Pearls Of Wisdom

PTownFan May Be On The Move

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:56:00 +0000

The Petaluma Argus Courier invited me to blog for them and I said, "What the heck." I haven't decided what that means for the Pearls yet. I may keep them both up. Or, if the Argus is a comfy fit, I will use the KISS principle and Keep It Simple. For now, just follow this link to my new blog, PTownFan. Add a comment while you're there and give PTownFan a shout!

Little League All Stars: July 15 Updates

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:00:00 +0000

Touch 'Em All Tournament Updates - JULY 15:

Petaluma teams are still alive in the 9-10, 10/11, Junior and Senior District Finals. In the 11/12 bracket, Petaluma National lost a heartbreaker to Sebastopol last night. After a 20-1 pummelling at the hands of Petaluma National Monday night, Sebastopol dug deep and must have pitched a beaut last night in eeking out a 1-0 win over Petaluma to win the District Title.

Following are links to the Tourney brackets for each age group. Little League Officials update these brackets as scores come in so this is your direct pipeline to the latest results. I've limited the links to brackets the three Petaluma Little Leagues compete in. For a broader view of who they might face in later rounds and how far each age group can go, click here.

9/10 Year Olds: Petaluma National won the South Area Flag and plays Sebastopol for the District Flag tonight in Healdsburg in the District Final Tourney. Earlier this week, Petaluma beat Sebastopol 6-4, but it was Sebastopol's first loss so they battled back through the loser's bracket, topping Petaluma 11-7 last night to force a playoff. The winner advances to the Section Final hosted by District 53 (Napa/Solano) beginning Saturday.

10/11 Year Olds: It's down to Rincon Valley and Petaluma Valley in the District Final Tourney hosted by Petaluma National. Each team has a win and a loss against each other so tonight's 5:30 game will determine the champ at the Petaluma National field on Kenilworth Drive between the freeway and the fairgrounds. The winner advances to the Section Final hosted by Petaluma Valley beginning Saturday.

11/12 Year Olds (aka: Major League All-Stars or Little League All-Stars): The 11/12 or "Little League" series of tournaments produces the teams that play in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, PA each summer. Sadly, it won't include a Petaluma team this year either after Petaluma National lost a 1-0 game to Sebastopol last night. The Sebastopudlians move on to the Section Tournament in Marin beginning Saturday.

Junior Division (13/14 year olds): Petaluma Valley and Sebastopol play for the flag tonight in District Final hosted by Rancho Cotati. Valley edged Sebastopol 3-2 last night forcing a deciding game tonight. The winner advances to the Section Tourney hosted by District 4 in Concord.

Senior Division (15/16 year olds): The number of players at this level drops off to the point that the three leagues combine to field one All-Star Team. Their first stop is the District Final hosted by Petaluma at Casa Grande High School where Petaluma has already notched two wins and plays for the flag tomorrow night. They will face the winner of tonight's losers' bracket game between Healdsburg and Mark West. With no losses, Petaluma will have a second shot at the flag Friday in the unlikely event of a loss tomorrow. Petaluma also hosts the next round, the Section Tournament that includes winners of three other District Finals. That tourney gets underway Saturday.

About Little League All-Stars:
Little League organizes All-Star competition by age group. Although an age group spans two years, teams are commonly referred to by the older year in that group. The older the players, the further they can go geographically as a summer full of tournaments progress. The 11/12 year olds, the Juniors (13/14 years) and the Seniors (15/16 years) can progress all the way to World Series competition. There is also a regional All Star Competition for the AAA minor league level. That tourney wrapped up last weekend with Petaluma Valley as the winner.

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:44:00 +0000

PTownFan is off to Colorado to celebrate the Really Big Birthdays of a bunch of special college friends. See ya next week. The Little league AllStar bracket links still work while I'm gone. Magic! :-)

CUP O' JO: Wednesday, July 8, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 14:00:00 +0000

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Move over Jonny Gomes. Sweet Lou gets top billing today with a 5-for-5 three RBI night in an 8-3 win over St. Lucie. His average is up to .347. And the team awarded him the floral granny panties as The Most Offensive Player Of The Game. He wears them well on his Facebook page. Way to represent Louis!

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Another huge night for for a PTown Pro. 4-for-5 with 2 home runs and three RBI boosting his average to .268. Woo!
JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
0-for-3 in last night's 4-3 win over the Phillies. Good to see them bounce back after Tuesday's 22-1 thrashing. Some love for Jonno in the local paper today: Link

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
0-for-4 night. He's human.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI in last night's 8-7 win over St. Paul. Batting .346

SAM BANISTER (IF, Akron Racers Professional Softball)
2-for-3 with two RBIs in last night's 5-4 exhibition loss to Allentown. Go girl!

CUP O' JO: Tuesday, July 7, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:29:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
Provided the only offense in last night's very offensive loss to the Phillies. It was a 22-1 rout with PTown's Gomes preventing the ultimate humiliation with one big home run swing. Worst loss in Reds' franchise history. Ugggghhhh-ly. Thank you Jonny for avoiding the shut out. Gomes is still hitting .329 despite returning to a pinch hitting role... despite his .367 average in the middle of the interleage swing. Wazzup Dusty?

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
3-for-5 with 6 RBIs and a dinger on Sunday. Woo!!! 1-for-4 with a double, a stolen base and a run scored in last night's loss to Victoria. Batting .291. Had a great visit with Joey during the Caps series with the Outlaws last week. He is really enjoying the Caps opportunity and their sleek ride. The team plane. If you've ever wondered why the Florida Marlins have more empty seats than fans for an afternoon home game, take in an Outlaws game in Chico. Words simply can't describe it. It's a tanning booth, sauna and frying pan all wrapped up in one neat little package. Good to see so many PTown Fans in the house for Joey despite the miles, the traffic (legendary) and the heat.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
0-for-3 in last night's loss breaking up a 5 game hitting streak. He's still hitting .299 so the regular at bats are working for Louis.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization):
1-for-4 in last night's loss. Batting .341 with a 5 game hitting streak. Starting to hear frequent chatter about Tommy during A's games. Gonna happen 707 fans. I feel it!

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Wow! A double short of hitting for the cycle in last night's loss to High Desert. Way to go Konrad!

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
1-for-4 with his 4th double in a 4-1 loss to St. Paul last night. Batting .343.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
DJ was lighting up the scoreboard with his bat in Matsu, but not getting needed time in the outfield. The Indians selected him in the draft last month and have been evaluating him as a potential outfielder in their organziation so he had to bust a move. He's headed to Corvallis OR to play for the Knights. Fishing's still good in Oregon DJ. You won't have to go too far.

CUP O' JO: Wednesday, July 1, 2008

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:50:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):

Struck out in a pinch hit appearance as the Reds produced lackluster offense on an off night for starter Bronson Arroyo.
.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)

Joey is happy to be back in NorCal and it showed last night. An RBI fielders' choice and went yard in the 7th to score two and ice the game for the Caps. He's batting .273 with 3 home runs in 55 ABs for the Caps. PTownJr and I will be in the house tonight to watch Edmonton go for two in a row. Hopefully Joey saved some hits and some crisp D at 1B for the hometown fans.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
1-for-3 with a single, a walk, a sac fly and a K in last night's win over Daytona. Lou's hitting .283.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Threw 98 pitches and went 4.2 innings and left the game with a 3-3 tie. The usually dependable Seattle bullpen hiccuped in the 7th and 8th and the Yanks won 8-3 with reliever White taking the loss.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
2-for-4 with 2 hits including a two out RBI single and a walk in a 5-2 win over Las Vegas. Everidge is batting .359 and has 14 RBIs in 78 at bats. He's slugging .590 and has a .419 OBP. You gotta think this is attracting a fair amount of attention in Oakland where they could sure use some power in the lineup.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
2-for-5 in a 6-4 win over Bakersfield.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 at 1B in a 4-2 win over Sioux City. Batting .346.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
3-for-5 with a run scored, a stolen base, a home run and two RBIs in an 11 inning win over The Fire. Woo!

(Bitter)sweet Redemption

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Remember the inning that wasn't in Saturday's Petaluma City Junior Division Little League Championship game? The game ended in a 5.5 inning win* for Brodies (Petaluma Valley Little League).

Turns out the inning really wasn't played after all. The manager of the Petaluma Valley team emailed that upon reviewing their book, an inning was "jumped" and he apologized for the confusion.

So we'll never know if the PALL team had a come-from-behind win in them Saturday and another win on Sunday to end the season 3-0 against Brodies and take home the flag. Likely ? Perhaps not. But these are 13 and 14 year old kids and trust me, ANYthing can happen over the course of a complete game.

There's a saying that "the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra". The Umpire is the only one paid to be there. And likely, one of the few without a personal stake in the game. If it's not part of their job to keep track of the number of innings played on that little card they record substituions on, then here's another suggestion. Next year, perhaps the Leagues will take the extra step of providing an official scorekeeper for the Championship Game(s). Or at least a scorekeeper table where the home and visitor books sit together and cross check little things as the game progresses. So the little things don't become big things that can impact the outcome. We volunteers all make mistakes. Let's make it easier to catch 'em before it's too late.

CUP O' JO: Monday, June 29, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 16:00:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
1-for-4 with a 2 run home run in yesterday's 8-1 win over Cleveland to take the Governor's Cup and close to within 2.5 games of Milwaukee and St. Louis who are tied for the Division lead. I tell you what, these Reds' fans are a tough crowd. With Jonny hitting .343 and slugging .600 (.529 vs. RHP) they are not exactly singing his praises. Now that interleague action is over, they're already predicting a big cooldown as he returns to a platoon role despite his recent success versus RHP. He went 11-for-29 as the DH during the recent interleague stretch and is batting .063 points higher than the next best hitting outfielder. I'd love to the output of a Bill James equation that looks at all those inputs to see how good another OF's defense needs to be to overcome the edge that Gomes has offensively. If the Reds' starting pitchers continue to struggle and wins hinge on run production, I don't know how they can afford to keep Jonny out of the lineup. Dickerson in CF and Gomes in LF is more potent than Taveras (.237) in center and a platoon in left with either Nix (.259) or Dickerson (.279) and saving Jonny's hot bat only for lefties. But what do I know.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
2-for-5 with an RBI single in last night's 11-3 win over Victoria to regain second place. If you can work a mid-week game in Chico into your schedule, Joey's team opens their 4 game series against the Outlaws tomorrow night. Click here for ticket info and here for directions. The gates open at 6:00 and the Caps take infield during BP which usually begins around 5:30. But the nice gal in the Outlaws front office said it shouldn't be a problem if a few PTown fans show up and want to get in early to send some love Joey's way. And get this week's edition of Sports Illustrated signed. BYOS (Bring Your Own Sharpie).

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
0-for-3 last night at second base as the Threshers won the sharkfight 5-4 over Louis' Hammerheads.
BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Next start: tomorrow night in NY vs. Joba.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in a 6-3 loss to Las Vegas last night. Batting .357. Man!

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
0-for-4 in last night's loss to Bakersfield.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-3 with an RBI in a 2-1 win over St. Paul last night. And our beat reporter Not So Anonymous reports that he is planning a trip to Sioux Falls, in part, to report back on those Fowl Balls. Take a video cam NSA... we gotta see these things to believe 'em.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
2-for-4 with two doubles in last night's 5-4 win over The Fire. Batting .344 with 4 extra base hits in 9 games played. DJ is working on his outfielding skills in hopes of inking a deal with the Cleveland Indians who selected him in the draft earlier this summer. So far, so good as far as fielding stats go.

PTown's Joey Gomes Makes Sports Illustrated

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:38:00 +0000

Joey went yard against former MLB pitcher Jose Lima, who is trying to make a comeback via the Golden League, and Sports Illustrated gave it some ink. Look for an article titled, "Somewhere, it's Lima Time" in this week's edition with Joe Mauer on the cover. Or read it here.

Not to take anything away from Lima and his inspirational attitude, but Joey got the ink by making a two run jack out of a Jose Lima fastball. Yah, Joe Gomes :-)

And MrPTown assures me the "SI Jinx" only applies to the guy on the cover. Poor Joe Mauer's .400 season is in trouble...

CUP O' JO: Sunday, June 28, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:10:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
1-for-5 yesterday with an RBI single to ice the Reds 7-3 win over Cleveland.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
1-for-4 yesterday in a 14-1 loss to Victoria. Joe Gomes is playing some 1B for the Caps and batting .267 after a dry spell this week. The Caps are in third place three games back of Calgary. The upcoming series in Chico this week could break things open. Roadtrip Wednesday to watch the 8:05 game!

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Louis is have a great few days. 3-for-5 yesterday, 1-for-3 Friday and 3-for-4 Thursday. Three runs and two doubles during that stretch. And regular ABs. Yah Lou!

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
It's Morrow v. Joba Chamberlain Tuesday in New York. Seattle has won 7 of their last 10 and is closing the gap in the AL West.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Nice piece on Tommy in the Sacramento Bee: http://www.sacbee.com/sports/story/1981495.html Tommy was 1-for-5 in yesterday's 11-5 win over Vegas. Batting .338.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
2-for-3 with a double in yesterdays squeaker of a loss to Modesto. Batting .255

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
1-for-4 yesterday. Batting .335.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
Batting .321. Box scores still a challenge to find. And I gotta get to work...

WILLY SULLIVAN (OF, Petaluma American Round Table Pizza)
2-for 2 with an RBI double in yesterday's win* by Petaluma's Valley Brodies team. Finished the season at .400. On to All Stars which begin Saturday, July 4th in Cotati.

My Name Is PTownFan And I Have A Problem

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 01:18:00 +0000

It sucks to be competitive at my age. It really does.

The Valley Little League Brodie's Team was crowned Petaluma Junior Division Champions* today. I tip my cap to them. Well pitched, well played. The Blue Crew called a good game and we had opportunities to make it much closer, if not get ahead early. It was 90 something degrees by gametime and 99 by the time the final pitch was thrown with Brodies up 8-3*. Even with the hard hitting top of our order due up, the speech bubbles on the speechless young faces were saying, "Please let this be over." I guess I can't blame them. They'd played 5 games in 5 days, it would take a 6th to win the flag, and it was bloody hot.

But I had the 2004 Boston Red Sox in my head. Remember them? Losing 4-3 in the 9th and down zero games to three the best-of-seven American League Championship Series, the #8 Sox hitter outfoxed the great Mariano Rivera to force extra innings and win the game. And ultimately the series. The top of our Round Table order had rallied with two outs in the 5th to score a couple of runs. They were due up again in the 7th. My glass was half full. Lotta baseball left. But the Baseball Gods intervened and gave the boys a pass on the rest of the game.

"What'chu talkin' about, Willis?"

Yep, the Baseball Gods inserted a phantom scoreless inning in the other team's scorebook, leading them to believe the game was over when our #9 batter grounded out. As I was busy totalling out my T6 half inning, boxes of trophies were appearing on the field. I jumped up in amazement as the congratulatory end of game hand slapping was taking place, and waved my lovely orange, but very unofficial Visitor Team scorebook at the ump, shouting "it's only the 6th inning!!!"  I keep a good book, but I'm not perfect so I did a hurry up double check. Had I scored two innings in one column? Nope... Passed out briefly in the heat and missed an inning? Nope... Earlier in the game I had picked up the wrong leadoff batter and got off track for a few hitters. That quick fix had long since been made, but it was enough to rattle my confidence. So I asked a couple of travel ball dads for a quick double-check. Still short an inning, we appealed to the Blue Crew. Their response? "Home Book says we've played seven innings so we're done."

By this point, the boys had their trophies and the other team's photo op with the Championship Banner was underway. And the Sports Editor of the local paper and two other parents keeping score approached with confused looks also wondering what happened to B6 and T7. Four scorekeepers showed a 5.5 inning game.  Only the home team's book showed the additional inning. The inning that wasn't. The win with an asterisk.

I hate it when the game is taken out of the players' hands.  I just think it's too bad it ended with something clearly amiss and the losing team having a chance. We're not talking about an Umpire's strike zone. This was a discrepancy that could have been cross checked. I have a newfound appreciation for all the rules and regulations of sanctioned Little League Tournaments. Especially the roped off Official Scorekeepers' Table under a "cone of silence" so pitch counts, scores and innings are all accounted for and verified by Tournament Officials. The Championship game of the City Tourney deserves the same.

All that said, the second place finishers didn't seem to mind. They were cooked. A longshot win today would have forced another game at high noon tomorrow. On another 100 degree day. The coaches thought we'd have a mutiny if we pushed the point. So we conceded the loss*. With the top of our order coming up to bat against a team we beat earlier this season. The Baseball Gods can make things right during the upcoming All-Star Tournament and get us through the South Area Finals to the District Tourney. And beyond ;-)

Your final, PVLL Brodie's 8. PALL Round Table 3*

Like I said, it sucks to be competitive at my age. It really does. They're kids, not the 2004 Red Sox. I need to let that asterisk go.

Thanks for listening.

PETALUMA AMERICAN'S HENRIS ROOFING WINS TOC

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 12:54:00 +0000

2009 TOC Champs

Photo: Greg Gardea

Henris Roofing won the District 35 Tournament Of Champions Friday night topping Fort Bragg by a score of 16-0. Pearlacious!! Hosted by Mark West Springs Little League, the tourney included the top North Coast Major Division teams from Petaluma to the Oregon border. A tip of the cap to proud poppa Greg Gardea for the this recap:

Brendan Jackson pitched 5 solid shutout innings for the win. At the plate, the Dynamic duo was at it again. Drew Busse and Miles Gardea started things off with back to back doubles and then followed with back to back homeruns the next inning. Busses had a double and 3 homeruns on the night including a grand slam. Gardea had two doubles, a triple and a homerun. Busse and Gardea combined for 12 RBI's and Brendan Jackson added four more. He went 3-for-4 with two singles and a double. (Ed: YOWZA... a slam in a TOC. Now THAT is a memory maker).

Pitching strategy is key in the 5 day single elimination tournament where teams play every day. Henris finished the year with a record of 29-4 and were coached by Tom Busse and Chuck Mcphearson. The roster includes Drew Busse, Armand Carcelan, Max Cerini, Justin Chapman, Thomas Cramer, Brad Freitas, Austin Garatti, Miles Gardea, Jackson Hill, Brendan Jackson, Emmett Schrader, and Alberto Valdez.

Petaluma was represented in the TOC by Henris Roofing from the Petaluma American, Athletic Edge from the Petaluma Valley and Pinky’s Pizza from the Petaluma National. Other Leagues sending champions to the Tournament were Cloverdale, Coast Youth, Rincon Valley, Rancho Cotati, El Molino, South Ukiah, Healdsburg, Medocino-Coast, North Ukiah, Fort Bragg, Willits, Sebastopol, Santa Rosa American, Westside and Mark West. Here's some video from earlier in the week on the Youth Sports Network: http://ysn365.com/

Way to represent! Congrats boys, coaches and parents.

Stayin' Alive, Stayin' Alive

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 05:28:00 +0000

Whew! Petaluma American Little League's scrappy Jr. Division Round Table team is hangin' tough. A 4-2 win tonight over Petaluma National's Anderson Team has put them in the championship round. Three loser's bracket wins in three nights. Gutsy. Kevin George pitched a beautiful game and Anthony Garatti closed it out to preserve the win. The PALL boys will try to knock off Brodies' tomorrow to force a Championship game on Sunday. Come on out to Petaluma National's big diamond tomorrow at noon and enjoy the 100 degree heat with us. If there's any sort of a breeze, you'll get a complimentary dermabrasion facial with your heat wrap. That Sonoma-Marin Fair kids up a lotta dust :-)

Oh, by the way... Jonny was 2-for-3 with an RBI single tonight and his average is now .367. Too bad the Reds lost. Again. If Jonny can inspire a sustained winning streak and keep his bat going, I predict a MLBCBPOTY at the end of the season. C'mon Redlegs. Get your poop in a group and win some would ya!

Gomes Batting .351 And Round Table Still Winning

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:12:00 +0000

Jonny Gomes had another big night while the Cardiac Kids (PALL Round Table Pizza) battled back through the loser's bracket with a nail biter of a win in the Petaluma Little League Junior Division City Championship Tourney.

Gomes went 2-for-4 with his 6th double, a first inning RBI that scored Joey Votto who went on to become the hero of the night in a real feel good story.   Things are looking up for Willy Taveras who got his bat back after losing it earlier this season. Gomes rounded out his night with a walk and a single off former Rays teammate... and RHP... Sean Camp bumping his average to .351 and his rightie split to .300. Wow. It's probably too early to start talking about MLBCBPOTY so I'll just think it for now. If you've followed Gomes the last few years, you know which post-season thingie I'm thinkin' about. I don't want to violate one of The Unwritten Rules Of Baseball that I might not know about yet. Better play it safe. Pretty good book by the way. Reading it on my iPhone via the Kindle App. A great way to make the cardio time fly at the gym.

PTownJunior's Round Table Pizza team eeked out a 3-2 win over Shotwell's last night. Trevor Shine had a two hitter going in the sixth before hitting the 95 pitch limit. Steely nerved Ryan Scherer took the mound and gunned the tying run with a wicked pick off move to second base to end the inning. The heart of the Round Table order couldn't put insurance runs on the board in the top of the 7th so it came down to good pitching and defense in the bottom of the final inning with the top of the Shotwell's order due up. The leadoff hitter reached on an error and Scherer fanned the #2 batter. Shotwell's next hitter flied to right advancing the lead runner to third. Ryan waivered a bit, walking the next batter but Shotwell's starting pitcher smacked a routine grounder to the sure gloved Kevin George at 1B and kept the Number Two seeded team alive in the double elimination tourney.  Zac Overzet and Kevin George each had two hits for Round Table, and Willy Sullivan (PTownJr) drove in the winning run in the third.

Tonight, Round Table meets Petaluma National's Anderson team for a rematch of Tuesday night's 7-4 loss that sent the American League Champs to the loser's bracket and the rubbermatch of season long competition. Gametime is 5:30pm at Petaluma National's Aparicio Field next to the Fairgrounds.  Stay to drag the field after the game and you can listen to The Charlie Daniels Concert for free :-)

Top seeded Brodies' (Petaluma Valley LL) will take on tonight's loser's bracket winner tomorrow at noon for the Championship. Unless the losers bracket winner wins again, forcing a Championship game on Sunday.  Wouldn't that be awesome?

CUP O' JO: Thursday, June 25, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:23:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
Good week for Jonny, hitting .333 in his last ten games. In Saturday's Civil Rights Game, he gave the Reds a 5-0 lead with a 2 run dinger. But Cueto gave up a truckload of hits and the Reds lost a game they shoulda won. 2-for-3 with his 5th double against the White Sox Sunday. 2-for-4 with his third homerun last night. A combo of lotsa probable LHP for the opposing teams and Jonny's hot bat have made it easier for Dusty to massage the lineup, inserting Dickerson for the struggling CF Willy Taveras the last few days. Jonny Gomes is leading the team with a .333 average excluding 1B Joey Votto (.346) who is fresh off the DL with stress related issues following his Dad's death. The Reds have sorely missed Votto's bat. Let's hope it's all good with Joey and that this new lineup grinds out some wins, not just hits. BTW, Gomes is .391 v LHP and .286 v RHP.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
Joey has really cranked up the Caps' offense. In just 8 games, he's had 7 extra base hits including 5 doubles, 2 homeruns and 7RBIs.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Big game for Sweet Lou last night. 3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Yah!

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Morrow pitched 5+ in a Mariner's victory last night. Didn't get the win, but continues to solidify his spot in the rotation throwing 87 pitches, 57 for strikes. Attaboy Brandon. Keep hummin'. Brandon's bobblehead sure got a workout in the Seattle Pressbox last Friday night.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Tommy's on fire. His average reached .347 Tuesday before a brief dip in the cool 0-for-4 water last night. In just 14 games, he's racked up 11 runs on 17 hits with 3 doubles, 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Awesome.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Batting .246 through this week's All Star Break. Games resume tonight with the Rawhide hosting Modesto.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
Steve's great season continues. He's batting .329 with 9 doubles, 2 home runs, and 20 RBIs. 4-for-5 last night. A tip of the cap to reader Not So Anonymous for his eye witness reporting from the Sioux City Explorers' where the Nuts no-hit the X's Tuesday night. For the first time ever.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
Man these box scores are hard to find. Batting .333 in 5 games played. No fishing report yet.

PETALUMA AMERICAN JR. DIVISION ROUND TABLE PIZZA:
After an first round bye and a second round win, Round Table dropped one to Petaluma National's Anderson team Tuesday night. Charlie Parnow pitched out of his socks for Anderson and Round Table was flat as a cheese pizza with no toppings. Fortunately, Round Table rallied and topped Petaluma National's North Bay Construction by a score of 10-0 in six innings last night as they try to battle back through the loser's bracket. That means baseball every night through Sunday. I'm up for that :-) All-Stars begin on July 4th. What's more All-American than that?

CUP O' JO: Friday, June 19, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 16:38:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
The Reds bats were a bust yesterday afternoon in Atlanta so no sweep. Jonny struck out in his pinch hit appearance. CF Willy Taveras' troubles continued with another 0-for-5 day at the plate. Gomes has the highest average of any outfielder by .50 points but Dusty is bound and determined not to do any wholesale juggling, lest he hurt Tavera$' feeling$. Now only a 1/2 game out of 4th place, maybe someone will decide to let Jonny have a go on a daily basis for awhile. Ya think?

JOEY GOMES (DH, Edmonton Capitals, Golden League - IND)
Off to a great start with a double and a home run among the hits wrapped up in his .294 average as the team's DH. The Caps are working their way back to Edmonton with a three game series in Victoria beginning tonight. Gotta say, the scenery in the Golden League can't be beat.

LOUIS OTT (A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
0-for-3 with a run scored and a walk at second base Wednesday night. Batting .185 and looking for more ABs.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Morrow got another start last night and it wasn't bad. In fact, after a shaky first inning, he settled in and threw well going 4 innings before reaching his pitch limit. He struck out 6 and walked only one while giving up 5 hits and 2 earned runs. The M's went on to lose the game to San Diego in extras. It's sounding more and more like Morrow will stay with the Major League Club during his transition to starter getting to a 100 pitch limit sometime next month.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)

Tommy with a couple of Valley of the Moon Little Leaguers from his hometown. I think Jack swings with Joey at The Coop.

(Photo by Nancy Murray via the Sonoma Sun.)

Tommy helped make River Cats history as the they hit a team high 8 home runs Wednesday night. Tommy had a dinger and two doubles in his 4-for-5 night at the plate. Last night he was 0-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored. Now batting a very sweet .294 and playing every day. The Cats are still dominating the Division with wins both nights.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
0-for-3 Wednesday night in a loss to the San Jose Giants.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
0-for-3 in Wednesday's 7-5 loss to Sioux Falls. No word on whether BBQ sauce is the way to go with Fowl Balls.

DJ GENTILE (OF, Matsu Miners, Alaska)
Off to a hot start in Alaska with a single, a double and a home run in two games. I hear he might do a little fishing with the local celebrities as well.

CUP O' JO: Wednesday, June 17, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 18:52:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds, MLB):
The Reds dropped four in a row after Jonny drove in the game winner early last Thursday morning in a rain delayed extra innings thriller for die hard west coast fans. The teamwide slump had the Reds batting just .192 over the last 11 games with Jonny bucking the trend, drawing a few starts and providing some good at bats during the skid. Thankfully, the entire Division has been off its game this week and the Reds haven't lost any ground to Milwaukee, remaining 3 games out and just a game back of St. Louis. The Reds finally won last night, topping Atlanta 7-2 with two rain delays. CF Taveras ended his 0-32 drought, the longest of any Reds position player since 1973. And not a moment too soon. Jonny is batting .310 and had a pinch hit K last night. Next probable leftie is Saturday when the Reds face the White Sox at home for the Civil Rights Game. Hopefully Dusty will find a way to keep the hot bat in the lineup despite all the RHP coming up.

I bet there's not too much that Jonny misses about Tampa Bay. Including Joe Maddon's Dress Up Getaway Days. Look! They got to be cowboys for the Rockie's roadtrip. Click the pic for a better view of BJ Upton reprising Cleavon Little's Blazing Saddles look. And a whole lotta critters giving their hide to put Jeff Neimann in chaps. Matt Garza looks right at home in his off the rack Fresno. Gabe Gross' American Flag shirt looks a whole lot better on George Straight. Gotta hand it to Joe though. Always doing something to pump up the local economy. One theme at a time.

JOEY GOMES (DH, IND Edmonton Capitals, Golden League)
Off to a good start batting .300 with his new team with 2-for-4 and 1-for-4 games the last two nights in Long Beach. The Edmonton Capitals are 2.5 games back of the Division leading Calgary Vipers where Santa Rosa's Fehlandt Lentini continues to rake, batting .442. The Caps are in Chico June30 - July 3rd for a four game series with a delightful 8:05 start time. Hopefully MrPTown will let me pry PTownJr away from All-Stars practice one night so we can go see the legendary Joe Gomes play.
LOUIS OTT (DH, A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Not getting many opportunites and he could use a hit so please focus your Karma Repeater Apparatus in the direction of Jupiter, FL.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners, MLB):
Every time try to figure out what's next for Brandon, the story has changed. Again. A week ago, Morrow seemed destined for a long stint in Tacoma to become a starter. Then Bedard and Washburn developed minor issues and Morrow became a spot starter. It went well enough that he'll get another start Thursday. Stay tuned to see what happens when everyone back this weekend, if all goes according to plan.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AAA Sacramento River Cats, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Tommy is turning it on after a slow start in Sacramento. He's now batting .222 with a couple of 2-for-4 games and an RBI for the red hot first place River Cats. Sacramento opens an eight game homestand tomorrow night against Salt Lake and Colorado. I see a Saturday road trip shaping up :-) Anyone game?

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Konrad's playing well, hitting .308 in his last 10 games and .256 on the season. Konrad had two doubles last night but the team couldn't push him across as they were shut out 7-0 but held onto a one game lead over San Jose.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)

2-for-4 with 3 RBIs in Monday night's 11 inning extravaganza. But Wichita came up short and the Sioux Falls Canaries took the game. And the Concession Stand set a new record for Fowl Ball Sales. Maybe we can get Steve to give us a first hand review of this snack shack delicacy featuring deep fried turkey, er, uh, "parts". Steve, whatcha got on that? With or without BBQ sauce?

PTown's Joey Gomes Headed West

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:52:00 +0000

PTown Fans who have been hoping to see Joey play a little closer to home are in luck. Today he accepted a trade to the Edmondon Capitals in the Golden League. That's Edmonton. Alberta. Canada.

Sometimes you have to go north to go south. Like getting out of the parking lot at Orchard Supply Hardware. Go right, flip a U-Turn and get home a lot faster.

Same for Joey. His new team plays up and down the West Coast. An 1,800 mile swath of the Wild Wild West stretching from Edmondton (north of Calgary where Santa Rosa's Fehlandt Lentini is rocking the leaderboard with a .465 average) to Yuma, AZ just this side of the Mexican border. Fortunately for all of us PTown fans, the Chico Outlaws are at just about the halfway point and the Capitals play a series there beginning June 30th.

Fortunately for Joey, the team ride is a plane, not a bus.

He's movin' on up folks. A winning team (11-10), an airplane (number of props TBD) and a series just hours away. Road trip anyone?

Casa Grad DJ Gentile Selected By Indians in 43rd Round of MLB Draft

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 00:15:00 +0000

DJ will be a redshirt junior at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo next year. He hit .304 with five home runs and 41 RBIs for the Mustangs in a 2009 season that ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Congrats DJ!

CUP O' JO: Thursday, June 11, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 18:13:00 +0000

Great week for PTown ballplayers. Jonny Gomes was the hero in last night's game while no one (else) was watching, Tommy Everidge got another step closer to The Show, Joey Gomes is hitting well fresh off the DL, Konrad Schmidt is on a terror, Matt Nadolski was drafted by the Orioles and the final days of PTownJr's Little League regular season were punctuated with an upset win over the Division leaders. Oh yeah... and School's Out For The Summer!

PETALUMA AMERICAN LITTLE LEAGUE - JUNIOR DIVISION:
With one game left to play in the regular season, Round Table has clinched the Petaluma American Junior Title and second place overall in the combined Junior Interleague division with 11 teams from Petaluma Valley, National, and American Little Leagues. Round Table knocked off Valley's leader, Brodie's, in a 9-5 slugfest last night. Timely hitting and solid fielding gave PALL a pretty comfy lead throughout the game. Kevin George pitched a great game against some lethal hitters. It has been a very sweet Worst To First run for the Round Table team. Next up: A double-elimination tourney to determine the overall League Champion. It begins next week. Other Little League Divisions are also winding down their regular seasons with in house AAA tourneys and the Major Division City Tournament. All-Stars begin in late June. Maybe this year, a PTown Team will still be playing Little League baseball when school starts in August.

Oh... and a big shout out to mi amigo Joey Gomes in Joliet. He would be so proud of PTownJr's work with the bat this season. 8 million swings at the Coop? Hangin' with the big dogs in the League. Priceless.

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds):
What a night for the PTown underdog. Fresh off PTownJr's win over Brodie's, I was the only Reds fan in the world happy to find them in a two hour rain delay at midnight in Washington, DC. Closer Francisco Cordero had taken the mound in search of his 30th consecutive save in a streak dating back to July '08. The skies opened in the bottom of the 9th with a 2-0 lead, the speedy Elijah Dukes on board via a free pass, a 2-2 count on Josh Willingham, and no outs. Following a rain delay that lasted a little over two hours, Dusty decided to put the ball back in Cordero's hand. Uh oh. Within minutes, the game was tied at two, it was midnight plus, and we were headed to extras. The announcers didn't need to remove any shoes for an accurate count of remaining fans. Including us online lookers I'm sure. In the 12th, Jay Bruce drew a walk and made it to third with some especially heads up baserunning on the heels of some especially bad Nats' ball handling. With a runner on third, the Reds' catcher grounded to second and got caught in a pickle resulting in a double play with Bruce still at third. Baker went to Gomes who ripped a 1-1 pitch of the.... ahem... right hander... down the third base line for a two out rbi go ahead double. Wahoo! Jerry Hairston drove him in for an insurance run and it was the (g)Nats were the bug, not the windshield on a wet night in DC. Keep it up Jonny. And we hope you get a chance to use that new 1B glove.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
A one-for-four night for the elder Gomes who has been hitting very well since returning from a brief stint on the DL with a tweaked quad.

LOUIS OTT (A, Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Louis is batting .238 in 7 games and 21 ABs as the Hammerheads DH.

BRANDON MORROW (P, Seattle Mariners):

The blogs are buzzing with news that Morrow will soon be on his way to Tacoma for an extended stay as he makes another bid for the Mariners' starting rotation. I hope they let him stick around in Seattle for his own Bobblehead Night on Friday, June 19th. Good thing I didn't buy those tickets afterall.

TOMMY EVERIDGE (IF, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
Well it's about time!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tommy's hot hitting in Midland finally earned him a AAA call-up Monday night! This move was set in motion by the A's Ryan Sweeney (OF) finding himself on the DL after crashing into the wall and spraining his knee. Daric Barton has improved his average to .245 in Sacto and got the call to replace Sweeney and share time with Giambi at 1B. Everidge's debut with the River Cats didn't go the way anyone hoped with an 0-for-5 night that included 3K's and a fly out to end the game with the tying run on board. But now he's got that out of the way and we know he's gonna rock it in Sacto.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
Konrad has cemented his role as the team's regular catcher and is 8-for-17 in his last 4 games. He's batting .259 with a .687 OPS on the season.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
Batting .337 for Wichita. Next post I won't be so lazy ;-)

MATT NADOLSKI (Sonoma County League MVP, Casa Grande High School)
Matt was the 956th player selected in the 2009 MLB Draft. He was a 32nd round pick. Matt's headed for San Diego State University in the fall, otherwise, I'm sure he'd have gone much higher. The old "signability factor" ?

CUP O' JO: Sunday, May 31st

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Sun, 31 May 2009 15:15:00 +0000

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug.

A few of PTowns ballplayers drove through a locust storm yesterday. Sam Banister's University of Arizona Wildcat Softball team, the nation's most potent offense was blown out 14-0 by Georgia in an elimination game. And the season is over for DJ Gentile's Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Mustangs. They were also defeated in a close game by Kent State. Jonny Gomes finally got a pinch hit appearance in a miserable game versus the Milwaukee Brewers. And he flew out. Surprised I heard the call. Last night's game was a steady stream of tornado warnings punctuated with intermittent baseball. Hope everyone in Ohio is OK.

Rather than second guess Dusty's moves (believe me, there's plenty of that going on), I thought I would lighten things up with this pearlacious recap of Tommy Everidge's Thursday game. Originally written in French by a blogger and Royals fan named Dan Cortez, the delightful Reverse Googlator gives us a unique perspective. I have only paraphrased here. If you have a few minutes to read the entire blog, you'll enjoy a bonus chuckle or two as Dan shares his flu riddled trek to his daughter's softball game.

AA - NW Arkansas: Midland 12, Naturals 8 (Thu.):
Both teams pounded completely 11 hits but a glue Naturals errors helped the RockHounds victory and home up a understandable about at a 3-game flexure. Jordan Parraz collide a 2-out RBI fasten on in the 3rd to frame it 2-0 but Kniginyzky ran into exert oneself in the 4th. DH Tommy Everidge went crave, while, by despite his 7th of the edible to clear the fashion bad the 5th bad Nicoll and frame it 4-2 Midland. He allowed 3 runs on a 2-run triple and RBI imitation to descend pulled by despite Chris Nicoll, who got completely of the inning without more distant rile. A Kurt Mertins sac coast in the 5th motivation the clear the fashion distant to 1 but Nicoll was pulled by despite Aaron Hartsock to frame his ‘09 AA first night with the bases overloaded and 0 completely in at bottom the 7th. The RockHounds scored 3 runs in the inning without a collide bad Hartsock as a unrestrained erect, run-scoring fallacious and sac coast made it 7-3. Corey Smith took a bases-loaded pony in the 7th to motivation it to 7-4 but the Naturals anarchist the bases directly. Chris McConnell collide an RBI fasten on and with the bases overloaded and 2 completely in the 8th, Parraz came by with a bases-clearing triple to motivation the clear the fashion to 10-8. Midland responded with 3 runs in the 8th bad Hartsock and Dan Cevette to frame it 10-4 but the Naturals weren’t directly in time to come. Midland picked up 2 surety runs in the 9th, to whatever amenities, and the Naturals stranded 1 in the 9th as RP Sam Demel picked up his 8th come to someone’s rescue. Starter Carlos Hernandez got the victory with 3 ER allowed on 6 hits and 4 walks with 2 Ks during the course of 6 IP to amend to 2-0 with a 4.09 ERA. Four ‘Hounds had 2 hits and 1B Chris Carter drove in 3 runs (38) and collide his 18th imitation. Everidge was 2-5 with his HR, 43rd RBI, a pony, K and 2 RS to move away to at bottom .306.

Well done Tommy. I think.

LOUIS OTT (DH, A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Off to a great start with 4 hits in two games, batting .500.
STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
A 3-for-3 game on Friday propelled Pearson onto the League Leader Board with a .377 average.

CUP O' JO: Friday, May 29, 2009

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:05:00 +0000

JONNY GOMES (OF,Cincinnati Reds):
Day off yesterday for the Reds who aim to overtake second place Milwaukee in a head to head battle on the road. This 7 game roadtrip ends with 4 against Division leading St. Louis before returning home to face the Cubs. The next week could really unknot the NL Central. St. Louis, a team weakened by injuries and a few slumping players, is in San Francisco this weekend. Come on Giants, soften 'em up some more. For those wondering when Jonny might patrol the outfield in AT&T Park, it won't happen until August 7, 8, and 9. It's part of my Half-Centurian Celebration as I celebrate a Really Big Birthday that week.

JOEY GOMES (DH, Joliet Jackhammers, IND)
Joey had a 2-for-3 night with an RBI Triple Wednesday as the Kansas City T-Bones edged the Jackhammers 5-4 in KC. Gomes pulled a quad sliding hard into third and will miss a few more games. At least it happened in KC where there's plenty of good food to help pass the time. He's batting .209.

LOUIS OTT (DH, A Jupiter Hammerheads, Florida Marlins Organization)
Louis signed with the Jupiter Hammerheads where he was 1-for-2 at DH Wednesday night in a 3-0 win over his former team, the Lakeland Flying Tigers. Drought ending bad weather in Florida suspended play yesterday and it looks like more of the same today. The team is in third place in the Florida State League South Division, 7 games out. Attaboy Louis. Good to see you back!

TOMMY EVERIDGE (3B, AA Midland Rockhounds, Oakland Athletics Organization)
1-for-5 Wednesday and 2-for-5 with a home run yesterday in a pair of wins for Midland. They are now 2 games ahead of Frisco. Tommy continues to lead the team in home runs, hits, and total bases as he transitions to 3B defensively. With injuries continuing to plague Oakland infielders (Garciapara back to the DL... first an ankle, now recurring calf tightness) maybe things will start to shake loose in Sacramento so Tommy can have a shot.

KONRAD SCHMIDT (C, High A Visalia Rawhide, Arizona Diamondbacks Organization)
1-for-3 with a double in Wednesdays 3-1 win over San Jose. 0-for-3 last night in a 6 hit squeaker of a 2-1 win. The Rawhide lead the Division by a two game margin. Konrad is batting .255.

STEVE PEARSON (1B, Wichita WingNuts, IND)
2-for-4 hitting in last night's 5-2 win over St. Paul. Wichita is off to a red hot start with an 11-2 record and a five game lead in the Division. Steve is batting .362, just a few points shy of the league Leader Board.

SAM BANISTER (1B, Senior, Arizona Wildcats Softball)
The top seeded Florida Gators shut out the nations' top scoring offense 3-0 last night in the opening round of the Women's Softball College World Series, limiting Arizona to just two hits in a dominant appearance by pitcher Stacy Nelson. The Cats got something going in the first with back-to-back hits, but a strikeout and a pop out by PTown's Banister ended the Wildcats only rally. PHS Grad, Samantha Banister had seven put outs at first base on the night. Arizona will face Alabama in an elimination game for the second straight season on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT . Whew. PTownJr's game will be in the books by then!

DJ GENTILE (DH, Sophomore, Cal Poly Mustangs)
What a season for Casa Grad, DJ Gentile. For the first time at the Division I level, the Mustangs, ranked 26th nationally, have earned an NCAA Playoff berth. They face Oral Roberts University today at 2pm in the West Regional: Bracket DJ is batting .311 in 49 games with 16 extra base hits including 5 home runs and two triples. He leads the team with 11 sac flies. Earlier this week, DJ was awarded All-Conference Honorable Mention honors.

CHAD KRIST (C, Freshman, University of California Golden Bears)
PHS Grad and Valley Vista Elementary Alum, Chad Krist, saw a lot of action as a Freshman, with 16 starts in 27 appearances. He batted .197 with 12 hits including 4 doubles and two home runs. Defensively, he had a .993 fielding percentage with 115 put outs, 22 assists and only 1 error in his first college season.

CASA GRANDE HIGH SCHOOL GAUCHOS
Uggghhh. Clayton Valley got an early lead and never looked back Wednesday night. I'll let Gauchos Beat Writer John Jackson tell you all about it: Bad Beginning Ends Casa Grande Baseball Season

Pre-Game: Casa @ Clayton Valley - NCS Div II Semi-Final

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Wed, 27 May 2009 18:19:00 +0000

Casa Grande High School is two wins from its 5th North Coast Section Title in 6 years. Its 7th in 11 years. Tonight the Gauchos travel to Concord to face Clayton Valley. The winner advances to the NCS Division II Final at the Oakland Coliseum Saturday afternoon at 4pm.

The Final Three's Road To The NCS:

Clayton Valley amassed a impressive 22-3 record this season. They were undefeated in league play, losing only to top seeded Alameda, Monte Vista (a larger Div I school) and Div II Concord. MaxPreps currently ranks Clayton Valley #4 among all NCS schools regardless of size, taking stength of schedule and league record into account.

Casa Grande is ranked #8 by MaxPreps. The Gauchos won the Sonoma County League losing only to cross town rival, Petaluma High. They were 9-4 in non-league play with key wins against Central Coast Section powerhouse Bellarmine (#5) and a close game against CSS top ranked Serra. Casa's other three losses were to Dublin, Ukiah and Analy.

Tonight's winner will face top seeded Alameda on Saturday, ranked 19th with a 21-4 record. Their only league loss was to El Cerrito and non-league losses were to Irvington (Fremont), Newark, Antioch. Alameda's win over Clayton Valley loomed large in tournament seeding.

Scouting Report on The Clayton Valley Eagles... they'll need to do their own homework on our Gauchos ;-)

Offensively:

CV's offense is powered by Senior Vince Bruno, batting .548, slugging .881 and boasting a .581 OBP. He leads the Diablo Valley League in Average and has hit safely in all but one game this season. Bruno leads the team in hits (46) and RBIs (34). Other hitters batting north of .400 include Darrel Matthews (.442 with 9 doubles and 7 triples), Cody Stephens (.407 with 33 hits and 34 runs scored), Julian Thornton (.407 with 7 doubles and 23 RBIs), and Wesley Darrow (.405 with 30 hits and 25 RBIs). Clayton Valley holds the 2-5 positions on the league leader board for Home Runs with Andrew Lassen (5), Vince Bruno (3), Johnny Bekakis (2) and Julian Thornton (2). The team also dominates the leader board for Slugging and RBIs. Bruno and Matthews are base stealing threats with 15 and 10 respectively.

From the mound:

Clayton Valley's staff is anchored by Chaz Meadows with 8 wins, no losses, and a 3.05 ERA in 11 appearances. Brandon Weller is 6-1 with 4 saves and a 1.91 ERA in 16 appearances. Ricky Dunley is 2-1 with a 4.31ERA in 11 appearances. Peter Stoiber and Antonio Acosta have also piched 8 innings this season with 2.52 and 2.42 ERAs respectively. Looking at CV's stats, it would appear that the team has only given up one extra base hit all season, a double. Gulp. But my network of stats cross-checkers believe some pitching stats to be "under reported" thereby making CV look more formidable than they actually are. Polly Anna is goin' with that explanation.

Gametime weather:

Looks like 85 and sunny this afternoon in Concord. Nice night for baseball.

Let's go Gauchos. Get it done and lead the parade to the Oakland-Alameda County McAfee Coliseum this Saturday. PTown is behind you all the way!

Another 707 Grad Back In The Show

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:17:00 +0000

Every once in a while, someone asks me if I know what's happened to 1993 Cardinal Newman grad, Joe Dillon. He surfaced today as an infield replacement for injured Tampa Bay Rays Aki Iwamura (2B) and Jason Bartlett (SS).

Joe hit a school record 33 home runs at Texas Tech in 1997 and was drafted by the Kansas City Royals. Tampa Bay is Dillon's 6th MLB organization. He had a few brief stints in The Show with the Marlins and the Brewers. He had a spring training invite from the A's this year, started out well, and was later traded to the Tampa Bay Rays as part of the Adam Kennedy deal. He also played on the 2005 Caribbean World Series Champion Mazatlan Venados... with PTowner Jonny Gomes. Haven't met Joe, but I've always wondered if his Dad is the Joe Dillon I worked for at Fireman's Fund a little over ten years ago.

Make the most of the opportunity Joe.

8 RBI Memorial Day Weekend For Everidge

noreply@blogger.com (PTownFan) — Tue, 26 May 2009 18:50:00 +0000

Wow! Tommy was seeing the ball well this weekend. In 19 At Bats, he notched 9 hits, including a home run and 4 doubles. He scored 7 runs, walked once and not a single K. Way to go Tommy. Hope we see you in Sacto soon. You've earned it. A few times over.