Dizzy Dean

Friday, June 13, 2008

Moulder Picks Off Mustangs in Giants Win ROCK SPRINGS, Wy. (JHYB) By, Chris Moulder Giants Line-up1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Charlie Wild Grant Smith Charlie Keegan Sky Garnick Colter Huhn Carlos Toledo Bryn Windle Patrick Renz Cameron O’Donahue Lucas Moulder

Catcher 1st Base 3rd Base Designated Hitter Center Field Left Field Right Field Shortstop 2nd Base Pitcher Lucas Moulder started on the hill for the Giants and went all 7 innings.

The winds picked up considerably for this 3:00 game, the 2nd for the Giants in Rock Springs, Wyoming at the Rock Springs Sports Complex where the visiting Jackson Giants squared off against the home team Rock Springs Mustangs. The Giants were first to bat and Charlie Wild took the first pitch and drove a screamer to left fielder, Wes Padilla, who dropped the ball allowing Wild to reach base on the error. Eagle eye, Grant Smith watched 4 go by from Mustangs pitcher, Andrew Wolf and was awarded 1st. Charlie Keegan executed a textbook sacrifice bunt down the 1st base line to advance the speedy Smith and the wiley Wild. With Smith on 2nd and Wild on 3rd, Sky Garnick hit a slow roller to the Lead-off hitter Charlie Wild smashed a blast to start things off for the Giants shortstop who had to charge the

ball and try and gun down Wild at home. Wild beat the throw and Garnick was safe at first with a fielder’s choice, Smith also advanced to 3rd. Colter Huhn then knocked a base hit to left-center to score both Grant Smith and Sky Garnick. Huhn advanced to second on a fielder’s choice throw to home in a failed attempt to get Garnick at the plate. Carlos Toledo ended it for the Giants as he popped out to the shortstop, Jeff Friese. Lucas “The Horse” Moulder took the mound against the Mustangs in this equine matchup to prove who had the most horsepower. Colby Marquez started it off for Rock Springs by taking 4 and walking to 1st. Marquez was leading off a bit too far however as Charlie Wild, after handling a strike from Lucas Moulder, pegged Marquez napping off first. Right fielder Jake Manniko, after getting the count full looked at a hard slider from Moulder, freezing him in his tracks. Jimmy Lee followed and hit a routine grounder to Keegan at 3rd for the 3rd out, a 1-2-3 inning the hard way. The Giants started the 2nd looking to add to their 2-0 lead as Bryn Windle hit a shot to short who bobbled the ball and then under threw the ball wide to the 1st baseman, Adam Kempa who had to stretch and pull his foot from the bag allowing Windle to advance to 2nd on the throwing error. Patrick Renz went down unable to put the bat on the ball in 3 straight bunt attempts, Cam O’Donahue popped up to Friese at short, but Charlie Wild hit Wolf hard with a shot to right-center for Bryn Windle continued to prove himself at the plate an RBI, stand up double. Grant Smith nd smashed as well with a base hit through 2 scoring Wild from 2nd. Charlie Keegan was now up and blasted a laser to a diving Lorenzo Webb who web-gemmed one away from Keegan. The bottom of the 2nd started off rough for Moulder as after dealing a series of strikes to Jeff Friese who continuously fouled him off, Moulder hung a curveball to Friese up in his wheelhouse. Friese waited on it and took Moulder deep the opposite way for a lead-off solo homerun over the head of Bryn Windle and over the 325’ fence in right field. The wind was certainly a factor in that homerun as a 25 mph wind was blowing everything out toward right field. Andrew Wolf was now up to the plate and with a 2-2 count, Moulder blew one right by Wolf as he watched the umpire wring him up, sending him back to the bench shaking his head. The homerun must have gotten to Moulder as he walked Adam Kempa. The aggressive Mustangs Coach had the steal on as he had faith in the quick Kempa who broke for 2nd but was gunned down by Charlie Wild who threw to Cameron O’Donahue at the keystone sack…busted. Brock Babbit then walked as well and advanced to 2nd when Wes Padilla half swung and half bunted a ball back to Moulder who threw a ball high to Smith at 1st, thereby pulling his foot. Babbit and Padilla then

both advanced on a passed ball delivery from Moulder, and now with men in scoring position for Rock Springs batter, Lorenzo Webb hit a high chopper off the plate back to Moulder who this time makes good on his throw to 1st, ending the threat for the Mustangs. The Giants started the 3rd with a melter by Garnick past the 3rd baseman Babbit and then promptly tested the arm of the catcher Marquez, as he stole second easily. But that was all there was for our Hometown Heroes as Colter Huhn hit a routine ground out to short, then Carlos Toledo and Bryn Windle both went down swinging. The home half of the 3rd started off strong for Lucas Moulder as he dominated the top two hitters in the Rock Springs rotation striking out both Colby Marquez and Jake Manniko swinging. Moulder then walked Jimmy Lee on 4 straight pitches setting the stage for Jeff Friese who doubled over the head of Colter Huhn in center and scoring Lee. Friese then stole 3rd in a close play as Wild and Keegan almost killed the attempt. Evidently, Friese was on Moulder’s mind as he proceeded to walk Wolf. Wolf broke for 2nd but an error on 2nd baseman, Cam O’Donahue allowed him to be safe and score Friese from 3rd. Wolf then broke for 3rd and a throwing error Colter Huhn hit .500 in the match-up with the on Wild allowed Wolf to not only get to 3rd but score Mustangs as well. Adam Kempa then drew the walk from the frustrated Moulder and with the prior error and success of the Mustangs running game, their Coach had the steal on again as Kempa got a jump on Moulder but Wild anxious to redeem himself busted him at 2nd with a perfect throw to O’D. Our Hometown Hero Jackson Giants were now tied at 4’s going into the 4th for Patrick Renz who blooped a fly ball to the shortstop Friese. Cam O’Donahue got things moving though as he hit a tricky grounder to 1st who could not field it properly allowing O’D to reach base on the error. Charlie Wild then scorched to the left field side of 2nd with a base hit scoring O’D from 3rd who reached on a fielding error by Friese in an attempt to pick O’D off at 2nd. Grant Smith missed on his second bunt attempt but Wild still stole 2nd uncontested. Smith then struck out giving way for Charlie Keegan to try and get something done for the Giants. With Wild in scoring position at 2nd, Keegan hit one through the glove of the 2nd baseman Webb, scoring Wild from 2nd base. Sky Garnick popped out to short, ending it for the Giants but not before they picked up 2 to go ahead 6-4. Moulder worked the bottom of the Mustangs order, striking out Brock Babbit, hitting Wes Padilla with an inside fastball that was a touch too far inside. Padilla got back at Moulder by stealing 2nd off of him but stayed there as Lorenzo Webb hit a fly ball to shallow right where Bryn Windle made the running grab and the quick relay to O’D to keep

Padilla put. Colby Marquez then also popped an opposite field fly ball to a hustling Windle who made a terrific sliding catch to end it for the Rock Springs boys. The top of the 5th had Colter Huhn at the plate and he ripped the lips off of Babbit at 3rd with a base hit single. Toledo then sacrificed him over with a well placed bunt. Huhn advanced to 3rd on a passed ball, then Bryn Windle followed with another perfectly placed bunt for the charging Colter Huhn who scored on the suicide squeeze. Windle also reached 1st uncontested for an RBI infield hit. Patrick Renz then sacrificed Windle over to 2nd bringing O’D to the plate who drew the walk from the shaken Wolf. O’Donahue was then picked off in a confusing play where Wolf stepped off the mound to throw to 2nd in order to get O’D who committed to steal but then stopped and was tagged on the throw to 1st. The Giants went down but not before Bryn Windle manufactured the go ahead run by setting up the suicide squeeze allowing Huhn to score. Moulder continued to pound the inside part of the plate but the umpire wasn’t giving him anything as he walked Jake Manniko. Then while facing Jimmy Lee, Moulder tried picking off Manniko but threw wild to Smith at first advancing Manniko to 3rd. He then settled down and struck out Lee swinging and Wild then threw out Manniko leaning too far off 3rd for a strike ‘em out, throw ‘em out double play. Now with the bases clear, Moulder was left to face his archnemesis for the game, Jeff Friese who touched off another hanging curveball the other way for another wind assisted, 327’ homerun over the right field fence. Andrew Wolf then hit a 2-2 count fastball into a dribbler in front of the plate but Wild was able to convert it into an out by throwing him out to Smith at 1st. Top of the 6th and the Giants had the lead by 3 as Lucas Moulder continued to pitch well although he walked the lead-off batter Adam Kempa after loading the count. Announcer, Mike Mayer kept commenting on how the home plate umpire wasn’t giving the Horse any leeway at the plate. Although Brock Babbit went down swinging for a second time, Kempa reached 2nd on a steal attempt but a dropped ball by Patrick Renz allowed him to stay. He then stole 3rd outright and set the stage for Wes Padilla who leaned into another one and was awarded 1st. With runners at the corners, Padilla attempted 2nd, the throw was cut off by Renz who threw to home to get the charging Kempa but an error on Wild allowed him to score making it 8-6 in favor of the Giants. With Lorenzo Webb at the plate, Charlie Wild threw to a waiting Charlie Keegan who tagged out Padilla attempting 3rd. Webb was then the 8th strike out victim of Moulder in the 7th and what a game.

Both teams to this point had played good, smart, aggressive baseball as the Giants went into the 7th inning with a slim 2 run lead. Carlos Toledo led off the Giants with a hard hit ball to shortstop Jeff Friese who committed another error allowing the Torpedo to reach base. Windle again was called upon to bunt and bunt he did as he sacrificed himself to advance Toledo. Patrick Renz hit into a routine grounder to short where Friese did not bobble the ball this time but nailed Renz at 1st. Cameron O’Donahue walked and Wild did the same as Renz to end it for the Giants last chance offensive. Going into the home half of the 7th, Coach Euart and the Giants were gathering their efforts to keep a 2 run lead over the Rock Springs Mustangs. Memories from the 2 clubs prior meetings were on the minds of everyone and the Faithful hoped to overcome the Mustangs this time. Lucas Moulder took the mound in what was hopefully to be the final inning for the Giants and hold off their adversaries. Lead off and top of the order batsman for the Mustangs, Colby Marquez hit a line shot sizzler to Charlie Keegan who made a golden glove grab at 3rd and threw a perfect strike to Grant Smith at first. Unfortunately, Smiths timing was off and he didn’t squeeze the ball in order to complete the out at first. Jake Manniko was then up and Moulder drilled him in the ribs with his first offering. Moulder then buckled down and dealt to Jimmy Lee who whiffed for the first out. Next up to bat was Moulder’s thorn as Jeff Friese stepped in to take his hacks. After 2 strikes, Friese attempted to check his swing. Mike Mayer was yelling from the scorer’s booth that Lucas had struck out Friese but the homeplate umpire deferred to the field ump who was out of position according to Mayer and couldn’t see home, yet said Friese didn’t swing, a total home field call by a Rock Springs father who was recruited just before the game. Friese then hit a line drive

Lucas Moulder dominated from the mound striking out 9 and picking off 3 base runners

ground ball past a frozen Patrick Renz at short advancing Marquez to 3rd. Now with the bases loaded, Andrew Wolf digs in and hits a slow roller past the mound, Marquez scores from 3rd, Wolf is safe at 1st and the score is now 8-7, still a Jackson lead. With Adam Kempa at the plate,

the bases still loaded, Moulder and Wild scheme along with Chucklin’ Charlie Keegan to do something about this lead runner who they feel is sure to take advantage of a suicide squeeze or a passed ball. Moulder delivers the first pitch to Kempa, a strike. Keegan gives Moulder the high sign and here is where things get interesting, Moulder in quick move to 3rd hit the sneaky Keegan who strolled in behind the dancing Manniko to pick him off. 2 outs, the tying run at 2nd and Lucas Moulder has had enough of Jeff Friese. In another quick move to second according to Mike Mayer, Moulder whirled and picked off Friese dead to rights but that same field umpire again exercised his hometown privilege and called him safe as he scrambled back to the bag. Moulder was ready to explode as he set himself into the stretch again, and again in a brilliant move spun and picked off Friese by throwing to Cameron O’Donahue who chased down the unbelieving Friese before throwing to a waiting Charlie Keegan who again was all grins as he tagged Friese out heading into 3rd. The game was won in dramatic fashion to be sure. Box ScoresPlayer

AB

R

H

RBI

SO

BB

E

SB

B.AVG

Wild Smith Keegan Garnick Huhn Toledo Windle Renz O’Donahue

5 3 3 4 4 3 3 3 2

2 1 0 1 1 0 2 0 1

2 1 1 2 2 0 1 0 0

2 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0

0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0

0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2

1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

.400 .333 .333 .500 .500 .000 .333 .000 .000

Jackson Giants (visitors) Rock Springs Mustangs (home)

8 7

Team Batting AverageGame Score-

.300

Pitcher StatisticsPitcher W/L/S

IP

AB

R

H

SO

BB

HB

Moulder

7

21

7

5

9

8

3

W(2-2-0-0)

The View From The Cheap SeatsThis was an extremely exciting game to listen to while sitting in my office. Hold all my calls, if you need to talk with me, I’ll do it between innings. I am off the clock, this is vacation time. Mike Mayer was so animated while describing the play by play that it had me jumping up and down and yelling. Unfortunately for my office, I have no door to close. Offensively, the Giants woke up their bats and out hit the Mustangs 9 to 5 for a respectable team batting average of .300. The entire team contributed with either hits, walks, RBI’s, stolen bases or sacrifices. All in all, one of the best outings the Jackson squad has seen at the plate against some pretty great pitching from Andrew Wolf who went the distance for the Mustangs. Wolf only nicked 4 of our men with K’s and only walked 4, so the runs came from good old fashioned base hits and hustle. Outstanding bats from the Giant dugout were Colter Huhn and Sky Garnick each hitting .500. Huhn also hit in 2 RBI’s and walked once. Sky Garnick also went 2 for 4, scored once and had a stolen base. Mister Reliable, Charlie Wild hit .400 hitting a single and a double in 5 at bats, driving in 2. Grant Smith, Charlie Keegan and Bryn Windle all hit .333. In the field , this game had to be one of the most hard fought defensive struggles our Hometown Heroes have seen yet this year. The Giants battery of Lucas Moulder delivering from the mound and Charlie Wild calling the pitches and gunning people down in their base paths from behind the plate, proved to be too much for the Rock Springs squad. Although Moulder walked 11 Mustangs batsman, based on what Mike Mayer was announcing, he wasn’t getting much love from the home plate umpire. The Horse did persist though striking out 9 ‘Stangs and only allowed 4 hits thereby out legging the Mustangs down the homestretch beating the Rock Springs jockies by a nose. Once Moulder gets his control pinned down, it will be very difficult to beat these Giants with him on the mound and Wild behind the plate. Mike Mayer kept commenting on Moulder’s off speed curve as well as his hard slider which comes in like an inside fastball and breaks over the plate. Charlie Wild had a field day shooting down 4 Mustangs as they attempted to stretch their legs in attempts to steal bases. Small errors resulting in 2 runs plagued the Giants as well as 2 hanging curveballs to a strong Jeff Friese who with sharp eyes great bat control, lifted 2 pills over the right field fence. Many people in baseball’s early years did not think a curveball really curved. When a reporter asked Dizzy Dean, star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals legendary “Gashouse Gang” of the 1930’s if a curveball was actually an optical illusion, Dean answered; “ Curveball can’t curve?... Shucks, get behind that tree and I’ll hit you with an optical illusion.” Dizzy Dean