Gold Country Buzzards

Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #6

Game: May 22, 2011

Buzzards shut down the Reds, 6-0

After another rain-out last weekend, the Buzzards had a home game against last year’s NABA champs, the Reds. The start time was earlier at 9:30 am because many of the Reds had a second game at 2 o’clock in Citrus Heights. The day was gorgeous and the field was in good shape for some top notch old man baseball. Pete spent time on Saturday making sure the field was in primo shape for Sunday, especially the mound. Got to make those pitchers happy. Thanks Pete.

The Reds starting thrower was the crafty veteran, Danny “Smiley” Harvey #25. Danny with the achingly slow curve ball and the occasional zippy fastball to keep you off-balance, does make it hard for a team to string together hits. We have beaten Danny every season, but he has beaten us in the last two NABA final championship games in 2009 and 2010. It’s been said revenge is best served cold. Revenge can also be served on a beautiful spring day. For a big step in that direction, the Buzzards sent their ace lefty, Jim “Moxey” Steiger #13, to the hill to hold down this good hittin’ team.

The Buzzards opened the scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Taylor “Welzy” Welz struck out but then used his speed to advance to first base on the passed ball. With Scott “Donut” Reeves at the plate, Welzy stole second base on the first pitch and moved to third later on a wild pitch. On the 2-1 pitch, Donut lined a shot into left field for the run scoring single. In the second inning, the Buzzards scored again to increase the early lead. Charles “CJ” Jackson started it off with a lead-off walk. CJ stole second base and scored when Jim “Milli” Milligan drove a 3-1 pitch into left field for a hit. Milli limped to first base in obvious pain and was replaced. Jim partially tore the Plantar fascia ligament (connects the heel bone to the toes) in the right foot. The doctor said hopefully a recovery in three months. Ouch! Nice hit Milli and the RBI was great, but what a lousy reward. The inning ended with the score 2-0 after two.

The Reds got their first hit of the game in the fourth inning, but that was quickly wiped out by a nifty double play by Dave “Evy” Everingham on a grounder up the middle. Moxey was effectively keeping the Reds off-balanced with the speed and location of his pitches. The defense was solid and Steigy also picked-off a runner in the second inning after a walk.

The Ol’ Buzzards put two more on the score board in the fourth. Welzy led off the inning with a hustlin’ double to left field. On the next pitch Donut laid down a good bunt to the left side that Harvey fielded and threw to third hoping to get a sliding Welzy at the bag. A good jump and too much speed ruined that idea and T-Welz was easily safe. Now runners were at the corners with no outs. The plan was to have Donut steal second and then Welzy could score if the throw went to second base. Well, Scott took off on the pitcher’s first move and left too soon. Danny threw the ball to first for the pick-off, while Donut was digging hard for second base. The throw to second was a tad high and late. The subsequent throw home to get the racing Welzy from third was also late allowing a run to score on the double steal. Later with Donut on second and two outs, Mike “Bake” Baker knocked him in with a sharp single for a 4-0 lead.

The Buzzards added two more runs in the fifth inning. Dan “Wookie” Wukmir started it off with a lead-off single to right field on a 2-0 pitch. Pete “Baron” Von Zboray then hit a high looper into short left-center field for a hit putting runners at first and second. Moxey then came to the plate and drilled a single down the first base line scoring Wook. Don “Redondo” Colbert then came in to run for the pitcher at first base with the Baron standing on third base. On the next pitch, the double steal play was called again. This time the throw was cut-off by Danny on the mound and he threw a bullet to third trying to get Pete off the bag. The still quick Baron slid back into the base as the ball bounced off his helmet and rolled into the out-of-bounds area next to the visitor’s dugout, allowing the Baron to get up and walk in with the last run. After five innings, the score was 6-zip and the Ol’ Buzzards were looking tough.

The Buzzards changed pitchers in the seventh inning and brought in Mark “Weed” Fowler #11 to continue throwing ‘good stuff’ and get those nasty old Reds - out. The terrific pitching continued and the defense was solid for the remainder of the game as the Buzzards shut-out the Reds 6-0.

The Reds only got three hits in the game, and only one runner even made it to second base, as the Buzzards shut down the Red machine. Wow, now that’s tough D. The pitching was key to this victory. Moxey went six strong innings in facing 19 Reds and throwing 71 pitches (47 strikes & 24 balls) in giving up two hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Weeder finished the game by working the last three innings. He threw 43 pitches (26 strikes & 17 balls) to 11 Reds while giving up one hit and one walk with two Ks. Great job.

With six K outs, the defense did step-up by making the remaining 21 outs, and only one fly ball out, without an error. There were plenty of opportunities for boo-boos, but the defense made the plays. Interestingly, there were 18 groundball outs in the game. Two infield pop-ups and one fly ball out to the Baron in right field in the eighth inning. Pete, playing mostly first base in the game, played just one inning in right field and caught the only fly ball out. The other bored outfielders complained later over beers.

Of the 18 groundball outs, Everingham was smoothly responsible for nine of them. Moxey handled three hopping come-backers with throws to Bake playing first and picked off the lead-off runner from first base in the second inning. That led to a sliding Red at second base and a tag-out by a hustlin’ Evy. Welzy had three assists on tough plays at third base after switching from center field in the third. Wookie had four grounders to field at second including a bare-hander on a slow roller to end the second inning. Donut started the game ‘playing the role today’ of Bobby Wooden, batting third and playing third. After Milli’s injury, Scottie went behind the plate and then later finished the game at second base. Really, all of that energy on donuts!

The offense was efficient in scoring six runs on nine hits and two walks. The multi-hit club consisted of one player – Donut with two singles. The other guys getting hits in order were – Milli, Welzy with a double, Bake, Wookie, Baron, Moxey and CJ with a double off the fence. The ribbies were knocked-in by Donut, Milli, Bake and Moxey. Clutch hittin’ with Buzzards on base is a good recipe for the rest of the season. Next on the Buzzard menu – Free Agents.

Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #4

Game: May 1, 2011

Buzzards come back late to top Miners, 7-5

On a gorgeous day in Colfax, the Gold Country Buzzards took on the Gold Country Miners in a double-header at the high school’s varsity field. The Miners are the new Gold Country team formed with some old Coyotes and former Miners from when they won the 38+ title in 2007. The Miners, wearing their old uniform jerseys with the light gold color (Las Vegas gold), white pants and black cap with the gold bill and GC letters, were on a good early season roll with a 2-1 record and they had defeated the Free Agents handily, which had beaten the Buzzards earlier this season.

The Buzzards were the home team in the first game and they started their ace, southpaw, Jim “Moxey” Steiger #13 on the hill. The Miners countered with righty, Jeff “Jeweler” Jaramilla #33. Jeff, returning from shoulder surgery and missing last year, has been effective this early season with two wins. For the Buzzards, Moxey has been building up his stamina through each early season game and will be going deep into this key game.

The Buzzards opened the scoring with two quick runs in the second inning. With one out, Mike “Bake” Baker took a base on balls before Jim “Milli” Milligan ripped a double into right field scoring the first run. With two outs, Dan “Wookie” Wukmir hit a full-count grounder wide-right of the first baseman. With Wookie hustlin’ up the line and three running Miners converging at first base trying to make a play - with a tossed ball thrown in for good measure plus multiple near collisions at the bag – resulted in the ball dropping safely and rolling up the line allowing the run to score. Good start.

The score was 2-0 until the Miners put together five hits in a row for three runs in the fourth. After two runs had scored, a close play at the plate - getting Tom Luck - with no outs was huge. With runners at the corners, the Miners sent the runner at first to draw the throw stealing second and then sent Luck charging home. A good cut-off catch and throw to the plate by Dave “Evy” Everingham nailed the hard sliding Miner with a quick tag by the catcher, Milli. That played dampened their rally, but the Miners still took the lead at the end of the inning 3-2.

The Miners scored two more in the top of the fifth to extend the lead with three singles and a sacrifice fly. Jeweler Jeff mixed up his pitches and arm angles for six innings and was leading 5-2 with time running out. It appeared the Buzzards would have enough time for one more inning within the three-hour time limit.

The bottom of the seventh started slowly with Charles “CJ” Jackson getting behind in the count 0-2 and fouling off a few pitches before spanking a pitch up the middle to open the last inning with a single. Next, Bake blasted a double over the head of the outfielder and to the left field fence easily scoring CJ. Milli followed with a single deep in the hole at shortstop putting runners at first and second. Pete “Baron” Von Zboray, batting next, walked on five pitches to load the bases with nobody out. The next batter was the recently turned 60 and oldest Buzzard, Wookie. On a 1-2 count curve ball, the left-hitting Wook knocked it on a line into left field scoring two runs to take the lead. Wookie advanced to third on a couple of wild pitches and then scored on a clutch sacrifice fly ball to center field by Scott “Donut” Reeves to make the score 7-5 going into the top of the eighth inning.

The Buzzards were considering a pitching change for the last inning, but Moxey took the ball and mound to face the heart of the Miner’s batting order. A dropped high pop-up between third and short put the first batter on. Not a good start. 10 pitches later with a groundout, fly-out and game ending strikeout, Moxey put the finishing touches on the first game. Buzzards win, Buzzards win. That was a timely five-spot in the last inning. Good job all around.

Steiger pitched a hell of a game. The Miners are a good hitting team and the defense was solid in holding the Miners to five runs. Moxey threw 150 pitches in facing 37 batters (91 strikes & 49 balls) striking out eight. The Miners scored five runs on 11 hits, two walks and one hit batter.

The Buzzard offense was just enough and just in time. The Buzzards got 12 hits off of the two Miner pitchers, Jeff and Tom Luck. The hit club for this game included the Baron, Bake, CJ, Welzy and Woody with one hit each. Evy, Milli and Wookie each got two hits. The ribbies were knocked in by Bake, Donut, Milli and Wook with three.

That was an excellent game with a nice come-from-behind victory for the first match of this double-header. After a 40-minute break for a quick bite, the second game started at 2 o’clock.

Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #5

Game: May 1, 2001

Buzzards pound Miners in second game, 12-4

The second game started with the temperatures in the low 70’s with a light breeze and a perfect day to play two. The home team Miners sent lefty Rick “Slinger” Miller #17 to the mound, while the Buzzards started right-hander Mark “Weed” Fowler #11.

The Miners scored first with two runs in the second inning. With one out, the batter Tony Marigal, swung at a 1-2 pitch in the dirt for a strikeout, but the ball got away and rolled to the back stop allowing quick Tony to get to first base. Jeff Jaramillo then walked on a full count. With a good hitting Tom Luck up to bat, the base ump then called a balk on Weed for not coming to a stop in his pitching motion. Fowler then gets Luck on a 1-2 pitch to hit a come-backer for the second out while holding the runners. Next, Alton Cooper hit a high and outside 1-0 pitch into right field for a clutch two run single. Damn … that pitch was out of the strike zone, but Cooper’s hit was a solid single and the Miners took the early lead 2-0.

The Buzzards bounced right back with three runs in the top of the third. With one out, Taylor “Welzy” Welz started the rally with an infield single to the left side. Welzy then stole second base before Bob “Woody” Wooden walked on four pitches. On a 2-2 pitch, Jim “Milli” Milligan followed with a line drive over Terry “Caveman” Kelley’s leaping shortstop glove for a single scoring Welzy from second base. Batting next, Charles “CJ” Jackson blasted a 2-0 pitch to the fence for a two-run double to end the scoring with the Buzzards now ahead 3-2.

In the bottom of the fourth inning the first two Buzzards struck out before Jim “Wags” Wagner walked on five pitches. Wags moved to second on a wild pitch before Scott “Donut” Reeves reached base with a tough bouncer to short for an error. After knocking down the grounder, Caveman’s rushed throw to first base was wide allowing Wags to round third and head home to score. Donut then stole second base before Ray “Bull Dog” Henry took a base on balls. With two on and two outs, Dave “Evy” Everingham, batting next, hit a 1-2 pitch screaming into right-center field for a Donut scoring double. Welzy followed with a double down the left field line knocking in Bull Dog and Evy. T-Welz then stole third base and scored on a 3-1 pitch single to right field by Woody.

The Miners then changed pitchers and brought in big right-hander Sean Harrigan #14. Sean proceeded to hit Milli in the left side with his first pitch. Harrigan did not have much velocity as he flung-up pitches with a side arm motion. CJ singled before the inning ended with Woody running through a stop sign at third and getting nailed at the plate. What a terrific two-out rally, scoring five runs after two outs and no one on base to make the score 8-2 in the fourth.

The Buzzards added another run in the top of the fifth inning. Mike “Bake” Baker started the inning off with a full-count, long single to left-center. The Miners changed pitchers again when Harrigan hurt his arm on the pitch and brought in Caveman Kelley #22 from shortstop. Bake then moved to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Dan “Wookie” Wukmir then placed a short pop-up in between the hustling pitcher, third baseman and shortstop for an infield hit putting two runners on. After a fielder’s choice out, the runners were on the corners and Donut was at the plate. Scottie walked on four pitches but not before the third pitch was in the dirt and took a high hop to the back stop. Anxious Wook at third base took off for home and beat the throw to the covering pitcher, Caveman, in a close play. The inning ended with the score 9-2, but these same Miners beat the Free Agents with 16 runs a few games ago.

The Miners fought back with two runs in their half of the fifth. A double by Alton Cooper down the line in left was followed by a single to right by George Bettencourt driving in the run. Sean then singled to left before Dave Kelley walked on six pitches to load the bases. His younger brother, Caveman Kelley, then got in the way of an inside fastball with his hip to knock in the other run for a 9-4 score. With Caveman that fastball will leave a mark – on the ball. The inning ended on a good play by Evy at short in charging a grounder and throwing a strike to Pete “Baron” Von Zboray at first base.

The Buzzards put the game away in the sixth inning of a seven-inning game. Evy led-off with a single to left. Dave stole second base before Welzy was walked with a full count. After a strikeout and a long fly ball out, CJ came to the plate. Charles then ripped a 3-2 pitch high and deep over the left-field fence for a three-run homer. A nice big two-out blast to give the Buzzards an eight-run cushion. The Miners never recovered and the game ended with the final score of 12-4.

The Buzzard pitching was awesome and the defense was tough. Fowler pitched five innings while facing 24 Miners and throwing 85 pitches (51 strikes & 34 balls). Weeder gave up one earned run with four hits, three walks and hit one batter while striking out three. Woody finished the 2 ½ hour second game by facing three batters in the last inning. He threw 11 pitches (8 strikes & 3 balls) for one strikeout, one ground out (6-3) and one fly-out to Barry “Brooklyn” Forman in left field to end a fabulous day on the baseball field.

The Buzzards offense was impressive with 15 hits to score 12 runs. The hit club included Baker-2, Jackson-3, Everingham-2, Milligan-2, Von Zboray, Welz-2, Wooden-2 and Wukmir. Single RBI’s were knocked in by Evy, Milli and Woody. Welzy hit in two with his fourth inning double and CJ drove in five runs with a 3 for 3 day including a walk, double and home run. Doubles were hit by CJ, Evy and Welzy. To add to the offense, the eight ‘good eyes’ Buzzards were awarded first via a base on balls – the Baron, Bull Dog, CJ, Donut, Wags, Welzy, Woody and Wook.

The starting pitcher for the Miners, Miller, is usually a top notch and accurate hurler. He split the tip of his index finger of his throwing hand on Saturday coaching and throwing with his kids. During pre-game warm-ups his finger was bleeding on the ball. So, Jeff Jaramilla dispatched a Miner fan to the nearest market to buy some super glue. The glue covered the cut for the game, but the cut finger did affect his effectiveness and the Buzzards benefitted this time.

The Ol’ Buzzards looked pretty tired when the second game was over - after nearly six hours of baseball - on this beautiful May Day. The double-header sweep of the Gold Country Miners was no easy task. The team played well, no one got hurt, and the Buzzards looked marvelous in beating a good Miners team twice. We will face them again on July 24th at James Field in the live radio game broadcast by KAHI.

The Buzzards improved their season record to 3-1-1. No games next weekend with Mother’s Day on May 8th. The following Sunday, May 15, the game will be at the Giants (new team).

Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #3

Game: April 17, 2011

Buzzards get all tied up by Valley Cats, 5-5

Another beautiful spring morning in the gold country was the setting for the third game of the season. The Buzzards were facing the always feisty Valley Cats at James Field in Auburn. The home team starting pitcher was righty Bob “Woody” Wooden #22, while the feral Cats sent Craig “Slider” Parker #20 to the mound.

The Cats opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. Big Tony “Getting Bigger” Jackson led off with a walk and scored two singles later. The Cats added three more runs in the third on three walks and two base hits to lead 4-0. Woody usually doesn’t walk many batters but these walks were more a result of the plate umpire leaving his glasses at home.

Parker pitched well keeping the Buzzards off-balance at the plate with his slider and sinker. Down 4-zip entering the fourth inning, the Ol’ Buzzards got a nice rally going. With one out, Mark “Weed” Fowler entering the game for Woody, singled to get it started. Tony “Bear” Brashear then walked on seven pitches. After a fielder’s choice for the second out, Mike “Bake” Baker hit a high fly into shallow right field that fell-in for a run scoring base hit. Next, Jim “Milli” Milligan hit the first pitch into left for the second run with a single. Charles “CJ” Jackson hit the next pitch on a line into center field knocking in the third run of the inning. Batting next, Dan “Wookie” Wukmir worked a full count from Parker before hitting a line drive single to right field scoring the final two runs. The Buzzards took the lead with the five-spot, 5-4. Nice inning.

The V-Cats tied the game in the fifth on three consecutive singles before the Buzzards’ defense stopped the rally with one run on an inning ending 5-3-2 double-play. With runners at the corners, Bake fielded a hard grounder at third and threw to Pete “Baron” Von Zboray at first for the out. Meanwhile, the runner on third took off for home when Bake released the ball, so after the force-play, the Baron threw a strike to the catcher, Scott “Donut” Reeves. Donut then made a nice tag on a close play to nail the hard sliding Cat at home plate. Great play to end the inning.

The pitching for both sides effectively silenced the bats for this low scoring game. The Buzzards threatened again in the sixth on base hits by Bake, CJ and Wook, but a good relay throw got Bake at the plate to end the bottom half of the inning.

Fowler controlled the feral Cats pretty well with lots of ground ball outs and nine strikeouts. Weed struck out five of the last six batters to make sure the Valley Cats did not score late in the game. Craig Parker hung in there and pitched six solid innings before being relieved by a young looking pitcher, Mike “Gunner” Watari #9. Gunner threw hard and struck out four in giving up one hit to Bear in the eighth. He shut down the Buzzards the rest of the way to seal the tie at 5-5. It appeared to Buzzards’ management that Watari was too young and the league is checking out his situation. The Cats have been known for being sneaky, so we’ll see how this plays out.

The Buzzard pitching was again good enough to win, but not enough runs were scored again. A fricking 5-5 tie with those damn Valley Cats. Woody threw 69 pitches (37 strikes & 31 balls) with five hits, three strikeouts and four walks. Weeder threw 81 pitches (52 strikes & 29 balls) in giving up five hits with two walks, one hit batter with nine K’s in six innings of work.

The defense was strong again with solid play all day. The key outfield catches were made by Jim “Wags” Wagner in the first inning on a sinking looper, Don “Redondo” Colbert’s snag in center field in the second inning and Taylor “Welzy” Welz’s nice running catch in short center field to open the sixth. The infield was tight with no errors. Wookie made a couple of nice plays at second base in the first inning, one to nail Dave “Nut Case” Nutter on a roller deep in the hole behind first and the other on a grounder with a flying broken bat heading in the same direction. In the seventh inning with a Cat rally brewing, Nutter took an aggressive lead and jumped toward third on a pitch in the dirt. Donut snagged the pitch and threw behind the runner to second base. While Nutter ran to third, Wookie made the quick catch and throw to Bake to nail a head-first diving Nutter. Nut Case got a face full of dirt and jammed fingers on the play.

The offense out-hit the V-Cats 12-10, but more runs would have been nice. The Buzzard hit club included Brashear, Everingham, Fowler, Milligan, Reeves and Wooden with one hit each and Baker, Jackson and Wukmir with two hits. The five RBI’s were knocked in by Bake, Milli, CJ and Wookie -2.

Another tough game. The Buzzards scored in only one inning. Thankfully it was enough for at least the tie. With a record of 1-1-1, the Buzzards take-off for Easter and return with a double-header on May 1.

Gold Country Ol’ Buzzards Game Report #2

Game: April 10, 2011

Buzzards clipped in bottom of ninth, 6-5

Game two of the new baseball season was played on a nice Spring afternoon at Antelope High. The Free Agents were the home team and massed early with 17 players, while the Buzzards slowly circled on Antelope with 11 players. The always tough Free Agents also added one of the hardest throwing pitchers in the region, Greg Lichtenberger, to their squad for this season. That gives the Free Agents three NABA all-star pitchers on their staff with Don Rogers and Tim Burkett. Right-hander Greg #24 took the mound as the starting pitcher. The Gold Country Buzzards countered with their ace lefty, Jim “Moxey” Steiger #13.

The Buzzards were not bothered by the smoke coming off the ball as flame throwing, former Buzzard, Lichtenberger faced lead-off batter, Taylor “Welzy” Welz. On a 1-2 hard sinker, Welzy laced a double down the left field line. T-Welz later moved to third on a groundout. With two outs, clean-up hitter, Tony “Bear” Brashear, knocked in the game’s first run with a sharp single to left field.

In the second inning, the Buzzards scored again. Pete “Baron” Von Zboray belted a 2-0 fastball over the left fielder’s head on to the warning track for a double. Two outs later, the pitcher, Moxey, smacked a 1-0 pitch through the infield into right field for a run-scoring single making the score 2-zip Buzzards.

While Steigey was mowing ‘em down 1-2-3, the Buzzards put another run on the score board in the third inning. Welzy led-off with another well-hit double to left field on a 0-2 pitch. After moving to third on a groundout to the right side, Welzy scored when Scott “Donut” Reeves hit a liner into right field for the run scoring single. After three innings, the Buzzards were up 3-0.

The Gold Country boys scored one run in the fourth inning on another two-out base hit. With two down the catcher, Jim “Milli” Milligan, scorched a 1-2 sinker into deep left field for a double. The next batter, Donnie “Redondo” Colbert blasted a 2-0 pitch into a long double to left easily scoring the run. The score after four was 4-0 Buzzards.

The Free Agents put one on the score board in the bottom of the fifth inning. Two walks, an infield error on a tough play and a base hit scored the lone run. The Buzzards changed pitchers in the sixth, putting Mark “Weed” Fowler #11 on the hill. Moxey was still pitching well, but this early in the season, the team is careful with these ol’ arms.

The Free Agents are a good hitting team and Weed found out on the first pitch to their pitcher, Don Rogers, as he hit the fastball high and deep - with wind assistance - way over the left-center field fence for a solo homer and the only run in the inning. After six innings, the score was now 4-2 Buzzards.

In the fifth inning the Free Agents changed pitchers, bringing in the fidgety and fast-paced righty, Don “Sidewinder” Rogers #21. The team continued to get on base, but the Buzzards stranded Weeder at second after a nice 0-2 hit to left in the fifth. In the sixth, Bear was left on second base after his lead-off; line drive sizzler hit the fence in left for a stand-up double. Another two feet higher and that ball is outta here. Damn, but what a quick laser-beam shot that was. Nice hittin’ today Tony.

The Free Agents added three runs in their half of the seventh inning to take the lead. A bases loaded, two-out double by Rogers ‘Hornsby’ put the FA’s ahead 5-4.

The Ol’ Buzzards fought back with a two-out run to tie the score in the top of the eighth. With one out, Dan “Wookie” Wukmir got the only Buzzard walk of the game. Wookie advanced to second on a wild pitch. With two outs, Bear followed with an infield bouncer, fielded deep up the middle by shortstop, Mike “Motor Mouth” Wilson. His rushed throw forced the first baseman to field a tough hop in the stretch position. Wook rounding third base saw the low throw from big Mike and hustled home with the tying run.

The Buzzards threatened in the ninth, but the game was tied 5-5 entering the bottom of the last inning. The first batter struck-out on seven pitches. Next, a hard grounder up the middle put a runner on first. Another Fowler strikeout on four pitches was out number two; however, the runner stole second base and was now in scoring position. The next batter was the red hot Rogers and he was intentionally walked. During the four wide pitches, the runner on second base took off for third. He would have been nailed at third, but the intentional high & wide throw was rushed as the runner took off and it ticked off the glove of the jumping catcher allowing the runner to advance. With runners at the corners and a 0 for 4 lefty-batter coming to the plate and no time left, the prospects of a tie game loomed. However, the next pitch was pulled hard near first base and the ball took a wicked hop before bouncing over the outstretched back-handed glove of the Baron for the game winning hit for the celebrating Free Agents. Ouch, tough loss.

This was a good game with a lousy ending. The defense performed well but the three errors proved costly. The defense did shine with many nice plays and tough outs. One was the great catch of a scalded hooking sinker to left field by Weeder to open the game. And the third inning ‘wow’ basket-catch by Mike “Bake” Baker in foul territory, covering lots of ground running toward the dugout fence, before low-catching the ball. Also noteworthy was the terrific relay play in the seventh inning. Scottie ran down the double by Rogers in left field and threw to Welzy in shallow left field. T-Welz then threw a strike to Bake playing third base and put a quick tag on the sliding runner for a key out in the seventh. Again all pop-ups were caught including a tough back-hand by Fowler in the eighth. Mark jumped off the mound and ran into foul territory near the Free Agent dugout to make a fabulous catch on the run.

The pitching was strong and certainly good enough to win. The ump seemed to be squeezing the Buzzard pitchers. And that terrible call in the eighth on the pop-up at the plate. The batter hit the ball high and straight up. As the ball was coming down on the first base side of the batter’s box, the hitter was clearly out of the batter’s box and directly interfering with the play as he stayed in the way of Weed, who called the easy catch, preventing the grab. A ‘no call’ by either knuckle-headed and confused blue was unbelievable, but sadly true.

Steigey started his second game for the Buzzards and looked impressive in five innings. He retired the first nine batters - in order - before giving up a single to open the fourth. Jim threw 87 pitches (51 strikes & 36 balls) while striking out four and walking two with two hits and no earned runs. Weed threw 75 pitches in four innings of work (37 strikes & 28 balls) giving up eight hits with three walks and striking out six with two earned runs.

The offense was on a remarkable run early in the game with eight hits in four innings and clutch RBI hits knocked in the single runner in scoring position in four consecutive innings. The hit club for the game included Donut, Milli, Moxey, Redondo and Weed with the Baron and Welzy getting two hits and Tony went 3 for 4. Single ribbies were knocked in by Donut, Moxey and Redondo while Tony knocked in two big runs. Of the 12 Buzzard hits, six were doubles.

The Buzzards won the first game of the season against the Dragons in the bottom of the ninth inning and have now lost to the Free Agents in the bottom of the ninth in the second game. The developing pattern is good quality competition in a tough league. Next Sunday, we will be traveling to Elk Grove to play the Valley Cats at Bradshaw Christian High. The Greg Vaughn Field is one of the nicest we get to play on. The Valley Cats had the best record last season with only three losses and were the top seed going into the 2010 playoffs. They had the misfortune of running into the Buzzards in the first round of the NABA playoffs and lost. The Valley Cats will be another team gearing up to play the Gold Country Buzzards like the last two. Be ready and bring your hittin’ stick.

Buzzard Note #1: The upcoming Buzzard schedule includes this Sunday, April 17, against the Valley Cats at James Field, Auburn.

Buzzard Note #2: The following Sunday, April 24, is Easter and no game. The next week on May 1, we play a double-header against the Gold Country Miners at Colfax High.