by Pete

The Beat reaches summer midway point at 4-0 Beatniks sweep all division foes in 1st half; Tidy 17-11 win over Nine Inch Snails vaults the Beat to 2-game lead in C-6 standings; Spring 2002 now a distant memory

The Beat capped off an improbable August that began with a plan to stay competitive while getting healthy for a possible September stretch run. With Mark Briscoe out indefinitely suffering from a severe wrist injury and Jacque Wilson week-to-week nursing a torn oblique muscle, the front office set a pre-season August goal of 3-1, while quietly thinking that maybe 2-2 would be acceptable under the circumstances.

The boys in gray responded to the adversity of injuries and key player departures (Gunnar Rosenquist, current Brass Beat winner Mike Weiss and BJ Bateman all moved away from San Francisco and are presumed retired) sharpened by 8 games of tournament play in June and July to roll through the season’s first month with a spotless 4-0 record. The Nine Inch Snails, another team that had handled The Beat with ease—an 18-6 rout—in the disappointing 3-5 spring, became the latest victim as August drew to a close.

“It was nice to work with a cushion all day”, said Kevin (Special K) Austin, who held the Snails to 8 earned runs and never trailed after The Beat took a 5-2 lead in the 1st. Remarkably the Beat are now 11-1 since July 2001 when leading after the 1st inning.

In the summer of 2002, the Beatniks have compensated well for their shortcomings. Said Austin “When we're struggling at the plate, the defense comes through big” (3-2 over the Other Guys and 9-4 over Rhinos), “and when we needed the runs today the offense took off scoring consistently in almost every inning.”

2002 Summer Standings through August 24, 2002 Team W L T PCT Pts GB The BEAT 4 0 0 1.000 8 – Loose Cannons 2 2 0 .500 4 2 The Other Guys 2 2 0 .500 4 2 Nine Inch Snails 1 3 0 .250 2 3 Rhinos 1 3 0 .250 2 3

Indeed, after the 1st inning, the closest the Snails got was 15-9 in the top of the 6th.

The Beatniks now sit on a 2-game cushion going into the Labor Day break as the Other Guys mercy-ruled the Cannons 18-3. The OGs and Cannons are tied for 2nd place at 2-2, and the Rhinos and Snails bring up the rear at 1-3.

Jacq (The Rock) Wilson (3 for 4, 3 runs, RBI) and Brian Arcuri (3 for 4, run, double, 2 RBIs) both won game balls for their efforts against the Snails; Brian in part for his solid work at shortstop that anchored the efficient Beat defense. Donnell (Big Daddy) Moody was 2 for 4 with 2 runs scored, 2 doubles and 2 RBIs. Austin also went 2 for 4 with a double and 4 RBIs out of the #2 spot.

Quick Strike Offense

The top of the 1st for the Snails started in lightning-strike fashion. Pitcher Matt Sarconi led off with a line single up the middle and shortstop John Skrivanich tripled over Jacq’s head in right for a quick 1-0 lead. Number-3 hitter Chris George scored Skrivanich on a groundout to Mike (Butts) Buttafuso at 2nd base to make it 2-0. By then, Kevin had realized how huge home plate ump Merrill’s strike zone was and decided to go high with the backspin. That seemed to throw the Snails offstride as the cleanup hitter Eli Kolman fouled out to Greg Lukoski behind the plate and Snails veteran David Dick grounded to Mark (MSG) St. Georges at 3rd base to end it.

The Beat came up in the home half looking for a 5-spot and delivered. Jacq led off with a line single over shortstop and MSG walked with 1 out to put runners on 1st and 2nd. Moody, batting in his usual cleanup spot, coiled and sent a booming, opposite-field fly ball to right center that cleared Mark Jacobsen’s head and bounced against the fence. Jacq easily scored while Moody and St. Georges cruised into 2nd and 3rd. Sarconi quickly got ahead of Jim (The Thrill) Colletto and struck him out on a foul up the 1st base line. With 1-run in and 2-out, The Beat appeared on the verge of a crossroads and a pressure spot for Jacque Wilson, coming off a 3-week hiatus unsure how his ribs would hold up on a hard swing. But Jacque came through, lofting a bloop single over the infield for 2 RBIs and a 3-2 Beat lead. It was a big hit, but the boys in gray weren’t done. Consecutive singles by Steve Hinkebein, Arcuri and Pete Wenner led to 2 more runs and a 5-2 Beat lead. There would be no turning back.

Austin went on to retire 9 Snails in a row through 3 innings, aided by an airtight outfield and infield defense. Meanwhile, The Beat put up 3 runs in the 2nd to make it 8-2 highlighted by Kevin’s double that scored the speedy Jacq all the way from 1st base. Donnell drove in Kevin with his second double of the game and Jim Colletto plated D with an RBI single to increase the Beat margin to six.

In the bottom of the 3rd, Arcuri doubled with 1 out and scored on Wenner’s looping single over the shortstop Skrivanich to make it 9-2. Jacq Wilson’s 2-out RBI single made it 10-2, then the Snails started fighting back.

In the top of the 4th, Special K’s string of 9 straight batters retired ended with 2 walks to Skrivanich and George to start the inning. After a fielders choice to MSG, who backhanded a sharp grounder by Kolman and got the force at 3rd, Dick drove in George from 2nd to make it 10-3. The runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd on an outfield overthrow. Then 3rd baseman Zack Sarconi hit a deep fly ball to left center that The Thrill drifted over and seemed to camp under. But Steve Hinkebein came up behind Jim and appeared to grab the fly ball away from Colletto, almost like an “immaculate reception”. As Steve held up the ball to show the catch, both Kolman and Dick tagged and beat the Beatnik relay throw from Arcuri for a 2-run sacrifice. Austin then got John Bergmann to fly out to Jacque, who made a nice diving catch on the sinking liner for the final out, but the Nine Inch Snails had closed to 10-5.

The Beat Bats Reawaken and Widen the Lead

After both teams went down quietly in the bottom of the 4th and top of the 5th, The Beat broke out again. David Dick dropped Jacque’s high fly to left leading off the bottom of the 5th. Hinkebein singled and Arcuri drove in Jacque to make it 11-5. Wenner followed with a slow-hit grounder up the middle that barely made it through to the outfield grass to load the bases. Pinch-hitting for Luki, Javier Urdiales strode to the plate and scalded a line drive single over shortstop to score Hinke and make it 12-5, but Brian ran through Kev’s stop sign at 3rd and was briefly caught in a rundown. Inexplicably though, the left center fielder Kolman had thrown to 3rd behind the runner Arcuri instead of going to 2nd or home with it. This lapse not only allowed Hinke to score, but gave Brian the edge as he ultimately scampered back to 3rd to preserve the bases loaded situation with none out.

This sequence was critical because after 2 quick outs, Austin cleared the bases with a single that once again scored the fleet-footed Jacq the Rock all the way from 1st. At the end of 5 innings, it was 15-5 Beat.

However, the Snails were not ready to go down without further fight. Skrivanich led off with a single before George lined a hard shot that Arcuri leaped high into the air for and brought down as a snow cone for the 1st out. On the next pitch, Kolman hit a waste-high liner at Brian that knuckled off his glove for a tough error and put runners at 1st and 2nd. Four straight singles and a fielder’s choice followed and it was suddenly 15-9 before Donnell speared a hard grounder to first and stepped on the bag for the final out.

The Beat Gains Closure

Eager to regain momentum that appeared to be slipping away, Colletto and Jacque led off the bottom of the 6th with singles. Both runners scored on a Hinkebein ground ball that went through the 1st baseman George’s legs. Steve tried to stretch it to two bases and was thrown out at 2nd, but the play distracted the Snails and Jacque snuck in with the 17th Beat run.

Entering the top of the 7th up 17-9, Kevin got Matt Sarconi and Skrivanich to fly to the outfield for 2 quick outs. George singled before Kolman launched a mighty home run over the right field fence to make it 17-11. But after a Luxor cabbie retrieved the home run ball, Zach Sarconi grounded out, MSG to Donnell, to end it and preserve the Beat’s undefeated summer to date.

The Mid-Summer Leaderboard

At the summer midway point, the Beat team batting average and on-base percentage stand at .440 and .537 respectively, a far cry from the .407 and .495 spring marks that were deceptively inflated by an 18-run finale and 5 walks. Brian (The Rifleman) Arcuri has been extremely hot in 3 games this season and leads the team with a .700 BA and OBP. After a slow spring, Jacq Wilson has laid claim to and solidified the leadoff spot in Gunnar’s absence with a team-leading 9 hits, .600 BA and .625 OBP (both good for 2nd on the team). Brother Jacque has also rebounded from a tough spring and the rib-cage injury with a .615 OBP and .462 average.

Big Daddy currently paces the team with a 1.000 slugging percentage to go with a .571 average and .600 OBP. MSG leads the team in RBIs with 6. As always, the name Jim Colletto can be found among the leaders in 7 of 8 offensive categories. 

Pitcher Kevin Austin finished August 4-0 with a sparkling 4.38 ERA, more than a full run lower than last summer’s 5.60 mark to pace the C-7 Beat division champs. Special K has regained command and reduced his walks number from the spring to help keep the team ahead in all of its first 4 games of the summer.

Next up, the Loose Cannons at 12.30pm on September 7 at the new Jackson #1, after a much-needed Labor Day break. Watch as the undefeated Beat gets all-around standout Alex Briscoe back for the Cannons game and slugging brother Mark back for the Other Guys on 9/14. The Beatniks once again take aim at a September stretch drive to remember with its division foes arrayed against it and the colors gray and black firmly in the crosshairs.

“Now everyone will be coming after us,” said Jacque Wilson in an interview from his North Bay home following the game. The true test has yet to come.

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