Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #4

Sunday, August 9, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 5 0  7 – 15 14 5
Madera                0 0 0  2 3 2  1 –  8 10 4


La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            4  2  2  1
Okimoto 2b          3  2  0  0
Sullivan c,p,c      5  1  4  0
Tavizon lf          3  2  1  1
Alonso p,3b         2  2  1  1
Ha rf               3  2  0  1
Boeke 3b,c,lf,1b    5  3  3  2
Wang cf             4  1  3  6
Rea 1b              2  0  0  0
 - Cook p           2  0  0  0
Totals             33 15 14 12

Madera             ab  r  h rbi
Garcia cf           5  1  1  0
Mendrin ss,p        5  1  2  1
Roberts rf,1b       5  1  1  0
Bertoncini c        2  0  0  0
Martinez, A. lf     3  2  0  1
Coronado 2b         4  2  3  4
Cappelluti 1b       1  0  0  0
 - Gallardo 3b      1  0  0  0
 - Mosqueda ph      1  0  0  0
Martinez, S. p,rf   4  1  2  1
Granado 3b,p        2  0  1  0
Totals             33  8 10  7

E–La Crescenta-Sullivan (2), Boeke (1), White (1) Rea (1); 
Madera-Martinez, S (1), Martinez, A (1), Bertoncini (2)
2B–Madera-Garcia (1,off Cook), Roberts (1,off Tavizon).
3B–La Crescenta-Wang (2, 1 off Grenado, 1 off Wang).
Sac–Madera-Cappelluti (1,off Sullivan).
SB–La Crescenta-White (1,3rd base off Martinez/Bertoncini),
Okimoto (1,2nd base off Martinez/Bertoncini), Tavizon (1,2nd
base off S. Martinez/Bertoncini), Boeke (1,2nd base off 
Granado/Bertoncini), Rea (1,2nd base off S. 
Martinez/Bertoncini); Madera-Mendrin (1, 2nd base off 
Cook/Sullivan), Martinez, A. (2,2nd base off Sullivan/Boeke
& 2nd base off Tavizon/Sullivan, Martinez, S. (1, 2nd base 
off Cook/Sullivan).
CS-White (1)

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        3.0  0  0   0   1   0
Sullivan      0.1  2  2   2   1   0
Tavizon       1.2  3  3   2   0   0
Cook (W)      2.0  5  3   3   4   4

Madera         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Martinez      4.1  5  5   4   7   3
Granado (L)   2.0  7  5   7   3   2
Mendrin       0.2  3  3   3   1   1 

WP–La Crescenta-Sullivan (1); Madera-Martinez, S. (1), 
Granado (1)
Balk— Madera-Granado (1).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).
BS-La Crescenta-Cook  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to right field
- C. Okimoto reached first on a throwing error by J. 
Mendrin, White to second base
- J. White stole third
- J. White scored on a wild pitch by S. Marinez.
Bot 4th: Madera
- A. Martinez walked and stole second base, then advanced 
on a wild pitch by R. Sullivan.
- R. Coronado hit an infield single to second, scoring 
A. Martinez
- W. Cappelluti sacrificed R. Coronado to second
- S. Martinez hit a single to right field, scoring R. 
Coronado.
Top 5th: La Crescenta
- C. Okimoto led off with a walk, and stole second base
- R. Sullivan singles to left field, Okimoto scores on 
fielding error by A. Martinez, Sullivan to second
- C. Tavizon singles to right field, Sullivan thrown out at
home, Tavizon to second on throw.
- B. Alonso walks
- T. Ha walks
- I. Granado relieves S. Martinez
- T. Boeke singles to center, scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang singles to right, scoring B. Alonso and T. Ha
- T. Boeke balked to 3rd base (Wang to second) by I. Granado
- T. Boeke scores on wild pitch by I. Granado.
Bot 5th: Madera
- S. Roberts doubled to right center
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez reaches first on a fielder’s choice 
(Bertoncini out at second, Roberts to 3rd base).
- A. Martinez steals second base
- R. Coronado singles to right, scoring S. Roberts and 
A. Martinez, and advances to second on throw to the plate
- R. Gallardo advances Coronado to 3rd base on a fielder’s 
choice
- R. Coronado scores on a throwing error by R. Sullivan.
Bot 6th: Madera
- Cook relives Tavizon
- I. Garcia doubles down the left field line
- J. Mendrin singles to left, Garcia to 3rd base
- D. Bertoncini walks
- A. Martinez walks, scoring Garcia
- R. Coronado singles to left, scoring Mendrin.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to left field
- B. Wang hits a triple to right center, scoring Boeke
- J. White reaches first on a fielder’s choice, scoring 
B. Wang, White advances to second on a throwing error by
D. Bertoncini
- C. Okimoto walks
- R. Sullivan singled to left field
- C. Tavizon walks, scoring J. White
- B. Alonso singled to left field scoring C. Okimoto
- T. Ha walks, scoring R. Sullivan
- T. Boeke singles to right scoring C. Tavizon
- B. Wang triples to deep center field, scoring B. Alonso, 
T. Ha and T. Boeke. 
Bot 7th: Madera
- S. Martinez reaches first on an infield single and steals
2nd base
- I. Granado walks
- J. Mendrin singles to left field, scoring S. Martinez.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #3

Saturday, August 8, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta          1 0 0  0 0 7  5 – 13 13 2
Somervile-Yaqui (AZ)  0 0 3  0 0 0  2 –  5  5 1

La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
White ss            3  3  2  0
Okimoto 2b          2  2  1  2
Sullivan c          4  1  3  5
Tavizon cf,lf       3  1  1  1
Alonso 3b           5  0  3  1
Ha rf               3  1  0  0
Boeke lf,p          4  2  2  0
Wang p,cf           3  0  0  0
 - Marquis ph       0  1  0  0
Rea 1b              3  1  1  1
 - Cook ph          1  1  0  0
Totals             31 13 13 10

Somervile-Yaqui    ab  r  h rbi
Rosas cf            2  1  1  0
 - Beltran ph       1  0  0  0
Lopez 2b            3  2  1  0
Gonzales ss         4  0  1  2
Estrada c           4  0  3  1
Aguirreberrena 1b   3  0  0  0
Aguilar 3b          2  0  0  0
Miranda rf          2  0  0  0
Villegas p,3b       3  0  0  0
Esparza lf          2  1  0  0
 - Magana ph        1  1  0  0
Totals             27  5  6  3

E–La Crescenta Alonso (1), White (1); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1). 
2B–La Crescenta Alonso (1,off Aguilar); 
Somervile-Yaqui Lopez (1,off Boeke), Estrada (1,off Boeke).
3B–La Crescenta Tavizon (1,off Aguilar).  
Sac–Okimoto (1,off Villegas), Sullivan (1,off Villegas).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (2,2nd base off Aguilar/Estrada,
3rd base off Aguilar/Estrada)

Pitchers

La Crescenta    IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Wang*          2.0  0  3   3   5   3
Boeke (W)      5.0  6  2   1   0   5

Somervile-Yaqui IP  H   R  ER  BB  SO
Villegas*      5.1  5   2   3   5   1
Aguilar (L)*   0.2  7  11  10   3   0
Gonzales       1.0  1   0   0   1   0

*Wang pitched to 3 batters in the 3rd inning; Villegas 
pitched to 2 batters in the 6th inning and Aguilar pitched
to 5 batters in the 7th inning.

WP–Somervile-Yaqui Aguilar (1).
Balk—La Crescenta-Boeke (2).
PB—La Crescenta-Sullivan (2).  

Scoring Summary
Top 1st: La Crescenta
- J. White singled to left field
- C. Okimoto sacrificed White to second base
- R. Sulivan singled to left J. White scored.
Bot 3rd: Somervile-Yaqui
- E. Esparza walked
- M. Rosas walked
- I. Lopez walked, T. Boeke relived B. Wang
- T. Boeke balked home Esparza.
- J. Estrada singled to right, scoring M. Rosas
- T. Boeke balked home I. Lopez. 
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso singled to left
- T. Ha walked
- A. Aguilar relived F. Villegas
- T. Boeke singled to right
- B. Wang reached first on a fielder’s choice, B, Alonso
out at home.
- N. Rea reached first on a throwing error by I. Lopez, 
B. Wang out at second base, T. Boeke scored.
- J. White singled to left, N. Rea to third, J. White 
advancing on the throw.
- N. Rea scored on a wild pitch by Aguilar, J. White to 
third.
- C. Okimoto walked and advanced to second on defensive 
indifference
- R. Sullivan singled to left field, scoring J. White and C. 
Okimoto, R. Sullivan to second on throw
- C. Tavizon triples to left field, R. Sullivan scoring
- B. Alonso doubles to left field, C Tavizon scores.
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke singles to right center field, steals second and
third base
- C. Marquis walked
- J. Cook reaches first on a fielder’s choice, T. Boeke 
scores, Marquis to second
- J. White walked
- C. Okimoto singled to left field, C. Marquis and J. Cook
scoring
- A. Gonzales relived A. Aguilar
- R. Sullivan singled to left field scoring J. White and 
C. Okimoto.
Bot 7th: Somervile-Yaqui
- A. Magana reached first on fielding error by J. White
- I. Lopez doubled down the left field line
- A. Gonzales singled down the right field line, scoring 
A. Magana and I. Lopez.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #2

Friday, August 7, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

Tri Valley      0 0 0  1 3 0  0 – 4 6 1
La Crescenta    0 0 0  0 0 0  1 – 1 1 4


Tri Valley         ab  r  h rbi
Soltis cf           3  0  0  0
Anderson 3b         3  1  1  1
Sprugasci p         3  1  1  0
Dronkers 1b         4  0  0  1
Fernandez rf        3  1  2  1
Allman lf           3  0  0  0
 - Piscoty ss       0  0  0  0
Franco 2b           2  0  1  0
Jackson c           3  0  0  0
Pluschell ss        1  0  1  0
 - Robbins lf       2  1  0  0
Totals             27  4  6  3

La Crescenta       ab  r  h rbi
Okimoto 2b          1  0  0  0
Ha rf               2  0  0  0
 - Marquis ph       1  0  0  0
Sullivan 3b         3  0  0  0
White ss            2  1  0  0
Tavizon lf          3  0  0  0
Alonso c            3  0  1  1
 - Tremain pr       0  0  0  0
Boeke 1b,p          3  0  0  0
Wang cf             1  0  0  0
 - Moscicki ph      1  0  0  0
Cook p              1  0  0  0
 - Rea 1b,lf        1  0  0  0
Totals             22  1  1  1

E–Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-White (1), Boeke (2),
Ha (1). 
2B–Tri Valley-Anderson (1,off Cook); La Crescenta Alonso 
(1,off Sprugasci).
HBP–La Crescenta-White (1,by Sprugasci). 
Sac–Soltis (1,off Cook), Anderson (1,off Cook).  
CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Sprugasci/Jackson), Boeke (1,2nd
base by Sprugasci/Jackson).
SB–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,2nd base off Cook/Alonso); 
La Crescenta-White (1,2nd base off Sprugasci/Jackson).

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Cook (L)      5.0  5  4   3   2   4
Boeke         2.0  1  0   0   0   2

Tri Valley        IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Sprugasci (W)    7.0  1  1   1   2   5

PB-Tri Valley-Jackson (1); La Crescenta-Alonso (1)
HBP–Tri Valley-Sprugasci (1,White).  

Scoring Summary
Top 4th: Tri Valley
- V. Fernandez singles to left field
- K. Franco singles to right center field, Fernandez scores
on fielding error by Okimoto on relay.
Top 5th: Tri Valley
- N. Robbins reaches first on fielding error by Boeke
- C. Soltis sacrifices Robbins to second
- R. Anderson doubles to right center field, scoring Robbins
- R. Anderson balked to third by Cook
- J. Sprugasci walks and steals 2nd base
- J. Dronkers hits into a fielder’s choice to short, Anderson 
scored
- V. Fernandez hits a single to center field, Sprugasci 
scores.
Bot 7th: La Crescenta
- J. White hit by a pitch and steals 2 base
- B. Alonso doubles to center field, scoring White.

Babe Ruth - 2009 PSW Regionals, Game #1

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Eureka Babe Ruth Field, Eureka, CA

La Crescenta    0 1 0 1 0 1 1 – 4 9 1
Eureka          1 1 0 0 0 0 0 – 2 2 1

La Crescenta ab r h rbi Okimoto 2b 2 0 2 2 Ha rf 4 0 0 0 Tavizon lf/p 4 0 1 0 Alonso p/3b 3 0 0 0 - Moscicki pr 0 1 0 0 Sullivan c 3 1 1 0 White ss 3 0 1 1 Boeke 3b,1b 4 1 1 0 Wang cf 4 1 1 0 Rea 1b,lf 2 0 2 1 Totals 29 4 9 4 Eureka ab r h rbi Raxa cf 4 1 2 1 Ables ss 2 0 0 0 Kirk c 3 0 0 0 Stone p 3 0 0 1 Snipes 3b 3 0 0 0 Swanson rf 0 1 0 0 Masten lf 2 0 0 0 - Crews ph,lf 1 0 0 0 Savage 1b 2 0 0 0 - Crews ph,1b 1 0 0 0 Maples 2b 2 0 0 0 - Martin ph,2b 1 0 0 0 Totals 24 2 2 2

©Rich Bickel/Times Standard La Crescenta's #21, Ted Boeke, slides safely into home in front of Eureka's Matt Kirk to score the tying run in the fourth inning.

E–La Crescenta Alonso (1); Eureka Snipes (1).
2B–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,off Stone), Boeke (1,off Stone), 
White (1,off Stone); Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso)
3B–Eureka Raxa (1,off Alonso).
HBP–Swanson (1,by Alonso).
SF–Stone (1,off Alonso).
CS–Okimoto (1,2nd base by Kirk/Maples).
SB–La Crescenta Sullivan (1,2nd base off Stone/Kirk);
Eureka Ables (1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan), Swanson
(1,2nd base off Alonso/Sullivan).

Pitchers

La Crescenta   IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Alonso        4.0  2  2   2   5   6
Tavizon (W)   3.0  0  0   0   4   5

Eureka         IP  H  R  ER  BB  SO
Stone (L)     7.0  9  4   4   5  12

WP–La Crescenta Alonso (1), Tavizon (1); Eureka Stone (1).
HBP–La Crescenta Alonso (1,Swanson).

Scoring Summary
Bot 1st: Eureka
- D. Raxa tripled to deep center
- K. Ables walked and stole second base
- Z. Stone hit a sacrifice fly to left field, D. Raxa scored
Top 2nd: La Crescenta
- R. Sullivan walked, J. White walked, Nolan Rea walked, 
C. Okimoto walked, scoring Sullivan.
Bot 2nd: Eureka
- D. Raxa doubled to right center field
- E. Savage walked, D. Raxa hit a double to the right
Top 4th: La Crescenta
- T. Boeke doubled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to right field, scoring Boeke
Top 6th: La Crescenta
- B. Wang singled to right center field
- N. Rea singled to center field
- C. Okimoto singled to second, scoring Wang
Top 7th: La Crescenta
- B. Alonso drew a walk, Moscicki pinch ran
- R. Sullivan reaches first on a fielder’s choice, Moscicki 
safe at second on throwing error by Snipes.
- J. White doubles to right center field, scoring Moscicki.

This is Our Year!

Whew, boy! Hey-hey! Cubs Win! Cubs Win!! Cubs Win!!!

Day one of the 2009 MLB campaign and the Cubs are in first place with a 4-2 victory over the Houston Astros! A lead-off home-run from Soriano, coupled with "staff ace" Zambrano hurlig 97 pitches over six innings (his control wasn't too bad, 6 Ks to only 3 walks) to get the win, followed by closer Kevin Gregg's first save as a Cub (despite giving up 2 hits and an earned run) made for an exciting opening day game.

Wrigley, a photo by rpongsaj on Flickr.

I know it is too early to start thinking about the playoffs, and after the Cubs collapsed the last two Octobers -- I don't have any right to be optimistic, but despite my common sense, I know this is going to be our year! But, with a rotation that features Carlos Zambrano, Ted Lilly, Ryan Dempster, and Rich Harden, the Cubbies will have one of the better starting rotations in the division. I think keeping the starting pitchers healthy will be the key to a successful 2009 season.

Now, I wouldn't be a true Cubs fan if I didn't have a grumble or two, so the one thing I am disappointed about is that Sam Zell and the Tribune Company still own the team. The franchise has been on the auction block for nearly two years, but it looks like the Ricketts family will be the owners sometime this Spring, but the fact that Zell is still in charge is a huge disappointment (maybe more so than the playoff collapse against the Dodgers last October).

At any rate, there is light at the end of the ownership tunnel (finally!) As Tom Ricketts, a native Chicagoan and life-long Cubs fan, stated goal is to “...win a World Series and build the consistent championship tradition that the fans deserve.”  The change in ownership can't come too soon for me.

On the field side of the equation, I am sad that we lost Derosa and Wood.  I know why the Cubs let Kerry go, but really hope that Fontenot will be able to step up and replace Derosa at second base--our losses are Cleveland's gains... That said, the acquisition of Bradley, Gregg and Miles during the off season should be interesting. Jim Hendry is either going to look like a genius, or a complete fool.  I know Bradley was a headcase in Los Angeles (and everywhere else really too), but he can produce offensively, and if Lou can get his head straightened out, so much the better. Overall, I'll say that, on paper, the off-season's plusses certainly outweigh the minuses.

Some offensive tweaks, for a team that had the best 2008 regular season record in the National League, coupled with five Cubs' starters who can be dominant, and a combination of Marmol and Gregg closing out the late innings, means we should be in very good shape this year!

I hate to say World Series title contender in April, but 90 wins should lock up the Central Division and if the bullpen can step up and save some wear-and-tear on the starting rotation, the 101 year drought will be over. I know this is going to be our year!

That is of course, if we can get past the Curse of the Billy Goat, damn you Billy Sianis! Why did you have to go and bring a goat to the World Series?!