Oh dear….Lancaster….Lancaster….Lancaster. My oh my …. how we despised making trips to Lancaster. But this trip was worth it. We pounded out 20 hits and put ‘Ol Lancaster down like the sick dog they are (and always were.) You know what I’m sayin’……a sick dog….ya know, that’s going blind, has the mange, and is limping…..
Final Score: Verdugo 17 Lancaster 11…..
I was worried about these guys I gotta admit. They were 3-1 against us in 1990 and 91…..
But one thing was missing from the Lancaster team when we arrived at the yard that had that big 300 pound sheep or whatever it was just beyond the left field fence (yeah it was still there and probably hadn’t moved since we last played here in ’91)…..”Ol dead eyes” I used to call him….that thing was massive!
The one thing that was missing was their coach. I mean….at least the original guy who ran that team before. They had a good ball club in both ’90 and ’91 and that guy ran a good program. But he was long gone and let’s just say that team just wasn’t the same without him….
Our entire roster played in this game and even Jim Parque picked up a base-hit and an RBI single when Lancaster intentionally walked Ivan Moreno to get to Parque (who was batting behind Moreno in the #3 hole after relieving Lance Evans who started on the mound for us)…..
For the coaching staff in Lancaster…That had to hurt…..I’m just sayin’…..
The game wasn’t really as close as the score indicated…it was pretty clear early-on we were the top dogs.
We played solid defense all season with the exception of this game (5 errors) but when you score 17 runs and hit the ball as hard as we were hitting it….(and continued to do so pretty much the entire season)…..it just kind of wears down the opposition, as our now “good friends” from Lancaster had learned. Yeah…I was starting to actually kinda like these guys from Lancaster now!
Evans got the start on the mound for us and threw three scoreless innings right out of the gate but ran into a little trouble in the fourth inning and we gave the ball for the first time in his Verdugo career to Jim Parque. Jim ended up picking up the “W” and burned that fungo we had with a big ‘Ol cigar I had brought. I remember taking a few puffs on that thing (and it tasted like shit) as we left the field that day and in total disrespect for Lancaster I stomped that “Gar” out right on their mound where the pitchers foot lands to make sure they saw it next time they raked the mound!
You know how we at Verdugo love to “leave our mark” wherever we go…..
Hack Workman threw a couple innings as well and Wiley Jackson finished ’em off …throwing a scoreless ninth inning.
Offensively we just flat out hit it hard all day long. Prior to the ’92 season I would always keep track of what I called “stings” in our stats. A “sting” is when we hit the ball hard….right on the screws…..and unfortunately, right at someone for an out. It’s a great stat. I ended up stopping keeping track of “stings” in the ’92 season….you know why? ……because there were just too many of ’em!
Kasey started and actually led-off for us and played some great D that day but was hitless in three at-bats. Yves came in and ripped a single in his first plate appearance.
Ivan Moreno had two hits and an RBI…..
Lance Evans had three hits and two RBI…..
Josh Canale had two hits and two RBI….
Dan Bir came into the game for Canale in the 7th and drew a walk and scored a run in his first Verdugo appearance…..
Robb Turner had two hits and an RBI….
John Gabrielson came in for Turner in the 9th inning and singled, stole second and scored a run in his Verdugo debut…,
“B” Cowsill had two hits and a couple of RBI….
Haggs played a great game with two hits and FOUR RBI….
Dave Fielder singled and stole a base…
Wiley Jackson reached base early on in the game and scored a run for us as well….
Hack Workman came in for Wiley in the sixth inning and had THREE hits (two in one inning when we rolled a “7”) and had two RBI….
As you can see, everybody contributed….
I remember the drive to this game and the build-up to it. Myself and The General and Hank and Weapon all wanted to avenge our previous defeats to the Lancaster Team. Just as badly as the coaching staff wanted to win on opening day….
I was starting to think “this ’92 team we have here is making it look pretty easy”
I liked what was happening….we were loose, we were having fun, and everybody was getting involved. We started Kasey and led him off. Hack was on the bench at the start of the game. We pulled Canale in the 7th to give rookie Dan Bir some time. We pulled Turner to give Gabe some time as well. We didn’t pull anyone from the game because they weren’t playing well, we did it to give some time to the other guys. Everybody had a great attitude whether they were on the field or in the dugout (which was slowly evolving into the full-blown ragging section)….
I’m not sure but I think “between-inning-hockey” (With Henry goaltending) was pretty much in full-force as well….
Yeah we even did that shit on the road, too……hell Yeah…..you know how we at Verdugo love to “leave our mark” wherever we go! Right?
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