the game with nine healthy players. Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny was on the field coaching but he was on the disabled list for the game with the hamstring injury. Rick Salmeri was called into the starting role when Big Mac's elbow said no.

With just nine Buzzard batters, the good news was everyone batted seven times, the bad news was everyone had a lot of running on the base paths to do. We heard lots of huffing and puffing crossing home plate. Need more tread mill...

Buzzard pitching displayed the patience of a saint. The umpire's changing strike zone and the spotty defense made for long innings and lots of pitches. The big lead did take the worry away, but the Astros showed they can hit, several over our outfielders' heads, and score runs.  The variety of Astros' pitching that was seen was no match for the Ol' Buzzards bats and that led to nice batting stats.

Salmeri pitched six strong innings giving up 14 runs (5 earned) on 17 hits with four walks and three strike-outs. Rick faced 40 batters and threw 131 pitches (81 strikes & 50 balls). A solid job, especially under the circumstances. Henry closed out the game by pitching the seventh inning. The Bull Dog got a good work out. Ray faced nine batters and threw 40 pitches (18 strikes & 22 balls). #27 gave up three runs (none earned) on two hits and three walks.

Buzzard batters feasted on Astros' pitching all game. The game's hit club included the entire line-up. Buzzards with multiple hits were: Bull Dog-4, Burning Man-2, Cookie-3, DK-3, KG-3, Salmo-2, TK-4, and Wookie-3. Ribbies were knocked in by every player (in batting order): TK-4, Wookie-4, Bull Dog-6, KG-3, Burning Man-2, Salmo-1, Big Mac-1, DK-3, and Cookie-1. The hitting was awesome and adjusted well to the variety of pitching types and styles during the game.

The sound of base hits was supplemented with four Buzzards hit-by-pitches plus the 10 walks for a strong offensive showing.

The game ended with a nasty collision between McCabe at first and the runner, Bull Torrez. The grounder was taken deep and a little wide of first. Mike fielded the ball cleanly and was running toward the bag with the intention of tossing the ball to the covering pitcher, Ray. The ball got stuck in the glove and Big Mac decided to end this game and beat the runner, Bull, with a full head of steam to the bag. Uh, oh!

Well, Big Mac won by a half-step, but Bull lowered his shoulder as they collided and both went flying then landed hard. Both were shaken-up, but Bull bounced up and started coming after Mike and shouting not so nice things. He was held back and peace-maker Cook was at his finest. McCabe was up on his knees by then, but still down for several minutes after the game.

That little affair made the end of game greetings with the Astros a little awkward. But Mike was ok and the beer soon afterward made it all feel better. So did passing around the scorebook and trying to remember all seven at-bats.  Buzzard record  is 1-1.

Buzzard Note #1: Next game is April 21 at James Field at 2 pm. The Yankees are the opponent. If you like beating up on a team called the Yankees, then this is your chance.

Buzzard Note #2: The following games are scheduled with some away games sites and times still to be determined:

April 28 Away at Playfields Park in Davis at 2 pm vs. Solons

May 5 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Miners

May 12 Mother's Day and no game

May 19 Away game at 10 am vs. Dodgers

May 26 Memorial Day and no game

June 2 Away game at 2 pm vs. Reds

June 9 Away at Galt Community Park at 10 am vs. Astros

June 16 Away Father's Day game at 10 am vs. Yankees

June 23 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Solons

June 30 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Red Sox

July 7 Independence Holiday and no game

July 14 Away vs. Dodgers

July 21 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Miners

July 28 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Astros

August 4 Away vs. Yankees

August 11 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Reds

August 18 Home at James Field at 2 pm vs. Red Sox

August 25 Away vs. Solons

Sept 8 Playoffs

Sept 15 Championship game

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #1

Game: April 7, 2013

Buzzards fall to Reds in pitching duel, 2-1

The Gold Country Buzzards opened the 2013 season at James Field in Auburn on a cool, blustery and cloudy Spring afternoon. Which seemed ironic after a Winter of warm and sunny Sundays. The Reds, managed by Carlos Zamora, brought another good team with lots of Spanish surnames (all but 2, pitcher & third base) to Auburn for the 2 o'clock game. This was the Ol' Buzzards first game in the 55+ division. Both teams have 'history' with each other in the 45+ and old 48+ divisions.

  Pitching for the Reds was the tough ol' righty, Robert 'Ponytail' Stormont #30. Robert, now in his mid-60's, can still sling that ball. Taking the mound for the Buzzards was the best ol' pitcher in the Gold Country, Mike 'Big Mac' McCabe #15. Mike, in his very early 60's, can still 'bring it' with a nice variety of pitches including good heat.

So, the battle royale for gray-haired supremacy of the 2013 NABA Sacramento Baseball League began for the Buzzards with an exciting, but close game loss, 2-1, to the visiting Reds. As it turned out, Stormont pitched a five-hit, complete game (79 pitch) gem to tame the hard hitting Buzzards. Those five hits were limited to the 3rd and 4th innings.  Ponytail did not walk a batter and only went to 3-balls once, and 2-balls in the count just six times to the 32 Buzzard batters in this 9-inning game. That's pretty amazing control for the first game of the season and the fact that Robert has only one 'good' eye. Stormont pitched for the Buzzards in Phoenix in 2011.

Ponytail threw hittable pitches all game and the Buzzards were not easy outs. The Reds played excellent defense and made tough plays - with some pretty young looking old guys - for key outs that snuffed out potential Buzzard rallies. The Reds' outfielders snatched hits from at least two Buzzards by diving for the sinking liners. And that catch in the 4th inning with the full-speed running, leaping and diving back-handed catch into left field's foul territory was deserving of the ESPN tune and worth an ID check next time.

Their pitching and defense was a tough combination to beat and only getting five hits and no walks is not much offense to work with, so we'll reload and take it out on the Astros next game. The Buzzards ended up having only 10 in uniform at game time with late work and sick calls, and two of them (Welz & Von Zboray) had just played nine for the 40+ Auburn Pirates. We finished with 11, but some were limping Buzzards. Beer afterward made it feel better, but I heard a few Monday mornings were not pleasant.

The Buzzards played well and held the 15 Red base runners to two crossing home plate, both in the first inning and both unearned. There were only two real scoring opportunities for the Buzzards. In the 3rd inning, Norm 'Burning Man' Tucker led off with a first-pitch lined single down the left field line. Steve 'Cookie' Cook followed with a first-pitch line drive single to center field. Gregg 'Surf Dawg' Novotny then hit a short looper into right field that fell just in front of the diving outfielder. However, the near-catch had Cookie in between first and second and leaning the wrong way. The fielder recovered and made the short throw to second base to get the force-out on the play with Burning Man moving to third.

Batting next, Paul 'Youngin' Lee (team's youngest player) hit a hard liner down the left field line that was amazingly caught by the diving back-hand catch mentioned earlier. Norm tagged from 3rd base and scored the first and only Buzzard run of the game. Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir followed with a two-out broken bat single to center field, but the inning ended with a good play by the shortstop on a ball hit up the middle by Taylor 'Welzy' Welz. The scored stayed at 2 to 1 for the next 6 innings. Tom 'TK' Keatley had the only other base hit on an infield single that he beat out in the next inning. TK advanced on the over throw by the shortstop and moved into scoring position for the only other scoring chance.

  Next week, bring your hittin' sticks. Need more cow bell ... and base hits.

Buzzard pitching held the good hitting Reds to 5 hits and was good enough to win this game. McCabe pitched the first six innings and threw 123 pitches (73 strikes & 50 balls) to 31 batters. Big Mac gave up four hits with seven walks and four strike outs. He walked four in the first two innings before finding the groove. The Reds do take a lot of pitches and make the pitcher's work. The infield defense had a few lapses while Mike was pitching that coincided with the circus music.

Mike did show his frustration in the top of the 2nd with two runners on and a 3-1 count, when the third base coach chose to call time-out with the ball in his pocket before the critical pitch. After Big Mac starred at the coach for a bit, he slowly adjusted his sun glasses with the middle finger of his pitching hand. Of course, the next pitch was ball four to load the bases. McCabe then proceeded to strike-out the next batter (Reds clean-up hitter) on three pitches. To make it more exciting, the third strike curve ball was in the dirt and it scooted away from Norm, just behind him. Burning Man alertly found the ball and calmly took two steps to touch home plate, with the runner from third racing down the line, to end the inning with no runs scored.

Novotny took the mound in the 7th inning and cruised through on 7 pitches. In the 8th Surf Dawg gave up a hit to open the inning, but 3 batters later the frame was closed. Gregg warmed up for the 9th before pulling his left hamstring muscle reaching awkwardly for a throw back. Gregg threw 27 pitches (19 strikes & 8 balls) to 7 Red batters. That freak accident required Welzy to come in from shortstop and warm-up to pitch the last inning. Taylor had injured his left knee in a game earlier that day, but he said he would give it a try. Welzy mowed 'em down on 14 pitches (10 strikes & 4 balls), then limped away from the mound.

There were two double-plays in the game and they belonged to the Buzzard defense. In the top of the 5th inning with one out and a jack rabbit runner on second, Big Mac struck out the batter and Burning Man threw out the runner at third with a one hop strike to Wookie and nice tag. A nice strike 'em out, throw 'em out double-play. Not to be forgotten, Burning Man Tucker looked pretty good behind the plate and those yoga classes appear to be paying off with good flexibility and tight buns.

The second DP was in the 6th inning, when Mike caught a mini pop-up off the mound with a nice stretch and then doubled-up the runner at first. Defensively, Mike had five assists and three put-outs in the game.

As the clouds got darker and the wind blew harder, the game ended in 2 1/2 hours. After attending to the field and putting our toys away, the Buzzards enjoyed cold brews and snacks afterwards. Could have used hot chocolate with the cool weather.

Next Sunday's game is at 10 am at C-Bar-C Park in Citrus Heights. The following week's game (April 21) is at James Field at 2 pm. More schedule information to come.

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.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #18

Game: August 19, 2012

Buzzards pound Bulldogs, 14-3

On a nice summer morning in the Gold Country, the Ol' Buzzards circled in on James Field for the last game of the regular season. The young Bulldogs (8-11) in blue jerseys with red and blue Fresno State Bulldog caps, are a single-A division team facing the Buzzards (12-6-1) for the only time this season. This is their second year in the 45+ division. James Field was groomed and looking good with straight white lines and ready for action.

The starting pitchers for the game were right-handers, Mark 'Puss' McGushin #38 for the Bulldogs and pony-tailed, make that stallion-tailed, Bob 'Woody' Wooden #22 taking the mound for the Buzzards.

The lead-off batter for the Bulldogs opened the game with a 1-2 count, sharp single to left field. The young runner tried to steal second base, but he was gunned down by the catcher, Scott 'Big Donut' Reeves, on a perfect throw to the bag. After that display, the Bulldogs did not try to steal again during the game.

In the bottom half of the opening inning, the Buzzards wasted no time in jumping on the scoreboard. Lead-off hitter, Kevin 'Flash' Krantz was hit by a pitch and took first base. Flash then stole second base. Taylor 'Welzy' Welz walked on five pitches to put runners at first and second. Later a double-steal moved up the runners 90 feet. Then two strike-outs later, Mike 'Bake' Baker was at the plate when a wild pitch got by the catcher. Flash scored from third but pulled a hamstring in the other leg (the Phoenix leg) as he put on the jets coming down the line.

With Welzy at third and two outs, Bake lashed a run-scoring single to left field. Tony 'Honey Badger' Brashear followed with a shot down the third base line for a base hit. Up next, Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray was hit in the back on the first pitch to load 'em up for the Big Donut. On a 2-0 count, Donut doubled over the left fielder's head driving in two runs.

Still with two outs and two runners in scoring position, Don 'Redondo' Colbert then singled to left-center scoring two more runs and ended the home plate crossings at six. All six runs were scored after two outs were made for a terrific first inning rally.

The Bulldogs mounted a come-back in the third dig starting with bases-loaded and no outs. After a strikeout, the next batter (lead-off hitter) singled to knock in two Bulldogs. Two good infield plays followed to shut down the rally and hold the Dogs down to two runs.

The Buzzards countered with two more runs in their half of the inning to keep a good lead. Woody led-off with a single up the middle. Dave 'Keppie' Kephart ran for Bob. Next, Bake hit a line-drive single to left field putting runners at first and second. Welzy then ran for Bake at first.

An amped up Keppie then stole third base with a nice slide for the big guy. Trailing a pitch later was Welzy taking second and putting both runners in scoring position for Honey Badger. A wild pitch then sent Keppie charging down the line and sliding hard at the plate. The throw to the catcher got away on the play, and an alert Welzy raced home to score with another sliding play at the plate.

The play was somewhat reminiscent of the scene from the movie Major League, with two runners sliding home safely on the same play for exciting runs. However, that left no one for Tony to hit in, so he flew out to deep left field. Later in the inning, the Baron and Redondo walked, but the third dig ended with the score 8-2 Buzzards.

The Gold Country boys scored another run in the fourth. With one out, Jim 'Moxey' Steiger started it off with an infield single to the left side. Up next, Flash walked putting runners at first and second. With two outs, Keppie then hit a run-scoring single to center field for a 9-2 score.

In the fifth inning both teams continued to score. The Bulldogs put together four hits to score only one run and leave the bases loaded, while the Buzzards scored four runs on four hits with the help of a walk and three Bulldog errors.

The Buzzard’s fifth frame started with the Bake Machine getting his third hit of the game with a hard grounder through the left side. Honey Badger followed with a line drive single to left field. With one out, Donut reached first on an infield error to fill the bases with Buzzards. Redondo then drove in a run with a base hit to left. Next, Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir walked to push in another run. Terry 'Caveman' Kelley then got aboard on a misplayed grounder to the shortstop keeping the bases full and scoring a run. Moxey ended the scoring with a run-scoring single to right field. The score after five innings was 13-3.

The Buzzards added one more run in the sixth with a lead-off double to the gap in left-center field by Welzy. Taylor scored on the base hit to right by Keppie for a 14-3 lead and a little cushion for the 10-run mercy-rule that the Buzzards were aiming for with the seventh inning approaching.

Before the inning ended, Woody and the Bake Machine singled again, but the scoring stopped. The Ol’ Buzzards held the Bulldogs in the top of the seventh with a 1-2-3 inning, so the game ended a little early with the final score 14-3.

Another solid Buzzard baseball game and a good win against the younger Bulldogs. After field prep, it was off to the shade for cold drinks.

Woody pitched a strong game and held the frisky Bulldogs to three runs on nine hits with two walks and four strike-outs. Bobio (looking like Fabio on the mound) threw 92 pitches (61 strikes & 31 balls) in facing 31 Bulldogs. Woody was caught by three steady catchers during the game: Donut, Honey Badger and Welzy, making his first catching appearance as a Buzzard in the seventh inning.

Early in the game the Buzzard offense got their timing down on the slower pitching coming from the Bulldog mound. The Buzzards faced five different Bulldog throwers and beat them all up. The hit club for the game included Bake (4), Donut, Honey Badger (2), Keppie (2), Moxey (2), Redondo (2), Welzy and Woody (2). Donut and TWelz muscled-up for the two extra base hits. The ribbies were courtesy of Bake, Donut (2), Keppie (2), Moxey, Redondo (3), and Wookie. The Buzzard-eye walkers for the game were the Baron, Caveman, Flash, Moxey, Redondo, Welzy and Wook.

The Buzzard defense was solid with no errors. The Bulldogs hit the ball hard, but the Buzzards made the plays. With a comfortable lead late in this last game of the regular season, there were some defensive substitutions made for fun that were not normally seen but they worked out fine like Moxey in center field, Welzy behind the plate, and Donut at shortstop. The defense stayed tough but a couple of 'try-hard' plays should be noted. Redondo just missed a diving catch in the third inning on a long run in right field and Baker took one off the bill of the cap on a super bad hop in the fifth frame while playing third base.

This was another good win and an end to the 2012 regular season for the Gold Country Buzzards. Next Sunday is the single-elimination playoff game against the Valley Cats (13-5-2).

The Buzzards have advanced to the NABA Sacramento championship series (three-game series) the last four years and have not won the crown since 2008. We have our work cut out for us in facing the Valley Cats for a fourth time this season. We are 1-2 against them this year. It is likely we will face Nutter and/or Watari on the mound again. They are hittable and beatable. Sounds like fun.

Beware the Buzzards.

Gold Country Ol' Buzzards Game Report #17

Game: August 12, 2012

Dragons pin Buzzards in hot game, 10-2

On the hottest Sunday of the summer with temps over 100° at game time, the Ol' Buzzards (12-5-1) travelled to C-Bar-C Park in Citrus Heights to take-on the Dragons (16-2). The 2 o'clock start time meant the teams would face the high heat of the day, so the managers agreed to a seven-inning game. With two games left in the regular season and playoff spots locked in, a shorter game was a good idea. Both teams were also short-handed in numbers: the Buzzard 11 against the Dragon 12.

The starting pitchers throwing from a mini-mound were right-handers Eric 'Sneaky' Guimont #27 for the Dragons and Mike 'Big Mac' McCabe #32 taking the mound for the Buzzards.

Since this game followed the 35+ Cardinals' game, big mouth Fish was there drinking beer and greeting Buzzards. Yardley was there also to say hi. Fish saved his special welcome for Tony. As the beer flowed through Fish's gills for the next 2 1/2 hours, his chatter was sometimes funny, but nearly constant, loud and repetitive. Sounds just like Fish with more later.

The Dragons were the visiting team on the schedule and batted first. The lead-off batter, Fred Fenton, hit a full-count pitch sharply down the left field line for a single. Freddie was running hard and going for two as left-fielder, Mark 'Weed' Fowler, hustled to the line and showed off his arm with a strong throw to the cut-off man Dave 'Evy' Everingham. Shortstop, Evy, then threw a perfect low strike to Dan 'Wookie' Wukmir at the bag. The good throws beat the sliding Dragon. So, Wook did the easy part, put the glove down and let Freddie slide into it for the first out of the game. Nice relay play for an exciting first out of the game.

After a high fly out to right-fielder, Don 'Redondo' Colbert for the second out, Mark 'Broken Nose' Parsons hit the first-pitch fastball over the left field fence for a solo homer and the only run of the first inning. Parsons broke his nose against the Buzzards several years ago on a pitch from Kephart. Mark somehow hit a curve-ball into his face and instantly flattened his nose. On that particular game the Dragons were very short-handed, so Parsons drove himself from Colfax to the Auburn hospital holding a towel to his face to get treatment. Nice guy, good hit, crooked nose and he still sounds funny since that day.

The Dragons scored two more runs in the second inning with a hit batter and three singles. A two-out flare to left by Dragon manager, Larry Whitmer, scored the two runs.

The Buzzards bounced back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. Mike 'Bake' Baker led-off with a first-pitch double to the right-center field gap. Running for Bake at second was Kevin 'Flash' Krantz. Up next, Tony 'Honey Badger' Brashear - getting the most attention from the big mouth Fish - singled up the middle to knock in Flash. Batting next, Pete 'Baron' Von Zboray hit a fly to left field that was misplayed putting runners at first and second. Two outs later, the pitcher, Big Mac, knocked in Honey Badger on an infield grounder. And that was the extent of the Buzzard scoring.  The Buzzards threatened in nearly every inning, but could not get that extra hit to score more runs.

The Dragons scored again in the third inning on a double and single. Jeff 'High Kick' Hansen #11 took the mound for the Dragons in the fourth inning. Through five frames, the game was close and the score was 4-2 Dragons.

The Dragons scored three runs in the sixth and seventh innings on a few hits, a bunt and sloppy defense. Lots of hot bright sun and a bumpy 'moon-like' infield with the hard hitting Dragons made for an adventurous late afternoon.

Terry 'Caveman' Kelley #40 came in to pitch the seventh inning. He wanted some work, so the Buzzard defense cooperated and made him get six outs before the inning ended on a terrific catch of a flare by Evy in shallow left field.

The mound was low and the blind home plate ump was a challenge, but Buzzard pitching threw strikes and got the team out of jams several times with key strike-outs. McCabe threw six innings giving up three earned runs on 14 hits with one walk, one hit batsman and five strike-outs. He faced 33 green Dragons and threw 115 pitches (69 strikes & 46 balls). Caveman Kelley closed out the game by facing nine batters and throwing 25 pitches (16 strikes & 9 balls).

TK gave up zero earned runs on two hits and one walk in the seventh dig. The Buzzard's had runners in scoring position in five of the seven innings. Just one hit short of more runs was frustrating all afternoon, but good pitching and defense by the Dragons were the reasons.

There was only one double-play for the Buzzard defense. In the sixth with the bases loaded, one out and three runs already scored, a line drive toward second was snagged by Wookie on the run. He then continued to run toward the bag for a force-out on the runner to end the inning. Good D in the third inning, a shoe-top running catch by Flash in center field ended the inning with runners on base and running on the hit. Behind the plate, Jim 'Milli' Milligan was a rock and did not seem to mind the heat with all that gear on - must be the moose antler fuzz nutrients and that green drink.

The Buzzard hit club for the game included Bake, Baron, Big Mac, Caveman, Honey Badger (2), and Weeder. Bake and Caveman's doubles were the extent of the extra base hits. The runs were knocked in by Tony and Mike. The eagle-eyed walkers were Evy, Flash and Big Mac. Stolen bases were snagged by Evy, Flash and Redondo.

For those Buzzards that stuck around afterward and shared cold drinks with the Dragons, they were thoroughly entertained by the still chattering, hugging, dropping his pants for laughs and drinking - Fish. Tony took the brunt of it and seemed to semi-enjoy it.

When the beer ran out hours later, Fish left the park headed to a bar....with Tony.

Buzzard Note #1: Be sure and RSVP to Don and Emily regarding this Saturday's Buzzards/Braves team party at the Colbert's.

Buzzard Note #2: The last regular season game is this Sunday, August 19th. We are playing the Bulldogs at James Field. The schedule is not published yet, but we asked for a morning game. More to come.

Buzzard Note #3: The play-offs begin on August 26th. We will play the Valley Cats in the single-elimination game. Time and place to be announced later.