- On September 21st, 2001, Vince De
Quattro wrote:
I would like to thank each and every one of you for your tremendous efforts this
season. I know first-hand that it is no small task to attend a softball game in
Nicasio at 6:00PM on fourteen alternating week days during the summer.
A few of you had impossible schedules and weren't able to join us as much as you
had hoped. Zachary and Steve have been bucking for long-awaited promotions and
other responsible, grown-up stuff and were otherwise pre-occupied by their
work. Alice and Maddie had their short bomber careers interrupted through
diverse and otherwise divine acts of god. I wish you all of you well and invite
you to attend the tournament tomorrow as part of our award-winning pep squad.
If not, please drink responsibly in the safety of your home.
The rest of you were simply inspirational given your stellar attendance record
this year. I, and my several competing personalities, applaud you.
So tomorrow we play in the Tournament. It's really the only reason why we
bother playing those other fourteen games. The Tournament. Most you have
experience playing in the Championship Game. This year promises nothing
different than years past: whether you have won a championship, won a
division title or have been crowned tournament champion runner-up, you've been there,
you know what it feels like. You've got ice water running through your veins.
Tomorrow won't be about individual stats. Tomorrow we'll just show up, eighteen
friends thrown together on a dusty field for a few hours over a summertime, and
play company softball. Pretty silly when placed next to the history-making
events of the past week. But it's part of Americana, nonetheless. Our way of
blowing off steam, our way, maybe, of dealing with the history-making events of
the past week.
Anyway, win or lose, know that I really appreciate the support you gave the team
this year. Great stuff. Thanks.
September 22, 2002
Mc Innis Park
The 2001 Bomber Rookie of the Year was awarded to OF Lori Petrini 13-for-42 (.303) with eleven runs scored and four RBIs. With teammate Neha Wickramasekaran, Petrini was critical to the Bomber's success, attending fourteen of fifteen games during the season.
The 2001 Bomber Most Improved Player Trophy was awarded to center-fielder Doug Griffin for his outstanding contribution during his three-year career. Griffin raised his average to .595 (22-for-37) this season (third best after Schroeder and Cummings) after batting .462 at the end of a 2000 season in which he struggled through several injuries. His strong arm and sure glove help solidify a new defense after the departure of several key outfielders at the start of the season.
Third baseman, Grady Cummings, was named the 2001 Most Valuable Player after putting up impressive numbers during his first season in a Bomber uniform. #XX had a career year, going 26-for-43 (.605, including a home run and three doubles) with 30 runs scored and 25 runs batted in. Grady's 30 runs scored sets a Bomber season record shared by teammate Eric Schroeder, who also scored 30 this year.
The 2001 Bomber Award was presented to shortstop Eric Schroeder, who accepted the trophy for the third season in a row. Schroeder's seven home runs this year, most by any Bomber in a season, boosts his career home run record to 15 and sent his career slugging percentage over 1.250.
For the final 2001 season statistics, click here.
Press Releases
2001 Press Releases
May 15, 2001: Bombers Blast Mob, 24 - 10
May 22, 2001: Bombers Rip Pants, 17 - 4
June 1, 2001: Bombers Murder Wookiees, 16 - 6
June 6, 2001: Maulers Ambush Bombers, 11 - 8
June 7, 2001: Eligibility Issues
June 18, 2001: Bombers Survive Swinger Scare, 19 - 17
June 29, 2001: Bombers Erase Zeroes, 17 - 12
July 2, 2001: Bombers Steal Victory From Sox, 11 - 10
July 10, 2001: All Stars Nip Bombers, 10 - 7
July 20, 2001: Bombers Land Fish, 15 - 12
August 2, 2001: Bombers Roll Over Replacements, 16 - 7
August 8, 2001: Bombers Mop Scum, 18 - 6
August 22, 2001: Fish Swallow Bombers, 28 - 11
August 30, 2001: Bombers Stun Maulers, 12 - 11
September 19, 2001: All Stars Rally Past Bombers, 9 - 7
September 22, 2001: Bombers Lose Heartbreaker 15 - 14
Russell Joins All-Star Effort
April 5, 2001
Bomber MVP center fielder, Jesse Russell, announced today that he would ask the Bomber Organization to place him on waivers for his unconditional release, clearing the way for his inclusion on the Travelling All-Star roster this spring. Russell put up Hall of Fame numbers in his two years with the Bombers, sharing three single-season records, including hits (33, with Diaz), sacrifices (4, with Schroeder and McCardle), triples (with Diaz) and is in sole possession of both the single-season batting record (.702 set in 1999) and the career batting record (.687).
Bomber officials expressed their deep regret upon receiving the news, but wish him the best of luck in his new career with the Islanders. If the deal goes through as planned, Russell's No. 29 will be retired in a ceremony to take place sometime in late September, 2001.
For more information about Jesse Russell,
click
here.
New Players In 2001
April 21, 2001
The 2001 LFL Player Draft provided a bountiful
harvest for the veteran Champions as they picked up several highly recruited
players in the first and second rounds. Grady Cummings, on recommendation
by Marc Diaz' agent, was selected as the second pick in the first
round after the Bombers traded up with the Pants for three third round
draft picks. Diaz also helped orchestrate three other impressive
first round acquisitions in Madeline Diaz (no relation), Lori Petrini
and Frank Becerra. Last minute trade negotiations with Doug Griffin's
agent brought in a much-needed outfielder in Steve Sullivan, while Jason
Patnode brought over Alice Henderson in the second round.
Diaz
Leaves Bombers
August 10, 2001
Infielder Madeline Diaz was released last week in an unpopular move that caused perceptible clubhouse grumbling. Diaz posted fair numbers during her tenure with the Bombers this season. She was extremely well-liked and brought balance to an otherwise imbalanced group of softball fanatics.
For more information about Madeline Diaz,
click
here.
Bombers Blast Mob, 24 - 10
May 15, 2001
UPI Wire Story
Lucas Valley
2000 Co-MVP 1B Todd Krish hit the first fence-clearing home run of his career last night, a towering three hundred foot shot over the wall in deep left, and launched a Bomber comeback which eventually ended in a 24-10 rout of the Roswell Mobsters.
Sharing MVP honors with Krish last year was CF Marc Diaz, who contributed three runs, three hits and two RBIs at the top of the lineup. Other three-hit performances by SS Safley, LF Schroeder and 3B Jason Patnode carried the day.
Newcomers Lori Petrini, Maddie Diaz and Grady Cummings showed off their Bomber stuff as they collectively pounded out four hits, six runs and five RBIs in the effort.
After Roswell rang up ten runs in the bottom of the first inning, the Bombers answered with twenty-four of their own over the next five innings, notching their first win of the season.
Next week -- the Pants.
BOX SCORE -- MAY 15, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz CF
4 3 3 2 0 0
.750
Safley SS
3 3 3 2 1 0
1.000
Cummings 3B 3
3 2 1 1 0 .667
Schroeder LF 3
1 3 5 0 0 1.000
De Quattro C 3
1 1 1 1 0 .333
Krish 1B
3 3 2 1 1 0
.667
Sutherland P 1
3 0 1 3 0 .000
Petrini OF 4
2 2 2 0 0 .500
Patnode RF 4
2 3 1 0 0 .750
Griffin RF 4
1 2 2 0 0 .500
Taylor RF
4 0 1 1 0 0
.250
Diaz, M 2B 3
1 0 2 0 0 .000
Becerra C
3 1 1 0 0 0
.333
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
42 24 23 22 7 0 .548
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
0 9 2 6 0 7
- 24
MOBSTERS
10 0 0 0 0
0 - 10
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 8. RBIS--Schroeder 5 (5), Diaz
2 (2), Diaz M 2 (2), Griffin 2 (2),
Krish 2 (2), Petrini 2 (2), Safley 2 (2),
Cummings (1), De Quattro (1),
Patnode (1), Sutherland (1), Taylor (1). HR--Krish
(1). 3B--Diaz (1), Schroeder (1),
2B--Schroeder 2 (2), De Quattro (1), Diaz
(1). SAC--Schroeder (1).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (1-0)
6 9 10 0 2 1 63 0.00
HOW THEY SCORED
Second inning. Krish homers to left. Sutherland walks. Cummings runs for Sutherland. Petrini bounces to the first baseman, Cummings takes third on the throw and scores on the throwing error by the first baseman. Patnode singles and advances to second on the overthrow. Griffin singles, scoring Patnode and advances to second on the overthrow. Taylor bounces to the pitcher, one out. MDiaz reaches on the error by the first baseman, scoring Griffin. Becerra singles to left. Diaz triples to deep center, scoring MDiaz and Becerra. Safley doubles to left, scoring Diaz. Cummings singles up the middle. Schroeder doubles to deep left, scoring Safley and Cummings. De Quattro walks. Krish flies out to deep left. Nine runs on eight hits and four errors, two left. BOMBERS 9, Mob 10.
Third inning. Sutherland walks. Taylor runs for Sutherland. Petrini singles, Taylor to third. Patnode singles, loading the bases. Griffin flies to the first baseman. Griffin runs for Taylor. Taylor singles scoring Griffin. Diaz bounces to the pitcher, scoring Petrini. Becerra grounds to second. Two runs on three hits and no errors, none left. BOMBERS 11, Mob 10.
Fourth inning. Diaz doubles into the gap. Safley walks. Cummings walks. Schroeder triples, scoring Diaz, Safley and Cummings. De Quattro pops to the pitcher. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder. De Quattro runs for Krish. Sutherland walks. Becerra runs for Sutherland. Petrini singles, scoring De Quattro. Patnode forces Petrini at second, scoring Becerra. Griffin flies to left. Six runs on four hits and no errors, one left. BOMBERS 17, Mob 10.
Sixth inning. Diaz leads off with
a double to left center. Safley singles, scoring Diaz. Cummings
singles, scoring Safley. Schroeder flies to deep left, Cummings tags
and advances to second. De Quattro doubles to deep right, scoring
Cummings. Krish walks. Schroeder runs for Krish. Sutherland
reaches on the error by the center fielder, scoring De Quattro. Schroeder
to third. Petrini forces Sutherland at second, scoring Schroeder.
Patnode singles to left and advances to second on the error by the third
baseman, Petrini scoring. Griffin singles to center scoring Patnode.
Taylor pops to the third baseman. Seven runs on six hits and two
errors, one left. BOMBERS 24, Mob 10.
- Bombers Rip Pants,
17 - 4
Tuesday, May 22, 2001
AP Wire
Lucas Valley
Last night, Eric Schroeder collected three hits, including a three-run tree-clearing blast in the top of the fifth, en-route to a five RBI performance, lifting the visiting Bombers over the Pants by the score of 17 to 4. Two innings earlier, Schroeder narrowly missed hitting a three-run bomb when the ball caromed off a bush overhanging the fence in deep left. The drive was ruled a triple.
After falling behind 1 - 0 in the first, the Bombers scored 10 runs in the top of the second inning with two out. Pants hurler, Tia Marshall, pitched seven innings, allowing 18 hits in her second loss of the season.
Third baseman, Grady Cummings, turned in a spectacular defensive performance, going up the ladder to pull down a trio of line drives that may have gone for extra base hits.
Duncan Sutherland scattered five hits over seven innings in his second win of the season, 39th of his Bomber career. Sutherland was hot at the plate as well, bouncing a ground rule double over the left field fence in the top of the fifth.
"This is as hot as I've ever seen any Bomber offense swing the bat," said Captain Vince De Quattro as he sat with a small contingent of Bombers at the Flatiron Grill in San Rafael. "If I could just teach Diaz how to slide properly, I think we'd be a cinch to take the title this year."
The Bombers played with nine in the field last night, as three of their women were either sick or injured. Second baseman, Lori Petrini, turned in a solid offense performance (1-3, 1 RBI), striking fear into the heart of the Pants' defense as she wielded the ferocious Magic Bat from the right side.
Next up, the Wookiees, LFL's expansion
12th team. Bomber Ace, Duncan Sutherland will go for his 40th win.
Which Bomber's drive will leave the park?
BOX SCORE -- MAY 21, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz CF
3 2 2 1 0 0
.714
Safley SS
4 2 2 4 0 0
.714
Cummings 3B 3
2 2 1 0 0 .667
Schroeder LF 3
2 3 4 0 0 1.000
De Quattro C 2
1 1 0 1 0 .400
Krish 1B
3 1 1 1 0 0
.500
Sutherland P 3
0 1 1 0 0 .250
Becerra RF 3
0 0 1 0 0 .167
Patnode RF 3
1 1 0 0 0 .571
Griffin RF 3
1 2 1 0 0 .571
Taylor RF
2 1 1 1 1 0
.333
Sullivan LF 3
1 1 0 0 0 .333
Lim Sang C 3
1 1 1 0 0 .333
Petrini 2B 3
2 1 1 0 0 .429
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
41 17 19 17 2 0 .503
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
1 0 10 2 4 0
0 17
PANTS
0 1 0 0 2 0
1 4
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 4. HR--Schroeder (1). 3B--Schroeder
(2). 2B--Diaz (2), Griffin (1),
Sutherland (1). RBIS-- Safley 4 (6),
Schroeder 4 (9), Becerra (1), Cummings (2),
Diaz (3), Griffin (3), Krish (1), Lim Sang
(1), Petrini (3), Sutherland (2),
Taylor (2). SAC--Diaz (1).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (2-0)
7 5 4 2 0 1 48
2.15
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz reaches second
base on the error by the centerfielder. Safley grounds to short,
Diaz scoring on the throw.
One run on an error, one left. BOMBERS
1, Pants 0.
Third inning. With one out, Taylor forces Patnode at second. Sullivan singles, Taylor to second. Lim Sang singles to center, scoring Taylor. Petrini singles off the glove of the shortstop, scoring Sullivan. Diaz singles, scoring Lim Sang. Safley singles, scoring Petrini and Diaz, and takes second on the throw. Cummings singles, scoring Safley. Schroeder triples, scoring Cummings. De Quattro walks. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder. Griffin runs for Krish. Sutherland doubles, scoring De Quattro. Becerra reaches on the error by the left fielder, scoring Griffin. Eleven runs on nine hits and one error, one left. BOMBERS 11, Pants 1.
Fourth inning. Patnode singles, taking second on the error by the center fielder. Griffin singles, scoring Patnode. Taylor singles, scoring Griffin. Two runs on three hits and one error, one left. BOMBERS 13, Pants 1.
Fifth inning. Petrini reaches on
the throwing error by the shortstop and takes second on the overthrow.
Diaz flies to deep right, Petrini moving to third. Safley singles,
scoring Petrini. Cummings singles. Schroeder homers to
deep left, scoring Safley and Cummings. Four runs on three hits and
one error, none left. BOMBERS 17, Pants 1.
Friday June 1, 2001
Staff Writer
AP Wire
Lucas Valley
The mighty Bomber offense continued to pound the opposition last Friday night, rolling over the Wookiees, one of the two new LFL expansions teams, 16 to 6 in six innings. The Bomber batsmen put together fourteen singles and one extra-base hit, an inside the park home run by team captain, Vince De Quattro.
"I've never played with such a talented team," said De Quattro as he hugged fellow teammates as they gathered at the Flatiron after the game. "Everyone contributed tonight."
SS Eric Schroeder continued his league-leading hitting spree, collecting two more singles and a base on balls. "They pitch around me, they've got De Quattro to deal with, " Schroeder said, holding his two-month-old baby daughter at the press conference. Schroeder's daughter has already been signed by the Cincinnati Reds for the 2020 season.
Veteran Bomber, 2B Neha Wickramasekaran and newcomer OF Lori Petrini contributed to the cause with a combined two runs on three hits. CF Marc Diaz was two for four, but could have had a perfect night had he not been denied by two stellar defensive plays. Even SS Barry Safley managed to see through a two martini happy hour for two runs on a hit.
Ducan Sutherland pitched another gem, limiting the Wookiees to six runs over six innings, all but two unearned.
Tonight, the Bombers face their ranch rival, the Maulers at the Lucas Ranch Sports Complex. Game time is 6:30PM. Forty-game winner Sutherland will not be available tonight, so the starting assignment will go to captain De Quattro.
"I'm confident. We'd like to avenge our loss in last year's final round of the LFL Tournament. We've got a powerhouse offense and a maturing defense. Plus, Neil's been instructed to tackle their hitters as they leave the batter's box if they manage to connect."
In the last regular season meeting
between these two teams, the Bombers prevailed 19 - 10 in a wild, injury-delayed
game, part of which took place Aug. 9, 2000 and finished a month later,
on Sept. 7, 2000.
BOX SCORE -- JUNE 1, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz CF
4 2 2 0 0 0
.636
Safley SS
4 2 1 0 0 0
.545
Cummings 3B 3
3 2 4 0 0 .667
Schroeder LF 2
2 2 3 1 0 1.000
De Quattro C 3
1 2 3 0 0 .500
Krish 1B
3 0 0 0 0 0
.333
Sutherland P 2
2 1 0 1 0 .333
Patnode RF 2
1 0 1 1 0 .444
Taylor RF
3 0 1 1 0 0
.333
Petrini OF 3
1 1 0 0 1 .400
Lim Sang C 3
1 1 1 0 0 .333
Diaz M 2B
3 0 0 1 0 1
.000
Wickram N 2B 3
1 2 0 0 0 .667
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
38 16 15 13 3 2 .467
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
3 0 3 2 6 2
- 16
WOOKIEES
0 0 1 4 0 1
- 6
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 7. HR--De Quattro (1). RBIS--
Cummings 4 (6), De Quattro 3 (4), Schroeder 2 (11),
Diaz, Mad (3), Lim Sang (2), Patnode (2),
Taylor (3)
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (3-0)
6 4 6 2 1 1 52
2.15
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz singles and takes second on the error by the center fielder. Safley flies to left. Cummings singles, scoring Diaz, and takes second on the throw. Schroeder singles, scoring Cummings, and takes second on the throwing error by the left fielder. De Quattro's bloop single scores Schroeder. Krish forces De Quattro at second. Sutherland reaches on the error by the shortstop. Patnode forces Sutherland at second. Three runs on four hits and three errors, one left. BOMBERS 3 - Wookiees 0.
Third inning. With one out, Neha singles. Diaz singles, Neha takes second. Safley forces Neha at third. Cummings reaches third on the error by the right fielder, scoring Diaz and Safley, a scores on the throwing error by the shortstop. Schroeder walks. De Quattro pops to the first baseman. Three runs on two hits and two errors, one left. BOMBERS 6 - Wookiees 0.
Fourth inning. With one out, Sutherland walks. Patnode walks. Taylor singles, scoring Sutherland. Petrini strikes out. Lim Sang grounds into a fielder's choice, and Patnode scores on the error by the third baseman. Maddie bounces to the shortstop. Two runs on one hit and one error, none left. BOMBERS 8 - Wookiees 1.
Fifth inning. Neha singles. Diaz lines to center, one out. Safley singles. Cummings singles to center, scoring Neha, with Safley scoring on the throwing error by the centerfielder. Schroeder singles, scoring Cummings. De Quattro homers to right, scoring Schroeder. Krish flies to left. Sutherland singles. Patnode reaches on the error by the centerfielder, Sutherland scoring. Taylor grounds to the shortstop. Six runs on six hits and two errors, one left. BOMBERS 14 - Wookiees 5.
Sixth inning. Petrini singles, and
takes second on the overthrow. Lim Sang singles up the middle, Petrini
scoring on the throwing error by the centerfielder. Maddie reaches
on the throwing error by the shortstop, scoring Lim Sang. Neha grounds
to the pitcher. Diaz lines to the pitcher. Safley flies to
left. Two runs on two hits and three errors, one left. BOMBERS
16 - Wookiees 5.
- Maulers Ambush
Bombers, 11 - 8
June 6, 2001
Associated Press
Nicasio, CA
Vince De Quattro, in his first LFL pitching performance, struck out four, walked four, and allowed three earned runs over six innings in a loss to the first place Ranch Maulers, 11 - 8 last night in Nicasio. A two-run homerun by Stan Lopes in the bottom of the fourth clinched it for the Maulers.
"I wish I could have that one back," said De Quattro after the game. "I floated a jamming pitch over the plate and he crushed it."
The Bombers matched well with their ranch counterpart, hitting a season high .525 against Mauler pitching and turning in some defensive gems. Catches by LF Schroeder, CF Diaz, CF Griffin and 3B Cummings kept the Bombers close.
"This will be the team we see in the Tournament, if we play to expectations. This will be the team to beat. A few more balls bounce our way, and we earn the bragging rights tonight," said De Quattro.
OF Maddie Diaz collected her first hit of the season and Schroeder put on another hitting clinic as he maintained his league leading 1.000 batting average. Diaz banged out two extra-base hits, a double and a triple collecting two RBIs and raised his average to .643 en route to damaging the third base bag, and causing a ten minute game delay in the process.
"I slid in hard and broke the base, " admitted a subdued Diaz at Chili's Northgate after the game. "I offered to fix it, but they wouldn't let me. There wasn't time." Unfortunately for the Bombers, they were poised to overtake the Maulers, but were forced to call the game at 7:50 due to the new time limitations put in place this year.
"It's ridiculous. We need to go to the board and iron this thing out. It used to be that you could just start the last inning before 1 hour 20 minutes. Now you have to play the entire game within that time. No way," said Krish. "Games aren't going seven [innings] anymore. This game is about comebacks."
1B Todd Krish, SS Barry Safley, Diaz and Schroeder all had two-hit nights, powering the offense, and placing the Bombers within reach in the last inning. With two out, a count of two strikes, and Schroeder on first base in the final inning, De Quattro hit a deep liner to right. Speedy Mauler center-fielder, R. Jay Williams, was able to run it down for the final out.
Although Bomber bats were hot, the Mauler defense was hotter, turning in two double plays and making a solid effort to prevent Bomber base-runners all night.
Third baseman, Jason Patnode was one for two, with a run and an RBI. "This was our wake-up call. We wanted to see how we stacked up against them this early in the season. Though we would have traded it for a win, it was a hard-fought game." Other standouts included 2B Lori Petrini and RF Frank Becerra who were both one for two with a run scored.
The Bombers have a bye next week. The next game. vs. the Swingers is scheduled for June 18, 2001. Lori Petrini is scheduled to go on the disabled list for that game.
BOX SCORE -- JUNE 6, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz CF
3 2 2 2 0 0
.643
Safley SS
2 0 2 1 0 0
.615
Cummings 3B 2
0 0 1 0 0 .545
Schroeder LF 2
1 2 0 1 0 1.000
De Quattro P 2
0 0 0 0 0 .400
Krish 1B
2 1 2 1 0 0
.455
Patnode 3B 2
1 1 0 0 1 .455
Taylor RF
1 0 0 1 0 0
.300
Lim Sang C 1
0 0 0 1 0 .286
Petrini 2B 2
1 1 0 0 0 .417
Griffin CF 2
0 1 2 0 0 .556
Becerra RF 2
1 1 0 1 0 .250
Wickram N 2B 0
1 0 0 2 0 .667
Diaz M 2B
2 0 1 0 0 0
.125
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
25 8 13 8 5 1
.476
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
0 1 0 3 3 1
- 8
MAULERS
0 4 4 3 0 -
- 11
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 7. 3B--Diaz (2). 2B--Becerra (1),
Diaz (3), Safley (1).
RBIS-- Diaz 2 (5), Griffin 2 (5), Cummings
(7), Krish (4), Safley (7),
Taylor (4).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
DE QUATTRO L (0-1)
6 8 11 3 4 4 50 4.50
HOW THEY SCORED
Second inning. Schroeder walks. De Quattro sacrifices Schoeder to second. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder. Patnode strikes out. Taylor forces Krish at second. BOMBERS 1 - Maulers 0.
Fourth inning. Becerra doubles. Neha walks. Maddies singles, loading the bases. Diaz doubles, scoring Becerra and Neha, and takes second on the throw. Maddie is tagged attempting to take third on the play. Safley singles, Diaz to third. Cummings sacrifices to deep left, scoring Diaz. Schroeder singles, Safley to third. De Quattro grounds to the shortstop. BOMBERS 4 - Maulers 8.
Fifth inning. Krish singles. Patnode singles, Krish taking third. Taylor sacrifices to center, Krish scoring. Lim Sang flies to the shortstop. Petrini singles to left, Patnode takes third. Griffin doubles, scoring Patnode and Petrini. Becerra walks. Neha walks. Maddie grounds to the third baseman. BOMBERS 7 - Maulers 11.
Sixth inning. Diaz triples to left. Safley sacrifices Diaz home. Cummings flies to center. Schroeder singles. De Quattro flies out to the gap in right center. BOMBERS 8 - Maulers 11.
- Eligibility Issues:
League Guidelines
Open Letter to LFL Director:
I'd like to propose some new language for our league rules and guidelines, to be discussed by the captains at large.
The inflexibility of LFL fitness center in addressing the attrition issue this year has been disappointing. In years past, the fitness center staff has joined with the LFL captains to address issues regarding safety and scheduling in an effort to cater to the growing number of ILM employees and increased levels of athleticism and competition. Together, we have implemented agenda items like the double bag at first base, the commit line, tournament eligibility rules, backup umpire procedures, field phone, and others.
Part of the democratic process is the crafting of guidelines to ensure
that we continue to grow our sports programs dynamically to fit our ever-changing
needs. This year, as in many other years, will continue to
see players sit out a season due to injury or layoff. Due to
the volatility of the entertainment market which we serve, there is a good
possibility that a few players will be among those let go during the
summer months.
In response to this exigency, I propose that we adopt the following guidelines in premise and basic intent:
=====================================================
A. ELIGIBILITY
1. REPLACEMENT PLAYERS
The LFL will establish a cut-off date for the acceptance of new players
and creation of new teams. The maximum number of players and
teams will
be established at a pre-season captains meeting held well in advance
of
applications distribution. Once the cut-offs limits are reached,
players
who wish to play with the LFL that have not met the deadline requirement
will be kept on a waiting list, in a first-come, first-served basis.
If any player, for any reason, cannot finish the season with his
or her
original team, then the next player (of the same sex) on the waiting
list
will be furnished to that team. if no players are available
on the
waiting list, then the team requiring the replacement may recruit
a new
player from existing Lucas Company personnel.
Tournament eligibility rules still apply. All players who participate
in
the tournament must have played at least two regular season games.
====================================================
- Bombers Survive
Swinger Scare, 19 - 17
June 18, 2001
UPI
Lucas Valley, California
The Bombers survived a furious comeback bid by the Swingers last night, and notched their fourth win on the merits of their powerful offense alone. 3B Jason Patnode's two run home run in the top of the sixth inning proved to be the difference in the ball game, saving the Bombers from an ignominious end to a laugher that nearly got away.
"The Swinger reliever, Chris Abeyta, was tossing them flat. I just grooved one past the left fielder who was playing me short. It felt great," said Patnode who recorded his first round-tripper in three seasons with the Bombers. In fact, though Patnode has five extra-base hits in that time, he's never tripled. The sudden power off his bat was no surprise to his team.
"Jason's been banging away with authority this year," offered utility infielder, Grady Cummings. "He's been hitting the ball hard. With Eric (Schroeder) out of the line up tonight, he stepped up big time."
Cummings also added fuel to the Bomber pyre, going four-for-four with two doubles, three runs scored and four runs batted in. Clean up hitter, RF Vince De Quattro, had a break-out game, driving in five runs on two hits, a four-base error and a sacrifice fly. It was the first time that De Quattro has stepped into the clean up role in two years.
"With Schroeder out, we needed to get big and fill his shoes," said Catcher Neil Lim Sang. " I mean, here's a guy that can drive in five or six runs a game that's suddenly missing from your line up. The only cure for a shaky defense is to provide your opponent a dose of good, old-fashioned, whoop ass. We did that tonight."
Defensive miscues kept the Swingers in the game. P Duncan Sutherland (4-0) kept his winning streak alive by pitching accurately and struck out two over six. Of the seventeen runs scored, three were earned. "Hey this kind of thing happens. We're trying some new looks in the field on our way to putting together the defense for the tournament. We're working on it."
With two on and two out in the bottom of the sixth, Sutherland made a solid play to get the last out at first. Cummings, 2B Neha Wickramasekaran, Patnode and SS Barry Safley also contributed to the defensive effort. CF Doug Griffin nearly recorded his league-leading third put out at the plate, but the throw got away from Lim Sang.
"It was nice to get through a tight one like that and win," said OF Maddie Diaz in an after game interview. "It shows how tough we are. We don't give up."
The Bombers face the Magic Zero in two weeks.
BOX SCORE -- JUNE 18, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
3 3 2 1 1 0
.647
Safley SS
4 2 0 1 0 1
.471
Cummings 3B 4
3 4 4 0 0 .667
De Quattro P 3
2 2 5 0 0 .462
Krish 1B
4 2 0 0 0 0
.333
Griffin CF 4
2 2 2 0 1 .538
Sutherland P 4
1 2 2 0 0 .400
Patnode 3B 4
2 3 3 0 1 .533
Lim Sang C 4
0 1 0 0 0 .273
Wickram N 2B 4
1 0 0 0 0 .285
Diaz M 2B
3 1 0 0 1 0
.090
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
41 19 16 18 2 3 .432
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
4 6 1 3 3 2
- 19
SWINGERS
4 6 1 2 0 4
- 17
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 6. HR--Patnode (1), 3B--De Quattro
(1). 2B--Cummings 2 (2),
Diaz (4), Sutherland (2). SAC--DeQuattro
(2). RBIS--DeQuattro 5 (9),
Cummings 4 (11), Patnode 3 (5), Griffin 2
(7), Sutherland 2 (4),
Diaz (6), Safley (8).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (4-0)
6 6 17 3 0 2 70 3.50
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz singles to center. Safley strikes out. Cummings doubles to left, scoring Diaz. De Quattro reaches third on the error charged to the right fielder, Cummings scoring, and scores on the bad throw by the second baseman. Krish reaches second on the throwing error by the third baseman. Griffin strikes out. Sutherland singles, scoring Krish. Patnode strikes out. BOMBERS 4, Swingers 0.
Second inning. Lim Sang reaches on
the error by the shortstop. Neha forces Lim Sang at second.
Maddie reaches second on the throwing error by the third baseman, Neha
advances to third. Diaz doubles to the gap in left center, scoring
Neha. Safley takes second on the overthrow by the pitcher, scoring
Maddie, Diaz advances to third. Cummings doubles to deep left, scoring
Diaz and Safley, and takes third on the throw by the left fielder.
De Quattro sacrifices to right, scoring Cummings. Krish
advances to second on the throwing error
by the shortstop. Griffin singles, scoring Krish. Sutherland
flies to deep center. BOMBERS 10, Swingers 4.
Third inning. Patnode singles. Lim Sang singles and advances to second on the throwing error by the centerfielder, Patnode scoring. Neha reaches on the error by the shortstop, Lim Sang holding at second. Maddie forces Lim Sang at third. Diaz forces Neha at third. Safley forces Diaz at second. BOMBERS 11, Swingers 10.
Fourth inning. Cummings singles. De Quattro singles, Cummings to second. Krish grounds into a double play, erasing Cummings at third, De Quattro to second. Griffin singles, scoring De Quattro. Sutherland doubles, scoring Griffin. Patnode singles, scoring Sutherland. Lim Sang bounces to the third baseman. BOMBERS 14, Swingers 11.
Fifth inning. With one out, Maddie walks. Diaz walks. Safley's high pop up is dropped by the shortstop, who throws to third to force Maddie. Cummings singles, scoring Diaz. De Quattro triples to the left field wall, scoring Safley and Cummings. Krish pops to the shortstop. BOMBERS 17, Swingers 13.
Sixth inning. Griffin reaches
on the error by the left fielder. Sutherland flies to center.
Patnode hits a liner to the left field wall, clearing the bases.
Lim Sang grounds to third. Neha pops to the pitcher. BOMBERS
19, Swingers 13.
- Bombers Erase
Zeroes, 17 - 12
June 29, 2001
UPI
Nicasio, CA
Last Friday night, SS Eric Schroeder treated a small crowd of spectators to an offensive show, homering twice to left field -- sending the second shot 350 feet over the left field fence, on his way to earning his 6th RBI of the night against the visiting Magic Zeroes. Schroeder has proven to be lightning in a bottle, the first Bomber in history to hit more than three home runs in a season and the fastest to twenty RBIs before the All Star break.
Sparks from Schroeder's stick landed on the rest of the Bomber bats, which banged out a collective seventeen hits in the impressive 17 to 12 victory. 1B Todd Krish, who nearly hit for the cycle, collecting a single, double and triple. 3B Grady Cummings and pitcher Duncan Sutherland (W 5-0) also had three hits in the contest, as the Bombers erupted for seventeen runs in the first three innings and never looked back.
"I'm glad my Dad was able to see the game tonight," said an emotional Schroeder after the game. "My father used to take me out behind our barn and he'd have me hit leather saddles into the neighbor's corral with a tire iron. Damn that was hard work." Hard work that has paid off big time for the Bombers. In the four years, the Bombers are 12 - 0 when Eric has hit at least one home run during the game.
2B Neha Wickramasekaran, 3B Jason Patnode, and 1B Todd Krish made spectacular plays in the later innings to turn back Zero rallies. Neha nabbed a hot grounder to the right side and threw the runner out for the third out of the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Patnode handled a hot liner at third, and 1B Krish scooped a chopper at first, shutting the Zeroes down and preserving the Bombers lead.
Wickramasekaran was mobbed by teammates after recording the final out in the fifth. "Lori, Maddie and I have really been hustling for the past three weeks. We're getting a lot of support our here from the rest of the guys." she said.
The Bombers face Darth Sox tonight.
BOX SCORE -- JUNE 29, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
3 3 2 0 1 0
.652
Cummings 3B 4
2 3 0 0 0 .667
De Quattro RF 2 2
0 4 1 0 .429
Schroeder SS 4
3 2 6 0 0 .824
Krish 1B
4 2 3 2 0 0
.450
Griffin CF 4
1 2 2 0 1 .529
Patnode 2B 2
1 1 0 1 0 .550
Sutherland P 4
0 3 2 0 0 .611
Becerra RF 4
0 1 1 0 0 .308
Petrini C
4 1 1 0 0 0
.375
Wickramasek OF 3 2
1 0 1 1 .462
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
38 17 19 17 4 2 .450
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
5 6 6 0 0 0
- 17
ZEROES
1 3 0 2 0 3
3 12
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 9. HR--Schroeder 2 (3), 3B--Griffin
(1),
Krish (1). 2B--Krish (1). SAC--De Quattro
(3), Patnode (1).
RBIS--Schroeder 6 (17), De Quattro 4 (13),
Griffin 2 (9),
Krish 2 (6), Becerra (2), Cummings (3), Sutherland
(5).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (5-0)
7 11 12 5 0 0 68 3.76
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz reaches on the error by the shortstop. Cummings singles, moving Diaz to second. De Quattro reaches second on the error by the first baseman, scoring Cummings and Diaz. Schroeder homers to the left field corner, scoring De Quattro. Krish flies to center. Griffin flies to short. Patnode singles. Sutherland singles. Becerra reaches on the error by the second baseman, scoring Patnode. Petrini flies to first. BOMBERS 5, Zero 1.
Second inning. Neha walks. Diaz singles. Cummings singles, bases loaded. De Quattro sacrifices to right, scoring Neha. Schroeder homers over the left field fence, scoring Diaz and Cummings. Krish singles. Griffin singles, scoring Krish and takes second on the throwing error by the rover. Patnode sacrifices Griffin to third. Sutherland singles, scoring Griffin. Becerra forces Sutherland and second. BOMBERS 11, Zero 4.
Third inning. Petrini singles. Neha singles. Diaz walks, loading the bases. Cummings singles, scoring Petrini. De Quattro walks, scoring Neha. Schroeder grounds to short, forcing Cummings at third, scoring Diaz. Krish doubles, scoring De Quattro and Schroeder. Griffin triples, scoring Krish. Patnode walks. Sutherland's bloop single to center forces Patnode at second (baserunning error). Becerra grounds to third. BOMBERS 17, Zero 4.
- Bombers Steal
Victory From Sox, 11 - 10
July 2, 2001
AP Wire
Nicasio, CA
In a game that will come to define the meaning of "Storybook Ending", Pitcher Duncan Sutherland finished a seven run, two-out, seventh inning rally by lining a single to the gap in right center field, scoring 1B Todd "Freight Train" Krish from second base, sending the home team into wild celebration as the Bombers edged Darth Sox, 11 - 10.
This was a special win for Krish, the four-year Bomber veteran who has faced two-out, bottom of the seventh, do -or-die situations before. "Just one victory like this one makes the entire season worthwhile. It proves that we have a tremendous amount of heart," said an ecstatic Krish at the post-game conference. With SS Eric Schroeder standing on second base with two-out in the bottom of the seventh and down by a single run, Krish worked the count to 2 and 1 before he launched the next pitch to the left centerfield wall. His hit tied the game and set the stage for Sutherland's heroics.
The inning started quietly enough. With two outs and Scott Taylor standing at first base on the throwing error by the shortstop, OF Lori Petrini took her place in the batter's box. Dissatisfied with her previous two at-bats, Petrini worked the count to 2 balls and a strike before stroking a single into right. Her brave single proved to be the magic that woke the sleeping giant.
Six successive hits followed Petrini's single, scoring seven, and placed the improbable, come-from-behind victory into Bomber lore.
Sutherland (W 6-0) pitched another gem, allowing only four earned runs in the contest, giving his infield plenty of opportunities to prevent Sox baserunners. Exceptional plays by Schroeder, Krish, 2B Frank Becerra, Petrini and Sutherland kept the game scoreless through four innings.
Alice Henderson, appearing for the first time in Bomber uniform after tearing cartilage in her hand during the pre-season, caught the entire game for Sutherland.
"We needed her. We had ten people out here tonight. We have eight people either on the disabled list or on vacation. We needed Alice tonight and she was there for us," said team captain, Vince De Quattro. Henderson's inclusion in the lineup allowed the Bombers to play a tenth position. "She was in pain there at the end. She's a real fighter. Without our rover (Petrini) tonight, we may have not been able to hold them to ten runs," said 3B Jason Patnode.
"Hey, we got a few breaks tonight. Victory is a mixture of guts and luck. We stayed with them and never hung our heads," smiled game MVP Petrini who magnanimously shared the credit with her teammates. "Give some credit to the Sox. They played their hearts out tonight."
The Sox came prepared to take their first victory from the Bombers in a stretch of four contests going back to June of last year. Losses of 18 - 10, 18 - 8, and a first round tournament loss of 15 - 12 fueled the Sox's nine run burst in the fourth and fifth innings. But Sox relief pitching couldn't hold off the Bomber hitters, giving up seven successive hits in the bottom of the seventh.
It was the Bomber's first walk off victory since June 4, 1999, when ex-Bomber, Jesse Russell, hit the third in a string of three successive singles to drive in then Bomber, Donald Mc Cardle to edge Sir Lance's Lot 14 - 13. The Bombers have been involved in 10 one runs games over the years, winning eight and losing two.
The most memorable come-from-behind Bomber victories:
1. BOMBERS 13, Raiders 12, Sept. 12, 1998. With two out in the top of the seventh inning, Duncan Sutherland drives in Scott Loethe to put the Bombers ahead 13 to 12 in the final game of the 1998 LFL Tournament. Loethe is the seventh Bomber base runner to cross the plate in the inning. The Bombers hold off the Raiders in the bottom of the seventh to take their first LFL Championship Crown.
2. BOMBERS 15, Darth Sox 12, Sept 9, 2000. Down 8 - 2 in the bottom of the fourth inning, Neha Wickramasekaran kicks off a ten run charge with a bouncer to short in the first round of the 2000 LFL Championship Tournament. Two-run triples by Russell and Krish along with a two-run double by Taylor highlight the inning.
3. BOMBERS 16, Maulers 15, June 6, 1998. With one out and bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning, Sarah Peacock singles in Peter Chesloff to beat the Ranch Maulers in a walk-off victory.
4. BOMBERS 25, Raiders 24, July 14, 1998. With one out and a Dugan Beach standing on third base, 1B Todd Krish hit a deep sacrifice fly to center, scoring Beach and capping a five run, four hit rally started by RF Marc Diaz.
5. BOMBERS 14, Lance's Lot 13, June 4, 1999. After Chris Stately's homer tied the game in the top of the sixth, three successive singles by Mc Cardle, Diaz and Russell push across the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh.
6. BOMBERS 5, Raiders 4, Sept. 7, 1999. With one out and the game tied in the top of the seventh, Eric Schroeder homers, and the Bombers shut down the Raiders in the bottom of the inning to preserve the victory.
Close decisions don't always fall in favor of the Bombers. Here are four heart-breakers:
1. HONG KONG CAVALIERS 10, Bombers 9, Aug. 30, 2000. With a runner on first, one out, and De Quattro on deck, Krish grounds into an inning-ending double play.
2. FISH 9, Bombers 7, July 6, 2000. With two out and a runner on first, De Quattro flies out to the right fielder.
3. MAULERS 13, Bombers 12., July 21, 1999. With two out and Eric Schroeder standing on third base, Krish pops to third for the final out, halting a three-run rally.
4. MAULERS 10, Bombers 8., July 24, 1998. With two out and two on, De Quattro grounds to the pitcher, stopping a one-run rally.
BOX SCORE -- JULY 2, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
4 2 2 2 0 0
.625
Patnode 3B 4
1 1 2 0 0 .476
De Quattro CF 4 2
2 1 0 0 .421
Schroeder SS 4
2 2 2 0 0 .778
Krish CF
4 1 1 1 0 0
.391
Sutherland P 4
0 3 2 0 0 .556
Becerra 2B 3
0 1 0 0 0 .267
Taylor RF
3 2 0 0 0 0
.231
Henderson C 3
0 0 0 0 2 .000
Petrini 2B 3
1 1 0 0 0 .368
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
36 11 13 10 0 2 .448
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
0 0 0 1 2 1
7 11
SOX
0 0 0 1 5 4
0 10
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 4. HR--Schroeder (4), 3B--De Quattro
(2), Diaz (3).
2B--Krish (2), Patnode (1), Schroeder (3).
RBIS--Diaz 2 (8),
Patnode 2 (7), Schroeder 2 (19), Sutherland
2 (8), De Quattro (14),
Krish (3).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (6-0)
7 8 10 4 1 1 52 3.36
HOW THEY SCORED
Fourth inning. With one out, De Quattro singles to right. Schroeder reaches on the error by the pitcher. Krish's fielder's choice forces Schroeder at second, De Quattro advances to third. Sutherland singles, scoring De Quattro. Becerra pops to the third baseman. One run, two hits, two left on base. BOMBERS 1, Sox 1.
Fifth inning. Taylor reaches on the throwing error by the shortstop. Henderson grounds to the pitcher, Taylor advancing. Petrini pops to the shortstop. Diaz triples, scoring Taylor and scores on the fielding error by the pitcher. Patnode grounds out to the shortstop. Two runs on one hit, no runners left on base. BOMBERS 3, Sox 6.
Sixth inning. With one out, Schroeder homers to left, his fourth. Krish flies out the the left fielder. Sutherland flies out to the left fielder. One run on one hit. BOMBERS 4, Sox 10.
Seventh inning. With one out, Taylor reaches on the throwing error by the shortstop. Henderson strikes out. Petrini singles to right. Diaz singles to right, scoring Taylor, Petrini advances to third. Patnode doubles, scoring Petrini and Diaz. De Quattro triples off the right fielder's glove, scoring Patnode. Schroeder doubles, scoring De Quattro. Krish doubles deep into the left field gap, scoring Schroeder. Sutherland singles, scoring Krish. Two outs recorded when the winning run crossed the plate. Seven runs on six hits and no runners left. BOMBERS 11, Sox 10.
- All-Stars Nip
Bombers, 10 - 7
July 10, 2001
AP
Lucas Valley Media Services
Just one week after surprising the unbeaten Darth Sox with a two-out seven run rally in the last of the seventh inning to win the game 11 to 10, the second-place Bombers were edged by the third-place All-Stars, 10 to 7. A one-out, bases-loaded, seventh inning rally came up short, as Lori Petrini struck out and Neil Lim Sang bounced into a force play to end the game.
Ex-Bomber Jesse Russell, last year's Tournament MVP, powered the All-Star offense, going 4-for-4 (two singles, a triple and a home run) with 4 RBIs in his first effort against his former teammates. "We knew that Russell would be dangerous. He's going to do some damage, no matter what you show him. We simply didn't cash our runners in last night," said pitcher, Duncan Sutherland (L 6-1). The Bombers collected fifteen hits in the contest and left nine runners on base.
Sutherland nearly matched Russell's effort with a 3-for-3 performance at the plate and a single RBI. Sutherland (.619 AVG) is on a hitting tear, going 11-for-15 since the end of May. Teammates SS Eric Schroeder, CF Doug Griffin, RF Barry Safley and RF Frank Becerra collected two hits apiece in the effort.
"We were banging the ball hard tonight, we just got unlucky on the basepaths," said Bomber batting average leader, Eric Schroeder. "Any night that you have two men thrown out at third, you know that you're up against an outfield with strong arms. They gunned us down and prevented big rallies."
The Bombers were without captain, Vince De Quattro, who was busy losing twenty pounds during his week in the wilderness near Yosemite National Park. "I've trained some brown bears to lob pine cones at me so I can stay in top form, " said De Quattro via satellite after the game.
The Bombers are in a three-way tie
for second place, and will take on the Fish tomorrow evening at the Ranch
in a battle to stay near the top.
BOX SCORE -- JULY 10, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
3 1 1 0 0 0
.593
Patnode 3B 3
1 1 0 0 0 .458
Cummings 3B 3
2 1 2 0 0 .636
Schroeder SS 3
2 2 1 0 0 .762
Krish 1B
2 0 1 2 0 0
.400
Sutherland P 3
1 3 1 0 0 .619
Safley RF
3 0 2 0 0 0
.500
Griffin CF 3
0 2 1 0 0 .550
Becerra RF 3
0 2 0 0 0 .333
Petrini 2B 3
0 0 0 0 1 .318
Lim Sang C 3
0 0 0 0 0 .214
Wickramasek OF 2 0
0 0 0 0 .250
Diaz, M 2B 2
0 0 0 0 0 .077
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
36 7 15 7 0 1
.446
_________________________________________________
BOMBERS
3 0 0 2 0 1
1 7
ALL-STARS
3 2 2 1 0 2
- 10
_________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 9. 2B--Schroeder 2 (5), Cummings
(1).
SAC--Krish (1). RBIS--Cummings 2 (14),
Krish 2 (9),
Griffin (10), Schroeder (20), Sutherland (8).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND L (6-1)
6 9 10 7 0 0 59 4.12
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz singles. Patnode flies to center. Cummings doubles, scoring Diaz. Schroeder doubles, scoring Cummings. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder. Patnode runnings for Krish. Sutherland singles, Patnode thrown out by the center fielder attempting to take third. Safley bounces to the pitcher. BOMBERS 3, All-Stars 0.
Fourth inning. Cummings reaches on the error by the second baseman. Schroeder doubles, Cummings advancing to third. Krish sacrifices to deep left, Cummings scoring. Sutherland singles, Schroeder scoring. Patnode runs for Sutherland. Safley singles. Griffin forces Patnode at third. Becerra pops to the left fielder. BOMBERS 5, All-Stars 7.
Sixth inning. With two out, Patnode singles. Cummings reaches on the error by the second baseman, scoring Patnode. Schroeder lines to the shortstop. BOMBERS 6, All-Stars 8.
Seventh inning. With one out, Sutherland
singles. Schroeder runs for Sutherland. Safley singles.
Griffin singles scoring Schroeder. Becerra singles, loading
the bases. Petrini strikes out. Lim Sang forces Griffin
at third. BOMBERS 7, All-Stars 10.
- Bombers Land Fish,
15 - 12
July 20, 2001
UPI Lucas Valley
Staff Writer
Steve Sullivan started an extra-inning rally and Jason Patnode hit his first career triple in a wild one, as the Bombers prevailed over the Fish, 15 - 12, on July 20th. Rookie Frank Becerra and veterans Todd Krish and Duncan Sutherland led the Bomber hitting attack, picking up three hits apiece and collecting a combined seven RBIs.
The Bombers knocked off the Fish for the first time after losing to them a year ago, 9 - 7. Ex-Bomber, Jason Smith, committed an error in the top of the eighth which allowed the Bomber's go-ahead run and opened the door for an additional three more. The Fish got one in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough as the Bombers notched their seventh victory of the season.
Maddie Diaz and Neha Wickramasekaran combined to cash in two RBIs and helped extend the Bomber scoring attack through the bottom of the order. All told, the Bombers collected a season high 24 hits, while Pitcher Duncan Sutherland and the Bomber defense limited the high-scoring Fish to just 12 runs over eight innings. The win put the Bombers into a tie for second place with the Traveling All-Stars.
This week, the Bombers play the Replacements on Thursday night.
The team will be without Hall of Fame Pitcher, Duncan Sutherland, who began a six-week stint on the disabled list when he dislocated his left ring finger during a non-league game. Starting for the Bombers will be middle-reliever Vince De Quattro, looking to improve his record to 1 and 1.
For the latest league standings and associated trash talk, click here.
To collect the offensive statistics of your favorite BOMBER, click here.
BOX SCORE -- JULY 20, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
4 2 2 0 0 0
.581
Safley RF
4 2 2 2 0 0
.500
Cummings 3B 3
2 1 1 0 1 .600
Schroeder SS 4
2 2 2 0 0 .720
Krish 1B
4 1 3 2 0 0
.448
Sutherland P 3
1 3 2 0 0 .667
Griffin CF 4
0 1 1 0 1 .500
Petrini 2B 3
0 0 0 0 0 .280
Patnode 3B 3
2 2 0 0 1 .481
Becerra RF 3
1 3 1 0 0 .424
Lim Sang C 3
0 1 0 0 0 .235
Wickramasek OF 3 1
1 1 0 0 .267
Diaz, M 2B 3
0 0 1 0 0 .063
Sullivan 2B 3
1 1 0 0 0 .333
Taylor RF
3 0 2 1 0 0
.313
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
50 15 24 14 0 3 .451
___________________________________________________
BOMBERS
4 3 3 1 0 0
0 4 15
FISH
3 0 0 0 1 0
7 1 12
___________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 12. 3B--Krish (2), Patnode
(1), 2B--Diaz (5),
Griffin (4), Safley (2), Sutherland (3).
SAC--Cummings (2),
Sutherland (1). RBIS--Cummings 2 (15),
Krish 2 (11),
Safley 2 (10), Schroeder 2 (22), Sutherland
2 (10),
Becerra (3), Diaz, Maddie (4), Griffin
(11), Taylor (5),
Wickramasekaran (1).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
SUTHERLAND W (7-1)
8 11 12 6 0 2 79 3.59
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz doubles. Safley doubles, scoring Diaz. Cummings singles, scoring Safley. Schroeder singles, scoring Cummings. Krish reaches on the error by the shortstop, Schroeder takes third. Sutherland sacrifices to center, Schroeder scoring. Griffin strikes out. Petrini grounds to the pitcher. Four runs on four hits and one error, one runner left on base. BOMBERS 4, Fish 0.
Second inning. Patnode triples, the first of his career. Becerra singles, scoring Patnode. Lim Sang singles. Neha singles, loading the bases. Maddie Diaz bounces to the pitcher, Becerra scoring from third on the fielder's choice. Sullivan bounces to short, Lim Sang is forced at the plate. Taylor singles, scoring Neha. Diaz flies to left. Three runs on five hits and no errors, two left. BOMBERS 7, Fish 3.
Third inning. With one out, Cummings reaches on the error by the third baseman. Schroeder flies to left. Krish triples to left, scoring Cummings. Sutherland doubles to center, scoring Krish. Griffin doubles to left, scoring Sutherland. Petrini flies to the shortstop. Three runs on three hits and one error, one left. BOMBERS 10, Fish 3.
Fourth inning. Patnode singles. Becerra singles. Lim Sang bounces to the pitcher, runners advancing. Neha reaches on the error by the pitcher, scoring Patnode. Maddie Diaz bounces to the pitcher. Sullivan flies to the pitcher. One run on two hits and one error, two left. BOMBERS 11, Fish 3.
Eighth inning. Sullivan singles.
Taylor flies to short. Diaz singles to left, Sullivan scoring and
Diaz advancing to third on the throwing error by the left fielder.
Safley reaches on the error by the shortstop, Diaz scoring. Cummings
sacrifices to center, Safley taking third. Schroeder singles, scoring
Safley. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder from first base. Sutherland
singles. Griffin bounces to short. Four runs on five hits and
two errors, two left. BOMBERS 15, Fish 11.
- Bombers Roll Over
Replacements, 16 - 7
August 2, 2001
UPI Lucas Valley, CA
Staff Writer
One year ago, three weeks before the 2000 Tournament Weekend, the League Champion Bombers were knocked into a second-place tie by the fourth-place Cavaliers in a darkness-shortened game, 11 - 10. Last night, without ace pitcher Duncan Sutherland, the Bombers avenged that loss and clobbered the Replacements (ex-Cavaliers) 16 - 7.
RF Scott Taylor collected the third triple of his career in the fourth inning, while Zachary Sherman made his first appearance of the season and went 3-for-3 with an RBI. RF Frank Becerra continued his hitting streak, banging out two hits and driving in two. Third baseman Jason Patnode made an outstanding running catch and Marc Diaz, seeing action at shortstop for the first time in his career made two impressive plays in as many chances, nabbing a line drive and forcing a runner at second.
Getting his first win of the season, Vince De Quattro struck out three and walked three in a complete game victory. De Quattro supported his own cause with a one-out, three run blast in the bottom of the first inning to make the score 4 - 0. The Bombers never looked back.
OF Lori Petrini and C Neil Lim Sang each had two hits apiece, Petrini driving in an RBI with her sharp bouncer past a diving Replacements shortstop in the bottom of the sixth inning. SS Eric Schroeder, 1B Todd Krish and CF Doug Griffin also collected two hits apiece, Griffin batting from the left side in his last two plate appearances due to a sprained right hand. "It felt awkward, but I got a good pitch and a little luck," said Griffin, his hand and wrist in ice after the game.
The victory was especially sweet for the "Train", first baseman Todd Krish, who saw the Bomber's last inning comeback bid fall short last year when he grounded into a game ending double play. Last night, Krish went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. "Let's just say that I'm over it now," chuckled Krish as he sipped champagne in the club house.
Utility infielder Barry "Safeway" Safley contributed to the defense from positions in the infield and outfield. Safley teamed with De Quattro to record the Bomber's first double play of the season in the third inning. Madeline Diaz made two solid plays at second to turn away Replacements rallies in the fifth and seventh innings.
"This is Bomber softball. Big innings, big plays. This one was for Duncan," added Safley in the post-game press conference.
Next week the Bombers will attempt to dismantle the last-placed Wookiees (0-8-1).
BOX SCORE -- AUGUST 2, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
3 0 1 1 0 0
.559
Safley RF
3 2 0 0 0 0
.444
Cummings 3B 3
3 1 1 0 0 .571
Schroeder SS 3
3 2 3 0 0 .690
De Quattro P 2
2 1 4 0 0 .429
Krish 1B
2 2 2 2 0 0
.484
Griffin CF 2
0 2 0 0 0 .538
Becerra RF 3
0 2 2 0 0 .458
Patnode 3B 3
0 0 0 0 1 .433
Taylor RF
3 1 1 0 0 0
.316
Sherman CF 3
2 3 1 0 0 1.000
Lim Sang C 2
0 2 0 0 0 .316
Petrini 2B 3
1 2 1 0 0 .321
Diaz, M 2B 3
0 0 1 0 0 .053
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
38 16 19 16 0 1 .456
___________________________________________________
BOMBERS
5 2 3 1 4 1
- 16
REPLACEMENTS 0
0 0 0 4 1 2
7
___________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 8. HR--De Quattro (2). 3B--Taylor
(1). 2B--Cummings (2),
Schroeder (6). SAC--De Quattro (4),
Griffin (1), Krish (2),
Lim Sang (1). RBIS--De Quattro 4 (18),
Schroeder 3 (25),
Becerra 2 (5), Krish 2 (13), Cummings (16),
Diaz, Maddie (5),
Diaz, Marc (9), Petrini (4), Sherman (1).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
DE QUATTRO W (1-1)
7 8 7 2 3 3 53
9.69
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. With one out, Safley safe on the throwing error by the shortstop. Cummings reaches first on the fielding error by the second baseman, Safley to second. Schroeder singles to left, scoring Safley. De Quattro homers to right, his second, scoring Cummings and Schroeder. Krish singles. Griffin sacrifices to right, Krish advances to second. Becerra singles scoring Krish. Patnode flies to short. Five runs on four hits and two errors, one man left. BOMBERS 5, Replacements 0.
Second inning. With one out, Sherman singles. Lim Sang singles, Sherman to second. Petrini singles, all runners advance one base. Maddie Diaz forces Lim Sang at third, Sherman scoring. Marc Diaz singles scoring Petrini. Safley flies to short. Two runs on four hits and no errors, two men left. BOMBERS 7, Replacements 0.
Third inning. Cummings reaches on the error by the second baseman and takes second on the overthrow. Schroeder reaches on the error by the third baseman, Cummings scoring, Schroeder taking second. De Quattro reaches second on the error by the right fielder, scoring Schroeder. Krish sacrifices to left, scoring De Quattro. Griffin singles. Becerra forces Griffin at second. Patnode flies to the pitcher. Three runs on one hit and three errors, one left. BOMBERS 10, Replacements 0.
Fourth inning. Taylor triples. Sherman singles, scoring Taylor. Lim Sang singles. Petrini bounces into a double play, Sherman forced at third by the shortstop, Petrini thrown out at first by the third baseman. Maddies Diaz bounces to the pitcher. One run on three hits and no errors, one left. BOMBERS 11, Replacements 0.
Fifth inning. Diaz reaches on the error by the first baseman. Safley forces Diaz at second. Cummings doubles, scoring Safley. Schroeder doubles scoring Cummings. De Quattro sacrifices to deep right, Schroeder taking third. Krish singles to left, Schroeder scoring. Griffin singles. Becerra singles, scoring Krish. Patnode strikes out. Four runs on five hits and one error, two left. BOMBERS 15, Replacements 4.
Sixth inning. With one out, Sherman
singles. Lim Sang sacrifices Sherman to second. Petrini singles,
Sherman scoring. Maddie Diaz bounces to the pitcher. One run
on two hits and no errors, one left. BOMBERS 16, Replacements 5.
August 8, 2001
AP Wire
Nicasio, CA
Staff Writer
Despite dominating the hapless Rebels last week, 18 - 6, earning a victory that put them one-half game out of first place in the LFL, the Bomber locker room was uncharacteristically subdued as they learned that 2B Madeline Diaz would be leaving the team. In a surprising front office move, Diaz was traded to the Sacramento Miners for two pitching prospects last Friday, leaving her teammates in a state of shock.
"We got close. That's all I can say about the team and Maddie. We got real close and we'll miss her. That's all I can say right now," a tearful LF Marc Diaz said in an impromptu press conference given in front of home plate after the game. Diaz (no relation) was responsible for bringing Madeline to the team during spring training 2001.
"She, Neha and Lori have really been the power behind the Bombers. I'm not kidding, they have given us the little extra drive we've needed to stay in game after game," said SS Eric Schroeder, as he held his daughter in front of reporters.
Team Captain, Vince De Quattro said, "We're dedicating the rest of the season to Madeline. We're dedicating the LFL Trophy to her, too, when we rip it from the cold, dead hands of the Maulers in September. This one's for you, Maddie."
Rumors had been circulating for a few days regarding the move involving Diaz, as many teams jockey players before the trading deadline this Friday.
The Bombers continued to excel offensively and defensively, with rookie pitcher De Quattro getting his second win, and rookie shortstop Marc Diaz turning a double-play in the bottom of the sixth. De Quattro helped his cause with an inside-the-park home run in the fifth, and Diaz and CF Doug Griffin tripled in the late innings, but it was a big night for the "Freight Train", 1B Todd Krish, who went 4-for-4 with three runs scored and four RBIs.
"We were patient tonight. Vince took four pitches and loaded them up for me in the sixth. He asked me how I was feeling. I guess I was feeling good enough," Krish said when asked about his last at-bat. With two outs, Krish stroked a two-run double in the left center-field gap en-route to capping a six run inning.
RF Scott Taylor and 3B Jason Patnode teamed with SS Barry Safley and 3B Grady Cummings for eight hits and seven RBIs combined as the Bombers continue to tune up for a late season challenge. The Bombers (9-2) are due to face the Fish (6-4) next week, the Maulers (8-1) in the last week of August, and the All-Stars (8-3) a few days before the Tournament.
Hall of Fame Pitcher, Duncan Sutherland, will re-join the team next week.
Before she boarded her flight to Sacramento, Madeline Diaz read for reporters from a prepared statement. "The Bombers were like a big family to me. I made some good friends on this team and I wish them the best of luck in the Tournament. But I'd like to send my warmest wishes to the family of the Safeway twins, who lost their boys last week. Kinda puts all this in perspective, doesn't it?"
In un-related team news, De Quattro gave birth to a six ounce baby softball, Saturday, August 11 at 8:34 AM. Father and son are doing well at Marin General Hospital.
BOX SCORE -- AUGUST 8, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
4 4 2 1 0 0
.553
Safley RF
4 2 2 3 0 0
.452
Cummings 3B 3
2 2 1 0 0 .581
Schroeder SS 4
3 1 2 0 0 .636
De Quattro P 2
3 1 3 1 0 .435
Krish 1B
4 3 4 2 0 0
.543
Griffin CF 2
0 1 0 1 0 .536
Patnode 3B 4
1 2 0 0 0 .441
Taylor RF
3 0 2 0 0 0
.364
Lim Sang C 2
0 0 0 1 0 .286
Petrini 2B 3
0 0 0 0 0 .290
Neha 2B
3 0 0 0 0 0
.222
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
38 18 17 18 3 0 .455
___________________________________________________
BOMBERS
3 0 6 1 2 6
- 18
FISH
0 0 4 2 0 0
- 6
___________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 5. HR--De Quattro (3). 3B--Diaz
(4), Griffin (2).
2B--Cummings (3), Krish (3). SAC--Cummings
(3), De Quattro (5),
Griffin (2). RBIS--Krish 4 (17), De
Quattro 3 (21), Safley 3 (13),
Schroeder 2 (27), Taylor 2 (7), Cummings (17),
Diaz, Marc (10),
Griffin (12), Patnode (8).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER BB SO NP ERA
DE QUATTRO W (2-1)
6 4 6 0 2 1 43
8.39
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz reaches second on the error by the center-fielder. Safley reaches on the throwing error by the shortstop, Diaz scoring. Cummings sacrifices Safley to third. Schroeder reaches second on the error by the left fielder, Safley scoring, Schroeder taking third. De Quattro sacrifices Schroeder home. Griffin walks. Patnode forces Griffin at second. Three runs on one hit and three errors, one man left on base. BOMBERS 3, Rebels 0.
Third inning. Diaz scores on the four-base error by the left-fielder. Safley flies to center. Cummings singles. Schroeder reaches on the error by the shortstop. De Quattro reaches on the error by the second baseman, Cummings scoring. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder and De Quattro. Griffin sacrifices Krish to second. Patnode singles, scoring Krish, and takes second on the throw home. Taylor singles scoring Patnode. Lim Sang forces Taylor at second. Six runs on four hits and three errors, none left on base. BOMBER 9, Rebels 0.
Fourth inning. With two out, Diaz triples. Safley singles scoring Diaz. Cummings pops to second. One run on two hits and no errors, one left. BOMBERS 10, Rebels 4.
Fifth inning. With one out, De Quattro homers to right. Krish singles. Griffin flies to right. Patnode singles. Taylor singles scoring Krish. Lim Sang pops to the shortstop. Two runs on four hits and no errors, two left. BOMBERS 12, Rebels 6.
Sixth inning. With two out, Diaz singles and takes second on the throw. Safley singles, scoring Diaz and takes second on the throw. Cummings singles, scoring Safley and takes second on the throw. Schroeder singles, scoring Cummings. De Quattro walks. Krish doubles, scoring Schroeder and De Quattro. Griffin triples, scoring Krish. Patnode pops to second. Six runs on six hits, no errors and one left on base. BOMBERS 18, Rebels 6.
Game called after six innings due to darkness.
Umpire: Mark
August 22, 2001
UPI Lucas Valley
Staff Writer
The Bombers (9-3) suffered their worst loss in history last Wednesday night, as the visiting Fish (8-4) clobbered them 28 - 11 in six innings at the Ranch. The prior record for most runs scored by an opponent in a losing effort was owned by the Swingers, who prevailed 14 - 3 on August 28, 2000.
Four players were missing from the lineup: OF Vince De Quattro, OF Marc Diaz, OF Doug Griffin and 3B Jason Patnode, their absence undoubtedly contributing to the Bomber's surprising defensive collapse.
Despite a flurry of offense in the fourth inning when 3B Grady Cummings and SS Eric Schroeder hit home runs leading to five runs, the Bombers' bats were uncharacteristically quiet. After pulling to within six runs of the Fish, 17 - 11 in the bottom of the fourth, the Bombers were retired in order in the fifth and sixth innings, while their opponent added eleven more runs, sending the Bombers to their third loss of the season.
"The good news is that we've clinched a top seeding for the tournament," smiled P Duncan Sutherland (L 7-2), who pitched a complete game without pain in his right hand. "Depending on how we finish, we could be as high as seed two if we beat the Maulers Thursday by at least four runs and beat the All-Stars in September. If we lose our last two games, we won't finish lower than seed five."
Bomber Captain, Vince De Quattro, flew to Southern California to attend his father's funeral. "The team was so supportive. I want them to know how much I appreciate their kindness and concern," said a subdued De Quattro from Pasadena, California.
"We needed a good kick in the pants to shake the cobwebs loose," said 1B Todd Krish, who assumed the duties of team captain against the Fish. "We need to concentrate on the fundamentals that have earned us 50 wins in four seasons. Look for a surprise victory against the first place Maulers. Their luck is about to run out."
The Bombers will play the Maulers for the second time this season on Thursday night. In head-to-head series competition, the Bombers have 3 wins and 5 losses over the past four seasons, including a loss in last year's LFL Championship Game.
"We'd like to get some pay back for that one," grinned C Neil Lim Sang.
BOX SCORE -- AUGUST 22, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Becerra RF 4
2 2 0 0 0 .464
Cummings 3B 3
1 2 5 0 0 .588
Safley CF
4 1 2 1 0 0
.444
Schroeder SS 4
2 3 2 0 0 .649
Krish 1B
2 0 0 1 0 0
.514
Sutherland P 3
1 2 0 0 0 .667
Petrini OF 3
1 2 0 0 0 .324
Taylor RF
2 0 1 1 1 0
.375
Lim Sang C 3
1 0 0 0 0 .250
Neha 2B
3 1 1 0 0 0
.238
Sullivan LF 3
1 2 1 0 0 .444
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
34 11 17 11 1 0 .457
___________________________________________________
BOMBERS
1 3 2 5 0 0
- 11
FISH
5 10 0 2 9 2
- 28
___________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 8. HR--Cummings (1), Schroeder
(5).
2B--Schroeder (7), Sutherland (4). SAC--Cummings
(4), Krish (3).
RBIS--Cummings 5 (22), Schroeder 2 (29), Krish
(18), Safley (14),
Sullivan (1), Taylor (8).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER SO BB ERA
SUTHERLAND L (7-2)
6 14 28 12 0 0 12.93
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Becerra leads off with a single. Cummings sacrifices to left, Becerra moving to second. Safley singles to left, Becerra scoring. Schroeder singles. Krish lines to the shortstop. Sutherland bounces to second base. One run on two hits and one error, two left. BOMBERS 1, Fish 5.
Second inning. Petrini leads off with a single. Taylor flies to shortstop. Lim Sang reaches on the error by the shortstop. Neha singles, loading the bases. Sullivan singles, scoring Petrini. Becerra pops to short (infield fly rule). Cummings singles, scoring Lim Sang and Neha. Safley flies to left. Three runs on four hits and one error, two left. BOMBERS 4, Fish 15.
Third inning. Schroeder doubles to left. Krish hits a deep sacrifice fly to left center, scoring Schroeder. Sutherland doubles. Petrini grounds to short. Taylor singles, scoring Sutherland. Lim Sang forces Taylor at second. Two runs on three hits and no errors, one left. BOMBERS 6, Fish 15.
Fourth inning. With one out, Sullivan singles. Becerra singles, moving Sullivan to second. Cummings hits an inside-the-park home run, his first, scoring Becerra and Sullivan. Safley singles. Schroeder hits a towering home run to left, his fifth, scoring Safley. Krish lines to left. Sutherland singles. Petrini singles. Taylor walks, loading the bases. Lim Sang forces Taylor at second base. Five runs on seven hits and no errors, three left. BOMBERS 11, Fish 17.
Game called after sixth inning due to darkness.
Umpire: Mark.
UPI News Wirea
Lucas Valley, CA
Staff Sports Writer
September 6, 2001
Doug Griffin tripled to start it, and Eric Schroeder singled to finish it, and in between the Bombers put together another improbable inning that will surely end up in the annals of the Lucasfilm Softball League. Down to their final out in the bottom of the sixth inning, a heavy overcast threatening to stop the game due to darkness, the Bombers sent four batters to the plate and cashed in four runs as they overcame a three run Mauler lead and prevailed, 12 to 11, last Thursday night.
"We love to beat the Maulers, especially like this, like two old fighters slugging it out until the last bell," said game MVP, Eric Schroeder who was 3-for-4, with two runs scored and three RBIs, including a two run home run in the third inning. Schroeder drove across his 101st career run with his game winning single.
"It takes a great team to come back like that, down five runs in the last inning. Look at what DG (Doug Griffin) did, or JP (Jason Patnode) or Sixty-Six (Neil Lim Sang) did at the end there. Those guys were the real MVPs of the game, not me," said Schroeder, who was referring to the triple by Griffin to lead the off the sixth, the single by Patnode to score Griffin and the single by Lim Sang to score Patnode, narrowing the margin to three runs.
The Bomber defense got dirty when called upon, with an unassisted double-play by Patnode in the fifth and a tremendous put-out at the plate by Neha Wickramasekaran to erase Mark Horick in the fourth. Lori Petrini, in her debut at first base, played a solid four innings, while veteran Todd Krish scooped a tough throw in the top of the sixth to keep the Maulers off the bases.
Veteran Bomber Ace, Duncan Sutherland, scattered ten hits over six innings and was in control of the game throughout, despite giving up three home runs to Mauler power hitters, Stan Lopez, Horick and J J Jaramillo. "We lost a ball foul, and a new ball came in from their bench. The next pitch was gone before it left my hand," Sutherland said.
The Maulers hit back-to-back home runs in the second inning, and the Bombers followed suit in the third, when De Quattro followed Schroeder's left-center field drive into the right-center field gap.
With the victory, the Bombers have secured either the third or fourth seeding in the Tournament, depending on the outcome of their final game against the All-Stars in two weeks. "This has to be the most exciting playoff race since I've been in this league," said Sutherland. "I've been playing for ten, maybe twenty years, and this is the hottest it's been. Four or five teams have a serious shot at the title this year."
Bomber LF Marc Diaz is within one hit of attaining 100 career hits,
and needs two more runs to achieve 100 career runs scored. For more
information about Diaz, his career statistics, and a flattering picture,
click
here.
BOX SCORE -- AUGUST 30, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
4 2 2 0 0 0
.548
Safley 2B
4 1 2 1 0 0
.461
Cummings OF 4
3 3 2 0 0 .605
Schroeder SS 4
2 3 3 0 0 .659
De Quattro RF 3 1
2 3 0 0 .462
Krish 1B
3 0 2 0 0 0
.525
Sutherland P 3
0 1 0 0 0 .667
Griffin CF 3
1 3 0 0 0 .581
Patnode 2B 3
1 1 1 0 1 .432
Lim Sang C 3
1 2 1 0 0 .296
Petrini OF 3
0 1 0 0 0 .324
Neha 2B
3 0 1 0 0 0
.238
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
40 12 23 11 0 1 .523
___________________________________________________
BOMBERS
3 0 3 0 0 6
- 12
MAULERS
2 5 0 2 2 0
- 11
___________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 9. HR--De Quattro (4), Schroeder
(6).
3B--Griffin (3). 2B--Schroeder (8),
Sutherland (4).
RBIS--De Quattro 3 (24), Schroeder 3 (32),
Cummings 2 (24),
Lim Sang (3), Patnode (9), Safley (14).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER SO BB ERA
SUTHERLAND W (8-2)
6 12 12 4 2 0 11.30
HOW THEY SCORED
First inning. Diaz leads off with a single to left. Safley singles to center. Cummings forces Safley at second, Diaz scoring. Schroeder doubles, Cummings moves to third. De Quattro singles, scoring Cummings and Schroeder. Krish singles, De Quattro moves to third. Sutherland pops to the shortstop, De Quattro is thrown out attempting to score on the tag from third. Three runs on five hits and no errors, one runner left on base. BOMBERS 3, Maulers 2.
Third inning. With one out, Cummings singles and advances to second on the bobble by the left fielder. Schroeder homers to deep center, scoring Cummings. De Quattro homers to right center. Krish flies to left. Sutherland singles. Griffin singles to right. Patnode strikes out. BOMBERS 6, Maulers 7.
Sixth inning. Griffin leads off with a triple to left center. Patnode singles, scoring Griffin, Patnode advancing on the error by the left fielder. Lim Sang singles to center, Patnode scoring. Petrini grounds to second base, Lim Sang advances to second. Neha grounds to short, Lim Sang holds at second. Diaz singles, Lim Sang advances to third. Safley drops a bloop single in front of the left fielder, Lim Sang scores, Diaz advancing to third under the tag. Cummings singles to left, Diaz scoring, Safley scoring and Cummings advancing to third on the wild throw by the left fielder. Schroeder singles to left, scoring Cummings. The game ends with two outs recorded. Six runs on seven hits and two errors, nobody left. BOMBERS 12, Maulers 11.
Game was called before the seventh inning on account of darkness.
Umpire: Sean
Bombers Lose Heartbreaker, 15 - 14
Staff Writer
AP Wire
San Rafael, CA
In an extra-inning, Lucasfilm Softball Tournament quarterfinal match-up last Saturday, the Fighting Coelicanths overcame a ten-run deficit to edge the Bombers, 15 - 14. Scoring eleven un-answered runs in the sixth, seventh, and ninth innings, the Fish avoided second-round elimination, sailed through their semifinal round against the Sox, 16 - 6, but eventually were dismantled in the Championship Game, 26 - 10, courtesy of the All-Stars.
A hot-hitting Bomber squad got the jump on the Fish in the early going, scoring fourteen runs in five innings. 2B Barry Safley led all batsmen with three singles and a double, and scored three times. Four other Bombers collected three hits apiece, including 2001 Bomber of the Year, Eric Schroeder, who nearly hit for the cycle with a home run, a triple and a single, scoring three times and driving in five. The home run was his seventh of the season, setting a new Bomber season record.
Catcher Neil Lim Sang said, "Our bats were on fire today. No, I mean literally on fire, that's how hot it was at Hillside in the mid-afternoon. I looked over at our guys and they were all wearing oven mitts instead of the usual batting gloves. A couple more rips today and we go on to face the Sox."
The heat may have played an antagonistic role, as the offense ground down, squandering baserunners in the middle innings. Speedster Marc Diaz, running from first base in the fifth, was gunned down by a perfect throw from Fish leftfielder, Jason Smith, as he attempted to score on Safley's double. Scott Taylor was hit on the back by a throw from the shortstop, over-ran third base, and was tagged out in the sixth. Subsequent hits would have scored both runners. The outs would prove costly in the later innings.
Fish hurler, Nelson Hall, worked his magic on the Bomber batsmen, striking out three over the course of the final four innings. "The impressive put out by Smith changed the pace of our running game. We were running wide open before that. He earned our respect," said De Quattro who served as third base coach throughout much of the game.
The turning point in the contest came in the bottom of the eighth inning, with one out, score tied, the winning Bomber run sixty feet away.
"E (Schroeder) had driven the ball deep enough to center to move the runners over to second and third. With one out, and De Quattro coming to the plate, we had all but won the game," said a thoughtful Duncan Sutherland. "You have give them credit. They made a great call."
Instead of pitching to the hot hitting De Quattro (3-for-3 2RBIs), they intentionally walked him, loading the bases for Bomber power hitter, Todd "Freight Train" Krish.
"You know, I didn't get that," said De Quattro. "Todd was already 2-for-3, with two RBIs in the game. Seemed like a suicide move. I mean, walking me to get to Todd Krish? The guy has 23 RBIs this year. A routine fly to center and it's all over."
Krish worked the count to a ball and a strike before popping to the infield, and was called out with the invocation of the infield fly rule. "I saw that ball going deep over their left fielder's head. I mean, I wanted to crush that thing. I just missed it," said a subdued Krish after the game.
With two out, the next batter was Pitcher, Duncan Sutherland. Sutherland, his right ring finger in a brace, has been in a bit of a slump recently, collecting only three hits in his last twelve at-bats. Sutherland popped the first pitch to the center fielder, ending the threat.
In the top half of the ninth inning, with two-out, Fish batter Joe Brisbois hit a home run to the left center gap, putting the Fish in the lead. In the bottom of the ninth, Doug Griffin (3-for-4) reached safely on a lead-off single to right and was advanced to second on Becerra's infield single. But three successive outs stranded Griffin and Becerra, and the Bomber season had come to a close.
The Bombers celebrated a successful season, finishing in a third place tie with the Tournament Champion All-Stars with a record of 10 wins and 4 losses. After the game, the team held its annual awards ceremony, and announced seasonal honorees in four categories.
The 2001 Rookie of the Year was awarded to OF Lori Petrini 13-for-42 (.303) with eleven runs scored and four RBIs. With teammate Neha Wickramasekaran, Petrini was instrumental in the Bomber's success, attending fourteen of fifteen games during the season.
The 2001 Most Improved Player Trophy was awarded to center-fielder Doug Grifin for his outstanding contributions during his three-year career. Griffin raised his average to .595 (22-for-37) this season (third best on the team) after batting .462 at the end of a 2000 season in which he struggled through several injuries. His strong arm and sure glove help solidify a new defense after the departure of several key outfielders at the start of the season.
Third baseman, Grady Cummings, was named the 2001 Most Valuable Player after putting up impressive numbers during his first season in a Bomber uniform. #XX had a career year, going 26-for-43 (.605, including a home run and three doubles) with 30 runs scored and 25 runs batted in. Grady's 30 runs scored sets a Bomber season record shared by teammate Eric Schroeder, who also scored 30 this year.
The 2001 Bomber Award was presented to shortstop Eric Schroeder, who accepted for the third season in a row. Schroeder's seven home runs this year, most by any Bomber in a season, boosts his career home run record to 15 and sent his career slugging percentage over 1.250.
For your final season stats, highlights, and upcoming team activity information, click here.
TOP 10 BOMBER BATTING LEADERS
Player
GM AB R H RBI SAC 2B 3B HR BB SO
AVG
--------------- --
-- -- -- --- --- -- -- -- -- -- ----
Schroeder, Eric 14
46 30* 32 38* 2 9 3 7* 2
0 .696
Cummings, Grady 14
43 30* 26 25 4 3 0 1
2 1 .605
Griffin, Doug
12 37 7 22 12 2 4
3 0 1 3 .595
De Quattro, Vince 12 31 17
17 28 5 2 3 4 5 0
.548
Krish, Todd
15 46 17 25 23 3 4
2 1 1 0 .543
Sutherland, Duncan 12 36
9 19 11 1 4 0 0 4
0 .528
Safley, Barry
13 46 21 23 15 1 3
0 0 1 1 .500
Becerra, Frank 11
34 6 15 5 0 2
0 0 1 0 .441
Patnode, Jason 14
42 15 17 9 2 1 1
1 2 7 .405
Taylor, Scott
11 30 5 11 11 1 0
1 0 2 0 .367
* new season record
BOX SCORE -- SEPTEMBER 22, 2001
BOMBERS
AB R H BI BB SO AVG
_________________________________________________
Diaz LF
4 0 1 0 0 0
.490
Safley 2B
4 3 4 0 0 0
.500
Cummings OF 4
2 3 1 0 0 .605
Schroeder SS 3
3 3 5 0 0 .696
De Quattro 3B 3 1
3 2 1 0 .548
Krish 1B
4 0 2 2 0 0
.543
Sutherland P 4
0 0 0 0 0 .528
Griffin CF 4
1 3 0 0 0 .595
Becerra OF 4
1 2 0 0 0 .441
Patnode 2B 3
1 1 0 0 2 .405
Taylor OF
4 1 2 3 0 0
.367
Lim Sang C 4
0 1 1 0 0 .303
Neha 2B
3 0 1 0 0 1
.241
Petrini OF 3
1 1 0 0 1 .310
_________________________________________________
TOTALS
51 14 27 14 1 4 .529
____________________________________________________________
BOMBERS
2 1 5 3 3 0
0 0 0 - 14
FISH
0 0 0 3 1 9
1 0 1 - 15
____________________________________________________________
LOB--BOMBERS 13. SAC Patnode (2), Schroeder (2).
HR--Schroeder (7). 3B--De Quattro (3), Schroeder (3).
2B--Becerra (2), De Quattro (2), Safley (3).
RBIS--Schroeder 5 (38), Taylor 3 (11), De Quattro 2 (28),
Krish 2 (23), Cummings (25), Lim Sang (4).
PITCHING
BOMBERS
IP H R ER SO BB ERA
SUTHERLAND L (8-4)
9 12 15 8 1 3 12.60
First inning. With one out, Safley singles to left.
Cummings flies to the left fielder. Schroeder singles past the glove of
a diving third baseman, Safley to second. De Quattro singles to right,
scoring Safley, Schroeder advances to third. Krish singles, scoring Schroeder,
De Quattro advances to third. Sutherland flies to left. Two runs on four
hits, no errors, two men left on base. BOMBERS 2, Fish 0.
Second inning. Griffin singles to right and advances
to second on the error by the shortstop. Becerra pops to the shortstop.
Patnode sacrifices Griffin to third. Taylor singles, scoring Griffin. Lim
Sang flies to left. One run on two hits and one error, one man left on
base. BOMBERS 3, Fish 0.
Third inning. With one out, Petrini singles to right.
Diaz flies to center. Safley singles to left, Petrini advancing to second.
Cummings singles, scoring Petrini, Safley advancing to third. Schroeder
homers to deep right center, scoring Safley and Cummings. De Quattro triples
off the second baseman's shoulder. Krish singles, scoring De Quattro. Sutherland
flies to right. Five runs, six hits and no errors, one man left. BOMBERS
8, Fish 0.
Fourth inning. With one out, Becerra doubles. Patnode
singles to left, Becerra holding at third. Taylor bounces up the first
base line and is safe on the throwing error by the catcher, scoring Becerra
and Patnode, advancing to third. Lim Sang bounces to the shortstop, scoring
Taylor. Neha bounces to the pitcher. Three runs on two hits and one error,
noone left. BOMBERS 11, Fish 3.
Fifth inning. With one out, Diaz singles. Safley doubles
to left, Diaz is thrown out at the plate. Cummings singles to left, Safley
holds at third. Schroeder triples to deep left center, scoring Safley and
Cummings. De Quattro doubles to right center, scoring Schroeder. Krish
flies to left. Three runs on five hits and no errors, one man left. BOMBERS
14, Fish 4.
Umpire: Sean
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