Too Much, Too Little, Too Late!
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 18th at 2pm.
