Bay City Independents

World’s Tournament of 1867

Game 1

Hawthorne Glade, Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI

Aug. 14, 2010

Bay City 11, Forest City 8

Bay City began play in their fifth World’s Tournament of Base Ball in the Chadwick Region of the tournament.  This region acquired the nickname of the “Group of Death”, due to the fact that this side of the tournament bracket was home to 3 Reserve Champion Runners-Up, 3 Reserve Champions, 4 Champion Runners-Up, and 3 former Champions including the defending World’s Tournament Champion.  As a result of this grouping Bay City found themselves in a re-match of last seasons’ Reserve Championship match with the 2009 Reserve Champion, Forest City Base Ball Club of Cleveland, Ohio.

 The match began with the Independents’ winning the coin toss, and electing to take the field.  This decision proved the correct choice when the Bay Citys were able to whitewash the Forest Citys thanks to some fine defensive plays.  The opening striker for the Forest Citys attempted a fair-foul down the third base that was gobbled up by the Bay City third sacker, Branden “The Rope” Revette who rifled the ball to the Independents’ first sacker Justin “Doc” Garcia who bottled the throw in style to nip the striker much to his and his club’s surprise.  This type of fine, defensive, scientific base ball would be the hallmark of the Bay Citys play in the tournament. 

After skunking the Forest Citys in their first, the Independents took to striking in their own.  The second striker in the order, Tom “Cat” LeRoux made his first on a fine daisy cutter, and then took his third on a howitzer to the long field by Al “The Kid” Garcia that allowed Kid to take his second.  Jason “Buttons” McInerney then drove them both home with a cannonade of his own that created an opportunity for Buttons to make his second as well.  McInerney would later lose his hand, as well as the club’s second of the innings when he tried to make his third on a theft that was neatly played by the Forest City pitcher.  No more tallies would be made in the innings, and the scoring would close in the first with Bay City in the lead at 2-0. 

The Forest Citys wouldn’t go as quietly in the second innings, and tallied two aces thanks to some fine willow whipping by “Hay Machine” Burgess and “Baby Bambino” Russo.  “Hay Machine” scored thanks to Russo, and Russo would later tally on a sky ball by Dueces Trusty that was neatly bottled by the Bay City left fielder.  The match was now a tight scratch at 2-2.  The Bay Citys would now take to striking and with one hand lost in the innings, Dean “Sawmill” Koch would place a daisy cutter into the left field that allowed him to make his first.  This neat piece of hitting was followed by another safety from the bat of Fred “Twinkle-Toes” Brissette, and yet another by Britt “The Mad Scientist” Venchura that now found the bases rather crowded.  The next hand would be lost in the innings, and the final striker in the Bay City order, Jayme “High Steppin” Johnson would come to the plate and drop a sky ball into the garden for a safety driving home Sawmill for the leading run.  After two innings the match was now Bay City 3 and Forest City 2.

The third innings would begin with the Forest Citys bottom striker, Stagecoach Russo, mashing the apple into the long field and making his second.  The next striker in the order was Professor Pucella, who again tested the fair foul market at third sack and again found his hand lost thanks to another astounding play by Rope Revette.  The strike was successful however, in moving Russo to third and a ground ball to the second sacker, Tom “Cat” LeRoux, by Coconuts Keller would drive home the run.  Keller’s hand would however be lost, and the next striker would see his hand lost thanks to some more bully gardening by the Bay Citys as Jason “Buttons” McInerney chased down a foul smash and nabbed it on the bound.   The see-saw match was tied anew. 

Bay City however would answer in their third.  The first striker in the order for Bay City would lose his hand, but Kid “Garcia” would make his first on a finely placed ball into the garden.  Garcia would lose his hand to some nifty field work by the Forest Citys’ short stop when Buttons McInerney drove a hot daisy cutter his way.  McInerney would make his first on the play however, and would make his third on a howitzer driven into the tree line by Justin “Doc” Garcia.  According to ground rules established before the match was played a smash like Garcia’s would be allowed two bases, and so Buttons was now on third and Doc on second when Brian “Butterfly” Beceril drove the onion deep into the left field garden that gave him his second and allowed the two runners to score.  That would finish the scoring in the third and the match now stood at Bay City 5 and Forest City 3.

In the fourth innings the Forest Citys kicked up their heels again when the lead striker in the innings, Marshall Frank, made his first, and then took his second on another apple masher from Hay Machine Burgess.  Frank would then lose his hand at third thanks to a fine play on a ground ball struck by Baby Bambino, that would be scooped up by Rope Revette at third and neatly flipped to Sean “Tanner” LeRoux who was brilliantly covering third sack.  The next striker, Moonshine Zukes, would then drive home Hay Machine with a bullet to the long field.  Zukes would take his second when Russo tried to take his third on the play but looked to be nabbed by a fine throw and tag by the Bay Citys fielders.  The umpire was out of position and was forced to ask the gents on the play to act on their honor.  The third sacker for Bay City replied that he was sure that he got the runner, but the runner also felt he had gotten there before the tag.  The umpire, who acknowledged that he didn’t see the play, apparently believed that the Forest City gent, or gents, made a more aggressive argument, as the runner was allowed to stay.  The next striker hit a short sky ball that was bottled by the left fielder, Buttons McInerney and Russo was held at third.  The final out of the innings was tracked down on the bound on a bully play by Buttons to end the innings.  Bay City would be whitewashed by the Forest Citys and the match was now Bay City 5 and Forest City 4.

In the fifth innings Bay City would repay the skunking, and then do some striking of their own.  The first striker for Bay City was Venchura and he placed another liner into the garden to make his first. Venchura would then make his third when Brian “Hooks” Freehling hit a grounder and then took his second on an overthrow to first sack.  The Bay City captain, Jayme “High Steppin” Johnson then came to the plate and drove a fair foul down the first base line that drove Venchura home, but the captain’s hand would be lost thanks to some fine field work by the first sacker, “Boom Boom” Russo.  Freehling would later tally on a safety by Tom “Cat” Leroux.  After five innings the match was now Bay City 6 and Forest City 4.

In the sixth innings the Forest Citys would begin whipping the willows again.  Boom Boom Russo led off the striking with a safety to the garden, but would be cut down on a throw to second by the left fielder, Brian “Butterfly” Beceril to lose the first hand.  Marshall Frank would then make his first and then take his second on a hit by Hay Machine.  The Machine would lose the second hand of the innings on a ground ball from the bat of Baby Bambino  fielded neatly by the short stop “Tanner” LeRoux who flipped to his brother “Cat” at second.  Frank and Russo would then score on a smash to the long field by Moonshine Zukes that allowed him to make his second.  Zukes would later tally on a daisy cutter by Dueces Trusty, but the left fielder would bottle up the next sky ball to end the innings.  Forest City had now taken the lead 7-6.

In their sixth the Bay Citys took to onion chopping after their first hand was lost.  “Doc” Garcia would begin the pillow parade with a shot that rolled into the trees and gave him his first, he then made his third when Brian “Butterfly” Beceril launched a howitzer into the trees to make his second.  Doc would then tally on a blast down the left field line by Branden “The Rope” Revette, and Beceril would then take his third.  Revette then made a theft of second, and both he and Beceril would tally when Ray “The Banker” Banister shot a daisy cutter down the left field line that gave him his second.  The Banker would then tally on a single by Dean “Sawmill” Koch.  Koch would make his second on a daisy cutter placed neatly into right field by “Twinkle-Toes” Brissette, but the scoring would end there as the next two hands were lost.  At the end of six innings the match was now Bay City 11, Forest City 7.

The seventh innings nearly started disastrously for the Forest City gents when the Bay City catcher appeared to nab a foul bound from the bat of Stagecoach Russo.  The ball however had struck a leaf in the tree, and so was then deemed, according to ground rules, to not be a fairly lost hand.  Much to Russo’s credit he then blasted a shot into the garden that had him make his first.  He then took his second on a theft, and then moved to third on an unprecedented walk earned by Professor Pucella.  Russo then scored on a smash into the garden by Coconuts Keller, and the Forest Citys seemed to be gaining a great deal of momentum.  Then Boom Boom Russo hit a sky ball that seemed destined to find a safe landing on the pitch, when the Bay City left fieldsman, Jason “Buttons” McInerney slid under it and made a catch that brought the crowd to their feet.  Pucello had to scramble back to third on the catch and no base runners advanced.  The next striker, Marshall Frank, then foul tipped to the catcher, Brian “Hooks” Freehling for out number two in the innings.  That brought Hay Machine Burgess to the dish with two runners in scoring position.  Hay Machine had reached base safely in each of his first three at bats, and his next blast seemed destined to tally at least one ace, as he drove the ball to the opposite field in right.  The only problem with this situation was that right field was being manned by Brian “The Butterfly” Beceril in this inning, and he turned his back and ran up the hill that surrounded the right garden and then reached up with his right hand and snatched the howitzer from the air as if plucking a ripe apple from a tree.  This bully play ended the contest, and brought both benches to their feet. 

Any who watched, or partook of this clash between these fine clubs surely walked away in the belief that they had witnessed a fine match indeed!  The final tally saw Bay City walk away with the contest at 11-8. 

World’s Tournament Game 3

Walnut Grove 2, Greenfield Village, MI

Bay City 13, Saginaw 28

The “Group of Death” that was the Chadwick Region in the World’s Tournament this season reared its ugly head again for the participants.  After having played two extraordinary, emotionally draining, and exhaustive matches Bay City now had to play the loser of the Saginaw Old Golds and the Spiegel Grove Squires match.  After playing Forest City, last season’s Reserve Champion, and the La-de-dahs, the current Michigan State Champion and two time World’s Tournament Champion, Bay City now had the honor of playing either the current World’s Tournament Champion and 2008 Runner-Up, Saginaw, or the 2005 Reserve Champion and 2007 Runner-Up, Spiegel Grove Squires.  As was the Bay City luck on the day they got the chance to play Saginaw, who had just been blanked by the Squires for 6 straight innings before storming back only to fall just short at 16-13. 

Bay City won the coin toss, and elected to take the field.  The first innings went rather well for the Bay City defense as three of the first four Saginaw strikers sent sky balls to the outfield that were bottled in style for a fine coat of whitewash.  In their first the Independents began with Sean “Tanner” Leroux making his first on a fine daisy cutter.  Then LeRoux took his third on a blast into the garden by Al “Kid” Garcia, who also took his second.  The next two hands would go quietly thanks to the fielding of the Old Golds and the lone chance Bay City had of taking a lead was squelched.

The Saginaw bats came to life, as they had in the final portion of their match against the squires, and they plated 5 aces in their second innings.  Their fieldwork continued as well, especially that of Chad Short the left fielder, who accepted 4 of the first 6 outs that Bay City made.  After two innings Saginaw led 5-0.

The Old Golds weren’t done there as in the third innings their bats discovered that they could launch sky balls onto the tracks surrounding left field.  Three ground rule doubles in all were hit in this innings by the Golds, including one struck by Mr. Dennis Konusziewski that might have left the cavernous Union Grounds in New York.  There was only one cannonade sent to the right side of the field, and that was by Mr. Beemer, who strikes from the left side.  Mr. Beemer made his second on the blast, but then attempted to take his third on an over throw of home plate, but fortunately the catcher recovered the ball in time to kill Mr. Beemer’s hand at third to end the innings.  In all the Golds would tally 7 more runs to put their total to 12-0.

Bay City would try to keep up with the runaway locomotive that was the angry Old Golds, and sent twelve strikers to the plate in the third innings and scored 7 times to match the Saginaws efforts.  The whillow whipping on the Bay City side found the railroad embankment only once in the innings when Brian “The Butterfly” Beceril crushed the onion over the tracks and drove home an ace.  The Bay Citys would end the match with runners on second and third, and found themselves nearly back in the match at Saginaw 12, Bay City 7.

The Saginaws however wouldn’t be slowed down as six safe hits allowed strikers to take their first, and another shot on the railroad tracks placed 6 more runs in the fourth innings.  Then in the fifth innings the Old Golds would match that total, and Mr. Beemer would have the last laugh as he sent another howitzer to the long field that gave him his third.  The Old Golds would score 4 more runs in the sixth innings bringing the total for the match to 28-7. 

The Bay Citys would finally breakthrough the Saginaws scientific play for 6 runs of their own in the sixth innings.  The Bay Citys strikers would find the railroad tracks three times in the innings with barrier busters from the bats of “Rope” Revette, Doc Garcia, and Ray “The Banker” Banister.  This round of striking would end the contest as the final score would wind up with Saginaw 28, and Bay City 13.

 It would have been interesting to see the final tally in this contest had it gone nine innings, as most assuredly some scoring records may have been reached.  As it is this heavyweight match-up landed squarely in Saginaw’s favor with three rounds to the Saginaws, two draws, and one round for Bay City. 

World’s Tournament Game 2

Walnut Grove #1, Greenfield Village, Dearborn, MI

August 14, 2010

Bay City 8, La-de-dahs 11

After defeating the defending World’s Tournament Reserve Champion, Forest City Base Ball Club, in an emotional and energetic match Bay City was rewarded by playing the current Michigan State Champions, the undefeated Greenfield Village La-de-dahs on their home pitch.  This match had the feel of a championship game, rather then a mere second round pairing, and the game that would unfold didn’t disappoint the many cranks that lined the field.

The Bay Citys had lost the coin toss to start the match and the La-de-dahs had chosen to take the field allowing the Independents’ strikers to go to work.  Sean “Tanner” LeRoux began the striking with a well placed daisy cutter into the garden and easily made his first.  After the next striker lost his hand to a sky ball bottled by the right fielder, LeRoux would take his third on another drive into the garden from the bat of Al “The Kid” Garcia.  When Jason “Buttons” McInerney came to the plate the Bay Citys had Garcia on first and LeRoux on third.  After striking some foul balls “Buttons” connected on a howitzer to the long field that drove home LeRoux with ease.  Garcia took his second and third on the cannonade and then tempted to fate by trying for home.  The La-de-dah fieldsman attempted to nab Garcia at home, but threw well beyond the catcher allowing Kid to score and prompting McInerney to try for a home run, which he made while nearly demolishing the La-de-dahs pitcher who was valiantly attempting to stop this run away ox-cart.  The Bay Citys scored three aces on the smash but the scoring would end there for the innings.  The La-de-dahs would answer with 4 runs of their own in their first, so the score would stand at Greenfield Village 4, and Bay City 3 at the end of one.

The Bay Citys would start off the innings with a howitzer to the long field from Ray “The Banker” Banister that allowed him to make his second.  The next striker in the order, Dean “Sawmill” Koch hit a sharp ground ball to the Greenfielders third sacker, and captain, Mike Ossy.  Ossy threw across the diamond to nip Koch at first, when Ossy released the ball the runner at second sack made a dash for third hoping to place himself one base closer to home.  The fist sacker for the La-de-dahs saw this and rifled the ball back across the diamond killing the runner at third and making a neat double play.  The next striker would foul to the catcher and the whitewash was complete.

The fine defensive play would continue in the Dahs second innings.  The first striker in the order was “Beast” Moroz and he promptly drove a liner into the left field to make his first.  The next striker in the order hit what looked sure to be a safety up the middle, when the second sacker, Tom “Cat” LeRoux swooped in and knocked down the smash, chased it into the outfield, and then flipped to the covering short stop, Sean “Tanner” LeRoux to kill the hand.  The next two strikers would lose their hands to sky balls to the LeRoux brothers and end the innings with a skunking of the La-de-dahs. 

The play only got better in the third innings.  The lead striker in the Bay City order was Britt “The Mad Scientist” Venchura and he made his first on liner into the garden.  The next striker, Brain “Hooks” Freehling placed a neat safety into the center field where it was scooped up by Cougar Kozlowski.  Kozlowski fired the ball into second base to nip Venchura at the second sack, and the Bay Citys first hand of the innings was lost.  The next striker Jayme “High Steppin” Johnson hit a grounder to the second sack side of the infield.  The Dahs fieldsman, Nutmeg, fired to second base to apparently nail yet another runner.  The captain of the La-de-dahs, Mike “Oxbow” Ossy, protested that his short stop had pulled his foot off of the bag to catch the throw and demanded that the umpire reverse his out call and place the Bay City base runner back on second sack.  Both the crowd and all the other vintage clubs in attendance were awed by this act of gentlemanly behavior that is supposed to be a hallmark of this brand of base ball.  The Bay Citys now had runners on first and second sack with only one hand lost.  The next hand would be lost to a sky ball bottled in style by the Greenfield Village left field, but the next striker in the order, Cat LeRoux would not be denied.  LeRoux drove the ball deep into the garden, and with two hands down the runner on second sack, “Hooks” Freehling showed some fine ginger and tallied his ace.  That would finish the scoring though for Bay City and the match was now tied.

Matt Valant began the striking for the La-de-dahs in the third innings, and he struck a brilliant fair/foul into the hillside near the third sack.  Branden “The Rope” Revette, the third sacker for Bay City, pounced on the ball and fired it across the diamond nearly nipping the hard charging Valant.  The bench and the crowd gasped as the ball bounded just barely out of the grasp of the first base tender, and Valant was safe again.  The next striker in the order was Cougar Kozlowski, the mighty center fielder for the Dahs. Kozlowski drove a howitzer into the garden, which seemed destined to find the gap between the left and center fieldsman.  Fortunately for the Independents the left field was being manned this innings by Brian “Butterfly” Beceril who flew in and made a sliding grab of the Kozlowski sky ball brining the cranks to their feet and killing the Greenfielders first hand.  The next striker would bound out to the first sacker, Justin “Doc” Garcia, but Mike “Oxbow” Ossy would drive Valant home with single of his own.  The scoring would end there though, and La-de-dahs would again lead the match at 5-4.

The Greenfield Village gents whitewashed the Bay Citys in the fourth innings leaving two runners on the bases, and Bay City would return the favor taking three hands in a row from the La-de-dahs.  The Bay Citys would also be skunked again by the Dahs in the fifth innings, this time leaving runners on first and third. 

When the Greenfielders took to striking in their portion of the fifth innings they sent Mr. McLabe to the line, and he promptly bounded out to the third sacker to lose the first hand of the innings.  The next striker was Pirate Lawson, and Lawson came through for the Dahs with a neat hit that allowed him to make his first.  Mr. J. McVicce was next in line, and he dropped a ball just over the pitcher’s head which seemed like it would most assuredly find a place safely in the pitch when a sliding Sean “Tanner” LeRoux took the ball on the fly, and then fired over to Doc Garcia at first to try to force the surprised Pirate Lawson, who had wandered too far from the base.  The throw was true and when Doc gathered it to place a tag on Lawson he seemed to employ some maneuver not seen here before when he dropped to the ground feet first and threw up a cloud of dust only to find himself apparently safe.  After this miraculous feat of base running the Greenfielders were apparently re-charged, and they tallied 6 runs in the innings with some fine striking and aggressive base running.  The innings would be ended when Mr. J. Allen tried to stretch his triple into a home run and he was killed at the plate by a rifle shot from the arm of Brian “The Butterfly” Beceril who was manning the long field.  The score in the match was now well in Greenfield Village’s favor at 11-4.

Bay City now had a mountain to climb in order to get back into the match, and as all journeys begin with the first step, so this one would begin with their first striker.  Tanner LeRoux hit a drive that allowed him to make his first, and then his brother Cat LeRoux did the same.  That was followed by yet another safety by Kid Garcia that drove both brothers home.  The next two stirkers would lose their hands in the innings, and the rally appeared to stall, but that was simply a mirage in the ever increasing heat that was swallowing up the field.  Brian “Butterfly” Beceril would move the Kid over to third as he took his first, and Kid would score after a drive just over the infield by Rope Revette.  Ray “The Banker” Banister then took to the stripe, and drove a ground ball deep to short stop.  The throw to first base pulled the base tender, and Banister made his first, but Rope Revette took advantage of the bobble and made a play for third.  The first base man saw this and hurled the ball to third; the throw was off line and hit the ground where a miraculous grab and tag by a diving Mike Ossy made a close play of it at third.  The umpire was flabbergasted by the play, and hesitated in making his call, but there was no need, for Revette, ever the gentleman, simply walked off the base acknowledging the fine play by Ossy and ending the match.  The rally would die prematurely, but the respect earned by some bully play would more than make up for the shortfall in the ledger.

Both clubs acknowledged their mutual admiration to the crowd and many cheers were shared, but the real pay-off was hearing the crowd leaving the hill after the match make numerous mentions of how it was the finest game they had seen in some years.

Bay City visits Petoskey

Winter Sports Park, Petoskey, MI

August 8, 2010

Bay City 19, Petoskey 8

The second leg of the Independents’ tour of the great, white north saw the Bay Citys pull up camp in Petoskey, Michigan, home to the Petoskey Mossbacks.  The Mossbacks’ field was beautiful to say the least, and had an interesting lay out with an incredibly short right field.  The Mossbacks are a relatively young club, and they remarked that they were interested in testing their metal against the Bay Citys. 

As was the case for both days on this trip, the order of striking was determined by a bat toss, which the Independents lost.  The Mossbacks chose to take the field first, and unlike the match in Mackinaw City, Bay City actually took to striking early and often.  Sean “Tanner” LeRoux struck first and made his first, and then took his second and third thanks to a well struck ball by his elder brother Tom “Cat” LeRoux.  The elder LeRoux would also make his second on the apple masher, and both he and his brother would tally when Al “The Kid” Garcia made use of the tree lines in the garden to garner a ground rule double.  Garcia would make his third on yet another safety by Jason “Buttons” McInerney, and would then tally when his younger brother Justin “Doc” Garcia drove him home with a daisy-cutter of his own.  The scoring would end there for Bay City, but the Mossbacks would tally an ace of their own in their first innings as well.  The score was now Bay City 4 and Petoskey 1.

Both clubs would be skunked in the second innings, but the Independents would find their form again in the third when Cat LeRoux found himself on first again, only to be driven to the plate by “The Kid” who had yet another two bag shot in the match.  Much like the first innings “The Kid” would tally thanks to his younger sibling “Doc” who placed another single into the garden.  The scoring would stop there, and the Mossbacks would be whitewashed in their third innings, so the score now stood at Bay City 6, and Petoskey 1.

The tally bell would remain silent until the seventh innings, when the Independents began their assault anew.  Two straight cannonades into the tree line of the long field saw Doc Garcia and Brian “Butterfly” Beceril make their second.  Garcia would score thanks to the whillow whipping of Beceril, and Beceril would score when the next striker, Brandon “The Rope” Revette made his second on a fine daisy cutter of his own.  After the next two strikers lost their hand, Adam “Little-Train” Johnson drove Revette home with tree shot of his own.  The Bay Citys would score 3 runs in all for the innings, and took a commanding lead in the match at 9-1.

In the eighth innings the Bay Citys would be skunked, but the Mossbacks made charge into the breach that would have made the light brigade blush.  Petoskey would see three strikers make their second easily in an innings that they pushed across 8 aces to make the contest a tight scratch at 9-8.  Bay City now held a precarious lead in a contest that seemed all but finished.

It is said that it is not what happens to individuals that matter most, but how they deal with their circumstances either good or bad.  It was plain to see that at the end of the ninth innings the Independents decided to take the opportunity to show what they were made of.  The innings began with Doc Garcia sending the onion into the tree-line once again, and it wouldn’t end until after he had repeated the effort a second time.  In all the Bay Citys sent 14 strikers to the line in the innings, and tallied four doubles, and a home run by Rope Revette.  The ace parade pushed across enough runs to fill a fortnight, and brought the match total to 19-8.  The Mossbacks had no answer in their ninth, and the contest came to a close.

Plans have been discussed to bring the Petoskey boys south to the city by the bay for next season, and the Independents would be more then glad to host such a fine group of ball players and gentlemen.  

Bay City visits Mackinaw City

Mackinaw City Historical Society, Mackinaw City, MI

August 7, 2010

Bay City 7, Mackinaw City 0

            The groundwork for the Bay City barnstorming tour of Michigan’s great north land was laid over 5 years ago when the Mackinaw City Boys began their first season of play.  Bay City had to decline the offer to participate in the Boys’ first ever match, due to a previous engagement, but fortunately the cards fell as they did this year and Bay City was able to make the trek.  The Independents were happy to see familiar faces in the crowd as “Honest” John Gravlin, the Bay City umpire, also made the journey and Jason “Gypsy” Kladiva, a Mackinac Island native, was also on hand to lend some showmanship to the festivities. 

            The match began with a bat toss that was won handily by the Mackinaws, and they chose to take the field.  It proved a wise decision as whitewash was the color of the day in the first innings of play for both squads.  In the second innings “Speedy” of the Mackinaws made his first on a clean daisy cutter and then he made his second on another safety by “Smooth”.  This put runners on first and second for the Boys.  The next striker crushed a sky ball to the left garden where the Bay City fieldsman, Britt “The Mad Scientist” Venchura coolly drifted under the ball and bottled it in style on the fly for the first out.  “Speedy”, the Mackinaw runner on second, must have clearly expected Venchura to take the mammoth shot on the bound, because he tore off for third base only to see that this Bay City defender was well schooled on the proper fielding form for this game, but alas it was too late for “Speedy” as Venchura rifled the ball to second for the second hand lost in the innings.  This brilliant defensive gem would be one of four twin killings on the day for the Bay City defense, and it effectively killed the scoring chances for the Mackinaw Boys in the second.

            In the third innings the Bay Citys would break through the Mackinaw defense with a two hands lost rally.  It began when Adam “Little-Train” Johnson made his first on a ground ball to the infield.  The third sacker over threw the ball to first, which allowed “Train” to make his second.  Then Fred “Twinkle-Toes” Brissette placed a daisy-cutter through the defense to move “Train” to third.  The next striker in the order was Jayme “Cap” Johnson who placed the ball through the left side of the infield to make his first, and drive home the first run of the match.  That would end the scoring for the inning, and as it turned out that would be all that was required for the game.  After skunking the Mackinaws in the third the score would stand at 1-0 in favor of Bay City.

            The Independents would start another pillow parade in the fourth innings when Tom “Cat” LeRoux crushed the onion into the long field and easily made his second.  The next two strikers, Al “The Kid” Garcia and Jason “Buttons” McInerney, would each make their first safely on short field hits that found the bases loaded.  It was at this time that Justin “Doc” Garcia strode to the plate and promptly took to apple mashing, driving a howitzer in between the center and right fielders.  All three base runners would tally on the drive, as would Garcia for a home run and four runs in all!  This would help bring the Bay City lead to 5-0.

            Both clubs would splash on the whitewash until the seventh innings when Bay City would tally two more times.  “Kid” Garcia began the innings with a single, and then tallied on a cannonade to the long field by Jason “Buttons” McInerney which allowed him to make his second.  Buttons would then score on another safety by Justin “Doc” Garcia.  This would effectively end the scoring for the contest.

            The last bit of excitement, besides Dean “Sawmill” Koch’s fining for striking the umpire with a thrown ball, came in the ninth innings when Mackinaw hoped to end their scoreless streak against the Bay Citys.  There was one hand lost when the Mackinaws lead striker, Brandon Clemons smote the onion into the long field making his second cleanly.  The next striker hit a sky ball harmlessly to the second sacker for the second hand lost.  The next striker was the third place man for the Boys and he put a daisy cutter into the long field.  It appeared that the Mackinaws would score their first run as Clemons tore around third and headed home, but alas the right fielder on this play was none other then Brian “The Butterfly” Beceril who might as well be named Robin Hood, for he robbed the Mackinaws of their lone chance by gunning down the runner with a perfect throw to home where Cap Johnson completed the play, the hand lost, the match, and the shut out by applying the tag.

            The Mackinaws played a fine match, and Bay City was glad to have traveled all that way to enjoy a beautiful day in a beautiful park.  They hope to see the Boys again soon!

Bay City hosts Rochester Hills

Carroll Park, Bay City, MI

July 18, 2010

Rochester Hills 12, Bay City 10

            The weather was surprisingly good, as it was rumored to be a stormy afternoon, but the storms that followed on the day had nothing to do with the atmospheric conditions on the day and more to do with the thundering bats of the Grangers of Rochester Hills.  The match began with a ceremonial pitch by the president of Financial Edge Credit Union, a fine banking institution that was celebrating their 60^th Anniversary on this day, and was followed by the coin toss to determine the order of striking. The Grangers won the toss, and nearly everything else that followed on the day seemed to go the way of the Rochester gents.

            After winning the toss the Rochester Hill boys chose to strike first, and neatly placed 5 runs on the board sending 10 strikers to the line, and placing 2 long balls into the garden that allowed Misters Grace and A. Prasatek to make their seconds cleanly.  It was clear that the Grangers had come to play.  The Bay Citys plated two runs of their own in the first innings after their first two strikers, the brothers LeRoux, each made their third on short field hits.  It is said that speed is essential in this game, and the brothers LeRoux bring speed a plenty.  Their tallies would be all the Independents would garner in the innings and the match would now stand at 5-2 in favor of Rochester Hills.

            The Bay Citys would skunk the Grangers in the second, but would tally themselves with a single marker placed neatly in the ledger by Dean “Sawmill” Koch.  Sawmill made his first in the innings and was then brought around to tally thanks to two successive safeties by Ray “The Banker” Banister and Dan “The Rainmaker” Decuf respectively.  The tally now stood at 5-3, but still controlled by the Grangers.

            In the third innings the Grangers would regain the tally they lost when Mr. Anthony Prasatek would again drive a long ball into the garden, and tally for his club.  The Bay Citys would be whitewashed in the third and the score would stand as a three run lead for the Grangers again at 6-3.

            The Rochester lads didn’t add a tally to their total in the fourth, and the Bay Citys took advantage by plating three of their own to tie the contest.  The Bay City striking began with Adam “Little-Train” Johnson making his first and then taking his second on a daisy cutter to first, which lost the first hand in the innings.  The Bay Citys appeared destined to be blanked again when the the second hand of the innings was lost on a bound out to the catcher, but Tom “Cat” LeRoux drove a safety into the garden which allowed Johnson to take third.  The next striker Al “The Kid” Garcia then placed another daisy cutter into the long field which plated Johnson and moved LeRoux neatly to third.  Justin “Doc” Garcia then stepped to the plate and fired a howitzer into the tree tops of Carroll Park that brought LeRoux and “The Kid home.  Doc would make his way to third when Jason “Buttons” McInerney also made his first in the innings, but sadly the third hand was lost soon thereafter, and Garcia was stranded on third as were the hopes of Bay City taking the lead in the contest.  It was now Bay City 6 and Rochester Hills 6.

            The Grangers would quickly regain their lead by tallying two runs in the fifth innings, thanks to the fountain of youth.  Ponce de Leon squandered his opportunity of discovery wandering the swamps of Florida, when all he needed to do was peer down to the bottom of the Rochester Hills line up to find the second generation of Grangers strikers.  A young Mr. Walters, who is reportedly courting the daughter of the left fielder Mr. Grace, led off the striking with a clean single.  After the next striker lost his hand and moved Mr. Walters to second, a familiar name appeared in the striking order A. Prasatek.  This Prasatek however, was Ashton the progeny of Mr. Slappy Prasatek, regardless of age this Mr. Prasatek did the elder proud by smashing the apple into the garden and driving home the young legs of the aforementioned Mr. Walters.  Prasatek the younger would later tally, and bring the contest to 8-6 in favor of the Rochesters. 

            The Bay Citys would answer in the fifth innings with one run of their own when Brandon “The Rope” Revette made his first and was brought to tally by a two hands lost smash to the long field that saw Ray “The Banker” Banister make his second.  Banister would make his way to third on a safety by Dan “Rainmaker” Decuf, but would move no further, and the Independents’ chance at a tie would die there.  The match was still a tight scratch at 8-7 for the Grangers.

            The Grangers would then pile on their lead with three more aces in the sixth innings, and Bay City again could only tally two and the Granger lead would double at 11-9.  In the seventh the Grangers lengthened their margin by tallying one more and skunking the Independents’ strikers.  After seven innings the tally was now Rochester Hills 12, and Bay City 9.

            The Bay City defense would stiffen and the Grangers were whitewashed for the remainder of the contest, but the Rochesters were also nifty in their gardening, as they held Bay City to only one more ace in the eighth innings, and the match would find the Grangers on top again by an identical score of their last meeting with Bay City at 12-10.

            The match was followed with many congratulations, adulations, and of course a song, as the Grangers serenaded the Bay Citys and the crowd with their trademark ballad “For the Love of the Game.”  Despite their harmonious melody, the Bay Citys still invited the Grangers to a fine feast hosted by Financial Edge Credit Union, and both clubs look forward to the Grangers next visit in the fall on September 25^th.  

Bay City visits Midland

Tridge, Midland, MI

July 16, 2010

Bay City 8, Midland 1

It was a beautiful evening, and fine crowd had assembled to watch the River Hogs and Independents take up a friendly competition in a match game of base ball.  These two clubs have become quite familiar with one another over the past 6 seasons, and the matches are always enjoyable.

 The umpire for the match, Gary Rocha, presided over the coin toss, which was won by the Bay Citys.  Breaking from tradition the Bay Citys chose to take the field, rather then strike first.  The order of the striking didn’t seem to matter as each club skunked the other in the first innings. 

In the second innings the River Hogs would kick up their heels against the Bay City fieldsman and place their first two strikers neatly on first and second sack.  The third striker in the order, Mark Gessford, drove the apple deep into the pasture where the Independent’s left fielder, Britt Venchura, camped under the sky ball and then appeared to muff the ball.  Venchura is a rather bright lad, a PhD in fact, but no string of lettered learning could have foretold his brilliance at playing the points in ball that he displayed next.  After allowing the ball to slip through his hands, thus striking the soil, Venchura scooped up the onion on the bound to allow the striker to lose his hand, the first of the innings, by muffing the ball on the first try Venchura had fooled the runner on first into trying to make his second which he did only to find it previously occupied.  The runner who was standing on second for the Midlanders then made a mad dash for third, and now the trap was sprung as Venchura unleashed a strike to the third sacker, Branden “The Rope” Revette, who promptly tagged the runner for the second hand lost in the innings.  Revette then spied the lone River Hog base runner left now trying to make his way back to first, and fired a cannonade to the base tender, Justin “Doc” Garcia who made the tag and ended the first triple play in Independents history.  A bully play for the Bay Citys indeed.

Britt “The Mad Scientist” Venchura  then led the Bay City charge with a clean safety through the left side of the Midland defense.  Venchura then made his second on a muff by the catcher, and then made his third when Ray “The Banker” Banister drove the apple clean into the long field.  Venchura then made a steal of home when the Hogs catcher had another pitch get by him.  Banister also made his second on the aforementioned muff, and moved over to third on an infield single by Larry “Chuckwagon” Doan. 

Runners were now camped on first and third with two hands lost when Brian “Hooks” Freehling pounded the pill into the Midland garden for a clean single.  Freehling would make his second thanks to some foolishly plucky base running by “Chuckwagon”, who lost sight of the orb and naturally decided to try his luck for third.  Fortunately for the Bay Citys the Midland third sacker muffed the throw and Doan, who was nearly a dead duck, made his third and allowed Freehling to take his second. 

There were now two hands down with base runners on second and third for the Bay Citys when the Independent’s captain, Jayme “High-Steppin” Johnson came to the plate and drove a howitzer to the right portion of the long field.  Johnson would make his way around the bases with all the grace of thoroughbred camel, and fetched up near the oasis of third sack only to be urged on for a home run by the Midland third base man.  Never one to look a gift horse in the mouth, the Bay Citys captain made a run for it, or what might pass for a run for it, and made his ace cleanly ahead of the throw home.  This would end the scoring for the second innings, and brought the tally to Bay City 5, and Midland 0.

Both clubs would slap on the whitewash for the next three innings, until the Bay Citys took to striking again and placed another ace in the ledger when Al “Kid” Garcia slapped another cannon shot into the long field, and cleanly made his second.  The younger of the Bay City Garcias, Justin “Doc” Garcia, then drove his brother in with a clean single.  After six innings the score was now Bay City 6, and Midland 0. 

Bay City would add two more runs to their total in the seventh innings, and Midland would push one across in the ninth to finish the match with a total of Bay City 8, and Midland 1.  Both clubs congratulated each other on the fine play exhibited, and vowed to meet again in Bay City the season next.

Bay City visits Rochester Hills

Van Hoosen Farm

July 10, 2010

Bay City 10, Rochester Hills 12

The sun was shining, as it always is at the scenic ball grounds of Van Hoosen Farm, and the furnace was stoked up as if awaiting Dante’s return home to his eternal inferno, when the Independents of Bay City arrived to play their match against the undefeated Grangers of Rochester Hills.  The Grangers were playing today’s match fresh off their victory over the 2009 World’s Tournament Champion Saginaw Old Golds, whom they bested by a tally of 21-10.  In fact the Grangers had yet to tally fewer than 21 aces in any contest held in the state of Michigan this season, and yet their competition on this day, the Bay Citys, had only tallied over 20 once in this year’s matches.  So, it would seem that the Independents would be overmatched at the outset, but alas this is why they play the games. 

The match began with the usual coin toss to determine the order of striking, and as has become the norm for the Independents, they won the toss and determined to strike first while the orb was ripe.  The striking began in earnest for Bay City when the brothers LeRoux, Sean and Tom, each made their first on some fine drives to the garden.  Al “Kid” Garcia followed those fine smashes with a howitzer of his own that sent the Granger gardeners scrambling upon the pitch to retrieve the apple.  When the severely bruised fruit made its reappearance upon the infield the brothers LeRoux had each tallied, and the aforementioned Mr. Garcia had easily made his third.  As has become family tradition, Al “Kid” Garcia or Garcia the elder, was followed in the order by Garcia the younger, or Justin “Doc” Garcia, and as also become custom the elder was brought to tally by the younger as the ace parade continued with another safety by “Doc” Garcia.  The Bay City bats were soon silenced after Doc’s exploits, and the tally stood at 3 for Bay City in their half of the first innings.   The Grangers would match the Bay Citys in their first led by a deep drive to the long field by the Rochester short stop, Mr. Anthony “Goodfella” Prasatek.  After one inning apiece it was Bay City 3, and Rochester 3.

The Grangers defenders skunked the Bay City strikers in the second, but the Rochester willows were far from wilted themselves, as they placed two more tallies on the board for the sodbusters.  At the end of two innings the tally was now Bay City 3, and Rochester Hills 5.

In the third innings the Independents would even things with two aces of their own when Adam “Little Train” Johnson led off the innings by making his first.  A grounder to the first base man by the captain of the Bay Citys moved Johnson to second sack where he was brought around to score by a deep smash to the long field by Sean “Tanner” LeRoux.  The younger LeRoux, who had easily made his second on the smash, then scored when the elder LeRoux, Tom or “Tomcat”, drove an identical smash into the garden.  The elder Leroux also made his second, but alas the fruit dried upon the vine and not another ace was tallied in the innings.  The Bay City defense then slapped a coat of whitewash on the Granger batsmen and the contest was now even at 5 runs apiece.

In the fourth innings the Independents again seized a lead, albeit brief, when Brian “Butterfly” Beceril sent the Granger long fielders on a gallop through the garden to retrieve his howitzer shot that allowed him to take his third.  Beceril would score when the next striker in the order drove a ball that was taken on the fly by the Rochesters left fielder.  No further runs would score for Bay City, and the lead would prove short lived as the Grangers answered with a run of their own.  The see-saw battle was again drawn to a tight scratch at 6-6. 

Each club would be skunked until the Grangers turn in the sixth innings when the Rochester willows went to whipping again.  This time the Grangers unleashed a torrent of aces which saw them tally 6 times before the close of the innings.  At the end of the sixth innings the score was now Bay City 6, and Rochester Hills 12.

The Bay Citys would whitewash the Grangers in the seventh innings, and they would make it a match again with their striking in the eighth.  The innings were led off by “Kid” Garcia, who in a moment of duplicity, drove an identical apple masher to the one he had in the first innings of play.  Kid Garcia then scored on another safety by his brother Doc Garcia, and Garcia the younger would then tally when “Butterfly” Beceril blasted another moon shot that allowed him to make his third safely.  The scoring didn’t stop there as Beceril came around to score on a liner to the garden by Dean “Sawmill” Koch.  Koch would score after two successive singles by Scott “Umpy” Umphrey and Ron “Irish” O’Laughlin.  The next two hands would be lost, and the scoring ended as the Independents tightened the match at Bay City 10, and Rochester Hills 12.

The score would remain unchanged as the defense for both clubs would be impenetrable in the remaining innings.  The Grangers would take home the match ball as a trophy.  After the match some fine revelry was indulged in at the home of one of the Granger nine, Mr. Bob Lytle, and it was seen that the Rochester ball playing was matched only by their fine skills for hosting their out of town guests.  These two fine clubs will be matched again in Bay City at Carroll Park on Sunday, August 18^th at 2pm. 

June 19, 2010

Bay City vs. Kent B.B.C.

Carroll Park, Bay City, MI

Bay City 15, Kent 3

It was a beautiful day in the city by the bay, when the Kent wagon train arrived.  No sooner had they unpacked, then the umpire for the day, Dishonorable Dan Decuf, called the captains for the Kents and Independents together for the coin toss.  The Kents won the toss, and chose to take the field allowing the Bay Citys to take to striking, and strike they did.  The Independents sent 7 strikers to the dish in their first innings, and tallied three aces for themselves.  The Kents would answer with one run in their portion of the first innings, and at the close it was Bay City 3 and Kent 1.

Both clubs would trade some whitewash in the second innings, and the score remained unchanged until Ray “The Banker” Banister blasted a howitzer to the long field that allowed him to easily make his second.  Banister was followed in the order by Fred “Twinkle-Toes” Brissette who promptly smashed a drive deep to the second sacker for  the Kents who promptly over threw the first base tender, which allowed Brissette to make his second and Banister to tally his ace.  Brissette would be moved over to third by a fine daisy-cutter to the long field by Adam “Little Train” Johnson, and would later score after a dribbler by the club Captain Jayme Johnson was put away by the first sacker without assistance.  The Kents would also tally two more aces of their own by rallying after losing their first two hands of the innings, and after 3 complete innings the score would stand at Bay City 5 and Kent 3.

The Independents exploded for four runs in the fourth innings when three successive singles by Al “Kid” Garcia, Justin “Doc” Garcia, and Jason “Buttons” McInerney were followed by a colossal blast to the garden by Brian “Butterfly” Beceril that cleared the bases and allowed the lepidopteron to make his third.  Beceril would later tally on a nicely placed liner by Brandon “The Rope” Revette.  The Bay City defense would skunk the Kents in their fourth innings and the score would now stand at Bay City 9 and Kent 3.

Fine defensive plays dominated the the rest of the contest with Bay City whitewashing the mighty Kents for the remainder of the match, while the Bay Citys would add another run in the seventh innings, and after another Beceril triple the Independents would push across five more aces in the eighth innings.  The closing of the ledger saw Bay City walk away with the trophy ball with a tally of 15 runs to 3 for the Kents.

Cleveland Blues

League Park

May 15, 2010

Bay City v. Cleveland

Bay City 3, Cleveland 4

It was a beautiful day for base ball, but when the Bay City carriages arrived in the city of Cleveland they found a young man driving golf balls in the garden that would be the field of play.  After some conversation with the young lad he was convinced to ply his European skills elsewhere.    Shortly thereafter the Cleveland Blues contingent arrived to greet the Bay City lads, and after much conversation about the historic grounds the first of two matches commenced.

Both clubs slapped on a coat of whitewash in the first innings, and the Blues even laid on a second coat for the Bay Citys in the second.  The scoring in the defensive tussle would commence when the Blues ballist “Buckwheat” drove a howitzer to the long field that split the Bay City long fielders.  Buckwheat easily made his third on the blow, and the next striker “Barley Pop” nearly matched Buckwheat’s blast, making his second and driving home the first ace of the match.  That would end the scoring for the Clevelanders in the second, and the match stood at Blues 1 and Bay City 0 after two innings.

The Bay Citys would continue to be skunked by the Clevelanders right through the fifth innings, while the Blues would add 2 more tallies to their total in the fourth innings of play.  Heading into the Bay Citys portion of the sixth innings the tally now stood Cleveland 3, Bay City 0.

In the sixth innings Dean “Sawmill” Koch would lead things off for the Independents and drove a daisy-cutter into the long field for a safety.  Koch would make his second when newcomer Britt “Bigfoot” Venchura, an Ohio native himself, would follow Sawmill’s lead and place a neat drive into the Clevelanders garden.  Venchura would be erased from the bases on a neat defensive play at second sack by the Blues, but when the fieldsmen from Cleveland tried to kill two hands in one blow the overthrow to first allowed the striker, Larry “Chuckwagon” Doan to make his third and brought home the first Bay City run of the season.  The next striker in the Bay City order, the Bay City Captain, Jayme Johnson, would drive a ball to the long field that would be swallowed up on the bound constituting the second out of the innings and driving in Doan for the second run of the innings.  Another blast to the long field by Ray “The Banker” Banister would allow him to make his second, but would be wasted as the Cleveland defense gobbled up another bound out to end the Bay City scoring.  The Blues would add another tally in their portion of the sixth innings, and the score now stood at Cleveland 4, Bay City 2 heading into the last innings of play for the first match.

The seventh and final innings would see the top of the lineup for the Bay City nine come to the forefront, and they didn’t fail to excite.  Sean “Tanner” LeRoux placed a neat single into the left field and he easily made his second.  Tanner’s sibling Thomas “Tomcat” LeRoux followed him in the order, and nearly in making his first, but a neat play by the Cleveland left fieldsman caught his ball on the bound for the first out of the innings.  The strike by the latter LeRoux did allow the former to move on to the second sack though.  This brought up Alan “The Kid” Garcia, who had made his first on two previous attempts and with eyes on a third visit to first sack Kid tried to put the ball into the opposite field.  It was an excellent effort, but a fine play in foul territory by the Blues first sacker killed the attempt.  It appeared as though Tanner’s opening innings heroics might be for naught, but Jason “Buttons” McInerney stepped to plate, and like the Olympians of old he crushed the orb near to Mt. Olympus.  Likewise with the wings of Mercury on his heels he deftly rounded the bags and found himself standing on the third sack ready to deliver the tying run, after his blow tallied the Tanner.  But it was not to be, as the last out of the innings was again bound to find itself in the hands of the leftfielder.    The final tally would stand at Cleveland 4 and Bay City 3. 

The second match would be followed with more fine defensive plays on both sides, but was derived of the drama of the first, as the Bay Citys, with refreshment on their minds after the long journey, would bow again to the Blues 7-3.  After the matches the Bay Citys posed for tin types with the Clevelanders and some relatives of a local ball playing family, the Bushongs.  The Cleveland boys then treated the Independents to some refreshments at the local watering hole, The Clevelander Bar and Grill.  The hospitality shown by the Blues was by far the greatest, and most gracious that the Bay Citys have yet to see in all their travels in base ball.  A bully showing for the Blues!!  Bay City cannot wait to see the Cleveland boys bound for Bay City next season.