by Pete

The Beat hangs on in 11-9 win over Solid Smack Big Daddy turns game-ending 3-3-2 double play with bases loaded in 6th; 3-run Colletto home run blows it open in the 5th; Austin holds off late charge

In an 8-game softball season, most every game is a must win. Having lost its opening summer season game in a 12-10 heartbreaker to Finnegan’s A&B on July 26, The Beat could hardly afford to start off 0-2 with a loss to Solid Smack, formerly known as the Nine Inch Snails.

Once again, The Beat let its opponent stay close to them late in the game, but this time just barely saved it from slipping away. With Beat starter Kevin (Special K) Austin apparently on the ropes after walking  to load the bases with 1 out in the 6th and final inning, Donnell (Big Daddy) Moody stepped in front of a hard grounder by outfielder Chris Bowen and took the play to 1st base unassisted. In virtually the same motion, the big man fired a strike to the plate where Armando Lopez had just been inserted at catcher following an injury in the outfield during the Solid Smack 5th. Mondo caught the throw chest high and successfully blocked home plate as pitcher Matt Sarconi barreled home.

Moments earlier, the Beat was one swing away from oblivion.

Austin turned in a gutty performance to hold the other team under 10 runs on a day when he admitted to not having his best stuff. “I lost the zone early,” he said. “I was having trouble controlling the curve on the backspin in the wind so I abandoned it for the knuckleball around the 3rd. When I started struggling with the knuckler in the 6th, I had nothing to fall back on.”

Despite logging 21 hits, the Beat offense remained in a prolonged power slump that has bedeviled the club since it mercy ruled the Established Hitters 30-11 in the spring playoff semi-finals on June 17. This power outage included the C-league championship game against Joey J’s, 4 Metro Tournament contests and the summer opener, all losses.

But lightning struck in a hurry in the top of the 5th when Jim (The Thrill) Colletto’s 3-run homer on a 3-0 count put the boys in gray in the lead for the 1st time at 7-5 and turned the game’s momentum their way.

By prevailing over Solid Smack, The Beat evened its early season record at 1-1 as it headed into a bye on August 9th. Surprising Finnegan’s downed the Loose Cannons in the morning game to take sole possession of 1st place in C-6 with a 2-0 record.

So much for Big Daddy’s 5-run rule
After huge 1st inning outbursts against the Rhinos and Established Hitters in the spring, The Beat began to think it was better to play as visitors and take charge of the game with early momentum. However, the Beatniks went down scoreless in the 1st against Solid Smack wasting a leadoff single by the suddenly scalding Jacq (The Rock) Wilson (6 for 8 for a .750 BA after 2 summer games). The Smack took a 1-0 lead in the 1st on a 2-out RBI-single by the cleanup hitter John Skrivanich to score Bowen, who had doubled.

The Beat tied it 1-1 in the 2nd on Austin’s RBI single, but left 2 on base to squander a potential threat. Solid Smack came back with 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk in the bottom of the 2nd to make it 3-1, but Special K got out of a bases loaded jam with a clutch strikeout of Bowen looking on a backdoor curve.

The Beat re-tied it 3-3 in the 3rd on a sacrifice fly by Big Daddy and an RBI single by Colletto. But the lead seesawed back to Solid Smack in the bottom half of the inning as the home team capitalized on an outfield overthrow to score 2 runs for a 5-3 advantage. Both teams went down quietly in the 4th.

Then came the breakthrough
In the 5th, Jacq the Rock led off with a single and used his speed to move into scoring position on a fly to medium right by Mike (Butz) Buttafuso. Mark (MSG) St. Georges drove in Jacq with a single to right center to cut the Smack lead to 1. Moody followed with a double into the left centerfield gap to put runners on 2nd and 3rd to set up the game breaking clout. On a 3-0 count, big Jim picked on a high outside pitch and drove it past the left fielder for a 3-run home run. With a 7-5 lead and 1-out, however, The Beat wasn’t finished yet.

Sarconi pitched carefully to Mark Briscoe, who walked on 5 pitches before Mondo singled to put runners at 1st and 2nd. Brian (The Rifleman) Arcuri laced an RBI single to score Briscoe and increase the Beat lead to 8-5. Special K blooped a double just inside the right field foul line to plate Mondo and make it 9-5. A sacrifice fly by Greg (Luki) Lukoski and an RBI single by Jacq increased The Beat lead to a seemingly comfortable 11-5.

It soon became apparent that Solid Smack was not going to go away.

Austin got the first 2 outs in the 5th before 3 consecutive singles resulted in a Smack run. The 3rd baseman Mark Jacobson muscled up and scorched a line drive into the center field gap between Briscoe and Lopez for a 3-run dinger that cut the Beat lead to 11-9. Armando banged his knee diving for the ball on the play and later had to make an uncomfortable move behind the plate. Paul Bergmann and “Little Stevie” Bedrosian got to Special K for 2 more singles, but a good throw by Briscoe to Butts at 2nd caught Bedrosian rounding 1st base too far. Mike alertly rifled the ball to Big Daddy at 1st for the final out of the inning in what was possibly a harbinger of what was to come.

The Beat bats went back into sleep mode in the top of the 6th as the boys in gray left 2 runners aboard after mounting a 1-out threat on singles by MSG and Colletto.

Sudden death
With only minutes left to play, Sarconi led off the Solid Smack 6th with a base hit up the middle. Bergmann flied to The Thrill in right before Austin walked the #11-hitter Bruce Roberts and leadoff man Steve Kim to load the bases. With a 3-1 count and the infield in, Bowen chopped a hard grounder that Donnell took to the bag for the 2nd out before gunning the ball home to get Sarconi who failed to dislodge the ball from the sturdy Mondo. Just like that, it was all over and the Beatniks breathed a collective sigh of relief. It was a big win to avert a 0-2 hole heading into the bye week.

Jim Colletto paced the offense with a perfect 4 for 4 day, including the game breaking home run and 4 RBIs. Jim won the game ball for his efforts and vaulted into the team RBI lead with 17 on the season. Jacq the Rock was 4 for 4, with a run and an RBI and Special K broke out of a slump with a 3 for 3 day featuring a double and 2 RBIs.

The home plate umpire paid Special K a compliment to Beat manager Pete Wenner as he returned to his car following the game. “I was starting to worry about (him) after he walked the bases loaded, but I guess I shouldn’t have because he’s the best pitcher in the league.”

Kevin, who didn’t think he had it that day, later laughed at the perceived irony. “Anyway, we got out of it. I'm just so damn glad D made the play that he did. He saved the game with that double play.”

See the scoresheet in pdf (316k) or
On The BEAT News Archive

---

Please send your comments to: TheBeat@Sonic.net