Week 4: Goats & Phils Prevail; Grays & Topes Postponed

tnb50baseball

May 25, 20244 min read

Larry Pietras smashes a double to left against the Phillies

Plug Uglies 3

Fainting Goats 8

WP: Tom Conway

LP: Greg Elbaum

The 2-0 Plug Uglies were the visitors at Mitchell Field Wednesday night against the 0-2 Fainting Goats. On the mound it was Tom “TC” Conway for the Goats and Greg “G-Bomb” Elbuam for the Uglies. The betting money was on the Plugs at MGM Grand before the game, but the “never tell me the odds” Goats stole the show with some timely hitting and a masterful pitching performance by Conway.

The Uglies got on the board first in the second inning. Rob “Ecc” Eccleston smashed a double, then Mike Olkin reached on an error. With runners on 1st and 2nd Matt Boulanger whacked a single that brought Ecc around third, but his path to glory was thwarted by a fantastic relay throw from right field to Tom Conway, who threw a bullet to Hector Arroyo at the plate. Ecc tried to slide under the tag and the play was razor close, but when the dust cleared he was called. Then, with two outs and two on, Jeff Cabana hit a bomb that scored Olkin and Boulanger and the Plugs were up 2-0.

The Goats got to work in the bottom of third with a Pres Pieraccini single. Down two outs, Conway worked a walk followed by a Josh Weiss single that drove in Pres. Tony Maspo hit a single to load the bases and up came Hector Arroyo. The Goats backstop hit a bomb to left field, a double that drove in two more runs. Jeff Berniske clocked a single and drove in Maspo. The Goats worked a two out rally and put 4 runs on the board, and at the end of the frame it was Goats 4, Uglies 2.

In the fifth inning the Plug Uglies were having some serious fielding issues and the Goats took full advantage. Both TC and Maspo reached on errors, Hector Arroyo on a fielder's choice, and Jeff Berniske on another error that brought home Maspo. The setting sun in left field made plays at first base extremely tough, resulting in two perfect throws sailing past the steady handed but temporarily blinded Morriss “Mo” Partee. Arroyo scored on a Paul Iellamo single and the Goats were up 6-2.

The Goats struck again in the 6th. Dennis Holmes walked, Bob Stackow was hit by a pitch, and both runners advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a passed ball. Pieraccini kept his hot bat alive with another single that drove in two more runs to make it 8-2.

The Uglies were able to tag on a run on a Matt Boulanger single, but it was too little, too late. By the end of the night the Plugs had committed 6 errors that the Goats capitalized on, exacerbating the home team’s dominance and putting the contest out of reach. TC pitched a complete game, keeping the Uglies in check and getting better with each inning. He ended the night on a blazing third strike swinging to cap off his stellar performance on the mound. Final Score; Fainting Goats 8, Plug Uglies 3.

PLAYERS OF THE GAME: Pres Pierraccini (2-3, 1 R, 2 RBI), Hector Arroyo (1-3, 2 RBI), Tom Conway (7 IP, 7 H, 3 K, 1 BB, 2 ER), Jeff Cabana (2-3, 2 RBI)

Game photos courtesy of Stu Clark

Wonders 4

Phillies 5

WP: Colin Hosley

LP: Steve Ostrowski

The Phillies and Wonders met for the first time in the 2024 season at Mitchell Field. In the end, it would take all seven innings to decide the game.

Ken Sloat took the mound for the Phillies and was greeted rudely by the Wonders’ lineup. Four hits, an error, and two stolen bases resulted in a 4-0 Wonders lead. In the bottom of the first, the Phillies came back with two runs of their own. Micah Winston led off with a bunt single, stole second, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Paul Griswold drove in Micah with a sac fly to center. Colin Hosley followed with a double and was driven in on a single by Andy Klepacki.

Sloat settled down after the tumultuous first, holding the Wonder scoreless over the next four innings, allowing only two hits, while striking out two. Meanwhile, the Phillies offense kept chipping away at the lead. The Phils scored a run in the fourth on hits by Griswold, Hosley, and a sac fly by Miguel Ringler, and then tied the game in the fifth on a leadoff walk by Sean St. Marie, single by Jim Fogarty, and yet another sac fly, this time courtesy of Phillies vet Paul Kaplan. The Phillies then broke the tie in the fifth, scoring a run on a two-out single by Andy Klepacki, an outfield error, and an RBI single by Phils rookie Steve Malachite.

Colin Hosley picked up the win, pitching the sixth and seventh, allowing no runs while giving up two hits.

The Phillies hitting stars were Micah Winston (1-2, R, BB, 3 SB’s), Colin Hosley (2-3, 2B, R), Andy Klepacki (2-3 R, RBI), Steve Malachite (2-3, RBI), and Sean St. Marie (2 BB, R, 4 SB’s).