by Pete

The Beat Comes Back to Nip the Other Guys 4-3 The latest nail-biter goes our way as Austin keeps it close for late Beat rally

After bashing the ball and scoring in double digits for two weeks running, The Beat played little ball on September 25 to steal a 4-3 comeback win from the Other Guys. The boys in gray upped their record to 3-4 and now have a chance to even the slate at .500 in next week's summer finale. In view of our dismal 1-3 start, that'd be a significant feat of note.

On the mound, Kevin Austin was in charge all day, scattering 10 hits in an outstanding effort both on the hill and in the field. Wife Stacia gets a major assist and profuse managerial thanks for getting Kev to the game in the first place despite a babysitter cancellation at the last minute. This understanding reprieve for Austin loomed large inasmuch as veteran hurler Dennis "OB" O'Brien had e-mailed in sick from far-away Ukiah on Friday night. Moreover, the K-man had to dig deep to go seven innings in spite of a persistent cold and sore ribs from last week's ill-fated dive into 2nd base. Up to the task at hand, however, he used an effective knuckleball to keep the first 5 hitters in the OG lineup off-balance at 1 hit apiece and held the 8 through 11 guys 2 for 11. Additionally, Kevin the Elder was involved in a remarkable five infield putouts.

Of what little offense there was, Mark "Cottonmouth King" St. Georges and Gunner "Man" Rosenquist generated most of it, each going 3 for 3. Supersub Mark Melin came to our rescue again, standing-in in right field for Jim "The Thrill" Colletto, who contributed a clutch 2 for 3 day complete with game tying RBI and game-winning run, but was forced to EP by a strained back.

In a battle of veteran knuckleballers, it was a pitchers duel from the outset. In the top of the 1st inning with Other Guy runners on 2nd and 3rd and 1 out, Kevin settled down to get the cleanup hitter Rohaley on an RBI groundout to 2nd baseman MSG. After giving up another seemingly harmless RBI single to make it 2-0, a 6-4 Brian Arcuri to St. Georges force out, ended the threat.

One would have to have said "seemingly harmless" at that point because The Beat offense had been so prolific in the two prior games, and this week saw the return of speedsters BJ Bateman and Kevin "The Younger" Doyle to the lineup, as well as outfield stalwart and captain Chris Young. However, the Beatniks went down quietly in the first before mustering only one run out of a 2nd inning bases-loaded threat. We would go down quietly in every inning after that until the 6th.

In the OG top of the 2nd, a strange turn of events ensued, when the leadoff batter Hoffman actually made 2 outs in 1 at-bat. What, you say? After the diminutive number-7 hitter fouled out, "the clueless one" went back to the plate, picked up the bat, got in the box, and grounded back to Kevin at the mound for the 2nd out. At that point, the puzzled home-plate umpire, and friend-of-OB (FOOB) Curtis, took control and called Hoffman out for the strikeout. Amused and somewhat confused, Big Daddy and I lobbied for two outs since the hapless OG hitter had batted out of turn. Curtis conceded and restored order after about 5 minutes of jawing from both teams. Both outs went in the book as played while the OGs next batter lost his turn at the plate. Once play resumed, Austin retired the side on another comebacker to the mound. A strange tone was set, but as always, Curtis kept it loose.

The Other Guys came back with another run in the fourth to make it 3-1 on three consecutive 1-out singles. Following that, Kevin stiffened to get the 9- and 10-hitters to fly out to end the short-lived threat to break it open. It was a clutch inning indeed.

After lying dormant all day, the same Beat quick-strike offense that had been in evidence in weeks 5 and 6 finally took the lead for good in the bottom of the 6th. Down 3-1, rookie speedster Doyle chopped a swinging bunt between the pitcher and 3rd base for an infield hit. MSG then followed with his 3rd hit of the day to put runners on 1st and 2nd. With none out, Donnell "Big Daddy" Moody doubled in Doyle to make it 3-2. With D and MSG on 2nd and 3rd, lefty slugger Jim Colletto singled to the left side driving in Mark to tie it. On the relay throw in, Jim broke for second and was thrown out there. As the second baseman inexplicably held the ball, Donnell, who had tiptoed half-way down the 3rd base line, sneaked in with what turned out to be the winning run. Crafty deke or baserunning mistake? Big Jim wasn't asked, and probably won't tell. It doesn't matter!

The decisive top of the 7th was one for the ages. A leadoff double by the boneheaded number 7-hitter Hoffman (see story on top of the 2nd), and a semi-intentional walk to Wiener, a ringer from team Mars, caused some members of The Beat faithful to border on hyperventilation. However, Kevin got Pair to ground sharply to Brian at short. Arcuri momentarily bobbled the ball, but recovered to throw to Big Daddy to get the lead runner at 3rd by a step. Not for the faint of heart, it was a huge play, which seemed to settle everybody down. The silver-maned Creary was next induced to fly out lazily to Chris Young in left before the 11-hitter "Cap'n Crunch" Lbalio hit an easy comebacker to the mound for the final out.

After the two teams shook hands, umpire Curtis sent his regards to the sidelined pitcher in Ukiah. "Say hi to OB for me," said the FOOB.

It was just a clutch job all around in this game for the gray & black. It is fun to reflect on, but was excruciating to watch go down. But pain before pleasure can often make the aftermath more sweet.

Come join us for Fan Appreciation Day in the summer finale on 10/2 at 12.30pm on Jackson #1 and the awarding of the last Brass Beat of this millennium.

View The BEAT's 1999 Final Batting Statistics

On The BEAT News Archive