by Pete

De Jacque All Over Again Wilson Bros. key 23-11 annihilation of the Rhinos

After a heartbreaking 8-6 loss to the Other Guys on August 18, the Rhinos rushed into a grisly vortex. A 20-run pre-game managerial challenge was met by a marauding Beat lineup spearheaded by Jacq and Jacque Wilson. The Beatniks pounded the Rhinos into submission despite a valiant attempt to keep up. 

The men in green had narrowed the Beat lead to 14-9 after 4 innings, but the boys in gray stormed back with a 2nd 8 run inning in the top of the 5th to put the game on ice.

Jacq Wilson won the game ball by going 4 for 4 with 2 home runs, 2 doubles, 4 runs and 5 RBIs. Jacque just missed hitting for the cycle on a 3 for 3 day with a homer, double, 3 runs and 2 RBIs. Mark St. Georges and Peter Wenner each went 3 for 3 with 4 ribbies, Greg Lukoski was a perfect 3 for 3 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs. Steve Hinkebein was 3 for 4.

Kevin Austin held the Rhinos to 8 earned runs and again didn’t walk a batter. The Beat defense was solid with only 2 errors as Brian Arcuri stepped in capably for Mike (Pizza Man) Weiss with a flawless day at shortstop. Brian, who is quietly leading the Beatniks with a .778 summer batting average, played despite outpatient neck surgery just 3 days before game time. The surgical bandage came loose in mid-game, but team physician Thomas Claude (TC) Wright patched it up and the Rifleman soldiered on.

Moon & Stars Align

Right before the game, I scrambled to make out alternative Jacq and non-Jacq lineups because Jacque arrived 15 minutes and reported his brother was still in the Bay Bridge toll plaza mess 15 minutes before game time. However, as if winged in by angels, Jacq arrived in time for the lineup card ceremonies. It was a good thing.

The Beat was the home team for the first time since July 28. The Rhinos jumped out to a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by 3rd baseman Neal Golden. Guido Santiago led off with a single, but was forced at 2nd on a ground ball by shortstop Terry Daugherty to Mark St. Georges. Second baseman Ron Sargent then sent a long fly ball into the curling Jackson #1 wind as Jacque sprinted back, making a stellar, backpedaling catch before tumbling heels over head. Wilson jumped up and quickly heaved the ball to third as Daugherty took advantage of Jacque’s backward summersault. The ball skipped past “Big Daddy” Moody at 3rd, but Special K made a diving backup to save the run that ultimately scored on Golden’s single.

The home team Beat batted around in the 1st and hung up 8 quick runs on 9 hits, taking advantage of some lackadaisical Rhinos defense. Jacque and Jacq doubled, Jim (The Thrill) Colletto tripled and almost everyone in the lineup singled.

The scrappy Rhinos came right back with 3 more runs to make it 8-4 as they parlayed a leadoff triple by Dennis Sheridan and a 2-run homer by a ringer in Rosenquist-style yellow sweats calling himself Rory McCall. But the quick strike Beat offense rung up another 3 for an 11-4 lead in the bottom of the 2nd on home runs by Jacque and Jacq that split the gap and rolled onto the next diamond. 

The Rhinos scratched back in the 3rd with 2 runs on a double by speedy Steve Jackson and an RBI single by Sheridan to make it 11-6, but the Beat kept piling up runs en route to 20-plus. With 1 out, Luki Lukoski singled and took 2nd on Jackson’s error. Some guy named Wenner popped a blooper into no-man’s land over 2nd base as 5 fielders converged in vain. Lukoski steamed home with the 12th run. The Cottonmouth King padded the lead to 14-6 with a 2-rbi single as Pete and Jacque scored.

The never-say-die Rhinos weren’t done scratching yet as the mid-afternoon Jackson #1 wind began to gale in right. With a runner on 1st and 1 out, Santiago hit a tailing dunker toward the right field line. Jacque sprinted over and appeared to have made the catch but the ball popped out of his glove. Runners landed on 2nd and 3rd before Sargent, Golden and Jackson chipped in with RBI hits to cut the Beat lead to 5 runs at 14-9. But Sheridan fouled out to end the threat.

The Beat answered back with another 8-run onslaught highlighted by Jacq Wilson’s 2nd 2-run blast into the alley in right center and a 2-run single by Luki. Sitting on a 22-9 lead, the Rhinos managed another 2 runs in the 5th before Kevin held them scoreless in the final 2 frames.

When the Dust Cleared

Final score Beat 23 Rhinos 11. In the scoreboard watch, The Beat settled in with post game refreshments to watch the Other Guys/HGA matchup at 3pm. The OG’s moved into a first place tie with The Beat by gutting out the dramatic loss of Cy Young candidate Ron Hamilton, who had to be helped off the field with a leg injury, and a late HGA charge, to win 10-7. 

Regardless of what happens to The Beat in its upcoming September 8 return match against 2nd place HGA (2-2) as the Other Guys rest on a bye week, the showdown between the Beatniks and OGs promises to be meaningful. Because at the mid-season Labor Day break, the two teams sit high above C-7 with identical 3-0-1 records. 

Happy Labor Day. See you on September 8 at 11.15 as The Beat meets HGA, the team it walloped 20-1 on opening day at Jackson Playground #2.

See the scoresheet in pdf (325k) or
On The BEAT News Archive

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