Mudville's timely defense and pitcher Jimmy Taylor held the White Sox at bay, 12-3 in the season opener at Hazel Park. At the plate, new Sox Lehman, Gardulski, Grawburg and Lewis combined for 7 hits and batting 1.000, showing promise that results will improve as the hastily-formed squad begins to gel. Mudville's hitters benefitted from White Sox defensive generosity, including 3 errors and 11 free passes to first base.
The White Sox will look to bounce back against the Braves, May 29 at Detroit PAL .
Braves hitters pounded the covers off all of the game balls, then did the same with a second set, establishing a big early lead and never looking back. The White Sox continued their anemic offensive performance, managing just a couple runs and providing no support for pitcher Greg McGlone. McGlone took one for the team and pitched a complete game, putting him in the driver's seat for a number of statistical categories. Ari Lehman caught most of the baseballs that went beyond home plate. The Sox attempted, were unable to pull off, the rare 6-4-wall-3-4 double play.
The South Siders are back in action June 5 versus the Great Lakes Bengal Tigers at Hazel's Park.
Sox struggle again - fall to Motor City Tigers 12-1.
The White Sox continued their anemic performance at the plate, managing only four hits in a loss to the Bengals. Chris Holmes stole two bases but paid the price, with a hand injury in a collision at the plate. Bryan Crutchfield throw 5 innings and is saddled with the loss. The lower half of the White Sox batting order continues to struggle, leaving lots of men on base.
The White Sox will undoubtedly shake things up, with emphasis on situational offense and baserunning skills. Next White Sox game is Friday, 6/9 at Hazel Park, 6:00 PM @ Orioles.
White Sox defeat Cubs 8-5 The White Sox bats finally awoke from their slumber, with offensive contributions top to bottom, beating the Cubs 8-5. Greg Chastang led the way with 3 hits and 2 RBI, while Ken Grawburg hurled a complete game, quieting the Northsidemen and allowing only five hits. The Sox seek to make it two in a row, facing the Blue Jays at Flat Rock Monday night.
It was over early for the White Sox, who surrendered 11 runs in the top of the first en route to a huge loss. The Blue Jays had a million extra base hits including the first home run surrendered in White Sox history.
The White Sox weren't starting at full strength Saturday at Bicentennial Park. Case in point - the only one of the top ten batting average White Sox hitters was available. And missing their starting catcher due to a work injury the night before, the Sox - with only 9 players - forced Rod Gillespie to take a crack behind the plate, having never played there before. And with little relief pitching available, starter Bryan Crutchfield would be forced to pitch deep.
Sox bats struck early in the 2nd and 3rd innings, plating 10 runs for a 10-1 lead after 4. But in the fifth, Braves bats came to temperature, and errors in the field allowed the Braves to tie the score.
Todd Zubatch pitched a scoreless sixth but in the seventh, the Braves scored three and the White Sox could not match. On a dozen unanswered runs, the final score was Braves 13, White Sox 10. Kevin Lewis had the best day at the plate, going 3 for 4 plus a walk, 3 RBI and scoring twice.
The White Sox will be at full strength facing Mudville at Capital, Friday June 29.
Grawburg outlast Springer; White Sox catch Mudville 11-4
Kenneth Grawburg returned to the Sox - after a two-month absence - and the team rallied in a must-win situtation against Mudville. Grawburg pitched a masterful complete game, and the White Sox bats looked lively against the slippery southpaw Springer.
White Sox batters managed to hit them where they weren't, while Grawburg avoided the free passes and the defense locked down the extra-base hits - factors which doomed the Sox in previous efforts against the Mudville 9. These two teams expect to play a makeup game to decide the season series between them (Mudville leads 2-1) and also determine which squad grabs the final playoff spot.
The White Sox are feeling new life at Hazel Park. Pitcher Greg McGlone returned from a stint on the DL to wipe out the Braves in a complete-game showing. After the White Sox surrendered 2 unearned in the first (with 3 errors), the Palehose defense locked it down behind McGlone, keeping the Braves scoreless or the remainder. McGlone struck out three and earned his first win wearing the tidy leggings.
Meanwhile, the Sox batters went to work against veteran Doug Brown, grabbing the lead in the first and never relinquishing it. Ari Lehman went 4-for-4 while catching all seven stanzas, Paul Gardulski had three hits and scored thrice, and Terry Graham drove in three on a pair of doubles. The White Sox put together 15 hits as a team, scoring 8 runs.
The teams will re-match Tuesday at 8:15, right back at Hazel Park.
Greg McGlone gave up no earned runs, as the White Sox topped Mudville 7-3. For McGlone, he finished the season with consecutive complete game wins giving up zero earned runs. The Sox closed out winning three of their last four games, despite missing the playoffs.
Mudville sent six pitchers to toe the slab, giving the Palehose no opportunity to get comfortable. Kevin Lewis celebrated his return from injury with a double, 2-2, scoring twice with a walk, RBI, and a stolen base. Chris Holmes got back on track with his own double in the 5th, later scoring. Ari Lehman caught seven innings, and Rod Gillespie managed half a dozen putouts from shortstop.
In this last game, strong performances up and down the lineup promised a commitment to compete next year. The 2018 squad seemed to find a chemistry which was lacking in previous seasons, as well as marked defensive improvement.
For the season, Ken Grawburg's limited availability didn't prevent him from leading the team with a .700 batting average (along with two wins on the mound.) Paul Gardulski (.489) led the team in hits with 23, while Mark Suyama (.477) led the team in scoring, with 14 runs. Terry Graham batted in 15 runs, and Bryan Crutchfield stole a dozen bases while hurling 38 innings. Chris Wilkson put himself on base 11 times with walks. Greg Chastang locked down the cleanup role, hitting .458 for the year.
Manager Erik Lindquist led the team in home runs, tying 21 of his teammates with zero.
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