Alumni News, Flying High From Walla Walla To Germany

Andrew Johnson from last years MBC 16 team at a tournament in Walla Walla as a dead duck going into third

Andrew, always athletic, always spontaneous, decides not to go quietly

Facing an 8 on the scale of difficulty Andrew tucks it in for the final landing

Short story, he was still out

Do not try this at home, or on the way to third, Andrew is a mutant and although he may be imitated, he cannot be duplicated!

In other news base running mutant Jordan Turpen is playing baseball in Germany this summer. Strange as it seems Jordan fell in love with a German exchange student and left in early June for a summer in Germany. The parents of the young Fraulein have set him up with an 18 year old baseball team. Two players from this league have been drafted into US pro ball. I heard last night that in his first double header Jordan was 5-7 and scored every time he reached base. Showing the Germans what a real speedster can do on base!

Tigers Efficiently Roar Past MBC

It all happened so quick that it seemed the game was over before it began. The second place Eastlake Tigers quickly and methodically scored their eight runs and sent MBC packing.

Oddly enough MBC played great defense, turning a wonderful double play in the second and having Bonecrusher Heller make a big league play from the hole. Spencer Hogger made a diving stop on a screaming line drive, but between these key defensive plays, the Tigers had managed to keep the pressure on and score the eight runs needed to win.

Offensively MBC could not do much against the Cy Young candidate the Tigers put on the mound. Chris Luttinen and Stuart Fairchild hit booming doubles but the Tigers limited the MBC boys to just two other hits, singles by Ben Thomspn and Spencer Hogger. They showed some good leather as well as the first baseman robbed Peter Rakita of a sure RBI double down the line with a nifty stab.

Wind Blows in a Win for Magnolia

In Magnolia they got a name

For rain and wind and fire

The rain is Spence, the fire Campy,

And they call the wind Tino

On what was a pleasant summer evening everywhere else in town the Magnolia 13’s played the rest of the island boys from Bainbridge defeating the Mavericks 9-1.

Tino Peleti threw six brilliant “wind aided” innings striking out ten of his neighbors. Six Bainbridge Island boys got to razz him on the ferry by recording hits.

It was a strong night for MBC offense all well. The first five players scored to lead off a good night. MBC added one run in each of the next five innings to win a mercy rule shortened game.

Ben Thompson led the game off with a hit, and the next two batters walked. Mitchell Smith scored two on his single and Campy Queen (2-4 2RBI) drove in the third run with another single. The Bainbridge pitcher “the King” tried to shut the door with a pair of strike outs but Peter Rakita (2-3 3RBI) came up big with a two out, two RBI single.
Magnolia scored a run in each of the next five innings and walked off the field on Campy’s game ending RBI single in the sixth. This brought a roar for BOTH crowds as the it meant we could all get out of the terrible wind that had blown all night

Loss And Gain

When I compare

What I have lost with what I have gained,

What I have missed with what attained,

Little room do I find for pride.

I am aware

How many days have been idly spent;

How like an arrow the good intent

Has fallen short or been turned aside.

But who shall dare

To measure loss and gain in this wise?

Defeat may be victory in disguise;

The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide.

Out of Sync MBC Falls to Brewers Blue

MBC 13’s fell to third place (13-2) Brewers Blue team last night 7-1. The score was not a true representation of the game, as MBC had chances to win this one, but found themselves way out of sync.

I circled eight plays in the scorebook that tilted the game in favor of the Brewers. Three were coaching errors, three outfield plays, and two tough plays from the mound. All correctable, most non-typical for this team, but they all happened and we came up short.

Both coaches were asleep at the switch when Ben Thomson led the game off by hitting the catcher’s glove. This non-questioned non-call cost us a base runner in a inning where we left the bases loaded. Later on, a frustrated Coach Cougan at third sent Tino home with a chance for a inside the park home-run after the Brewers blew the relay to home. In retrospect, after an super hustle play by the Brewers shortstop nailed Tino at home, Coach Cougan wished he had a man on third with no outs. Later in the evening, an absent minded, and perhaps itchy (no other explanation) Coach Cougan mislead both Ben Thomson and Coach Bishop into thinking he wanted to steal. Wrong move when down 5-1.

Three no catches on flyballs that we will someday “get to” cost us dearly, and I am sure the ultra competitive Stuart will always know how many outs there are in the future. And by golly, as long as baseball is played light hitting nine hitters will be accidentally beaned with two outs, two strikes and the bases loaded, that is just the baseball Gods telling you that it is not your night.

Game at Highpoint Might Just Be Our Low Point

A listless bunch with an awful lot of bad luck lost a winnable game at Highpoint against the Puget Sound Stars 13-5.

Not making the make-able plays and giving up lots of dinky hits was the recipe for failure for MBC. MBC gave up 14 hits and over half of these hits seemed to have eyes.

MBC had ten hits of their own, but they were bunched the wrong way. Rather than bunching them together by inning, they were bunched among four players. This team does best when everyone is getting hits.

Ben Thomson was 3-4, Nick Reeves and Campbell Queen were 2-4 and Tino Peleti was 2-3. AK added a single to the mix. None of the hits were for extra bases, and that typically spells bad news for this team’s offense.

Did You Guys Know That Your Coach Invented the Taco Salad? Well Here is Proof Positive