by Pete

THE BEAT CLINCHES C-6 TITLE Beatniks return to C-league playoffs next month; up record to 6-0 with 8-6 squeaker over the Other Guys; Austin sharp again on mound; Moody, Colletto and Jacque power 14-hit attack; Briscoes back

It's October baseball under the lights again for The Beat. The boys in gray clinched their second straight summer C-league title by winning an 8-6 cliffhanger over the Other Guys in another tense, low-scoring affair that has become characteristic of the Beat-Other Guy rivalry. With 2 games left to play, the now third place Other Guys (2-3) were officially eliminated allowing the Beat the luxury of using the rest of the season to get ready for the playoffs. The 3-3 Loose Cannons, also eliminated today, moved into second place with a victory over the 2-4 Rhinos, the Beat’s next opponent.

The Beatniks tasted the championship champagne again in taking both games of the summer series against the tough Other Guys (3-2 victory on August 3) after absorbing a 13-3 drubbing at the hands of the OGs in the spring. The team walked off the field after the game in businesslike fashion, but bubbly was soon seen spraying around the picnic area behind the Jackson #1 backstop.

2002 Summer Standings through September 14, 2002 Team W L T PCT Pts GB x The BEAT 6 0 0 1.000 12 – Loose Cannons 3 3 0 .500 6 3 The Other Guys 2 3 0 .400 4 3.5 Rhinos 2 4 0 .333 4 4 Nine Inch Snails 1 4 0 .200 2 4.5

Kevin (Special K) Austin worked out of several jams effectively mixing high and deep pitches with a low backspin that kept the OGs off balance all day. The Beat defense was at times shaky but was able to recover behind Austin as the Wilson brothers and Alex Briscoe used their speed to run down tricky flies.

“This team has become my ultimate challenge because their pitching usually gives us fits,” said Kev during the festive postgame party. “It became clear to me a couple years ago that the only way we were going to beat these guys was to keep THEIR score down.”

Special K’s game plan to neutralize veteran Beat killers Ken Sommer, Dave Backus, Dave Powell and Marv Florence worked as the gang of four managed only 4 hits in 14 trips to the plate.

Welcome back
The day featured a feel good story in third baseman Mark Briscoe’s miraculous return to the lineup following a serious early July run-in with a power saw. In his first game since the June 9 Ultimate Softball Weekend in Santa Clara, Mark went 1 for 3 with a key RBI double in the 2nd. Metro Tournament star and brother Alex Briscoe returned after a 4-game hiatus and went 2 for 2 with an RBI. Alex made the defensive play of the game on a double play in the 3rd to short circuit an OG rally. After a routine catch of Cyrus Crafft’s fly ball to right center, Alex pegged a strong throw to Mark at third nailing Dave Backus trying to tag up at 2nd and advance.

The middle of the Beat lineup was clutch in the critical 3rd and 5th innings providing the margin of victory. The cottonmouth king Mark (MSG) St.Georges snapped out of a 2-game slump with a 3 for 3, 2 run day. Donnell (Big Daddy) Moody went 2 for 3 with 2 booming doubles to deep right center and an RBI. Jim (The Thrill) Colletto knocked in 3 runs with a double and 2 hits in 3 trips to the plate. Jacque Wilson, feeling all the way back from his torn oblique muscle also went 2 for 3 with a triple that would have been a home run had not the new Jackson shag carpet slowed it down.

Getting in under the wire
Bay Bridge traffic delayed East Bay denizens and 50% of the Beat outfield as Jacq Wilson and Steve Hinkebein arrived 10 minutes before game time causing some tense moments for the manager. Thank God and Motorola for the invention of cell phones. Jacq got his first dose of action pretty quickly.

With the outfield playing in, OG’s leadoff hitter Ken Sommer led off with a smash over Alex’s head for a triple. Dave Backus backed up Jacq with a fly ball to right, but the fleet right fielder glided under it and rifled in an accurate throw to hold Sommer respectfully at third. Ken then scored on a sacrifice fly by Crafft to put the OGs up 1-0 in the top of the first.

Austin and St. Georges were stranded at 1st and 2nd in the home half of the first giving the game the immediate feel of a typical close one with the Other Guys. The OGs got another run in the top of the 2nd when Horace Lee doubled down the left field line and scored on a 2-out single by third baseman Joel Weiner to make it 2-0 Other Guys.

The Beat offense awakened in the bottom of the second with a leadoff triple by Jacque. Mark Briscoe followed with a double to left center scoring Jacque and barely got in under the throw at 2nd. Red hot shortstop Brian Arcuri scored Briscoe on a 2-strike double over the bag down the left field line just inside the chalk to tie it at 2-2. Brian moved over to 3rd on Steve’s groundout to 1st and scored on Alex Briscoe’s sacrifice fly for a 3-2 Beat lead.

The Other Guys tied it in the top of the third on a Backus double that scored Sommer who had reached via an error leading off the inning. Cyrus Crafft hit a fly ball to medium-deep right center that Alex caught and gunned a throw to Mark at 3rd well ahead of Backus for the double play. That play was a huge rally killer. Matt Rei’s single would have scored the go ahead run and might have changed the momentum. In any case, John Rohaley grounded sharply back to Kevin for the final out and the score tied at 3-3.

Oh The Thrill of it!
The Beat struck again in the 3rd. After a hard lineout to by Austin to Joel Weiner that almost broke the OGs 3rd baseman’s hand, MSG singled and went to 3rd on Donnell’s double into the right-center field gap. Colletto then lined a clutch 2-run single to put the Beat back into the lead at 5-3.

Neither team scored in the 4th, but in the top of the 5th, infield errors by Briscoe and St. Georges put OG runners on 1st and 2nd with none out. Backus grounded back to Kevin who momentarily bobbled the ball before flipping it to Donnell at 1st for the 1st out. Both runners had moved into scoring position. Crafft singled in Florence to make it 5-4, but a strong throw from Jacq again held Sommer at 3rd where he would be stranded as Rei flew out to Jacq in short right and Rohaley again grounded out to Kevin.

Breathing room
The Beat opened up their lead to 8-4 in the home half of the inning. Jacq singled and sped to 3rd on MSG’s single to right center. Jacq scored on Donnell’s second double of the game, which moved MSG to 3rd. The Thrill doubled in the Cottonmouth King to make it 7-4, but Big Daddy was gunned down trying to score on a good relay throw from Florence to Creary behind the plate. But Jacque’s single scored Colletto for a 4-run cushion.

In the top of the 6th, a leadoff walk to Horace and a single by Bill Pair got Wenner prowling the sidelines, but the pesky Powell flied to right and Weiner popped to Jacque playing in the rover’s spot behind 2nd base. Wilson got a good jump on an elevated liner that could have gone over a slower outfielder’s head. Quickly though, singles by Creary and Florence cut the Beat lead to 8-6, but Sommer flew to Jacque for the final out.

The Beat went down quickly but not quietly in the 6th as Mike (Butts) Buttafuso was called out by the illegal pitcher for possessing an illegal bat. Javier Urdiales, who had entered the game in the 5th behind the plate for Greg (Luki) Lukoski, lined a hard shot to a diving Sommer at shortstop for the final out.

The finale was set for the top of the 7th as the OGs sent out the dangerous Dave Backus and the middle of the order. But Special K got the boys in blue when Dave grounded out to Arcuri at short, Craffy flew to Jacq in right and Rei flew to Alex to end it.

The Beat had achieved its fifth division championship in 15 years and second in the last 2 summers. With a bye on September 21st, The Beat will have 2 weeks to savor this one before facing the Rhinos at 11.15am on September 28 at Jackson #1.

The boys in gray will play the winner of division C-7 for the Saturday bragging rights on Thursday, October 10 at 7pm on Moscone #1.

See the scoresheet in pdf (302k) or
On The BEAT News Archive

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