The Orioles ended their winless streak by beating the Rangers 12-6.  Chris Witt and Shawn Finnel had 3 hits for the Rangers.  Shawn Finnel blasted a homerun to open up the game for the Rangers.

It was another beautiful Sunday on July 9, 2023, when the first place Sand Crabs took on the 3rd place Crawfords at the friendly confines of EMLL, in a hotly contested match in the 45+ MABL of Southern Wisconsin.  The sky was high, and so were the spirits of both squads.  The wind was blowing out to right center, and there were fans in the double-digits cheering on their favorite players, or heckling them when they didn’t perform.  But with love.  Yeah, love heckles.  That’s what they were…..

The Sand Crabs sent Wally (Mike Wallace, in case any scouts are reading this) to the mound, while the Crawfords debuted their secret weapon, Mark Holzman. Holzman, fresh out of triple-A Albuquerque, had fans questioning whether he was old enough to be in this league, as he displayed such youthful exuberance as he skipped to the mound.  As it turned out, he just stepped on an acorn in the dugout.  Anyhoo, both squads were set to battle, and battle they did.

Wally threw well; outstanding, in fact.  He held a voracious lineup of sluggers and bearded men to 9 hits over 7 innings, striking out 4 and walking 3.  4 runs were allowed, but 50% of those runs were unearned.  A lot of other stuff happened, here are a few of those things.  The Crawfords sent 3 more hurlers to the hill, while the Crabs just sent a Hill for relief of the Wall.  The Crabbers took advantage of 11 free passes, but the Crawford pitchers whiffed a half-dozen Crabs.  The daily dinger diary shows Tom Scalissi with an el grande salami in the 4th, and Mike Schoonveld with a 3-run Jack in the 5th.  Mike Kauffman hit 4 balls to the exact same spot in right center field, 2 were doubles, and 2 were singles.  He nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and had to “slide” into second twice. Question: If a man is nearly standing still and drops a cheek on the ground near a base, does this constitute a slide?  If a tree falls in the forest, and that tree is Mike Kauffman, it most definitely makes a sound, and that sound is a grunt.  However, it is at least a SPOG-like grunt.  So there’s that.

Where was I?  Oh yeah.  The game.  3 time SPOG Scalissi finished with 4 knocks on the day, as did Kauffman.  Troy Galston collected 3 himself, though almost missed an at bat as he was apparently napping.  Greg O’Donnell, the retiree, barreled 4 balls and had 2 hits to show for it.

Andy Winn and Paul Meyer both had 3 hit days for the Crawfords, each with a ground-rule double to left.  Mike Starshak had a double as well, and added a single for good measure.  Final score, Crabs 18, Crawfords 5.

Both teams are in action again next Sunday, when the Crabs face the Orioles at noon, and the Crawfords take on the Rangers at 3, at Ahuska Field in Monona.  Its a good place for a cookout, and to take in a game, especially if you like traffic noise.  And who doesn’t?

It was an intermittently rainy day, for the first time in a loooong time, when the first place Sand Crabs visited the second place Rangers in the 45+ division of MSBL of Southern Wisconsin.  The venue? EMLL.  The wind?  Blowing out.  Foreshadowing?  Why yes, how literarily knowledgeable of you!

Randy Gaber got the start for the Crabs, Jeff Kunkle for the Rangers. Battery mates were Tim McInernay and Dale Doebert, respectively. The Sand Crabs went down silently in the first, but the Rangers did not.  Kunkle led off and smashed a double to the left field fence.  He was followed by Chris Gustaf who deposited a pitch beyond the second fence, just right of centerfield to put the Rangers up 2-zip. In the second, the Crabs got 3, but the Rangers got 4, highlighted by a Doebert double, to go up 6-3. The Crabs scratched another across in the third, when Troy Galston doubled and was able to score on a single by Tom Scalissi.  Then, the rains came, and delayed the action for about 10 minutes, making the game seem like it took about 6 hours.  When the skies cleared, the Rangers were retired, having scored 2 more on a Pete Olsen single and some less than stellar Crabs D.

Reliever Mike Wallace entered in the 4th and kept the Rangers quiet until the bottom of 7.  Jason Witt relieved Kunkle in the 6th with one out, as the Crabs managed to load the bases.  They had chipped 3 runs across when Scalissi stepped up with 3 men on, and deposited a Witt pitch onto the bike path in left center, and earned his second consecutive SPOG. 12-8 Crabs.  The Rangers went peacefully in their half of the 6th.

In the top of 7, SPOG 2, a.k.a. Mazomanian Menace Brian Buol restored his love for the game by yanking one out to right center, and two more runs were plated on a ground-out by Mike Kauffman, and a solid single by the Mazomanian Marvel, Dewey Walz. 15-8 Crabs.  In their half of the 7th, the Rangers got two off Wally in the 7th when Bill Nolan and Kunkle singled, stole a coupla bags and advanced on an error, and scored on a Mark Tyler single. 15-10 Crabs.

Would this see-saw battle ever end?  It would. With the clock ticking in the bottom of the 8th, the conclusion came down to a Wally versus Willie Wilde war. Wally willed Willie to whiff, and this marathon came to close.

Thirsty, the Sand Crabs reminisced at Slice’s with some chocolate milk.  Its good for you, ya know.