BASEHITS FOUR-PEAT!!!!
Berkeley, CA (AP Service) The Basehits, who limped into the playoffs in third place for the second straight season, again pulled off the improbable last night at Grove Memorial Field by defeating the Brary Boys in extra innings 15-10 in the nightcap to capture their fourth straight championship.
With players donning tape marked “DJ” in support of missing first baseman “DJ”, the Hits crushed T-Bone in the first game 20-6, further avenging an earlier loss to the Bone in the sloppiest game in recent Hits history.
The early game featured a solid defense anchored in the infield by Dan “the Man” Lashkoff. and Matt “Fish” Fishencord, and Evan “Bassman” Eustis in right, and an all out offensive attack led by two home runs by secondbaseman Doug “Pete” Moss, a tape measure shot over the short centerfield fence by Rob “Robo” Sullivan and perhaps the hardest hit ball of his long and storied career, a triple by Loren “Car” Julia to rightcenter. Honorable mention
should go to base coaches Bobby “Just Win Baby” Ortiz and Horace “Judge” Cardozo who began to suffer shoulder strain from sending home runner after runner.
The Hits jumped out to an early lead in the championship game and led 8-2 midway through the affair, aided by two spectacular catches by Robo in leftcenter. But the fat lady refused to sing and with the Hits nursing a 10-6 lead entering the bottom of the seventh, the BBoys rallied for four runs to tie the game, but left the winning run at third, forcing extra innings.
The eighth inning started out inauspiciously with a hard groundout by firstbaseman Randy “Snug Harbor” Strauss and a line drive to left that was crushed by Kip “Hitman” Conner but nonetheless found leather. That brought up the crusty veteran pitcher Bob “Hamstrung” Nelson who despite a bad wheel legged out an infield hit to keep the Hits hopes alive. Moss then followed
with his third home run of the evening and the Hits to a man could sense the inevitable. Brian “Up the Middle” Murray kept the inning going with a determined single, where else but up the middle, followed by a single off the potent bat of Lashkoff. Cleanup hitter Richard “Charred” Stayman continued the rally with a groundrule double to left, which brought up Robo who lined
a shot to center that got by the leftcenter fielder and Robo bellyflopped his way to an inside the park homer, capping off the five run inning. The Bones could muster little retort to the Hits barrage and went quietly in the bottom of the inning, the final out resting in firstbaseman Strauss’ glove for the fourth time in as many seasons and the Four-Peat celebration was on. When asked how this championship rated against the prior three, Lashkoff could
only smile and replied “This is the sweetest!”, although at the time, he was savoring an oatmeal stout at Brennan’s.