verdugo288

I was all jacked up and both teams were as well when finally the Umpire said the words “Play Ball!”

All I know is I had my grittiest, nastiest guy throwing for us so my attitude was “come whatever may” as I walked out to the third base coaching box.

We had a long hot day ahead of us and I distinctly remember making a conscious decision to sweat it out right with you guys! I was sportin’ the Nike high tops with the laces untied….the nylon basketball warm-ups covering my skinny white legs….the Verdugo cap and a big heavy BLACK sweatshirt!

Hell yeah!!!! No regrets whatsoever either as the day wore on!!!!

With one out in the first, Robb Turner reached base on an error. Evans hit it hard….but right at their left-fielder for the second out.

Canale laced a base-hit sending Turner to third.

And here was the first sign of respect ….and maybe even FEAR we got from the Glendale Team. They had never seen this guy. At least not playing for us.

I was standing about 30 feet from their dugout and I heard someone say “whoa who the fuck is THAT dude?”

Then I heard the familiar voice of Spiro. He said to his pitcher as if to warn him “Big Cat now….Big Cat”

Yeah….Moreno.

Let’s take a second and translate what Spiro just said ….

He basically was saying “fuck look at the size of THAT DUDE”

Moreno strode up ….settled in and the first pitch he lined a base-hit that put us on the board 1-0.

That’s all we got but it sent a message.

We all know what happened in the second inning. They scored a couple of runs and smashed into Evans….breaking his arm. We didn’t know how badly he was hurt until the next inning. He actually hit again and fouled out to the catcher.

He made a couple of bad plays defensively. Not because he was blowing it but because he was hurt bad….. and finally went down and we had to take him out of the game. He ended up going to the Hospital. Gabe came in and played the rest of the ballgame for us in right field.

I was all over the umpires for not ejecting the guy who mowed Evans down. The umpire made the right call when he called both their baserunner and the hitter out for an inning-ending double play….but no ejection. I couldn’t believe it. We trailed 2-1 after two.

We shifted Haggs to short. Thunder came in from left field and caught. And we moved Ivan from right field to left.

On the mound…..Bull got on a roll. They didn’t score again until they picked-up an unearned run against him in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to send it into extra innings.

Bull was nasty all day. He went all the way and gave up only two hits …struck out seven (including their big-gun Nate Dishington THREE times) and gave up only one earned run. And he did it with a massive hang-over.

He just kept battling. And so did our bats. We may have only scored five runs but we had some GREAT at-bats. I’m gonna mention ’em too.

Yves from the nine-hole in the second inning hitting a line SHOT base hit. It sent another message.

Robb Turner lining out HARD in the third inning. Another message sent.

We came up to hit in the top-of-the fourth. With one-out, Kirk Hagge had a great at-bat where he fouled off a couple of 3-2 pitches and drew a walk. This was a great fucking at-bat. Haggs really battled for that walk.

That set the stage.

Brendan Cowsill stepped in ….and promptly LAUNCHED the first pitch into the back-half of the wash over the left field fence at Stengel. It was one of those home runs where as soon as he hit it you knew.

You can’t hit a ball much harder than he hit that one.

That put us up 3-2.

We were competing hard. When “B” rounded third he gave a very serious look right into the eyes of their third baseman. Haggs was jogging down the line between third and home ….taking his time….jogging backwards for jusssssssst a few steps….jusssssst long enough for the Verdugo swagger to be on display ….and allow “B” to almost catch up to him…..have both of his hands slap against “B’s” hands ….and then turn back around so as not to piss anyone off before they both crossed the plate.

It was a beautiful sight. Couldn’t have choreographed it more beautifully…..

But that home run? Massive. CLUTCH.

Right after Cowsill’s homer Thunder steps in and hits a SHOT for a base-hit.

Another message sent.

Later in the same inning…..Robb Turner fouled-off three pitches with the count 2-2 before grounding out HARD to end the inning. Another great fucking at-bat. Another message sent.

We were battlin’!!!!

We didn’t score in the sixth inning but still had a great at-bat from Dave Fielder. He fouled off three pitches with the count full before being called out on strikes. Another great at-bat.

Like I said earlier ….we gave up a run in the bottom of the seventh that sent it into extra innings.

Not one look of panic from any of our guys when we came off the field. When I saw the look in everyone’s eyes….I liked our chances.

At that point in the game, Glendale had three runs…..on one hit. And they knew it. Josh had given up a second-inning double…and that was it. He was dominating them.

We came up to hit in the top-of-the-eighth. Once again Spiro warned his pitcher.

“Big Cat now….Big Cat.

Yeah….Moreno.

Ivan ripped a base-hit.

I had Haggs bunt….yeah I was playing for a run …

Haggs lays down a beauty. Hustling and battling down the line to put enough pressure on the pitcher to make a hurried throw to pull the first baseman off the bag. Haggs is safe at first!!!

Yeah….we were battlin’!!!!

Up steps Cowsill. He rips a line-shot base-hit to left…

Yeah I’m waving Moreno home…..

Frank Taormina overruns the base-hit….it goes under his glove and Cowsill’s base hit goes all the way to the wall!!!!

I’m windmilling everybody. Haggs made it home and scored…..after a horrific collision with their catcher….but still hadn’t touched the plate. Haggs…..half-knocked out somehow rolls over and gets his hand on the plate ahead of the tag!!!!

Yeah we were battlin’!!!!

It’s 5-3 Verdugo.

I have no idea what happened but somehow “B” was still at first base after all this. Maybe he went down making the turn from first to second and had to retreat back. I don’t know…..

It didn’t matter because Fielder stepped up and hit a seed into the left-field corner for a double that WOULD HAVE cleared the bases even if Cowsill’s base hit hadn’t gotten past Taormina.

Another message sent.

They finally stopped us with the bases loaded but we still led 5-3.

Glendale picked up a lead-off single in the bottom-of-the-eighth.

Tying run at the plate.

Dishington….

Canale blows him down for the third time swinging on a 2-2 pitch!

Next hitter reaches base on a fielder’s choice.

Our dugout is on our feet. Calm….but we were all standing.

The count goes to 3-1….

The batter hits a routine fly to right. Gabe is under it…..

The dugout emptied as it hovered…..hovered….and hovered…all of us jogging towards Gabe out in right as it came down….

We stayed in foul territory and went into a full sprint straight at him at the exact moment he hauled it in!!!!