AL Game Summaries (Fall)
Welcome to the Game Summary/write-up page. Here you will find summaries and highlights of American League Games, in reverse chronological order, meaning the most recent games are shown first.
January 14th
Final day of the "Fall" session. Timber Creek had the title wrapped up, but still some chance for movement in most of the rest of the standings. Here's the summaries for the last day, followed by the final stats:
Timber Creek 12, Specialty Companies 5
Timber Creek came out for a victory lap while a win in this one for Specialty would put them in a strong position to take at least a tie for second place. At first, it seemed like both teams were just mailing it in. In the fifth inning, up 4, TC put up 4, followed by Specialty with 3, but after Creek put up 3 more in the fifth to go up by 8, that was enough. Even after a "flip," Specialty would only score one more, utimately falling 12-5. For TC, whose final record stands at 15-5, both Greg Bradley and fill-in Dan Frank went 3/3 with Greg getting one double and Dan"right field line," getting two. Noland Hess finished up a strong fall performance with a 3/4 day. For Specialty who would end the day in 3rd place, Steve Oberg pushed his average over .700 with a 4/4 day while also adding two doubles, giving him 20 on the session, tied for the lead in that category. Vernell King was also 4/4 with Mark Dudzik going 3/4 with a double.
Armed Forces 9, Reynolds Rangers 8
Armed Forces, following Specialty Companies loss, needed a victory in their game to secure second place. Would it come easy? With neither team putting up much offense through five, the answer was no. After Armed Forces put up 4 in the top of the sixth to take a four run lead, it looked like they'd get it done. But as Lee Corso likes to say, "not so fast." The Rangers came back with 4 of their own and it was a tie game heading into the open inning. RR held the Forces to one run in the top, but went down 1-2-3 in the home half giving the Armed Forces the 9-8 decision. For the Forces, who ended the season in second place at 12-8, Mike Ickes wrapped up the batting title with a 3/4 day and his two doubles tied Oberg and Mark McGehee with 20. Pete Laufer helped out with a 3/4 day. For the spirited Rangers, Paul Dickerson led the way, going 3/4 while Scott Cole, Dan Frank, Lori and Jim Alexander and Pat Moran all went 2/3 with Lori getting a triple.
Kingers Medicare 10, Peace Smoke Shop 6
The final game of the day and of the session ended up being a battle for 4th place. For most of the game, it wasn't much of a display with Kingers 4 run third being the only early offense. Peace finally came to life in the top of the sixth, scoring 4 runs and briefly knotting the game at 6. Kingers would answer that with four of their own, making no outs and only needing 5 batters to do the job, Now down 4, Peace had no answer in the seventh as Kingers secured the 10-6 victory and 4th place. For Kingers, it was another routine 3/4 day for Les Strueby whose 3 doubles would give him 18 for the season. Pete Bell would also go 3/4, while Mike Staudt, Bob Strawser, Gabe Medina, Jack McCormack and Ron Bario went 2/3. For Peace, who finished just under .500 for the season, three players, Bill Mathews, Jeff Smarr and Tom Reynolds were 2/3 with Smarr and Reynolds getting a double.
That wraps up a successful Fall season for Sun City Softball. Thanks to Dan Braddock for faithfully sending me the score sheets and to the announcers who double as official scorekeepers. Special thanks to Larry Strueby, who even though in another country, helps coordinate all the statistics. And speaking of stats, here's the final, mostly official stats for the fall session:
Hr's: Strueby (3), Kniager , Ickes (1)
Triples: Pack (5) Ickes, Kniager (4) Fairbanks, Oberg, Bradley,Burton (3)
Doubles: McGehee, Ickes, Oberg (20) (19) , Strueby (18), Dickerson (14)
Batting Average (Overall) Ickes .779, Josz .726, Strueby .716, Oberg .710, McGehee .703, Hinson .693, Zafferano .683, Alexander (Lori) .676, Merrill .672, Burton .670
By Rating: (1s) Ickes, Josz, Strueby, Oberg, Kniager, Laufer .644
(2s) McGehee, Hinson, Zafferano, Alexander, Merrill, Bell .649, Dickerson .636, Bradley .631, Piazza .629, Sobczyk .619
(3s) Burton, Braddock .656,, McCormack .644, Alexander (Jim,) .635 , Hess .583, Beckes .576, Smarr .574, Sepich .567, Smith .556, Gressman .562, Smith .556
Armed Forces 16, Kingers Medicare 3
On Tuesday Armed Forces saw their chance at the Title go by the waste side. How would they respond? How about the most dominant offensive performance of the season. AF scored 4 runs in each of the four innings they batted all while only making 4 outs the whole game! Eight of their 10 hitters had perfect days at the plate. All this offense was too much for Kingers as Armed Forces would go on to a 4 1/2 inning, 16-3 run-rule victory. With the win, Armed Forces moves to 11-8 and is tied for second going into the final day of action. Mike Ickes, Arne Kvarnberg, Don Jenkins and Bill Mathews were 3/3, Dennis Zafferano was 2/2 with a walk and John Miller went 1/1 with a walk. Also, Joe Brouch had a triple while Ickes had two doubles and Arnie one. For Kingers who dropped to 9-10, Gabe Medina and Mike Stoudt were 2/2.
Timber Creek 17, Peace Smoke Shop 12
Timber Creek, fresh off clinching the title, jumped to an 8-4 lead. Peace rallied back, setting up a one-run game heading to the open inning. Visiting TC would then bat around, scoring 5 runs in the top and a deflated PSS was unable to answer giving Timber Creek the 17-12 victory, For Creek, Randy May and Dave Price were both 4/4 with Price also getting a walk. Additionally, Dale Smith, Mike Pruden and Dan Braddock went 3/4 while Doc Doxtader had 3 hits including two doubles. For Peace, now 9-10 on the session, Alan Kniager, Joedy Pack, John HInson, Mark McGehee and Jeff Smarr were 3/4 with Kniager, Pack and McGehee each getting a double.
Specialty Companies 13, Reynolds Rangers 8
Specialty Companies scored 5 runs in the last inning to break open a close game. After holding the Rangers scoreless in the home half, those 5 runs ended up being the final margin of victory. Specialty looked like they would cruise to an easy victory, leading 7-2 after the third. The Rangers had other ideas turning the table while outscoring Specialty 6-1 in the next three innings setting up a deadlocked scoreboard heading to the open inning. The Specialty bats re-entered the picture as they sent 10 to the plate while scoring the decisive 5 runs. The Rangers cried Uncle, going down 1,2,3 in the home half sending Specialty away with the 13-8 win. For Specialty, now tied with Armed Forces at 11-8, susbstitute Keith Zelhoffer led a balanced attack going 4/5 with a triple. Mark Dudzik was 3/4 with a walk, while Roger Piazza and Derek Sobczyk had 3 hits including a double from Derek. Reynolds also was led by substitutes: pitcher Jim Alexander who went 3/3 and Mike Pruden who went 3/4.
January 7th
Tuesday was "welcome back" day. For many the rust showed while others picked up right where they left. Oh and we have an official Fall League Champion as Timber Creek, despite now losing three in a row, has the title locked up. Congratulations boys. Four other teams are within one game of each other. Here's a bit of what happened today:
Reynolds Rangers 14,Timber Creek 6
Our first game of the day was between a team who was on the verge of locking up first place against a team that was looking for their third win of the season. The latter team dominated from the get-go, winning their second straight game while temporarily putting TC's championship hopes on hold. The Rangers scored 4 runs in the third, forth and fifth innings to jump to a 12-6 lead and TC didn't get any closer. Bob Schweitzer filled in for RR going 3/4 including a 3 RBI double in the third. Craig Josz and Lori Alexander went 4/4 with Josz getting a double, Pat Moran was 3/3 with a Sac. For Timber Creek, their lead off hitter, Noland Hess matched Schweitzer at 3/4 but nobody else had more than 2 hits.
Peace Smoke Shop 14, Armed Forces 12
Armed Forces came into the game in solo second, needing to win out and have Timber Creek lose out to have a chance at first. Peace Smoke Shop had other ideas as they held off a late charge to come away with the win, The game was tied after three innings but Peace scored 4 in the top of the inning while holding AF scoreless in the bottom. The open inning began with Peace up by three. Peace would add one run, but would it be enough? Armed Forces first 5 batters reached base and loaded the bases with no outs, the tying run on second and the winning run on first. That's when the PSS defense stepped up with third basemen John Hinson fielding a grounder, stepping on third for one, then wisely getting the runner to commit to home where he was forced out. Jimmy Alexander fielded a grounder back to the mound, tossing it to first for the final out of the game earning Smoke Shop the W. For PSS, now 9-9 on the session, Joedy Pack was 5/5, Alexander 4/4, Alan Kniager and Hinson 4/5 and Mark McGehee 3/4, For Armed Forces ((10-8,) batting average leader Mike Ickes was 4/4, Dennis Zafferano 3/3, while Arnie Kvarnberg and Pete Laufer went 3/4
Specialty Companies 12, Kingers Medicare 8
Specialty Companies jumped to a 12-1 lead and while Kingers scored 7 late runs, to make it interesting, Specialty Companies would go on to win 12-8. Specialty, now tied with Armed Forces for second at 10-8, got perfect days at the plate from Mark Dudzik, Derek Sobczyk (4/4,) Roger Piazza (3/3,) and Steve Oberg (2/2, 2 walks,) with Jack McCormack going 3/4. Dennis Zafferano filled in for Kingers(9-9,) going 4/4 and coupled with his earlier performance finished the day going 7/7. Les Strueby homered in the fourth for his league leading 3rd on the season.
Two more play dates left in the session. See you all on Friday.
December 17th and 20th: Due to travel and Holidays, there will be no write-ups this week. There is, however a list of strong batting performances for your pleasure. Happy Holidays everyone!
December 17th
Armed Forces: Mike Ickes 4/4, two doubles. Jim Alexander 3/3. Dennis Zafferano 2/3, two doubles.
Timber Creek: Rodger Beckes, Dan Braddock and Mark Maynard 2/3 w/Maynard getting a double.
Kingers Medicare: Bob Strawser 5/5, 1 double. Vernell King, Mike Staudt, Nolan Hess 4/5. Randy Searcy 3/3, walk.
Reynolds Rangers: Bob Hamilton 3/3, walk. Craig Josz Rob Merrill 4/5. Pat Moran, Paul Dickerson 3/4,
Peace Smoke Shop: Alan Kniager 4/4. Bob Schweitzer, Mark McGehee 3/4
Specialty Companies: Pete Bell 4/4, Dave Burton 3/4, George Fairbanks 3/4 w/ a triple.
December 20th
Timber Creek: Hess 3/4, Greg Bradley with a triple.
Kingers: Steve Oberg 4/4, triple, double. Pete Bell 4/4. Burton 3/3,walk. Staudt 3/4, 2 doubles, Fairbanks 3/4,double, Don Jenkins 2 doubles.
Armed Forces: Ickes 4/4,triple. John Miller 3/3,double. Zafferano 3/4,double.
Specialty Companies: Jim Alexander 3/3,double. Paul Dickerson 3/4, 2 doubles. Mark Dudzik 3/4,double. Burton,Beckes, Tony Willett, Mark Kisala 3/4.
Peace Smoke Shop: John Hinson 4/4,triple. Jim Alexander 4/4,double. Mark McGehee, Mike Milts 3/4.
Reynolds Rangers: Doc Doxtader 4/4, double. Lori Alexander 4/4. Scott Cole, Merrill 3/4.
December 13th
Friday the 13th saw plenty of unlucky bounces, a record number of "30/12 "packs (unofficial, of course,) two one-run games and one "run-rule" game by the surging Peace Smoke Shop. Here's a little of what went on:
Timber Creek 12, Specialty Companies 11
First place Timber Creek was not their usual dominant self as they trailed for most of the game. It wasn't until they scored 4 in the sixth that there was any separation between the two teams. Jack McCormack, pitching for Specialty, struck out t3 batters in the first and 1 in the second putting the "tab" at 84 through two innings. Specialty was unable to put much distance between the slow starting Creek boys until scoring 4 in the third to go up by four. That lead would hold until Creek scored 4 of their own in the home half of the fourth to tie it up. The game would remain tied until Creeks 4-run sixth. Specialty rallied in the open inning getting the tying run on second with one out, but the next two batters grounded out and Creek escaped with the victory. For TC, now at 11-2 and up 4 in the standings, Greg Bradley was 3/3 including a double while also adding a walk. Four batters went 3/4: Doc Doxteder, Bob Thaden, Rodger Beckes and fill-in Jeff Smarr. Both Doc and Bob had doubles. For Specialty which dropped to 7-8, Vernell King had four singles while going 4/4 while Steve Oberg, Mark Dudzik and McCormack all went 3/4. Interestingly, the box score shows no extra base hits for Specialty.
Peace Smoke Shop 16, Kingers Medicare 4
In a game featuring two teams with identical records, it was Peace Smoke Shop who came out swinging and were never threatened as they scored 4,4,2,3 and 3 on their way to five inning, run-rule victory. Perhaps more impressively, Peace did not even make an out until they had put up 11 runs with the first 17 men reaching base safely. For Peace, which improved to 8-7, no less than six people had perfect days at the plate. Alan Kniager bounced back in a big way, going 4/4 with a triple. John Hinson, Tom Reynolds and Jimmy Alexander were 3/3 with Hinson getting two doubles and Reynolds a double and a triple, just a HR short of the cycle :) Mark McGehee was 2/2 with what was his first walk that I've ever witnessed and Joedy Pack was 2/2 with a Sac. Kingers, which fell to 7-8, had a 3/3 day from Randy Searcy while Keith Zelhoffer went 2/2 with a double.
Armed Forces 14, Reynolds Rangers 13
In the hardest fought game of the day, Armed Forces overcame a late charge from the fiesty Rangers who scored the max 4 runs in three straight innings to take a three run lead gong to the bottom of the sixth. Not to be outdone, Armed Forces scored 4 of the own in the home half to re-take the lead. The Rangers had the go-ahead runs on base, but were unable to capitalize allowing the Armed Forces to get the narrow 14-13 win. For Armed Forces, who now hold second place by themselves with a 9-6 record, Mike Ickes had a day, going 4/4 with 3 doubles. Also, Tom Blatner and fill-in Bob Schweitzer were 3/3 with Schweitzer getting a double, while Dennis Zafferano tripled while going 3/4. For the Rangers, Rob Merrill and Craig Josz also went 4/4 with Merrill getting a double. Jack McCormack went 3/3 before exiting, while Lori Alexander, Pat Moran and Paul Dickerson each went 3/4 with both Alexander and Moran getting a double.
Games continue this Tuesday and Friday before the Holiday break. Don't forget to sign up for the one-pitch tournament to fill the void. That is scheduled for Jan 2 and 3.
December 10th
Not a lot of close final scores in Tuesday's games as the top team continued to show separation and the other two games weren't that close in the end, but there is a few good storylines to follow and also a report on some of the stat leaders, so here goes:
Timber Creek 13, Peace Smoke Shop 6
Timber Creek wasted know time asserting their league leading dominance, jumping to an 8-0 lead after two innings. The visiting Smoke Shop did put up 4 in the top of the third, but would never get closer than four runs, ultimately falling 13-6. For Creek, 12-2 after the win, Dave Price and Rodger Beckes had perfect days with Price going 4/4 and Rodger 3/3. Also Greg Bradley, Bob Thaden and Doc Doxteder were 3/4. For Peace, which evened their record at 7-7 while falling into a 3-way tie for third, Tom Reynolds was 4/4 and Joedy Pack continued his resurgence with a 3/4 day.
Armed Forces 21, Kingers Medicare 10
Both teams came into this game with identical 7-6 records and for six innings the teams played very evenly with neither team leading by more than two. The seventh "open" began with Armed Forces down by a run, having trailed since the top of the second inning. 17 batters and twelve runs later they not only led, but had a commanding 11 run lead going on to a 21-10 final. Armed Forces (8-6) who now holds second place all by themselves, had a perfect day from last minute fill-in Dave Burton who went 4/4. Also reaching 4 times was Joe Brouch, Mike Ickes, Pete Lauffer and Dennis Zaffferano with both Zafferano and Ickes getting a triple. For Kingers, now 7-7, Gary Franklin was 4/4 including a triple, Bob Strawser and Pete Bell were 3/4 and Les Strueby hit his second HR of the season, this one a three run shot.
Specialty Companies 14, Reynolds Rangers 11
Specialty Companies put up the max 4 runs in the third, forth and fifth innings to overcome an early 6 run deficit on their way to a 14-11 victory. The victory allows Specialty to join the teams bunched up at 7-7 on the year. Specialty got a 3/3 day from manager Mark Kisala as well as 3/4 days from George Fairbanks, Dave Burton and Derek Sobczyk. Fairbanks day included a triple. For the Rangers, Lori Alexander was 4/4 while Dad Alexander filled in and went 3/4 as did Rob Merrill. Bill Mathews added a triple for the Rangers.
Here's a few statistical highlights through December 11th:
Hr's: Les Strueby 2, Mike Ickes and Alan Kniager 1
Triples: Joedy Pack 4, Dave Burton 3. Mike Ickes, Steve Oberg, Pete Bell, Greg Bradley, Alan Kniager, George Fairbanks, Bill Matthews 2
Doubles: Steve Oberg and Mark McGehee 16, Les Strueby 13, Paul Dickerson 11
Batting Average by rating:
Ones: Les Strueby .741, Craig Josz .729. Mike Ickes .714
Twos: Mark McGehee .700, Roger Piazza .696, John Hinson .691
Threes: Dave Burton .705, Dan Braddock .694, Jack McCormack .627
Statistics courtesy of Dan Braddock and Larry Strueby
December 6th
Friday's games were loaded with substitutes. Managers were heard calling "I need a 3," and "Is he a 2 or a 3?" But unlike when in grade school a substitute meant hopefully we'd watch a movie, three games of softball were played, which is a good thing. At the end of the day, Timber Creek further distanced themselves from the pack with the new battle being for second as 3 teams are now tied with 7-6 records. Here's a brief recap:
Peace Smoke Shop 12, Armed Forced 11
Peace Smoke Shop got a two out, bases loaded single from Dale Gressman which easily scored Mark McGehee from second with the winning run. This was the third straight one run victory for the Smoke Shop boys. The game was tied after both the fifth and sixth innings. Armed forces scored one in top of the seventh forcing PSS to score two runs to overcome the 1.5 run deficit. With Bob Schweitzer on third and pinch running McGehee on second, Forces issued an intentional pass to Jeff Smarr and chose to face Gressman, creating a force and possibly double play situation. Dale made them pay with a solid single up the middle and the game winning RBI's. For Peace (7-6,) Gressman, Jody Pack, Mark McGehee and Tony Willett went 3/4 with Pack getting 2 triples, McGehee 3 doubles and Tony 2 doubles. For Armed Forces, also 7-6, Joe Brouch was 4/4 with a double, Mike Ickes 3/3 with 2 doubles, Don Jenkins 3/4 and Pete Laufer 2/3 with a walk and a double.
Timber Creek 27, Reynolds Rangers 12
The Rangers actually led this one 2-0 after two innings before first-place Timber Creek came to life scoring 4 runs in the 3rd-6th innings. Still, it was a four run game heading into the open inning. That's when the visiting TC sent 15 to the plate, putting up 11 runs to put the game out of reach. 12 of the first 13 batters reached and then, mercifully the next two made outs. The Rangers went down quietly in the bottom to end the game. For the Creek who improved to 11-2, everyone batted 5 times. Don Jenkins filled in and went 5/5 giving him a 8/9 day. Nolan Hess, Doc Doxtader, Bob Thaden, Greg Bradley and Dan Braddock had 4/5 days with both Doxtader and Thaden getting 2 doubles. For the Rangers, George Fairbanks filled in and went 4/4 with a double. Also going 4/4 was Paul Dickerson with 2 doubles. Bob Strawser was 3/3 with a Sac as a fill-in and Craig Josz went 3/4 putting him at .733 on the season and trailing only Les Strueby in average.
Specialty Companies 14, Kingers Medicare 6
Kingers Medicare joined the trio at 7-6 after falling to Specialty Compaies 14-6. Specialty started off with a quick 4 runs in the bottom of the first, but cooled down and after Kingers scored two in the top of fourth, the game was tied at 4. Specialty would score 2 in their half of the fourth and then 4 in both the fifth and sixth innings. Especially impressive was scoring 4 in the sixth without even making an out. This was more than enough to win this one. Specialty, which improved to 6-7, got a 4/4 day from George Fairbanks making him 8/8 on the day. Six others went 3/4: Derek Sobczyk, Dave Burton, Steve Oberg, Jack McCormack and fill-ins Mark McGehee and Bob Thaden. For Kingers, Randy Searcy had a 4/4 day while Bob Strawser and Les Strueby went 2/3. Strueby still maintains the highest batting average at .760.
Three more days of games before the Winter Break. Hope to see you on Tuesday.
Jeff Smarr reporting
December 3
Picture perfect day for softball and for Mike Pruden's "60th" birthday. Nice to see lots of people hanging out after the game celebrating "beer 30" in his honor. On the field, one close game and a couple of other's, not so much. Here's the report:
Peace Smoke Shop 12, Reynolds Rangers 11
In what was the definition of a back-and-forth game, the Smoke Shop held on for their second consecutive 1/2 run victory. The Rangers came up in the top of the seventh, needing 3 to tie, but after getting two quick runs and the tying run on second, back to back groundouts ended the threat giving PSS the narrow victory. To paraphrase Alan Kniager,"it's not if you're ahead, it's if you are ahead at the end." Or something like that. For Peace Smoke Shop, who evened their record at 6-6, Four players had perfect days at the plate, led by Kniager's second consecutive 4/4 performance which included a double. Mark McGehee, Dale Gressman and Jeff Smarr were 3/3 with Smarr getting a double. The Rangers got a great day from Craig Josz as he had a 5 for 5, three double day, but were unable to parlay that into a win. Also for the Rangers, Rob Merrill was 4/5 with Ron Barrio, Scott Cole and Paul Dickerson getting 3 hits including a double for Dickerson.
Armed Forces 17, Specialty Companies 7
Armed Forces moved into a tie for second place with a commanding "run-rule" victory over Specialty Companies. Specialty came out swinging, putting up 4 runs in the top of the first and ending up with a 4-2 lead, but that would end up being the only inning they would hold the lead after. Specialty did briefly go up 7-6 in the top of the third, but that would be the last runs they would get as Armed Forces held them scoreless the rest of the way, while scoring in every inning on their way to the 17-7 final. For Armed Forces(7-5,) Les Strueby was 4/4 with a double, Arne Kvarnberg and John Miller 3/3 while Don Jenkins and Mike Ickes went 3/4. Ickes day including a towering blast to left center for a Home Run. For Specialty, Jack McCormick and Mark McGehee each went 3/3, making Mark 6/6 on the day. Dave Burton went 3/4 with a double.
Timber Creek 15, Kingers Medicare 8
Our final game of the day pitted league leading Timber Creek against then second place Kingers Medicare. This one was never really close as Creek would put up the max 4 runs in the second, third and fourth innings while jumping to a 13-2 lead. Kingers did come back with four in the top of the 5th, but that was as close as they would get, eventually falling 15-8. Timber Creek (10-2,) got big days at the plate from several players including Nolan Hess, Bob Thaden and Greg Bradley going 4/4 with Thaden getting 2 doubles and Bradley a double and a triple. Doc Doxtader also was perfect, going 3/3 with a walk, while Dan Braddock was 3/4. Oh and I would be remiss if not mentioning Smarr getting two doubles, giving him 3 for the day. For Kingers (7-5,) Pete Bell was 4/4 while Les Strueby and Bob Strawser went 3/4 with Strueby getting a pair of gap doubles.
Play resumes Friday the 6th. Look for lots of substitutes on the field.
Jeff Smarr reporting...
November 26th
Today's games saw a couple of close games and also had Timber Creek suffer only their second loss of the season. Here's the report:
Kingers Medicare 16, Reynolds Rangers 14
Kingers raced to a 9-2 lead after 3 innings, but the Rangers refused to go away and after six, the game headed to the open inning with the Rangers trailing by only two. The visiting Rangers got two aboard with only one out, but the top of the order failed to produce, giving Kingers the two run victory. Kingers(7-4,) had four players reach safely in all 4 plate appearances with Les Strueby, Mark Maynard and Randy Searcy going 4/4 and Gary Franklin 3/3 with a walk. Gabe Medina was also perfect, going 3/3 while Pete Bell went 3/4. For the Rangers (1-10,) Mike Milts filled in finely, going 4/4 as did Craig Josz. Vernell King also reach safely 4 times in a sub role going 3/3 with a walk. Lori Alexander and Bob Hamilton both went 3/4.
Peace Smoke Shop 9 1/2, Specialty Companies 9
The second game which slated two teams close in the standings, ended up being as close of a final score as you have with the visiting Peace Smoke Shop getting the victory by virtue of the bonus 1/2 run given to compensate for the travel. Specialty Companies held a 9-6 lead after six so Peace needed 3 runs to at least force a tie as the teams began the open inning. John Hinson, Tom Reynolds and Bob Schweitzer all got hits and suddenly the tying run was on second. The next two batters made outs before a scratch single put runners on the corners. Dale Gressman knocked in the equalizer. Specialty had the top of the order up in the seventh, but went down 1-2-3 giving Peace the win. Alan Kniager batted lead-off for Peace (5-6.) going 4/4 with a triple. Both Gresman and Hinson had 3/4 days. For Specialty also 5-6 on the season, Jack McCormack went 4/4 in what would eventually become a 7/7 day. Steve Oberg went 4/5 with two doubles.
Armed Forces 13, Timber Creek 7
Early on it looked like Timber Creek was going to continue their winning ways as they scored 4 in the first and led 7-5 after three innings. Turns out, seven was all TC would get as they went scoreless the rest of the way. Armed Forces, on the other hand, scored in six of seven innings including a four-run 5th and their defense did the rest in the eventual 13-7 win over the first place Timber Creek. Armed Forces (6-5,) got a 5/5 day from Dennis Zafferano, 4/5 from Mike Ickes and 3/4 from Tom Reynolds and John Miller. For Creek still with a two game lead at 9-2, Jack McCormack completed his perfect day at the plate, going 3/3, with Steve Oberg also going 3/3including a double and triple. Keith Zelhoffer filled in and went 3/4.
Following the Thanksgiving Break, play resumes December 2nd at noon