Sal Calcagno pitched a strong game for his five innings and his Silver Bats teammates helped him plenty with 18 hits and the benefit of numerous wild pitchers/passed balls as they defeated the Monarchs 14-3 in their 70+ Detroit MSBL opening game Tuesday at Hamtramck Stadium.
Four Silver Bats accumulated three hits each: Calcagno (batting in the second spot), Ed Klieman (third), Tom Izzo (sixth), and Randy Stark (seventh), with two of Izzo's singles driving in two runs each. Gary Sovey, recovering from last year's heart ailment that kept him from pitching, pitched the sixth inning for his first mound appearance in two years. He gave up one single. Sovey also had two hits and an RBI.
The Silver Bats, experiencing numerous unexpected absences, only had 10 players. Since they were able to absorb two players from the defunct 60+ Zug Island Lugnuts, Izzo and Ira Strickstein, their presence kept them from having just eight players. Among the key starters absent for one reason or another included standouts Fred Krause, Joe Miscavish, and Sam Williams. The victory helped make up for last year's opener, a 4-4 tie with the new Monarchs that turned out to be the highlight of their season and a season-long thorn in the side of the Silver Bats who seemed to trail the leading Grays or Stars by half a game all year.
Eddie Harmon, a Silver Bat during the team's first three seasons, jumped to the Monarchs to get more time pitching. He started for them Tuesday but was off his usual control game, walking four, giving up more than a dozen hits, plus some wild pitches to go along with passed balls. Those allowed 'Bats to stroll to the next base, vital in the 86-degree weather. Paul Saggese, who is from Toledo, relieved Harmon in the fourth inning and John Lollio got the last two outs in the sixth of the time-shortened game at the historic stadium, which used to be the home of the old Negro Leagues' Detroit Stars.
Speaking of the Stars, the Detroit 70's version, the Moran Stars, defeated the defending champion Grays 7-3 in the earlier game. They are the Silver Bats' opponent next Monday at Kyte Monroe in St. Clair Shores, followed on Thursday against the Grays back to Hamtramck on the Turkey Stearns Field.
The top six batters in the 13-man Moran Stars lineup drilled 11 of the team's 14 hits, including three doubles in the four-run sixth to defeat the Silver Bats 8-2 in their 70+ Detroit MSBL game Monday at Kyte Monroe in St. Clair Shores.
Leadoff man Gad Holland had two hits, a walk and scored twice; Mark Switalski followed him with two hits and a run; Gene Baratta was next in the order and had an RBI hit and scored a run; then Mike Murphy had two hits, including a double and two RBI; with fifth batter Joe Boedeker getting a pair of hit and a run; and finally Bill Wahl got two hits and a run. But it was the eighth batter, Dennis MacDonald, who topped them all with three hit and a pair of RBI -- not to mention pitching a seven-hitter that was a shutout until Sal Calcagno's two-run single with two outs in the seventh inning scored a pair of runs.
Calcagno went all the way on the mound for the 'Bats, who fell to a 1-1 record. The Stars now are 2-0 and alone atop the division in the early going.
Eddie Klieman went 3-for-3, including two doubles, to lead the Silver Bats. Calcagno and Tom Izzo had two hits each. The only other 'Bats baserunners were Ira Strickstein with a walk and Fred Krause with a bruising hit-by-pitch. The Silver Bats are awaiting the recovery of a couple injured players to bolster their lineup.
The Silver Bats came out swinging in the first inning against the Grays, collecting six hits and scoring four runs, only to see the brief lead vanish in a 9-8 loss shortened to 5.5 innings due to the time limit.
Gregg Housey shaked off an early season slump with a two-run single in that inning, with Joe Miscavish, who missed last season, getting a bases-loaded walk RBI and Larry Paladino singling in a run. However, the Grays quickly bounced back with three runs in the bottom of the first on three hits, a walk and one critical infield error.
Grays starter Steve Kosuda kept the 'Bats in check the next three innings. His teammates got a run in the third off Gary Sovey thanks to Gary Roediger's leadoff triple followed by a single by cleanup batter Gary Parsons. They pushed across a run in the fourth for a 5-4 lead, but the Silver Bats regained the advantage 6-5 with a pair of runs in the fifth off Tim Allard, Sal Calcagno getting a bases loaded walk and Paladino an RBI single.
Sovey, the team's first-season MVP who hadn't had a start since 2022 due to a health issue, showed he could still throw strikes and keep games close as he went the distance. Of the nine runs he allowed, seven were unearned -- due mainly to players being out of their normal positions due to injuries and a couple absent regulars.
But in the bottom of the fifth the Grays took advantage of a leaky 'Bats infield and wound up with four runs as time was waning. The Silvers got two runs in the top of the sixth. Ira Strickstein got a walk to lead off and Roger Rushford singled. Both get courtesy runners and that was a problem since courtesy runners often were lame themselves. Tim Kostelnik, who was 4-for-4 in the leadoff spot, singled the first run home. After a fielder's choice grounder, Ed Klieman singled in a second run, but a strikeout ended the rally and the umps, with the Grays coming to bat with five minutes left, determined there was no more time for a seventh-inning at-bat for the 'Bats, who fell to 1-2.
Exacerbating the team's slow start is the absence of key players due to various obligations and injuries. The team hopes to bolster its meager forces with a new player or two before the June 30 roster-cut deadline -- and hopefully some idle time allowing for injuries to heal.
The Silver Bats scored three runs in each of the first two innings getting just three hits but also six walks and defeated the Monarchs 6-2 in their 70+ MSBL matchup at Hamtramck Stadium. Tim Fodor, making his MSBL debut, went 3-for-3 for the winners -- nearly half of their seven hits -- including a double.
Toledo resident Paul Saggese was the victim of the runs in his pitching start for the Monarchs, but ex-Silver Bat Eddie Harmon came on to retire the last two batters of the second inning and shut out the 'Bats on three hits the rest of the way.
Ed Klieman got two hits and a walk for the Silver Bats. Sal Calcagno went the distance pitching for the 'Bats, scattering 10 hits, four of which came in the fourth inning when the Monarchs got their two runs. A pair of double plays helped the winners. Neither team had an error, but two of the three Silver Bats runs that scored in the opening inning came when Klieman and Fred Krause scampered home on Tom Izzo's ground out when a Monarch held onto the ball.
Fodor, who like Calcagno who recruited him, came all the way from Lansing. He opened the bottom of the second with a single but after walks to Gary Faukes and Randy Stark loaded the bases, Fodor was thrown out at the plate unaware of 70s rules against advancing from third on a wild pitch. Roger Rushford walked to reload the bases. A walk to Tim Kostelnik scored Faulkes; Stark scored on a Klieman walk; and a Krause fielder's choice grounder to greet Harmon plated the third Rushford's courtesy runner.
John Lollio started the Monarchs' two-run fourth, opening with a single. John Riske bunted him to second and he scored on a single by Manager Joe Masching. Bob Brevick hit into a force and wound up scoring after singles by John Tolefree and J. Blick.
The outcome put the 'Bats record at 2-2 and dropped the Monarchs to 0-4.
Sal Calcagno pitched an impressive first four innings of shutout ball for the Silver Bats but it all came unraveled in the fifth when the Grays poured across eight runs Thursday in a 9-3 triumph at Hamtramck Stadium in the 70+ Detroit MSBL.
Calcagno worked out of jams with key strikeouts in each of the first three innings as the Grays stranded two runners each time. In the fifth, though, three throwing errors and mostly Texas League singles propelled Steve Kosuda and the Grays to their third victory in five tries. The 'Bats fell to 2-3. Both, though, are well behind the first-place Stars, whose 13-0 victory over the Monarchs in the later game put them at 5-0 and dropped the Monarchs to 0-5. All four teams were rained out Tuesday at Hamtramck.
Kosuda was his usual steady self and many of the Silver Bats hits were squibbers or, in two cases, infield popups that landed about the time runners were reaching first base. He gave up two runs in the third on singles by Calcagno, Randy Stark, newcomer Jim Considine, and Ira Strickstein -- who got an RBI on his infield hit, with the second run scoring on a wild throw to the plate. Singles in the third by Eddie Klieman, Fred Krause and Joe Miscavish accounted for a 'Bats run in the third.
Tom Cattaneo had three hits for the Grays, including a double, and newly-signed ex-60s Zug Island Lugnut Considine was 2-for-2. The Silver Bats next play July 3, 10 a.m. against the Monarchs at Kyte Monroe in St. Clair Shores, then the Grays have a showdown against the surging Stars.
The Silver Bats busted open a 2-2 game with a six-run sixth inning off ex-Silver Bat Eddie Harmon then hung on to win 8-6 over the Monarchs, who scored two runs in each of the last two innings of Sal Calcagno.
Roger Rushford, batting 11th in the order, led off the Silver Bats sixth with a hit to the edge of the outfield grass at short. Twelfth hitter Roger Clark followed with a dribbler in front of the plate good for an infield hit. The newcomer Tim Fodor, who was 4-for-4, including a double, singled to load the bases. Harmon, who had stymied the 'Bats most of the first five innings, then gave up an RBI single to Eddie Klieman, followed in succession by RBI forceouts by Tom Izzo and Calcagno. Another newcomer, Jim Considine, followed with his second single of the day; catcher Randy Stark got a run-scoring single; Gary Sovey got a hit; and Larry Paladino got a run-scoring infield hit.
But the pesky Monarchs, who totaled 16 hits, got the benefit of some sloppy throws and wound up scoring twice in the sixth and two more times in the seventh. The tying runs were on base in the seventh when Calcagno struck out the final batter to earn his third victory against two losses as the 'Bats evened their record at 3-3 and dropped the Monarchs to 0-6. Bob Brevick, John Lollio, J. Blick, Harmon, and Wally Frontera all got two hits for the Monarchs.
Sal Calcagno scattered seven hits and ran his record to 4-2 and his Silver Bats teammates raked four Monarchs pitchers for 19 hits, four by Joe Miscavish and three by Sam Williams in his first 70+ game as they coasted to a 14-2 victory Monday at Hamtramck Stadium.
The Silver Bats scored three runs in each of the first three innings off Gary Gavlinski, two in the fourth off Paul Saggese, one off him in the fifth, and two unearned in the seventh off ex-Silver Bat Eddie Harmon. The only unscathed pitcher was John Tolfree who worked a scoreless sixth.
The first two batters of the game, Tim Kostelnik and Tim Fodor, both walked. After a blistering line drive out to third by Fred Krause, Williams singled in a run. Miscavish followed with an RBI single, Calcagno walked, and Tom Izzo singled in the third run.
In the second, Gary Sovey opened with a single. Then, with two outs, Kostelnik singled and Fodor got a run-scoring single. A Krause single produced two more and the team coasted the rest of the way behind rubber-armed Calcagno, who gave up a run in the opening inning (consecutive hits by Bob Brevick, John Lollio, and Joe Masching), and a run in the third on a two-out double by Brevick after ex-Silver Bat Wally Frontera singled.
Two of the three runs off Gavlinski in the third were unearned. Miscavish singled and was forced out by Calcagno. Izzo followed with another hit and Gregg Housey knocked in a run with a single. An infield error off the bat of Gary Faulkes produced a run and a third scored on a booted ball at third base off the bat of Randy Stark, who also singled in the fifth to score catcher Housey's courtesy runner after Housey had singled and reached second when Faulkes was hit by a pitch.
Williams and Miscavish got back-to-back hits to produce the two runs in the fourth after a leadoff hit by Kostelnick, walk to Fodor, and forceout by Krause.
The final two Silver Bats runs came in the seventh. A Krause shot was bobbled at short for an error to lead off. Singles by Williams, Miscavish, and Calcagno followed to produce a run and the final scored on a fielder's choice grounder by Izzo. In the sixth inning, Dave Franklin, absent much of the season due to ankle problems, got his first at-bat of the year and got an infield hit.
It rained all over the area early in the day and players coming from a long distance thought their trip might be in vain, but the field was fine and there was no rain. The 10 a.m. opener was delayed just a bit but got underway with no problem. The Moran Stars overcame a 3-1 deficit in the bottom of the seventh for a 4-3 victory over the Grays to run their record to 6-1. The Grays and 'Bats are both at 4-3 and the Monarchs are 0-7. Thursday at Hazel Park the league leaders host the Silver Bats at 10 a.m. at Hazel Park, followed by the Monarchs-Grays matchup.
Gary Sovey got his first complete game in two years and, despite giving up five earned runs, pitched a strong game but his Silver Bats teammates stranded 13 batters and lost 6-3 to the first-place Moran Stars at Hazel Park in the 70+ division of the Detroit MSBL.
The Silver Bats, playing without four starters and with a couple players battling injuries, left three runners on base in the first and sixth innings, two each in the second, third, and fourth, and one in the fifth as Mark Switalski and Bill Wahl worked out of jams in their three innings each on the mound, with Dennis MacDonald earning a save with a 1-2-3 seventh.
The 7-1 Stars scored twice in the opening inning (one unearned due to a missed popup), two in the third, plus one each in the fifth and sixth. Sovey didn't have nearly the predicaments of the opposing pitchers as the Stars stranded only six batters.
Sal Calcagno went 2-for-2 with an RBI and a walk, playing shortstop rather than his familiar role on the mound. Jim Considine got two hits for the 'Bats and an RBI, Joe Miscavish (celebrating his 78th birthday) got a pair of walks, and Tim Kostelnik was 1-for-2, with a walk and a run, and Roger Clark chipped in with his first RBI of the season.
The Silver Bats busted open a 1-1 tie with a three-run fifth inning off Steve Kosuda, two scoring on a double by Gregg Housey, and they closed out a 7-4 victory against the Grays behind the complete game pitching of Sal Calcagno.
Sam Williams opened the Silver Bats' fifth inning with an infield blooper that fell in for a hit. Tim Kostelnik then ripped a line drive single and Jim Considine drove Williams home with a solid hit. Tom Izzo kept things going with another line-drive single and two runs scored on Housey's two-base gapper.
The 'Bats expanded the lead to 6-1 with a two-out, two-run fifth off Ken Barnowski. Tim Fodor's double preceded a single by Eddie Klieman and Fred Krause singled Fodor home, then another bloop hit by cleanup batter Williams fell just out of the outstretched glove of a Grays infielder to score Klieman.
The Grays made things interesting with a three-run sixth. It began with No. 10 hitter Curt Sylvester's line shot to start the inning. Eighty-four-year-old John Bosch followed with a solid single to the outfield and Kosuda, added to the bottom of the batting order, hit a ground ball to second that was booted for an error, compounded by another as it got away from the center fielder. With the bases loaded, Joe Pirronello laced a two-run hit to left field and, after one out, Gary Parsons singled in the third run before Calcagno got a strikeout and ground out to stop the bleeding.
Considine got a one-out single in the 'Bats seventh, took second on a wild pitch and third on another hit by Izzo. Shortstop Parsons and Barnowski conferred on the mound and decided to intentionally walk Housey. That left Gary Sovey, who had grounded out to short twice, with a bases-loaded opportunity and instead of hitting into a double play as the Grays hoped he ripped a single over third base to score an insurance run.
The 1-1 pitchers dual for four innings started in the opening frame. Lefty Kleiman, playing with a broken forefinger on his left hand, singled with one out and No. 3 batter Krause followed with another hit. They advanced on a balk and Williams grounded out to short to score Kleiman. However, the Grays got the run back in the bottom of the inning with an unearned run. Leadoff man Pirronello grounded to short and the one-hop throw to first wasn't caught cleanly and the runner was safe. Barnowski walked, Parsons got an infield hit, and Gary Roediger drove in the run with a forceout at third, the first of three consecutive fielder's choice ground balls.
Calcagno walked just one, struck out two and gave up seven hits in running his record to 5-2. The teams are deadlocked in second place in the 70s division with 5-4 records, behind the 8-1 mark of the Moran Stars, who beat the Monarchs 9-1 in the earlier game at Brother Rice field in Troy. The Monarchs had been in a tight battle with the Stars until the final inning when the Stars pulled away and dropped their opponents to a 0-9 mark.
Gary Sovey was locked in a pitchers dual with ex-teammate Eddie Harmon and ran out of gas after five innings in a 3-3 tie -- but his Silver Bats teammates rallied for two runs in the top of the sixth inning en route to a 6-4 triumph over the Monarchs in their 70+ game Friday at Novi.
The victory was Sovey's first since 2022 and he's fought off a number of ailments since and last year wasn't able to pitch at all. He scattered nine hits against the Monarchs and two of the three runs against him were unearned. Sal Calcagno pitched the last two innings for a save, giving up an unearned run in the sixth.
The 'Bats opened the game with Tim Kostelnik's line single to start the first. A wild pitch moved him up and Larry Paladino's sacrifice put him on third and he came home on lefty Jim Considine's groundout to the right side. But the Monarchs came back with two unearned runs in the bottom of the inning. Alan Gershel, Joe Masching and John Tolfree got hits and Dan Priebe's grounder was kicked into right field for an error..
In the second inning the Silver Bats wasted no time getting back on top. Calcagno singled and was forced at second by Gregg Housey. Tom Izzo, who was 3-for-3,singled and a run scored on a single by Randy Stark. Eventually Izzo came home on a bases-loaded walk to Ira Strickstein, who also walked in the seventh.
Singles by Tolfree, Priebe and Harmon scored a run in the fourth to knot the score at three each about the time raindrops started to fall, but not enough to delay the game.
Kostelnik led off the sixth with another line single. After Paladino flew out to center, Considine singled to left and another lefty, Sam Williams, batting in the cleanup spot, ripped an RBI single through the infield to right to score Kostelnik. Considine later scored on a sacrifice fly by Calcagno.
The 5-3 lead was in jeopardy in the bottom of the inning as the Monarchs, thanks to a couple errors, got an RBI hit from Tolfree. A pair of grounouts ended the threat. Tom Tavolacchi opened the bottom of the Monarch's seventh with a hit and was forced out. Then Calcagno got Howard Wittenberg to hit into a line drive double-play, Calcagno to Sovey at first.
The outcome put the 'Bats in sole possession of second place with a 6-4 record behind the soaring Moran Stars, who earlier in the day defeated the Grays 10-1 to drop them to 5-5. The Monarchs are 0-10 but have had some close games. The 70s play rain makeups Tuesday at Brother Rice and then regularly scheduled games next Thursday at Novi. The Silver Bats face the Stars in both, games that could go a long way in deciding the championship in the 18-game schedule. The Monarchas and Grays play each other twice next week also.
There aren't many 1-0 games in the Detroit MSBL so it was pretty special Thursday at Novi when the Silver Bats edged the first-place Moran Stars by that score in a classic pitching duel between Sal Calcagno and Dennis MacDonald.
Each of them gave up seven hit but Calcagno had the benefit of the lone run, which came in the fourth inning. Eddie Klieman, still nursing a broken finger, led off with a walk and got to second when MacDonald threw a pickoff throw wild. Fred Krause got an infield hit and after the throw to first the speedy Klieman ran to third, then raced home when cleanup batter Sam Williams forced Krause at second to drive in the run and, despite an ailing Achilles, beat the double-play throw try to first. Tim Considine, with two outs, got the second of his two hits but a strikeout ended further damage.
Macdonald had six strikeouts and walked two. Calcagno had two strikeouts and walked one. Nearly every inning featured key defensive plays or scoring opportunities. The Stars got hits in the second inning from Joe Boedeker and Bill Wahl but Calcagno got succeeding batters to hit into forceouts. Bob Homant reached on a infield error in the Stars third to lead off and Jim Papineau got a solid single before a popup and double play ended that threat.
Mark Switalski was safe on another infield error to start the fourth but a tough 4-6-3 double play tfollowed. It began on a nice pickup by second baseman Randy Stark on a shot by Geno Barrata. A groundout concluded that inning. Then in the fifth, MacDonald ripped a line drive that the slick-fielding Calcagno snarred. Boedeker then reached on a infield error, Bill Wahl singled, but Calcagno got the next two batters to hit into forceouts at third.
The last big Stars threat was in the top of the sixth. With one out, Papineau, batting 11th in the order, got his second hit and Jack Knapf following with a infield single. Leadoff man Gad Holland, a premier bunter, laid one down. Calcagno fielded it and fired to first -- into the back of Holland who was almost at the bag. The umpire ruled interference on Holland and sent the two runners back to second and first. Left-handed line drive machine Switalski ripped a liner with two outs to right that surely would have scored a run, but Tom Izzo made a nice running grab.
No. 3 Stars batter Barrata, who singled in the opening inning, led off the seventh with the only walk given up by Calcagno. Cleanup hitter Mike Murphy hit a deep fly to left, but Joe Miscavish flagged it down and MacDonald hit a liner to shortstop Klieman who easily threw to first baseman Gary Sovey to get the game-ended doubleplay.
The Stars had their own inning ending doubleplay in the second to waste a hit by Considine. Gregg Housey walked with two outs in the Bats third and Tim Kostelnik, who was 2-for-3, laced a deep hit to the outfield and was out at second trying to stretch it. He claimed the fielder pushed him off the bag to make the tag but the ump didn't see it that way.
MacDonald and Calcagno are dueling in the statistics as well. MacDonald has a 7-2 record, plus a save. His earned-run-average is 2.85 and he's struck out 43 in 60 innings, while walking 30. Calcagno, meanwhile, has a 6-2 mark, plus a save. His ERA is 3.00. He has struck out 24 and walked just seven batters. Both pitchers travel long distances to come to the games -- MacDonald from St. Clair and Calcagno from Okemos.
The loss was just the second for the Stars in 11 games and the Silver Bats had to have the victory to get back into the title chase, upping their second-place record to 7-4. They next play the Monarchs Tuesday at Brother Rice and then their last six games are against the Stars and the nearly as tough Grays, indicating a challenging close to the season for three teams. The Grays, 6-5, defeated the Monarchs 8-5 in the earlier game Thursday at Novi to drop the much-improving cellar-dwellers to 0-11.
The Silver Bats scored 10 runs in the first inning, six in the second, and 10 in the third as their whole lineup of 14 produced in the 26-6 drubbing Tuesday of the Monarchs at Brother Rice. Thirteen of the 14 players in the order scored at least one run and got at least one hit, led by the four-RBI games from Fred Krause, Randy Stark, and Ira Strickstein. Krause's 3-for-3 day included an inside-the-park homer to the left field corner and Strickstein hit a bases-loaded shot to the same spot that plated three.
Gary Sovey gave up 10 hits for the 'Bats but didn't have to work hard in his three innings to earn the victory in the five-inning game. Leadoff batter Tim Fodor was 3-for-3, with two doubles, two runs and an RBI. Ed Klieman was 2-for-2, with a walk, three runs and a double. The first seven batters in the order were 15-for-17, with 19 runs, 13 RBI and four of the six Silver Bats walks as they pummeled three of the four Monarchs pitchers.
The last seven players in the order accounted for 10 hits, seven runs and 12 runs-batted-in. Even injured Dave Franklin was able to play two innings at first base and Jim Brake got his first hit of the season. Gary Faulkes was hit by a pitch, scored a run and hit a sacrifice fly and Sovey got two hits and a walk. Tim Kostelnik, the cleanup hitter, was 1-for-2, with a walk, and scored three times, followed in the order by Joe Miscovish's 2-for-2, three-run, three RBI performance. Then came Jim Considine (2-for-3, two runs, one RBI) and Sal Calcagno (2-for-2, a walk, three runs, three RBI).
It was probably the last opportunity for the 8-4 Silver Bats to sharpen up for the home stretch of six games, three each against the third place Grays (6-6) and the 70+ league leading Moran Stars (10-2). In the later game, scoreless for five innings, the Stars outlasted the Grays 8-5. The Stars own a two-game lead over the Silver Bats and four over the Grays.
The 'Bats next game is Thursday, 10 a.m. at Brother Rice against the Grays, with the Stars following versus the Monarchs (0-12).
Sal Calcagno got out of a couple jams with some deft pitching and went 2-for-3, including an RBI single in the three-run opening inning to lead the Silver Bats to a 5-1 triumph over the Grays. The defeat all but eliminated the Grays from a chance to defend their title in the 70+ division of the Detroit MSBL as their 6-7 record put them five games behind the 11-2 Moran Stars with only five games left. The 'Bats, meanwhile, are at 9-4, two games back and the prospect of facing the Stars three times the rest of the way.
Ed Klieman started the Silver Bats off with a first-inning double and he scored on pitcher Steve Kosuda's errant pickoff toss to second. Fred Krause followed with a single and scored on Tim Kostelnik's double. Singles by Jim Considine, Joe Miscavish and Calcagno produced the third run. It was the early game at Brother Rice. In the game that followed, The Stars crushed the Monarchs 13-0.
The Silvers upped their lead to 5-0 with a pair of runs in the fifth. Klieman doubled and came home on a double by Krause, who was 3-for-3. He got to third on a Kostelnik ground out and scored when lefty Considine grounded out to the right side. Kosuda and Tim Allard blanked the 'Bats the rest of the way but the opponent's defense turned two doubleplays to thrwart comebacks. The lone Grays runs came on a fielder's choice groundout by Gary Roediger after Tom Armstrong, Joe Pironello, and Gary Parsons each got a base hit.
The division plays next at Novi on Monday at 10 a.m., with the Silver Bats the home team again against the Grays, followed by the Stars at Monarchs.
Gary Roediger drove in three runs, two with a bases loaded single in the four-run opening inning, to lead the Grays to a 6-5 victory over the Silver Bats in their 70+ Detroit MSBL game at Novi on Monday. Roediger also had an RBI single in the Grays' two-run third off Sal Calcagno, whose teammates battled back to pull within a run but leave the bases loaded in the sixth.
Two of the Grays runs in the first inning were unearned and that proved later on to be the backbreaker. Leadoff man Joe Pironello, among the league batting leaders, opened with a single and Ken Barnowski followed with another. Gary Parsons ripped a shot to third but the throw to first popped out of the first baseman's glove as he made a big stretch. That miscue filled the bases and Roediger ripped his two-run liner to left, nicking the third baseman's glove. Tom Cattanero then grounded to short for a presumed forceout, but the throw hit Parsons in the back and when the ball rolled to the dugout he raced home. The next batter, Tom Armstrong, singled in the fourth run, another shot that nicked an infielder's glove.
The Silver Bats, though, got three of the runs back in the bottom of the frame. Tim Kostelnik reached on a third base error to lead off. Ed Klieman lined a single. Then Fred Krause ripped a two-run double to center, later racing home on Calcagno's two-out single.
After Pironello flied out deep to Joe Miscavish in left, Lefty Barnowski shot a single through the right side. Parsons followed with another hit and Roediger hit one of his patented shots over third base for a run. He wound up scoring later after a forceout, then consecutive single by Armstrong and Manager Rick Woodcock. The Grays threatened twice more, but Calcagno pitched out of james in the fifth and sixth.
Grays starter Steve Kosuda had the game under control from the second through the fifth, retiring 12 of the next 13 hitters before the top of the 'Bats order came up again in the sixth and produced a pair of runs. Kostelnik opened the inning with a single to the wall in center. Krause got a one-out line single. Then cleanup hitter Sam Williams greeted reliever Ken Barnowski with a two-run bloop single to right after the runners had advanced on a wild pitch. Calcagno poked a double that send Williams to third and a walk to Tom Izzo loaded the bases but a groundout stopped the rally short.
Barnowski got the last three batters out in order in the bottom of the seventh to earn the save for Kosuda.
The loss stung for the Silver Bats, who likely need to sweep their last four games to claim the championship -- with three games against the first-place Moran Stars and one more against the Grays. The 'Bats were missing two key players in Monday's game, one to injury and one to a vacation. They must face the Grays on Thursday, also at Novi, 10 a.m. The remaining three games after that will be at Brother Rice.
Bill Wahl hit a walk-off two-run double with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning against reliever Sal Calcagno to complete the Moran Stars' seven-run comeback at Brother Rice against the Silver Bats on Thursday to clinch their first Detroit MSBL 70+ championship. The outcome knocked the second-place 'Bats four games out of first with three to play, making the Stars the third team in the division's four years to earn the title.
Rick Birch, playing for the first time of the season for the Silver Bats, started on the mound and didn't allow a hit until Geno Baratta's bloop infield single to open the bottom of the fourth inning and his team trailing 7-0. Joe Boedeker followed with a doublel and Baratta came home on a sacrifice fly to center by No. 5 hitter Wahl. With one out, Dennis MacDonald's fly to left was dropped for an error allowing Boedeker to score.
Meanwhile, workhorse pitcher MacDonald, who had given up two runs in the first, three in the third and two in the fourth, bore down the last three innings and retired the last 10 Silver Bats, including one erased on a double play following a walk. It was in the bottom of the fifth that his team erupted, beginning when Birch hit Gad Holland in the left arm with one out. Mark Switalski followed with a single, and Baratta walked to load the bases. The Boedeker hit a sacrifice fly to center and Wahl singled home Switalski, prompting Manager Larry Paladino to switch shortstop Calcagno with Birch -- who's arm takes a beating all year because he's also pitching for the 60+ Brewers and the 50+ Zug Island Lugnuts.
Murphy, among the league leaders in RBI, greeted Calcagno with a two-run double to make the score 7-6. Calcagno, who entered the game tied with MacDonald in ERA at 3.04, then got the last batter of the inning to ground out and retired the three batters in the sixth on ground-out. And the first two batters of the seventh -- the top of the order -- also grounded out and put the Silver Bats within one out of a victory which would have put them one game behind the Stars, with two games against them still on the schedule and thus a chance at recapturing the title they won in 2021 and 2022.
Line-drive ace Baratta and his Stars teammates, though, weren't done. He laced a single and got a courtesy runner (Switalski) because he was limping. Boedeker followed with single and Paladino went to the mound to discuss the situation with Calcagno, who has been the team's ace pitcher all season. There was the option of bringing hard-throwing Eddie Klieman to pitch to Wahl, but it was decided to stick with Calcagno's more finesse deliveries. Wahl then ripped the first offering to left-center field to score both runners, after the throw missed the cutoff.
The triumph put the Stars record at 13-2, one of the losses being their previous meeting against the Silver Bats, 1-0 behind Calcagno's shutout. The Silvers fell to 9-6, one game ahead of the third-place Grays' 8-7. The 'Bats face the Stars in a rematch Monday at Brother Rice and close out the season against them Sept. 3 there in a rain makeup. They also have a game Thursday against the Grays and second place is on the line between them in the remaining games. In the day's later game, the Grays rolled over the Monarchs 19-0. The Monarchs fell to 0-15.
Although the Silver Bats were missing a couple key players due to injury and vacation, the lineup still was strong. However, the Moran Stars had their dominant lineup with few holes in the batting order top to bottom and the defense to match. Murphy leads the lead in RBI with 21 and Wahl is second with 20. Fred Krause of the 'Bats, who had four RBI, is among the league leaders with a .667 batting average and 15 RBI. Klieman is at .647 and his 19 runs leads the league. Boedeker's average also is at .667.
Krause drove in the Silver Bats' two runs in the opening inning with a single afer leadoff batter Tim Kostelnik and Klieman singled. Kostelnik got a one-out walk to begin the three-run eruption in the third, took second on a wild pitch and third on a wild pickoff throw. Klieman walked and Krause's infield bloop single sent Kostelnik home. Cleanup batter Sam Williams walked and then walks to Tom Izzo and Gary Sovey brought in the other two runs. The two 'Bats runs in the fourth came on singles by Krause and Williams, which followed a double by Gary Faulkes, walk to Birch and infield hit by Kostelnik. The Stars got a key double-play that helped the inning from being worse.
You might say the Silver Bats broke Dennis MacDonald's shutout in the first inning -- 'cuz that's the only run they got in the 17-1 drubbing by the 70+ champion Moran Stars at Brother Rice in a rainout-makeup Monday. It was a chance for the Silver Bats to avenge the bitter 8-7 loss in their previous matchup, but the 'Bats seemed drained and blase' in the 90-degree heat while their counterparts went full bore.
Speedy Stars leadoff batter Gad Holland opened the game with an infield hit off Gary Sovey and, two outs later, trotted home on a Joe Bodeker single. But the 'Bats got the run back in the bottom of the inning. Eddie Klieman singled up the middle and Fred Krause ripped one of his two doubles. Then MacDonald, the league pitching leader in a number of categories, went to work. He retired the next 11 batters before giving in three hits in the fifth -- and got a pitcher to home to first doubleplay with the bases loaded to end the threat. Then he bore down again, getting outs on five of the last six batters. The Silver Bats got only six hits and left just three on base. The last five batters in the order went 0-for-10.
Offensively the Stars powerful lineup consistently poked hits -- and had the benefit of some shoddy defense that included "he shoulda caught it" type errors that according to MLB scoring rules can be ruled errors without touching the ball if it could be determined something was catchable normal expectations.
So . . . all the five runs the Morans got in the second inning, despite six hits, were unearned. There was an error in the third but the lone run that inning was earned. Larry Paladino came on to pitch the next three innings. He gave up two earned runs in the fifth and two unearned, plus one earned, in the sixth. Klieman came in to pitch the seventh and nobody seemed to be able to catch a ball. He was the victim of five runs, but four of them were unearned.
In the earlier game at Rice the Monarchs stunned the Grays 4-2 for their first victory in their two years. Ex-Silver Bat Eddie Harmon was the starter and winner and afterwards there were cries of breaking up the Monarchs. The outcome makes Thursday's game at Brother Rice between the 'Bats and Grays a battle for second place with just two games left.
The Grays pounded out 10 hits off Sal Calcagno, but it was a couple errors that did him in as they overcame a 3-2 deficit with a three-run fifth to defeat the Silver Bats in their 70+ game Thursday at Brother Rice Stadium. The outcome evened the teams records at 9-8 and a tie of second place with one game to go. Unfortunately for the Silver Bats, their game next Tuesday is agains the 15-2 champion Moran Stars, while the Grays play the earlier game Tuesday against the 1-16 Monarchs.
In the bottom of the first inning Ken Barnowski led off for the Grays with an infield popup that nobody called and it fell in for a scratch hit. Then Gary Parson grounded to third base but the ball went under the fielder's glove for an error. A wild pitch moved the runners up and Tom Cattaneo hit a sacrifice fly. After an infield hit from Gary Roediger, Rick Woodcock singled in the second run.
In the top of the second, though, the 'Bats got the runs back. Calcagno led off with a single. Tom Izzo followed with another. Gary Sovey hit into a forceout and then Randy Stark and Gary Faulkes each singled in a run before a doubleplay ended further damage. A doubleplay in the top of the fourth also thwarted a Silver Bats rally but not before they scored a run. Klieman opened with a single; Calcagno walked with one out, then Izzo got an infield hit that scored Klieman when the umpire called Calcagno safe at second base on the throw from the shortstop.
Parsons was the starting pitcher instead of workhorse Steve Kosuda for a change. He didn't have much trouble with the 'Bats hitters and, with a save in relief from Barnowski, was in control. The 'Bats only had one baserunner the last three innings, the result of a line single off Barnowski in the sixth by Larry Paladino. A forceout and two popups followed and the 'Bats went down one-two-three in the final inning.
The Silver Bats were without their numbers 3 and 4 batters, Fred Krause and Sam Williams. Further exasperating the Silvers was the fine fielding of the Grays.
They broke the 3-3 deadlock in the fifth, with an infield error off the bat of Curt Sylvester to start the inning. After a groundout, a hit and a forceout, Cattaneo got an RBI on a blistering shot off the third baseman's glove. Then Roediger, a usual right-handed pull hitter, with two outs and two strikes, ripped a two-run liner to centerfield.
The 70+ Silver Bats closed out the season with what should have been a fun game with nothing on the line. Instead, it became a bitter finale due to a bad umpire call on the first play of the game and loss of the 'Bats two best hitters, the first on an unjust ejection 15 seconds into a fair complaint, followed by the departure of another in protest. With a gutted 2-3 spots in the lineup, the only two players on the bench had to take those spots and that also made for creative and less than ideal defensive adjustments.
The outcome? An 11-3 victory for the league champion Moran Stars. They scored seven of their runs in the final inning, six unearned, so nearly all game it was winnable for the Silver Bats had they not lost their best two offensive weapons -- shortstop Ed Klieman and center fielder Fred Krause.
Gad Holland led off the game with a hit to center and tried to stretch it into a double. Krause fired the ball to Klieman who laid his glove on the ground and Holland slid into it. It was clear as a bell to virtually everyone, but the umpire called him safe. And when Klieman complained he was immediately ejected. 'Bats manager Larry Paladino argued and asked the reason for the ejection and was told Klieman threw his hat on the field and that is the reason. There was no foul language involved and Klieman insists he didn't throw his hat down, he simply questioned the call. Most team members walked off the field ready to forfeit but it wouldn't have been fair to the Stars so they returned, minus Klieman and Krause, the replacements being Paladino and Jim Brake.
Holland ended up scoring on a sacrifice fly by Gene Baratta. The Stars scored three runs in the third off starter Gary Sovey, getting five hits and with the help of one error.
The Silvers got a questionable run in the fifth after hits by Sal Calcagno and Sovey, plus a wild pitch, put runners at second and third. Another wild pitch by Stars ace righthander Dennis MacDonald inexplicably scored Calcagno -- even though 70s rules say you can't score from third on a wild pitch or passed ball. The umpire said that didn't apply because the ball got stuck in the padding at the backstop.
Then the Morans exploded for seven runs in the seventh off the discouraged Sovey thanks mostly to some lackadaisical defense that included a missed popup and missed routine fly ball. Mark Switalski's RBI triple was the big hit of the six-hit inning. In the bottom of the inning MacDonald got on a wild streak and the 'Bats scored two runs. Sam Williams opened with a walk and Tom Izzo followed with another. A single by Jim Considine, a walk to Calcagno and a fielder's choice grounder by Sovey produced the two runs.
The Stars wound up their season with an impressive 16-2 record, relying on the strength of a strong top-to-bottom batting order, the lights-out pitching of MacDonald, and reliable defense. Meanwhile, the two-time champion Silver Bats wound up with a 9-9 record and third-place finish, the victim all season of key player absences and defensive lapses. They got mostly solid pitching from Calcagno and Sovey but the loss of hard-throwing Klieman as a pitching option, due to rotator cuff problems -- plus a broken finger -- was hard to overcome. And . . . primo catcher Gregg Housey played the entire season with a broken foot.
Shield's Restaurant down Maple from the Brother Rice ballpark was the scene of the Silver Bats' post-season awards party that immediately followed the game. Calcagno was voted the team's MVP for the second time. Last year's MVP, Klieman was first runner-up and Krause second. Dave Franklin got a miniature silver bat for being the league "batting champion." He went 1-for-1 for a 1.000 average. Co-Manager Mike Hendrie, busy all season with work and thus not appearing in a game, earned a certificate at MVP 20th runner-up.
The Silver Bats wish to thank their opponents and the league for another fine season and hope it all falls back into place next year -- hopefully with fewer rainouts, fewer injuries and illnesses, and more players discovering the league.
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