2008 Hounds Summaries

See the recaps page for box scores of every game.

Game 19 (7/16/08): Hounds play 8 innings to 9-9 tie with newly rejuvenated Black Sox.

The Black Sox added several new faces since the last meeting with the Hounds (including a purported former minor league pitcher), but neither team could win in regulation, nor with an extra frame.  Winnemac hops were aplenty, as the teams battled both each other and the field.  The Black Sox struck first with an unearned run in the first, the Hounds tied it in the second when Barrett Henson (#6, 1B) after reaching third on Chris Wernick's (#10, RF) 7th double of the season.  Wernick would add another double in the 3rd as Kyle Koster (#2, LF/P), Mike Acevedo (#4, 2B), Keith Richardson (#17, EH), Henson, and Wernick would score on singles by Henson and Matthew Steffens (#5, P/LF), and a double by Richardson.  The Black Sox countered with 3 in the 3rd, but Aaron Leong (#3, C) lessened the damage by throwing out his second wouldbe basestealer in as many innings.  The Hounds added two more in the 4th to take a 8-4 lead as Dan Braz's (#13, 3B) single scored T.J. Rinaldi (#1, CF) and Koster, who had singled and doubled respectively.  The Black Sox closed the gap to 8-7 in the 5th, but Koster came in to pitch and stop the rally.  The Black Sox tied the game in the bottom of the seventh, and threatened with a man on third and no one out.  But Koster pitched out of the jam, and the Hounds took the lead in the 8th when Vic Fabris's (#14, SS) double scored Kurt Kerrigan (#16, RF) who had replaced Wernick in the field (which makes me now realize the stats are wrong because the book didn't have that change--I'll fix it).  But the Black Sox tied the game in the 8th on an unfortunate play that was reminiscent of Brant Brown on the 1989 Cubs.  But the Black Sox returned an old favor by "ending" the game temporarily (in a 9-9 tie) on a failed steal attempt at home.  BUT, this game will be completed, and the Hounds hope to convert the tie into a win.

Game 18 (7/15/08): Mets take season series with 18-8 thrashing of Hounds.

As the saying goes, sometimes you have to tip your hat.  Sometimes you have to tip it twice.  The Mets scored 18 runs in just under 6 innings (game was called) to take the season series 2-1.  The Mets leadoff batter had a walk, single, double, home run (into the Walgreens parking lot), and home run ("only" onto the train tracks).  Mike Kavaleski (#23, 1B)  nearly had a home run, but was robbed at the yellow line by Luis Lewis (Lewis also made a diving catch robbing the Hounds of another extra base hit).  Brian Zumwinkel (#25, EH)  had 4 RBI including a three-run blast, but the Mets proved too powerful again.  The Hounds have now lost 6 games, and in all 6 losses have given up 10 or more runs.  Hounds highlights included the return to the lineup of both Keith Richardson (#17, DH) and John Kortas (#9, RF) from hamstring injuries--both singled and scored.  Matthew Steffens (#5, CF) threw a Kyle Koster (#2, not in attendance, but referenced nonetheless)-like strike to Chris Wernick (#10, 3B/P) at third, nailing a runner from first on a single, and Josh Stahl (#24, C) gunned down a would-be base stealer at second.  Casey McGrath (#19, 2-3), Kurt Kerrigan (#16), and Chris Wernick (#10) all pitched, but none were able to stop the mighty Metropolitans, who have scored a whopping 41 of the 132 runs given up by the Hounds this season.  The Hounds look to rebound against the Black Sox on Wednesday, and are glad they do not face the Mets again in the regular season.

Game 17 (7/13/08): Hounds take series from Rangers winning 3-1.

The Hounds went to 12-5 by beating the Rangers 3-1 in the best played game of the year, giving the Hounds their longest win streak of the season (4 games).  Neither team made an error (the first time that happened this season), and the pitching on both sides was excellent.  But the Hounds hurler John Fitzgerald (#8, 4-0, 1 save, 2.51 ERA) kept the Rangers slightly more off balance, giving up only 1 run on 2 walks and 3 hits, while striking out 6.

It was a big win, as the Hounds officially knocked the 2007 runners up out of the playoff hunt.  The Hounds scored in the first on a double by Matthew Steffens (#5, 2B/LF), an infield bunt by Mike Acevedo (#4, RF)moving him over, and then Dan Braz (#13, EH/2B) picking up yet another hit and RBI.  Dan would score the only 2 other Hounds runs--one after walking to start the 4th--Chris Wernick (#10, 3B) hit him in with a double to left, and another in the 6th after doubling and then scoring on an RBI single by Mike Kavaleski (#23, 1B).  Kavaleski also walked, and Wernick and Kyle Koster (#2, CF) both had line-drive singles.
 
But the story again was the Hounds pitcher--giving up only 1 run.  Fitz brought a new pitch to his repertoire, a split-finger fastball, and it kept the Rangers batters severely off-balanced (several cued it off the end of their bat, or looked completely fooled as they struck out either swinging or looking).  Again, the Hounds defense was rock solid, with no errors for the whole game (second time this year).  All around, a great game.

Recap to come.

Game 10: Hounds best Electrons 10-2 and move into first place with a 7-3 record.

Peter Andjelkovich (#12) (W, 2-0) and John Fitzgerald (#8) (S, 1-0) combined to strike out 8 Electrons and give up no earned runs in the Hounds 10-2 defeat of the Electrons at Taft field on June 10, 2008.  The Electrons suffered through a number of errors, but the keys to the game were two Hounds blasts--Brian Zumwinkel (#25, EH) and Dan Braz (#13, 3B) each hit home runs (Braz used "Old Red" to split the uprights in right field for a field goal and a home run)--and the pitching prowess of Andjelkovich and Fitzgerald.  Their curveballs were deadly and their fastballs had life, keeping the Electrons batters off balance all game.

The Hounds defense was solid, save for a couple miscues that allowed the 2 unearned runs.  But the Hounds bats continued to pound opposing pitchers, as the Hounds have now scored 90 runs in the first 10 games of the season.  In their 7 wins, Hounds pitchers have only allowed 26 runs.

The Hounds moved into first place in the Daley division with today's win (the Browns have played fewer games, so this is only based on points), and are 4-1 v. the Daley this year and 3-2 v. the Washington.

The Hounds next face the Yankees on Thursday June 12th at Taft--the Yankees are the only team in the CMBA that the Hounds have never defeated.  The Hounds all-time record now stands at 20-17.

Game 8-9: Hounds Split Double-Header with Marlins 9-2 and 7-15.

In the wood bat game to begin the double header, Casey McGrath (#19, 1-1, 4.45 ERA) continued his Marlin dominance, giving up only 2 runs in 7 innings.  Last season the Marlins defeated McGrath 3-2 in 8 innings, so Casey has allowed only 5 runs in 15 innings against the defending CMBA champions.  The Hounds' torrid hitting continued unaffected by the wood bats, as co-Managers Matthew Steffens (#5, 2B) and Mike Kavaleski (#23, EH) both managed ground rule triples at SouthWest Park.  The Hounds had 11 hits against the Marlins in game one, and bested them for the first time ever 9-2.

In the second game it was mostly all Marlins, however, as the Hounds were defeated 7-15.  Even still, considering that the Marlins have given up only 36 runs in 10 contests, the Hounds can be proud to have pushed across 16 in only two games.  Kyle Koster (#2, RF) led the Hounds with a 3-run home run shot, and Josh Stahl (#10, well, now that he traded with Chris Wernick, #24, C) reached base safely all four times with two singles and two walks.  Kurt Kerrigan (#16, P, 3-1, 4.76 ERA) took his first loss for the Hounds, and the Marlins scored 15 runs off 15 hits against Kerrigan and Kyle Koster.  The Hounds has 14 hits--including Chris Wernick's (#24 then, #10 now, DH) team leading 4th double--but only managed 7 runs. 

The defense was fairly solid in both games, with Keith Richardson (#17, LF) making a diving play in the first game, and Kyle Koster throwing a runner out at third in the second.  Unfortunately, Richardson may be out for his second season, as he suffered a hamstring tear in warm-ups for the second game.  We hope to have him back this season, hopefully for a playoff run.

Game 7: Hounds best Rangers 9-5 at Winnemac and move to 5-2.

The Rangers had posted this on their website before last night's game: "Rangers look to get back on track against the Hounds.  The Rangers take the field Wednesday night against the Hounds and will try to get into the win column for the first time this season. In two previous games against the Hounds, the Rangers are 2-0 with a .351 batting average, outscoring them 19-5. They hold an ERA of 2.50 against the Hounds with both James Keathley and Eric Morrissey picking up wins in the two games while also striking out 9."
 
However, in 2008 the Hounds are on the way up and the 2007 runners-up are struggling, in a similar fashion to our first 6 games last year.  Under rather bizzare weather conditions (the temperature fluctuated at least 25 degrees and the haze made visibility nearly impossible at times), the 5-2 Hounds prevailed at Winnemac against the Rangers 9-5, holding off a squad that is much tougher than their 0-7 record would indicate.  Peter Andjelkovich (P, #12) took the hill (behind the plate actually, indeed, behind the backstop) and his son threw the first 4 innings, keeping the Hounds in the game.  John Fitzgerald (P, #8, 1-0) came into the game in the 5th when the score was tied--apparently just after revealing to the hamstring hamstrung John Kortas (#9) that his pitches looked terrible.  However, Fitz's prognostication was lousier than his pitches as he managed to completely shut down the Rangers, giving up no runs over 3 innings.  The score was still tied in the top of the seventh when the bases were loaded on Aaron Leong (C, #3) and T.J. Rinaldi (CF, #8) singles and a rare Brian Zumwinkel (DH, #25) walk.  Power hitter and co-manager Mike Kavaleski (#23, 1B) got the game winning RBI taking the first of three consecutive hit by pitches (Kyle Koster (RF, #2) and Chris Wernick (EH, #24) followed with HBP RsBI as well).  The Hounds took the field up 9-5 in the bottom of the seventh and Fitz went 1, 2, 3 and the Hounds won their 5th game in 7 2008 contests.  The defense was stellar (except perhaps for the ballet inspired circuitous route taken by a certain Mr. Mike Acevedo (LF, #4) on a ball hit deep to left).  (And yes, I believe hit hat flew off again as well.  Curious.)  In particular, Peter picked off a runner at first base, Kurt Kerrigan (3B, #16) hustled on ball to short left to throw out an overrunning Ranger, and Aaron Leong returned for another fine game behind the "dish."  Kerrigan also went 3-3 in the game with a stolen base (and a caught stealing).  Manager/2b Matthew Steffens (#5) also had 2 hits, including an RBI triple.  Acevedo had 2 RsBI on a key single with two outs.
 
We next face the Marlins for a twin-bill on Saturday.  Bring your wood bats for the first game, and be prepared for defensive adjustments in both games (in the wood bat game the balls will be shallow, in the second game, they will probably seem like rockets).

 Summaries of previous games will be posted soon.