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Bethlehem #1 gained a full game on Wood County Dartball League frontrunner Pemberville Methodist after play on Monday, Jan. 30. B#1 (33-15) took all three games from visiting BG Trinity United Methodist (23-25) by the scores of 7-6, 11-5, and 1-0. Meanwhile, PM (35-13) cooled down red-hot New Rochester (30-18), taking two of the three contests and ending the visitors’ series winning streak at 10. PM came out victorious in the first two games, 10-4 and 5-2, but dropped an 11-inning thriller, 15-13, in the finale.
Also around the loop, Bethlehem #2 (24-24), Zion (23-25), Salem (20-28), and BG St. Mark’s (15-33) recorded series wins. Zion posted the only other sweep of the night, winning 17-3, 8-3, and 9-2 at BG Nazarene (19-29). B#2 moved into a tie for fourth place after winning twice at Stony Ridge (24-24). B#2 sandwiched 9-4 and 5-0 wins around a 5-4 setback. BG Cloverdale (19-29), fresh off its record-breaking home run clinic the week before, dropped a pair of extra-frame affairs to visiting Salem by the scores of 6-4 in the opener (10 innings) and 2-1 in the nightcap (12 innings), but won the middle game, 6-1. Runs were at a premium at Pemberville Presbyterian (23-25) where BGSM came up just short of posting its first brooming of the campaign. The unfriendly guests came out on top of the first two encounters, 1-0 and 2-1, but lost 3-2 in the finale when a ninth-inning rally came up just short.
The key match-ups for Week #17 found B#1 traveling to NR, and PM playing at B#2.
In B#1’s wins, Dave Apgar went 10-for-15 (all singles) to spark his unit, while steady Melvin Karns was 7-for-14 on six singles and an error. Teammates Luther Henline and Mark Clark contributed seven and six hits, respectively. Henline reached base on all singles, while Clark had a HR to go along with five singles. Three other B#1 players – manager Howard Brunk, Mark Melcher, and Victor Schuerman – chipped in with five hits each. The always dangerous Mike Farr led BGTUM with a 7-for-13 effort at the stripe. He finished the series with three doubles, two triples, and four RBIs. He narrowly missed hitting for the cycle in the middle game, going 3-for-4, and needing only the HR.
B#1 hit .397 for the evening, as it outhit its counterparts, 50-26, and had a high of 24 in the second contest. In that middle game, B#1 jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to a one-out, three-run hook-shot HR by Clark in the second and a two-out RBI single by Ken Rahe in the fourth. BGTUM answered with the game’s next five runs to take the lead. Ivan Carter had a two-out RBI double in the fourth and then hit a one-out, three-run HR in the sixth. Farr capped his team’s scoring with a no-out, run-producing triple in the seventh. However, B#1 rallied in the eighth for the win, sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring five runs on eight singles, four of which came to start the inning and four more after two were out. Karns, Clark, Schuerman, Melcher, and Apgar had RBIs in the frame. Karns had five hits in the game, including his error shooting for third, while Melcher and Apgar had four apiece. Rahe (2B) and Clark had three each.
There was little hitting in the finale with both teams combining for 11 hits. The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the eighth when Melcher was instructed to go down the center. He obliged and hit a wounded-duck, two-out HR for the only run of the contest. Apgar had half of his team’s hits. Five B#1 players went hitless. BGTUM had two players with two hits, including Farr who had a triple.
Schuerman was the hero in the opener, snapping a 6-6 tie in the bottom of the ninth with his one-out triple that scored Brunk who began the inning with a single. Schuerman’s extra-base hit was his team’s only non-single for the contest. He finished game one with three hits as did Clark, Brunk, and Apgar. Wilson Lahman and manager Brad Kratzer had three hits to pace the guests.
BGTUM struck first in the opener with five runs (on six hits) in the third inning before anybody was out. Lahman had a RBI single, Farr a two-run double, and Dana Kratzer scored a pair with a double. B#1, who held a 20-16 margin in hits for the game, authored a rally of its own in the sixth, hitting seven singles, including five with one out. Mike Apgar, Brunk, Clark, and Schuerman plated runs in the inning. The hosts then captured the lead in its next at bat when Clark and Schuerman had bases-loaded singles with two outs. BGTUM calmly tied the game in the ninth on singles by Brad Kratzer and Lahman, and a double by Farr (RBI), all with no outs, setting the stage for Schuerman’s heroics.
At Zion, manager Rick Nelson was pleased to see his charges wake-up out of its funk from week ago when the team only produced 25 hits. In the first game alone at BGN, ZL exploded for 23 hits and 17 runs. The home squad scored six runs in both the second and fourth innings with four of those tallies coming as the result of “oops” HRs. Zion also scored single runs in the third, sixth, and eighth innings and pushed across two in the fifth. Andy Lang went 4-for-5 in the first game, hitting for the cycle and driving home three runners. His HR was a two-run shot. Teammate Mike Hoelter was 4-for-6 with four RBIs.
In game two, the Nazarenes jumped out in front with three runs in the first. The first three batters all singled setting the table for manager Mike Barbour’s bases-clearing triple. However, Zion answered with two runs in its half of the opening inning and then tied up the contest in the second with another marker. BGN’s offense came up empty the rest of the game and ZL capitalized on the opposition’s misfortune by scoring in the fourth to take the lead for good. Zion added three in the fifth on six singles and one more in the seventh on four singles. Pete Hebler had five of ZL’s 21 hits while not making an out in his five at bats. He also drove in three.
In the finale, Zion went ahead, 2-1, in the second inning and never looked back. ZL tacked on a single run in the fourth and four more in the sixth thanks to five straight doubles after two were retired. Hoelter and Dan Meyer accounted for the final two runs with triples in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively. Meyer’s three-bagger was his first of the season. Hebler added three more hits and one RBI. In contrast, BGN could muster only three hits of its own.
For the night, Hebler was 11-for-16 with five runs scored and four RBIs. Hoelter went 9-16 (4-2B, 1-3B, 6 RBI, 7 R) to pace the visitors. Zion scored its 34 total runs on 63 hits. Howard Graves led BGN with a 5-for-12 effort (2-2B, 1-HR, RBI) behind the line.
B#2 regained its winning ways with a successful journey to the intimate confines at SR. In the first game, the guests broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out triple by Ken Gerwin in the fifth inning, then put the contest away with a four-run outburst in the eighth. Back-to-back doubles by Ken Finley and Roger Kahlenberg were followed by a two sacker off the finger tips of Gerwin and a HR by Mike Coon.
Coon’s second HR of the night in the second inning of the middle game put B#2 on the scoreboard first, 1-0. B#2 increased its advantage in the third with a pair of tallies. Kahlenberg’s two-out triple scored manager Mike O’Brien who had reached on a single earlier. Kahlenberg then scored on a single by Pepper Martin. Down, but not out, SR exploded for five runs in the top of the sixth to take the lead for good. A two-run triple by Ed Boelkens started the uprising. John Schulte followed with a single, Guy Elston then hit a triple, and manager Earl Hagg stroked a single to bring in the last run of the rally. B#2 narrowed the gap to one run in the next half inning on a run-producing triple by Gerwin, but couldn’t push across another run the remainder of the game despite having its chances. B#2 stranded runners at second base in each of the final two innings.
Neither team got the offense going in the final game as both units combined for just 15 hits. However, B#2 made the most of its base knocks en route to a shutout of the home squad. Finley had a two-run “excuse me” HR in the opening inning, and Gerwin, not to be outdone, followed with a solo “oops” shot in the second. B#2 added two runs in the third on a lead-off single by O’Brien and another two-out triple by Kahlenberg. Again, Martin scored his teammate with a single. The visitors only managed one hit the rest of the way, but it didn’t matter as SR failed to score on its opportunities in the fourth and eighth innings, stranding two runners in both of those frames.
The leading hitters for B#2 were O’Brien (9-14, 3B, RBI), Gerwin (7-13, 3-2B, 2-3B, HR, 4 RBI), and Kahlenberg (5-13, 2B, 3-3B, 5 RBI). Gerwin had a chance to hit for the cycle in the first game, but instead of throwing for a HR went for a double in his final at bat (and nailed it). He finished a perfect 5-for-5 in the opener with three doubles, a triple, and a single. Gerwin and O'Brien had 10 of B#2’s 17 hits in the first game. Schulte led SR going 9-for-14 (2 RBI), while Elston turned in an 8-for-14 series with a triple and one RBI. Additionally, Boelkens finished 7-for-14 (2-3B, 3 RBI). The hot-hitting SR trio combined for 56% of their team’s 43 hits for the night and knocked in 75% of the club’s eight runs.
At PP, both teams struggled to string hits together resulting in only nine total runs scored for the night. Neither squad produced more than eight hits in a single game. Each team had 23 for the series. PP’s Gerald Hiser led all hitters going 7-for-12 (3B, 2 RBI). He had three hits in each of the first two games. Jim Jones, who yielded manager’s chair to Vernon Hiser for the night, and Don Zeek (3B, RBI) both went 5-for-12.
PP scored in just two innings on the evening, but plated all three of its third-game runs in the sixth inning on four hits (the most manufactured by either squad in an inning during the series). Hiser’s one-out triple brought home two and proved to be the winning hit. Jones drove in his team’s first tally on a one-out single, scoring Allen Troutt who led off with a double. BGSM took a 1-0 advantage in the fourth on Cheryl Kurfess’ one-out RBI double. In the ninth, John and Mark Kunstmann started off with back-to-back doubles, but the next three hitters were retired ending BGSM’s hopes for a sweep. John Kunstmann’s double was his third of the night. Jones finished the game with three hits.
In the opener, Sandy Strausbaugh ended a lengthy hitless drought by driving home the only run of the game. Her two-out double scored Mark Kunstmann who began the seventh inning with a two bagger.
PP held a 1-0 cushion in the middle game after Zeek’s two-out triple scored Tom Hiser who singled in the previous at bat. Zeek ended the game with three hits. Tom Hiser, one of the league’s most accurate shooters, had but two hits for the evening. PP, which loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth, was held off the score sheet the rest of the way. Strausbaugh tied the game in the third with a one-out solo HR. BGSM scored the go ahead run in the next inning on Mark Kunstmann’s one-out RBI triple.
Lead-off batter Tom Lemmerbrock paced the visitors with six singles (12 ABs), including three in the second contest. Mark Kunstmann and Strausbaugh were their team’s RBI leaders with two apiece. Strausbaugh concluded the series with three extra-base hits as did both Kunstmanns. Todd Kurfess was the only other BGSM player with more than three hits. He had four over the first two games. Kurfess also hit into a double play, a rarity for him, in the first inning of the middle game, the same frame that saw Mark Henning hit a sacrifice the batter before.
The hitting machine that is PM cracked out a mere 68 hits in its series at NR en route to a .447 team average for the night. PM churned out a team-high 27 hits in its 11-inning loss in the finale. Darren Pash paced PM going 13-for-18 (2-3B). He had a team best six RBIs. Daniel Binion went 10-for-18 (2-2B, 3B, 2 RBI), while manager Paul Spicer turned in an 8-for-17 (3B, 3 RBI) night. Tom Jividen (3B, 3 RBI), Rick Ward (3B, 5 RBI), and Chris Soals (2B, 3B, 3 RBI) each had a 7-for-17 series. Jim A. Jividen added six hits (3B, 2-HR, 4 RBI) and Bob Jividen had five for good measure.
Going 7-for-16 for NR was Jim Bockbrader. He had three doubles, one triple, and three RBIs for the night. Four others – Keith Roberts (4-2B, HR, 4 RBI), Bob Morlock (2B, 3 HR, 4 RBI), Gary Chamberlain (2-2B, 3B, HR, 2 RBI), and Jim Dobson (2B, HR, 2 RBI) – added five hits each. Lyle Schroeder and Dave Snyder also had three RBIs apiece.
The highlight game of the series was the third contest that saw several shifts in momentum. NR built a 4-0 lead on a RBI double by Snyder (1st inning), a two-run double by Keith Roberts (1st), and a RBI triple by Bockbrader (2nd). PM stormed back to score the game’s next 10 runs with one in the third (Ward--RBI single), two in the fourth (Pash--RBI single; Tom Jividen--RBI single), and seven in the fifth when the guests sent 11 men to the plate. Don Barr (2-run HR), Pash (3B), Spicer (1B), Tom Jividen (3B), Ward (1B), and Soals (3B) all plated runs in the frame. PM used the single-triple combo to perfection three times after two were out.
NR got two runs back in the sixth on a Morlock two-run HR, but PM scored twice in its sixth on RBI singles by Pash (5-7, 3B, 3 RBI) and Tom Jividen (5-7, 3B, 3 RBI). Trailing by six, NR mounted a rally, scoring one in the sixth, three in the seventh, and three more in the ninth. Chamberlain hit a lead-off solo HR in the sixth. Four straight two-out doubles by Kevin Roberts, Dobson (4-8, 2B, RBI), Chamberlain, and Bockbrader (4-7, 2-2B, 3B, 2 RBI) accounted for the runs in the seventh. Then in the ninth, down to its last out, Schroeder scored two to tie it with a double and Keith Roberts put NR ahead with another two-bagger. In the bottom of the ninth, PM got a two-out triple from Jim A. Jividen to force extra innings, but NR pulled out the win in the 11th on back-to-back two-out HRs by Keith Roberts (5-7, 4-2B, HR, 4 RBI) and Morlock. NR finished with 24 hits.
In the middle game, PM trailed 2-1 in the sixth, but battled back for the victory. Jim A. Jividen homered with one out in the second to put PM up first. Dobson tied the score with a one-out solo HR of his own in the third. NR grabbed the lead in the sixth on Schroeder’s two-out HR. PM then scored the game’s final four runs and never was headed. Ward and Soals hit two-out, base-loaded singles in the seventh, Pash (4-5) hit a one-out RBI triple in the eighth, and then Jim A. Jividen had a one-out RBI single in the ninth. PM outhit NR, 18-5.
Binion (3B, 2 RBI) and Pash (2 RBI) both went 4-for-6 in the first game. NR, playing without two of its top players in Rich Lopez and Stev Bockbrader, held a 2-1 lead after two innings. Jim Bockbrader doubled home a run with one out in the first and Morlock hit a one-out HR in the second. Ward put PM on the board with a bases-loaded single with one out in the first and then visitors grabbed the lead with two in the third with two-down RBI hits from Ward (3B) and Soals (1B). Snyder tied the game in the third for NR with a one-out RBI double. PM then broke loose for seven straight runs to put game away. In the fourth, PM hit five straight singles to start the frame with Pash and Spicer driving in the runs. Jim A. Jividen had a one-out solo HR in the seventh to start a four-run rally. With one out, Jim B. Jividen (1B), Binion (3B), Pash (1B), and Spicer (3B) consecutively worked both sides of the board for three tallies. Then in the last inning, Binion, who also had four hits in the second game (2-2B), drove in his team’s final run with a two-out, bases-loaded single. NR, which was outhit 23-10, scored one in the ninth on a Snyder two-out triple.
At BGC, Princess Eschedor hit a pair of HRs as part of her 5-for-13 night to lead Salem. She also added a double and finished the series with four RBIs. Don Taulker chipped in three hits (all doubles) as did Jerry Eschedor (E, 2B, HR, RBI). Carl Hagemeyer (4-12, E, 2-2B, RBI), Seth Peters (4-13, E, 2B, 2-HR, 3 RBI), and Ralph Aufdenkamp (4-12, 2B, 3-HR, 4 RBI) were BGC’s offensive leaders.
BGC built a 4-0 lead in the opener only to see Salem score the game’s last six runs, including two in the 10th inning on a one-out double by Don Young, his second of the game, and a two-out, two bagger by Princess Eschedor. Manager Gene Fairbanks had a two-out solo HR in the eighth, Princess Eschedor drilled a two-run HR with no outs in the ninth and was followed by Jerry Eschedor’s two-out, solo shot that forced extra time. Princess Eschedor finished a triple short of the cycle (5 ABs). Salem held an 11-7 edge in the hit department. Manager Rick Traver drove in BGC’s first run with a single in the third. Then in the seventh, Aufdenkamp banged a one-out, two-run HR and Hagemeyer drove in grandson Jack Hagemeyer (3B) with a single.
BGC fell behind 1-0 in the second game on back-to-back one-out doubles by Jerry Eschedor and Ed Griffith in the third inning. However, that would be all the offense Salem would generate. The hosts tied the game in the fourth on a one-out solo HR by Peters. Paul Wachter smacked a two-out, two-run HR in the fifth and was followed by another Peters solo shot in the sixth with one away. Peters drove in his third run of the game with a two-out double in the eighth and Aufdenkamp ended the scoring with a one-out solo HR in the ninth. BGC had eight hits, compared to Salem’s three (all 2Bs).
In the rubber game, Aufdenkamp’s third HR of the evening put BGC up 1-0 one out into the second frame. Veteran Wayne Young tied the score in the fourth with a one-out single and the game remained even until the 12th inning when Princess Eschedor gave Salem the lead with a one-out center shot. Salem outhit the home squad, 7-4. Half of BGC’s hits came on errors.
BGC finished the night with six long balls and its season total now stands at 135. (BGC had 100 at this juncture a year ago and finished the campaign with 144). Aufdenkamp paces the team with 23 and is followed by Peters (22), Traver (20), Jerry Charles (16), and Craig Kleine (15). Salem, which stands second in the circuit in HRs, has 78 for the year.
#WCDL#
2011-12
Wood County Dartball League Standings (Week #16)
Team W L
1- Pemberville Methodist 35 13
2- Bethlehem #1 33 15
3- New Rochester 30 18
4- Bethlehem #2 24 24
Stony Ridge 24 24
6- BG Trinity United Methodist 23 25
Pemberville Presbyterian 23 25
Zion Luckey 23 25
9- Salem 20 28
10- BG Nazarene 19 29
BG Cloverdale 19 29
12- BG St. Mark’s 15 33
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