BAJA races start to get heated

With the season now entering its final stages, the BAJA senior softball league entered its last round-robin schedule with 2 Girls Pizza widening its lead to a full four games, but second place is really up for grabs!

Last Monday, Jim Click upset the apple cart by downing 3 1/2 Barbers, 20-19 and 13-11, while San Ignacio Inn and Triple Play split their games — SI winning 11-5 and 3Play winning 8-7. This created a 16-10 deadlock for second place among Click, San Ignacio Inn, and 3 1/2 Barbers. Arizona Restaurant had a bye on this beautiful day!

Click ran its winning streak to five games, winning game one by scoring three runs in the top of the seventh and then holding the powerful Barbers to zero runs in their half of the inning.

The dynamic pitching duo of Bruce Peters and Bob Royes did a good job of being tough when they had to, with Peters’ grab of a vicious line drive providing the final out of game two. Dave Erickson and Norm Brooks were the defensive stalwarts, while Billy “the Kid” Kerr led the hit parade for the Clickers, with timely hitting also by Brooks, Ron Klopf, Dave Cowan and Jack Naughton. Bobby Allen, Mal Perlich, and Jerry Sutherland provided the firewords for the Haircutters.

For San Ignacio Inn, the pitching of Bob Fleucher and the hitting of Bill Land, Gale Van Hoorn, and Nic Muccicelli led to victory in game one. For Triple Play, the pitching of Jim Mollson, the defense of Lu Smith, home runs from Bob Kaiser and Ken Johnson, plus timely hitting from Marty Camacho, Smith and Dick Purdy were too much for SI to overcome in game two.

Teams representing two of the finer places to dine around town did battle in the afternoon games on Monday.

2 Girls Pizza downed the Cow Palace in both games, 20-8 and 15-6. The top half of the Piemen’s batting order went a blistering 22-24, with Tom Kennedy, Steve Rankin, Wally Towne, Glenn Carter, and George Hetherington all having perfect days at the plate. The 2Girls threesome of Greg Pettet, Hetherington, and DeWayne Schmidt kept the Cowpeople at bay in the second game, playing with precision to foil their opponents strategy of hitting to the right side. Manager Bryon Taylor has his squad playing to their potential, sometimes a rarity in BAJA softball.

Wednesday’s teams were led by the Lillies (where did that name come from?) of Triple Play as they pounded Jim Click, 18-6 and 19-6, mercying them in both games. 3Play scored 37 runs in only 10 innings as they were all but impossible to get out, from the top to the bottom of the order.

Old Aches and Pain, Dick Purdy, led the Lillies all day, offensively and defensively, making but one out and that was on a searing linedrive nabbed by Old Aches and Pain Norm Brooks. Lu Smith led by example with six hits and some stellar defense. Jim “Lucille” Mollsen provided the pitching.

3Play received defensive help from an unusual source, as Bob Epstein robbed power hitting Ron Klopf with a nice running catch. The Trips also benefited from the return of Ron Lichtenberger, who chipped in with several key hits. Brooks, Bill Hartnett, and Craig Burgess led the Click offense, what there was of it.

San Ignacio Inn roared into sole possession of second place with two wins over 3 1/2 Barbers, 17-16 and 22-13. Manager Art Janssen, Bill Land, and Jim Larson scored 10 of the 17 runs in game one. Chuck Catino and Bob Fleucher shared the pitching duties.

The above trio provided another nine runs in game two, while John Houghton and Chaz Palacios provided the hitting power to cap off each of the rallies. Catino’s bat and Land’s legs (per the courtesy-runner rule) created a home run. Larson and Jim Antoniono came up with the defensive gems. For the short-handed Barbers, Bob Hoyler and Dave Sheedy hit well.

The Cow Palace eased by Arizona Restaurant in game one, 7-6, then blasted them in game two, 16-4. Dickey, Dion, Attwood, Ruble and Miller scored all seven runs in game one. Pitchers Meredith, Ruble, and Dickey kept their opponents bats rather silent, as Dion, Attwood, and Mgr Fryan snuffed rallies with their defensive prowness. Bill Paukert and Gil Massey toiled on the mound for the Restaurateurs.

Keagy falls flat

In an impressive display of team hitting over a two-week period, Green Valley Insurance destroyed league-leading Keagy Edward Jones and Comfort Inn of Green Valley to establish themselves firmly in second place in the Friday Select League only two games back of Keagy’s.

It wasn’t just fantastic hitting from Bill Allord, John Brassell, Jerry Brotz, Craig Burgess, John Fawcett, Dick Fryan, Mark Haskoe, Randy Higa, Mike Ianichino, Tom Liedtke, Gil Massey, Jim Sladky and Mike Sommer, (yeah, that’s their entire lineup) but great glove-work by the whole group as well, that vaulted them to within two games of the league lead. Their four wins were by an average of seven runs per game and establish the Insurers as the team to beat in the final three weeks of the season.

Comfort Inn of Green Valley ended the two week period with a 2-2 record. Their wins were over Hickey Automotive, 18-14 and 18-12.

For the Innkeepers in the last four games, Dennis Dion and Bill Land had five or six home-runs between them (they hit so many they lose track), coach Bob Barry went 22 for 20 (which is impossible and puts him batting over 1.000 for two weeks, but he is the coach and he has been hitting really well) and hard-hitting Harley Thompson found the long grass one time while stretching the bounds of reality on the pitching mound.

Hickey Automotive ended the two weeks with a 1-3 record to notch their second win of the season. This was no ordinary win, however. Trailing Keagy Edward Jones by 10 runs in the bottom half of the last inning, Hickey’s scored 11 runs on 13 hits for the biggest comeback of the season. Marty Camacho, Chuck Catino, Bob “The Commish” Epstein, Dave McKinley, Gary Oberfeld, Chaz Palacios, Fred Searle, Tom Vincent (one home-run), Joe Wilson and Barry McBride (yeah, that’s their entire lineup, too) all garnered at least one hit in the final inning for Hickey Automotive.

Keagy Edward Jones ended the fortnight with a 1-3 record. Their lone win coming against Hickey Automotive 18-15.

Robert Ruble, Mike Willingham and Glenn Yauney donned spikes for Keagy for the two games against Hickey and turned in stellar performances at the plate and on defense. Gale Van Hoorn and Steve Wentz had 6 home-runs between them in the four game stretch. Billy Kerr, Claude Labarre, Rick Keagy and Steve Rankens put a few miles on their cleats in the outfield filling the gap left by injured number-one draft pick, Steve Heath, and chasing after more base hits from Green Valley Insurance and Hickey Automotive than they have seen all year.

Standings after eight weeks: Keagy Edward Jones 11-3; Green Valley Insurance 9-5; Comfort Inn of GV 6-8; Hickey Automotive 2-12.

Norm Brooks and Steve Wentz cover the BAJA softball action for the Green Valley News.