verdugo288

I made a couple of changes in the lineup for this game.  “B” came into the season as a rookie and had played most of the season at CV as a shortstop.  He started for us at shortstop as well in the early part of the season.  But I liked “B” as a third baseman.  He had a cannon of an arm.  I moved him over to third.  Not because he was a bad shortstop.  But because I thought he would be a GREAT…and I’m talking GREAT third baseman.

I moved Yves to shortstop for this ballgame.  Yves had a damn good arm as well.  I moved Rogers over to second base, and Robb Turner played first.  That’s what was so great about the Verdugo Teams.  Interchangeable players who you could mix in at different positions on the diamond.  Rogers could play ANYWHERE for you.  In fact, in both ’90 AND ’91, he played EVERY position on the diamond for us. 

One of the few regrets I had about ’90 and ’91 was not giving Rogers an opportunity to play all nine positions on the diamond in the SAME GAME.  I always told him I was going to do it…but it never happened.

So a well-rested BullOxen was going to get the start against a new team in the league Las Virgenes.  It was quite a drive over to the Calabasas area for this one.  But this new team made me look GREAT.  How so?  Well, I remembered all the ragging our players gave me about our uniforms in 1990.  These guys from Las Virgenes showed up in basically Plain-White Tee Shirts!!  It was pretty bad.  But they had a nice facility and the field was in great shape.

BullOxen was coming off the magnificent 20 strikeout performance against Palmdale.  So what did he do?  He went out and struck out six guys in the first two innings!  Think about that one….26 whiffs in the first 11 innings of the season!  By the time this game had ended he had blown down a total of 13.  

Las Virgenes came out raking in the third and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. 

Yves led off the fourth with a base hit.  BullOxen reached base on an error and Moose stepped up and ripped a base-hit to score Yves.  We trailed 4-1.

In the fifth, ‘B” led off with a single.  Sammy reached base on an error.  Cadena sacrificed them over.  Yves then grounded out for an RBI.  Then Yvan Moreno came up and roped a base-hit to score Sammy, closing the gap to 4-3. 

Meanwhile, BullOxen was rolling along.  He shut them off in the 4th, 5th, and 6th innings…increasing his strikeout total to eleven.

We opened it up in the seventh.  Sammy reached base on an error.  Brett Miller came up and laid down a bunt that the pitcher couldn’t handle.  First and second no out.

Yves ripped a base hit to tie the score at four.  Moreno singled to give us a 5-4 lead.  Then BullOxen came up and BOMBED a three-run HOMER!!!!

Ahhhh Verdugo!!  8-4 just like that!

They scored an unearned run in the 7th but Bull was just too much for them. 

They mounted a little threat in the bottom-of-the-ninth.  Runners were at first and third with one out.  The batter hit a ball up the middle and Yves turned a 6u-3 DOUBLE PLAY to end it. 

And once again….They’ve DONE IT!!

Yves had a great game.  Two hits, two RBI.  Yvan Moreno picked up a couple of hits.  Bull Homered.  Moose had two hits.  “B” had two hits and a sting. 

Great win.  This put us at 4-3.  And three of those W’s were come-from-behind victories.

But a BIG test awaited us.  Montclair Prep was next on the schedule…and they were 6-0.  And it was a road game. 

But we had an old friend coming back to join us.  A guy who got pulled from our ’90 Roster.  And he was coming back to play with us (this time) for the REST OF THE SEASON.  All the paperwork had been finalized.  CHILI was coming home to Verdugo….just in time for Montclair Prep!