In the annals of Beat history, there has never been an opponent that has dominated the boys in gray quite like Nicoya. Not the Van Ness Monsters in the days of yore in the late 80s/early 90s. Not the Cool Dudes in modern times. Certainly not the Chameleons, R&R Speed or Bubba's Outlaws.

In what will go down as one of The Beat's Greatest Games, it took almost 2 years and 5 meetings for The Beat to get back in the win column against this frustrating nemesis. A two-time C-league divisional champion that has virtually owned The Beat--6-2 in 8 meetings over 5 seasons--Nicoya came out disorganized on April 14th and fell behind 8-1 early. The reigning C-6 champs took advantage of a stalled Beat offense to recover in the middle innings to take a 9-8 lead after four frames. But the scrappy Beatniks capitalized on a suddenly air-tight defense behind the crafty dealings of pitcher Kevin (Special K) Austin and a seventh inning rally that was just enough to win the game.

As game-time neared, Beat manager Pete Wenner thought he had problems as starters Dave Maxion (shortstop) and Mike (Pizza Man) Weiss (right-center field) were surprise no-shows. The Beat roster was deep enough to fill 11 spots in the lineup, but the defensive alignment, which in the pre-game plans was considered key to beating the hot-hitting Nicoya, was in disarray as the entire infield and half of the outfield was out of its pre-ordained position.

Was there a full moon the night before? Free drinks flowing in bars around Valencia, Mission and 24th & Noe Streets in The City? No one knew for sure, but Nicoya manager Carlos Guerrero, Jr. was reportedly scavenging the sidelines at Jackson #2 for ringers as he struggled to fill out his lineup card. The burly Guerrero stalled for time as he wrote out the lineup as the impatient home plate umpire beckoned.

The Beat took advantage of Nicoya's makeshift defense early. They jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the visitors half of the 1st as the yellow-clad splendid stump Gunnar Rosenquist--now 1.000 (9 for 9) in on-base percentage on the young season--singled up the middle and advanced to 2nd on Austin's textbook grounder to the 1st baseman Jose Servellon. Cottonmouth King Mark St. Georges plated Gunnar with a ground single through the vacated hole between 1st and 2nd base and advanced to 3rd on Donnell (Big Daddy) Moody's single. MSG scored on Jim (The Thrill) Colletto's sac fly and Big Daddy crossed home on rookie speedster Jacque (pronounced Jac-KOO) Wilson's bloop double.

Kevin held Nicoya to a single run in the home half of the first and both teams went down quietly in the 2nd. His confidence was undoubtedly bolstered by the late appearances of prodigal defensive whizzes Maxion and Weiss, who relegated EP Wenner and outfielder Javier Urdiales to the bench and brought about a wholesale defensive realignment to the original pre-game plan.

In the top of the 3rd, the top 5 of the Beat lineup broke out against veteran Nicoya pitcher Carlos Guerrero Sr. Four consecutive singles by Rosenquist, Austin, St. Georges and Moody plated 2 runs to make it 5-1. Thereupon slugger Jim Colletto launched a 3-run home run blast deep into right-center field for his 2nd homer on the young season and a seemingly insurmountable 8-1 lead.

But this is softball and Nicoya, so no lead is really impossible to overcome. By the end of the 3rd inning, several of the missing Nicoya regulars had finished straggling in armed for bear. With 1 out and Guerrero Sr. and leadoff man Wayne Gomes on base, the vaunted Beat defense unraveled. Five runs crossed the plate to close the Beat lead to 8-6 as Nicoya strung together 4 straight singles aided by errors that bedeviled Beat outfielders.

The Beatniks stranded 2 runners in the 4th before Nicoya went ahead 9-8 in the home half of the inning as The Beat outfielders once again kicked and threw the ball around and Nicoya aggressively ran the bases. The Beat offense went down weakly in the 5th and 6th, but Nicoya's momentum stalled. This was because Kevin and The Beat defense came together to find their groove after manager Wenner toyed with the idea of lifting Austin for Urdiales in the bottom of the 5th.

"I told Kev that I was thinking about making the change while we were batting in the 5th, but he told me he was getting stronger and getting a better feel for the umpire's strike zone," said Wenner in the post-game interview. "Gunnar corroborated that so I decided to let him go out for the 5th, but told Jav to get ready to go in if Kev got into trouble." Austin didn't.

"Special K" set Nicoya down in order in the 5th on only 10 pitches as Jacque, playing shallow as the rover, snagged 2 sinking liners that normally would have fallen in for base hits. Soft-handed shortstop Dave Maxion, who was involved in 5 infield plays during the game, including a 4-6-3 double play with 2nd baseman Brian Arcuri, fielded a sharply hit grounder and threw to a toppling Moody at first who kept his foot on the bag for the final out. Both teams went down quietly in the 6th setting the stage for the dramatic final frame.

Going back to the top of the order in the Beat 7th, the aggressive Gunnar led off with a bloop double. Kevin moved Gunnar to 3rd with a single to left. With a throaty grunt, St. Georges (3 for 3, 2 runs, 3 RBIs) singled home Gunnar and moved Kevin to 2nd. Big Daddy (3 for 4, 2 runs, 2 RBIs) then lined a single up the middle, scoring Kevin for a 10-9 lead. Guerrero Sr. pitched around The Thrill (1 for 2, run, HR, 4 RBIs) to load the bases with none out. However inconceivably, The Beat wasted the threat and headed to the bottom of the 7th with a precarious 1-run lead.

Nicoya 3rd baseman Eric Ortega led off with a deep fly to left, but the sure-handed Greg Lukoski camped under it for the 1st out. Long-time utility man and Beat-killer Eric Hanson followed with a screaming line drive in the gap in left center that looked all but certain to roll from here to eternity for a game-tying home run. But Jacque raced hard into the breach and stretched out with a circus dive, miraculously coming down with the catch for the 2nd out. It was a thing of beauty and as it turned out, lights out for Nicoya. Carlos Guerrero the Younger ended the game fitting by flying out to Wilson for the final out.

The undefeated Beat danced off the field with a cardiac win and tied for 1st place at 2-0 with the ubiquitous Cool Dudes. Next up, weather permitting, stay tuned for the Other Guys on April 21.

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