CCJBL Tournament Preview

The time is here! This coming Monday the CCJBL Tournament begins!

Parity ruled in the CCJBL this regular season, with Savanna's Indians winning the regular season title with a 6-4 record. Chadwick was the lone bunch finishing sub-.500, with Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Shannon, and Lanark all finishing even at 5-5. Obviously the Indians secured the top seed and one of the first round byes for the tourney (also Chadwick is the 6 seed with their last place finish) but we had to go to a tie-breaker to determine the 2-5 seeds. The first tie-breaker is head-to-head and the second, in case there is a tie in head-to-head, is scoring differential. Without getting into all the details this is how it worked it's way out: Milledgeville by virtue of having the best head-to-head record against the other three became the tourney 2 seed with the all-important first round bye. Mt. Carroll ended up with the 3 seed and will play Chadwick in the first round. Finally, Lanark (4) will take on Shannon (5) in a first round matchup.

Mt. Carroll (3) vs. Chadwick (6)

The Hawks come in having won their last three in a row. Some early season offensive struggles appear to be a distant memory. Led by the leading home run slugger in the league, Mike Trout (4 HR, 7 RBI), and solid lead-off man Willie Wells (.375, 7 R, 6 RBI, 4 SB). Austin Jackson and Javier Baez have both contributed monster performances during the season. The pitching staff is anchored by eccentric Ebby Calvin LaLoosh (2.81, 2-2, 18 K). "Old Hoss" Radbourn finished the season strong but Johnny Vander Meer (5.87) struggled most of the summer.

The Streaks had a difficult summer with the bats, finishing with a team average of .226 and scoring only 25 runs. Dangerous lead-off man Vince Coleman (.273, 6 SB) is a huge key that could be his squad's biggest hope for an upset. Kirk Gibson cooled a bit after a hot start but still batted .360 with 2 homers and 8 RBI. But the rest of the bats did not come through often during the season. Jered Weaver could single-handedly hurl his team to victory after a stellar campaign featuring a currently league-leading 1.48 E.R.A. Charlie Root and Steven Karsay had their moments but were primarily inconsistent.

If Weaver pitches and dominates and Coleman can get on and cause havoc Chadwick has a chance but if not Trout and company should roll into round 2.

Lanark (4) vs. Shannon (5)

The Beavers looked like a team to beat early on but limped a bit to the finish. They hit for a high average (.271) with three guys hitting .394 or higher (Craig Grebeck, Johnny Ward, and Joshua Hamilton) but not a lot of pop. Ward did steal 6 bags at the top of the order so he can definitely make things happen. On the mound "Dizzy" Dean was an effective workhorse and piled up 4 wins. David Price (3.00 E.R.A., 3 saves) and Chuck Finley (2.70) both were at times spectacular.

The Eagles are led by the stellar Roberto Clemente (.448, 6 R, 6 RBI) and Adrian Gonzalez (.423, 3 HR). Kenny DeNunez is probably their most reliable hurler (4.05, 3-1) and also contributed a couple huge late-inning hits on the plate. Lawrence French was steady (2.70 E.R.A.) and "Satchel" Paige had a late-season great start to make up a bit for a real rough season on the hill.

If Lanark can get the win in this one they have the pitching staff most likely to have a shot at taking down Savanna, but they have to get there first. Can Clemente and Gonzalez come through? Can DeNunez (most likely) hurl a gem or deliver a clutch hit? The only thing for sure is a good team is going to be going home.

Milledgeville (2) vs ?

The Missiles won the tie-breakers against the other three .500 teams and have a first-round bye as a result. They will play the first round winner that is the highest seed. At the top of their order is the mystifying Rickey Henderson. Despite hitting only .120 he managed to spark Milledgeville's offense by drawing seven walks and stealing a ridiculous 10 bases during the regular season. "Dixie" Walker was effective out of the 2 spot, hitting .379 and scoring 6 runs with 2 home runs. The rest of the team didn't hit much, however, as they were under .200 as a team most of the season and currently have a team average of .215 and only three dingers.

Fernando Valenzuela won four games and was the Missiles most reliable pitcher. Ray Brown and Hilton Smith both were steady if unspectacular.

The Missiles defense is particularly stingy with only three errors. Despite not being dominant on offense or on the mound they found a way to the two seed. They just win. But they are vulnerable.

Savanna (1) vs. ?

Savanna's record is not indicative of how good they truly are. They have a very solid lineup and easily the most feared pitching staff in the CCJBL. Offensively the Indians are led by Mike Kingery (.393, 7 R, 7 RBI, 2 triples) and Frankie Frisch (.367, 6 R, 5 RBI). Cleanup hitter Mickey Mantle did not have great numbers (.217, 2 HR, 4 RBI) but is feared by opposing pitchers, as evidenced by his 8 walks.

The jewel of the team is their pitching, however. They sport a wonderful 2.44 E.R.A. led by the arguably the ace of the league, Greg Maddux. Maddux had a 2.32 E.R.A. 3-3 record, with one save. "Candy" Cummings was also impressive, with a 3-1 record and a 2.65 E.R.A. "Windy" McCall worked primarily out of the bullpen, saving 3 games with a 2.45 E.R.A. Teams will likely need a dominant performance from their pitchers to match this staff.

Savanna does have a weakness: defense. They have committed a league high ten errors with "Pee Wee" Reese committing five errors alone at shortstop.

The Indians will play the the first round winner who is the lowest seed.


Well there you have it. The first round games will be played at the home field of the top seed, in this case Mt. Carroll and Lanark. After that the semi-finals and finals will be played at the league's crown jewel ball field, Chadwick's Handel Park. The post-tournament All Star contest will also take place at Handel Park.

Milledgeville and Savanna gain a huge advantage with their byes because pitchers are limited to six innings per game and nine per week, just as in the regular season. But any team playing in the championship that did not get the bye will be on their third game of the week. They will have to manage their pitchers much more carefully than the top two seeds.

Let's get this party started!!!

CCJBL Week 5, 2017

This Week In CCJBL Baseball!!!

Monday June , 26

Shannon Eagles @ Chadwick Silver Streaks, Handel Park

Junk-baller Kenny DeNunez took the bump for the visiting Eagles and was opposed by ace Jered Weaver. And this lived up to the billing!

DeNunez got himself into a jam in the top of the first when he allowed two bases on balls and a single to Frankie Lindor to load the bases with two out but coerced Reggie Sanders into a harmless fly out to escape any permanent damage to his E.R.A. Weaver dodged a bullet in the bottom of the third when Chip Hale got himself thrown out at home on an Endy Chavez single to end the frame.

The games only score took place the next inning when Weaver gave up back-to-back doubles from Adrian Gonzalez and Rabbit Maranville with two outs. Larry French threw two hitless innings to close things out against the Streaks, who feel to 4-5 on the season, while Shannon improved to that identical record.

Final Score: Shannon 1, Chadwick 0

Chadwick Performance Highlights:
Lindor 1-3, E
Weaver 1-1, 2b: Pitching L, 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 5 K
Root 1 IP, BB

Shannon Performance Highlights:
Chavez 2-3
Gonzalez 2-3, R, K, 2B
Maranville 1-3, RBI, 2B
DeNunez W, 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
French S, 2 IP, BB, 2K

Savanna Indians @ Lanark Beavers, Eastland H.S.

Hector Espino gets things started against Beavers hurler "Dizzy" Dean in the first with a run-scoring SAC fly. Lanark answers back in it's half of the inning when superstar Craig Grebeck scores Johnny Ward with a safety squeeze! Lanark leaves the bases loaded against Greg Maddux in the third and soon regret that failure when reliever David Price was touched for two runs on a triple by Mikey Kingery the next inning!

Maddux and reliever "Windy " McCall cruise through the Beavers hitters the rest of the way to improve the Indians record to 6-3. Lanark falls to 5-4 having lost three of their last four ballgames.

Final Score: Savanna 3, Lanark 1

Lanark Performance Highlights:
Ward 2-3, R, SB
Dean 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, K
Price L, 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, BB, K
Finley 1 IP

Savanna Performance Highlights:
Frisch 2-3, 2 R, BB
Kingery 1-2, 2 RBI, BB, 3B
Reese 1-2, BB, SB, E
Espino 0-1, RBI, BB, Sac Fly
Maddux 1-3, E: Pitching W, 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, BB, 5 K
McCall S, 1 IP

Mt. Carroll Hawks @ Milledgeville Missiles, Milledgeville H.S.

A quick start for both teams in this contest! Bases on balls machine Rickey Henderson gets on to the lead off the game against Mt. Carroll's Johnny Vander Meer, steals second as usual, and eventually scores on an Eric McNair fly out. Not to be outdone the scrappy Hawks taly one in thier half ot he first as well when Mikey Moustakas drives a Fernando Valenzuela screwball to the fence, scoring Willie Wells from second base!

Vander Meer struggles mightily in the second again, surrendering three straight hits and two runs before being pulled in favor of "Old Hoss" Radbourn. But Fernando cannot hold the lead and gives up two runs in the bottom of the third on a game-tying blast off of the bat of little powerhouse Mike Trout! Radbourn and Missiles reliver Ray Brown keep things tied up through six. Extra innings!

Milledgeville went down easily in the top of the seventh. "Gee" Walker ripped a lead-off double off of Brown in the bottom  half, however. Brown got Todd Benzinger on a strike out but Eddie Joost walked it off with a sharp single to drive home Walker for a Mt. Carroll victory!

Both teams now stand at 4-5.

Final Score: Mt. Carroll 4, Milledgeville 3

Milledgeville Performance Highlights:
Henderson 1-2, R, 2 BB, 2 SB, CS
McNair 0-2, RBI, Sac Fly
Kruk 1-2, R, 2B, K
Dyson 1-3, RBI, 3B
Valenzuela 1-1, R, RBI: Pitching 3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, K
Brown L, 3 1/3, 1 ER, 4 H, K

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:
Wells 1-3, R
Jackson 1-2, R, 3B, Sac
Trout 2-3, R, 2 RBI, HR
Moustakas 1-2, RBI, 2B
Walker 1-1, R, 2B
Joost 2-2, RBI
Vander Meer 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, BB
Radbourn W, 5 2/3, 0 R, 4 H, BB, 4 K

Monday, June 29

Chadwick Silver Streaks @ Milledgeville Missiles, Milledgeville H.S.

Chadwick strikes early, scoring single runs in each of the first two inning off of Missiles starter Hilton Smith. Hank Bauer and Reggie Sanders with RBI's. Milledgeville cuts the lead in half in the bottom of the second when Martin Dihigo singled off of Steve Karsay, swiped second base and scored on a Jarrod Dyson hit.

Streaks reliever Charlie Root gave up a Dixie Walker double with two gone in the fifth and was subsequently pulled in favor of Jered Weaver. The Chadwick ace was rudely greeted by Eric McNair, who tied things up with a sharp run-scoring base hit. Nobody scored in the sixth, sending the game to extras, for Milledgeville the second game in a row!

They would come out on top of this one, unlike Monday, when Fernando Valenzuela singled off of Weaver to lead off the seventh, was moved to second and then third on ground outs and scored on a clutch tow-out hit by McNair!

For Chadwick their third straight loss dropped their record to 4-6 and Milledgeville improved to 5-5 entering tournament play.

Final Score: Milledgeville 3, Chadwick 2

Lanark Beavers @ Mt. Carroll Hawks, Point Rock Park

Lanark got "LaLooshed" in this contest by the Hawks eccentric starting pitcher. "Nuke" went the distance and got a shutout against the Beavers. Meanwhile, Mt. Carroll's bats got a run in the first off of Chuck Finley on a "Mookie" Betts single and added another in the fourth when Todd Benzinger took "Dizzy" Dean yard!

That was plenty with LaLoosh on the bump dealing. The Hawks even their record at 5-5 while Lanark, at one point 4-2, dropped to 5-5 also.

Final Score: Mt. Carroll 2, Lanark 0

Lanark Performance Highlights:
Finley L, 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, K
Dean 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 K

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:
Betts 1-2, RBI, SB
Benzinger 1-1, R, RBI, HR
LaLoosh, 6 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Savanna Indians @ Shannon Eagles, Lions Park

A duel between two tough hurlers, "Satchel" Paige of Shannon, and "Candy" Cummings of Savanna!

Both pitchers cruise through four with nary a legitimate threat against them. Greg Maddux, on in relief of Cummings, is surprisingly the one to give up a run when Chip Hale scores on a Kenny DeNunez single in the fifth. DeNunez stays in the game to pitch the sxith for the Eagles and despite allowing two walks, finishes the game by shutting down the Indians bats.

Savanna falls to 6-4, but still secures to top tournament seed, while Shannon ups their record to an even 5-5.

Final Score: Shannon 1, Savanna 0

Savanna Performance Highlights:
Kingery 1-2, BB, K (only hit)
Cummings 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H
Maddux L, 1 IP, 1 ER, 3 H

Shannon Performance Highlights:
White 2-3, CS
Hale 1-1, 2b, R
DeNunez 1-1, RBi: Pitching S, 1 IP, 0 R 2 BB, K
Paige W, 5 Ip, 0 R, 1 H, BB, 7 K

CCJBL Standings
Savanna                                                                             6-4
Lanark, Milledgeville, Mt. Carroll, Shannon                    5-5
Chadwick                                                                           4-6

League Leaders (keep in mind tournament games DO count for league statistics. These are NOT final.

Batting Average
Clemente, Shannon                           .448
Gonzalez, Shannon                            .423
Grebeck, Lanark                                .417
Hamilton, Lanark                               .400
Ward, Lanark                                     .394
Kingery, Savanna                               .393
Manwaring, Milledgeville                .385
Walker, Milledgeville                        .379
Wells, Mt. Carroll                             .375
McNair, Milledgeville                      .370

Hits
Ward, Lanark                                    13
Clemente, Shannon                           13
Hamilton, Lanark                             12
Gonzalez, Shannon                          11
Kingery, Savanna                             11
Frisch, Savanna                                11
Walker, Milledgeville                       11

Runs
Wells, Mt. Carroll                             7
Kingery, Savanna                             7
8 tied with                                         6

RBI
Gibson, Chadwick                            8
Trout, Mt. Carroll                             7
Baez, mt. Carroll                              7
Kingery, Savanna                             7
Frisch, Savanna                                6
Walker, Milledgeville                       6
McNair, Milledgeville                      6
Clemente, Shannon                           6
Wells, Mt. Carroll                             6
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                         6

Doubles
Hamilton, Lanark                             4
Higgins, Lanark                               3
Gonzalez, Shannon                          3
Walker, Milledgeville                      3
Kingery, Savanna                            3

Triples
Kingery, Savanna                             2
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                        2
Samuel, Chadwick                          2

Home Runs
Trout, Mt. Carroll                            4
Gonzalez, Shannon                          3
Gibson, Chadwick                           2
Mantle, Savanna                             2
Jackson, Milledgeville                    2
Wells, Mt. Carroll                           2
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                       2

Stolen Bases
Henderson, Milledgeville                 10
Ward, Lanark                                     6
Coleman, Chadwick                          6
Wells, Mt. Carroll                              4
Reese, Savanna                                 3
White, Shannon                                 3

Walks
Mantle, Savanna                               8
Henderson, Milledgeville                 7
Lapp, Mt. Carroll                             6
Wells, Mt. Carroll                             5
Biggio, Chadwick                             5

Strikeouts
Dean, Lanark                                   9
Mantle, Savanna                              8
DeNunez, Shannon                          8
Betts, Mt Carroll                              7
Several Tied With                            6

Errors
Reese, Savanna                               5
Hornsby, Shannon                           2
Hale, Shannon                                2
Ward, Lanark                                 2
Grebeck, Lanark                            2
Iannetta, Lanark                            2
Wells, Mt. Carroll                          2
Lindor, Chadwick                         2
Dihigo, Milledgeville                   2

Team Average
Lanark                                          .271
Shannon                                       .268
Mt. Carroll                                   .260
Savanna                                        .253
Chadwick                                      .226
Milledgeville                                 .215

Runs Scored
Mt. Carroll                                    37
Savanna                                        28
Chadwick                                     25
Lanark                                          25
Shannon                                       24
Milledgeville                               22

Wins
Dean, Lanark                                4
Valenzuela, Milledgeville              4
Maddux, Savanna                         3
Cummings, Savanna                     3
DeNunez, Shannon                       3

Saves
Price, Lanark                                 3
Smith, Milledgeville                      3
McCall, Savanna                            3
DeNunez, Shannon                        2

E.R.A.
Weaver, Chadwick                          1.48
Maddux, Savanna                           2.32
McCall, Savanna                            2.45
Cummings, Savanna                      2.65
Finley, Lanark                                2.70
French, Shannon                            2.70
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                    2.81

Innings Pitched
Dean, Lanark                               33
Maddux, Savanna                        31
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                   25 2/3
Smith, Milledgeville                     24 2/3
Weaver, Chadwick                        24 1/3
Root, Chadwick                            23 1/3

Team E.R.A.
Savanna                                        2.44
Lanark                                          3.18
Chadwick                                     3.61
Mt. Carroll                                   3.81
Milledgeville                               4.12
Shannon                                      4.26

Run Differential
Savanna                                        +9
Mt. Carroll                                   +9
Lanark                                           0
Chadwick                                      -4
Shannon                                        -5
Milledgeville                                -7

Well, that's a wrap on the CCJBL regular season! Coming soon, my regular season and Tournament Preview!

CCJBL Week 4, 2017

CCJBL Week 4, 2017

This Week In CCJBL Baseball!!!

Monday, June 19

Mt. Carroll Hawks @ Savanna Indians, Old Mill Park

A fascinating pitching matchup between Savanna's Greg Maddux and The Hawks' "Nuke" LaLoosh! Unfortunately for young LaLoosh, things go south for him immediately when he allowed singles to the first two hitters he faced, Frankie Frisch and "Pee Wee" Reese. After retiring the dangerous Mickey Mantle, Michael Kingery knocks in both base runners with a rocket double. Two batters later David Freese swats a single to the opposite field to score Kingery and stake the Indians to a 3-0 lead.

The score did not change until the top of the fifth. Maddux had been on cruise control allowing just one hit coming into the inning. With one gone catcher Jack Lapp coaxed a walk from the Indian's ace and scored on a towering homer by leadoff hitter Willie Wells! Mt. Carroll was now back in the ball game and was benefitting from stellar relief pitching from "Old Hoss" Radbourn, who doesn't let his curious nickname get him down!

Mt. Carroll did get a one-out single in the sixth to put a slight scare into reliever "Windy" McCall, but he quickly recovered too induce Mikey Moustakas to ground into an inning and game-ending double play.

Final Score: Savanna 3, Mt. Carroll 2

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:
Wells 1-2, R, 2 RBI, BB, 2 SB, HR (Now that's having a game)
Betts & Trout 1-3
LaLoosh L, 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, BB, 3 K
Radboun 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, BB, 3 K

Savanna Performance Highlights:
Frisch 1-3, R, K
Reese 2-3, R, K, E, SB
Kingery 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B
Freese 1-2, RBI
Espino 1-2, 2B
Maddux W, 5 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 2BB, 2 K
McCall S, 1 IP, 1 H,

Milledgeville Missiles @ Shannon Eagles, Lions Park

A tough battle was almost a sure thing with crafty hurlers Larry French (Shannon) and Fernando Valenzuela (Milledgeville) taking the ball in this contest. Neither dissapointed as both pitchers held their opponents scoreless through the first three innings. Milledgeville finally broke through against French in the top of the fourth when Martin Dihigo singled to lead of the frame and was moved to second by a Harry Craft sacrifice bunt. After Kirt Manwaring moved Dihigo to third on a groundout, Jimmy Bloodworth rifled a single into center to give the Missiles the lead.

Milledgeville would add to that lead in the very next inning. Dalton Carriker reached second base on a Chip Hale throwing error when he pinch hit for Valenzuela to lead off. A ground out to first by Rickey Henderson moved Carriker to third and a two-out base knock by Eric McNair.

Meanwhile, Valenzuela had been relieved by Hilton Smith who pitched a 1-2-3 fifth but gave up a solo home run to Adrian Gonzalez and a "Rabbit" Maranville single with two out in the sixth made things interesting. Smith retired Monte Irvin to end the game and preserve victory for the Missiles.

Final Score: Milledgeville 2, Shannon 1

Shannon Performance Highlights:
Gonzalez 2-3, R, RBI, K, 2B, HR
Maranville 3-3
French L, 4 2/3 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 H
DeNunez 1 1/3, H, K

Milledgeville Performance Highlights:
McNair 2-3, RBI
Dihigo 1-3, R, K
Manwaring 1-3, 2B
Bloodworth 2-2, RBI
Valenzuela W, 4 IP, 0 R, 5 H, BB, 2 K
Smith S, 2 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, K

Lanark Beavers @ Chadwick Silver Streaks, Handel Park

The much-anticipated duel between the pitchers with the leagues top two ERA's never really materialized. This one had fireworks!

Lanark's John Ward drilled a homer to lead off the game against Jered Weaver, but the lead was short-lived. The Streaks fired back in their half when Vince Coleman singled and swiped second, then was driven home by a Kirk Gibson double. Gibson was then himself sent home by a double off of the bat of Juan Samuel for a 2-1 Chadwick lead.

Chadwick added to their lead off of the Beavers starter Chuck Finley in the third on a mammoth home run by Samuel that extended the lead to 5-1! Things seemed to be pretty much in the bag for the Streaks until Lanark exploded for five runs off of Steven Karsay, who had come on in relief of ace Jered Weaver. The big blow in the frame being the first grand slam of the season by Jimmy Bottomley! Lanark now led 6-5!

It would not last. "Dizzy" Dean came on in to pitch for the Beavers and was shelled for four runs. Craig Biggio walked to lead things off, stole second, and scored on a Gibson single. Samuel got another hit and both he and Gibson scored on a three-run dinger onto the basketball courts beyond left-center by Tommy Leach. Chadwick had regained the lead 9-6! Lanark did manage another score in the top of the sixth but it was not enough.

Final Score: Chadwick 9, Lanark 7

Lanark Performance Highlights:
Ward 2-4, 2 R, RBI, SB, HR, E
Grebeck 2-4, R, 2B
Hamilton 3-4, R, RBI, 2B
Jacobsen 1-4, R
Higgins 1-2, R, RBI, BB
Bottomley 1-4, R, 4 RBI, HR
Finley 4 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 5 H, BB, 2 K
Price 1 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Dean L, 1 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, BB, K

Chadwick Performance Highlights:
Coleman 2-3, R, 2B, SB, CS
Biggio 0-1, 2 R, 2 BB, K
Gibson 2-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2B
Samuel 3-3, 2 R, 4 RBI, 2B, HR
Leach 2-3, R, 3 RBI, HR
Weaver 4 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, BB, K
Karsay W, 1 IP, 5 ER, 4 H, K
Root S, 1 IP, ER, 2 H,

Thursday, June 26

Shannon Eagles @ Lanark Beavers, Eastland H.S.

A prime pitching matchup between Lanark's "Dizzy" Dean and Shannon's Leroy Paige at Eastland H.S. Both hurlers manage to evade anything close to a rally early on, with each allowing just one single through three. In the bottom of the fourth inning the Beavers threaten with back-to-back one-out singles off of Paige. James Bottomley is whiffed by the slender slinger but contact hitter Tony Gwynn knocked in a two-out run with a line drive base hit.

In the top of the fifth the Eagles out a scare into the Lanark home fans, putting a runner on third with two gone but Dean ends the threat by striking out Kenny DeNunez. David Price came on in relief of Dean to start the sixth and earned his third save with a 1-2-3 frame.

Final Score: Lanark 1, Shannon 0

Shannon Performance Highlights:
Clemente 1-3
Johnson 1-2
Paige L, 4 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, BB, K
DeNunez 1 IP, BB, K

Lanark Performance Highlights:
Grebeck 1-2, R
Gwynn 1-2, RBI
Dean W, 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 3 K
Price S, 1 IP, K

Savanna Indians @ Milledgeville Missiles, Milledgeville H.S.

Another excellent pitching performance on both sides of this contest! The Indians "Pee Wee" Reese gets his squad on the scoreboard early with a RBI single off of Ray Brown in the first. And that is the only score of the game! Savanna gets a fine group effort from starter "Candy" Cummings, and relievers "Windy" McCall and Greg Maddux. They combined for the shutout and hurled their team to a 5-3 record.

Final Score: Savanna 1, Milledgeville 0

Milledgeville Performance Highlights:
Walker 1-3, K
Manwaring 2-3, K
Brown 1-2: Pitching L, 4 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, K
Smith 2 IP, 0 R, K

Savanna Performance Highlights:
Kingery 1-3, R
Reese 1-3, RBI, E
Cummings 1-1: Pitching W, 3 IP, 0 R, 3 H, K
McCall 1 IP, 0 R, K
Maddux 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, K

Chadwick Silver Streaks @ Mt. Carroll Hawks, Point Rock Park

Chadwick strikes first when they score off Mt. Carroll hurler Johnny Vander Meer on a Kirk Gibson base knock. The lead is short-lived however when the Hawks explode for six in the bottom of the inning off of STreaks starter Charlie Root. The onslaught featured a two-run homer by Michael Trout and a three-run job off of the bat of second baseman Javy Baez!

The Hawks pretty much coasted to victory from there on, with the only other run of the game coming in the third when Baez knocked home "Mookie" Betts on a sacrifice fly.

Final Score: Mt. Carroll 7, Chadwick 1

Chadwick Performance Highlights:
Gibson 1-3, RBI
Root L, 2/3, 5 ER, 3 H, 2 BB
Karsay 1-2, 3B: Pitching 4 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 3 K

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:
Wells 0-2, R, BB, E, SB
Jackson 1-3, 2B
Trout 1-3, R, 2 RBI, K, HR
Lapp 1-3, R
Betts 1-2, R, K
Benzinger 2-2, R, RBI
Baez 1-1, R, 4 RBI. HR
Vander Meer W, 5 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K
LaLoosh 1 IP


Current CCJBL Standings

Lanark                             5-3
Savanna                           5-3
Chadwick                        4-4
Milledgeville                   4-4
Shannon                           3-5
Mt. Carroll                       3-5

League Leaders

Batting Average
Grebeck, Lanark             .526
Clemente, Shannon         .522
Gibson, Chadwick           .450
Hamilton, Lanark             . 417
Walker, Milledgeville      .409
Reese, Savanna                .400
Higgins, Lanark               .389
Wells, Mt. Carroll            .389
Gonzalez, Shannon          .381

Hits
Clemente, Shannon              12
Ward, Lanark                        10
Hamilton, Lanark                 10
Grebeck, Lanark                   10
Gibson, Chadwick                 9
Kingery, Savanna                  9
Frisch, Savanna                    9
Walker, Milledgeville           9

Runs
Kingery, Savanna                 7
White, Shannon                    6
Gibson, Chadwick                6
Wells, Mt. Carroll                 6
4 tied with 4

RBI
Gibson, Chadwick                 8
Baez, Mt. Carroll                   7
Wells, Mt. Carroll                 6
Jackson, Mt. Carroll             6
Walker, Milledgeville           6
Six tied with 5

Doubles
Hamilton, Lanark                 4
Higgins, Lanark                    3
Kingery, Savanna                 3
Walker, Milledgeville          2
Gonzalez, Shannon               2
Iannetta, Lanark                   2

Triples
Samuel, Chadwick              2
many tied with 1

Homers
Gonzalez, Shannon              3
Trout, Mt. Carroll                3
Wells, Mt. Carroll                2
Jackson, Mt. Carroll            2
Gibson, Chadwick               2
Mantle, Savanna                  2
Walker, Milledgeville          2

Stolen Bases
Henderson, Milledgeville               8
Coleman, Chadwick                       5
Ward, Lanark                                 4
Wells, Mt. Carroll                          4
White, Shannon                             3

Walks
Mantle, Savanna                             7
Lapp, Mt. Carroll                           6
Wells, Mt. Carroll                          5
Henderson, Milledgeville              5
Walker, Milledgeville                    4
White, Shannon                             4

Errors
Reese, Savanna                              4
Dihigo, Milledgeville                     2
Ward, Lanark                                  2
Grebeck, Lanark                             2
Hale, Shannon                                2
Iannetta, Lanark                             2

Wins
Dean, Lanark                                4
Valenzuela, Milledgeville             3
Cummings, Savanna                     3
DeNunez, Shannon                       2
Root, Chadwick                            2

Saves
Price, Lanark                                3
McCall, Savanna                          2
Smith, Milledgeville                    2

E.R.A.
Weaver, Chadwick                        1.04
Price, Lanark                                 1.80
Maddux, Savanna                         2.16
Finley, Lanark                               2.65
McCall, Savanna                          2.70
French, Shannon                           3.07

Innings Pitched
Dean, Lanark                                   27
Maddux, Savanna                           25
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                      20 2/3
Smith, Milledgeville                       19 2/3
Root, Chadwick                              18 2/3
Weaver, Chadwick                          17 1/3

Team Average
Lanark                                             .292
Savanna                                           .277
Shannon                                           .265
Mt. Carroll                                        .259
Chadwick                                         .241
Milledgeville                                   .188

Runs Scored
Mt. Carroll                                       31
Savanna                                            25
Lanark                                              24
Chadwick                                         23
Shannon                                           22
Milledgeville                                   16

Team E.R.A.
Savanna                                           2.63
Lanark                                             3.00
Chadwick                                        3.70
Milledgeville                                  4.14
Mt. Carroll                                      4.21
Shannon                                          5.40

Runs Allowed
Savanna                                          17
Lanark                                            20
Milledgeville                                 23
Chadwick                                       25
Mt. Carroll                                     25
Shannon                                         29

Run Differential
Savanna                                          +8
Mt. Carroll                                     +6
Lanark                                            +4
Chadwick                                       -2
Milledgeville                                  -7
Shannon                                         -7

CCJBL Week 3, 2017

THIS WEEK IN CCJBL BASEBALL!!!

Monday June 12, 2017

Milledgeville Missiles @ Chadwick Silver Streaks, Handel Park

The Streaks, playing at beautiful Handel Park, strike quickly in this contest against the Missiles starter Hilton Smith. With one gone in bottom of the first Biggio tripled to right-center and scored when reliable slugger Kirk Gibson flied out to deep right. Hank Bauer led off the second inning for Chadwick with a line single. Smith manages to retire Samuel and Garrett Kness before giving up a triple to catcher Danny Scheaffer to make the score 2-0. The Streaks triple for the third time in the fourth, courtesy of Juan Samuel. Samuel is driven home by Tommy Leach later in the frame for a 3-0 Streaks advantage.

Meanwhile Jered Weaver, owner of the league leading E.R.A. of 0.00, continues to mystify opposing batters. The masterful hurler only allowed one runner to reach scoring position through five innings. He lost his shutout bid with two outs in the sixth when Dixie Walker drove one beyond the chain link in right for the Missiles only tally of the game.

Final Score: Chadwick 3, Milledgeville 1

Milledgeville Highlight Performances:

Walker 3-3, R, RBI, HR

Smith L, 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 6 K

Valenzuela 1 IP, 0 R

Chadwick Highlight Performances:

Biggio 1-3, R, K, 3B

Gibson 0-1, RBI, K, Sac Fly

Leach 1-1, RBI

Scheaffer 1-2, RBI, 3B

Samuel 1-2, R, K, 3B

Bauer 1-2, R, K

Mt. Carroll Hawks @ Lanark Beavers, Eastland H.S.

The Beavers' Jay "Dizzy" Dean and Mt. Carroll's Ebby Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh engage in a good old Carroll County pitchers duel! Through four innings neither youngster allowed a single baserunner! Dean is the first to falter in the top of the 5th when catcher Chris Iannetta commits an error trying to field a Mikey Moustakas dribbler and Austin Jackson walks. But Dean squirms out of the jam with his no-hitter intact by inducing a double play off of the bat of Javier Baez and getting Todd Benzinger to fly out to right. 

LaLoosh also loses his perfecto in the fifth when Enos "Country" Slaughter singles with one out for the Beavers. The next hitter, James Bottomley, then drew a walk. Dean goes down swinging for the first out of the inning but the next batter, bespectacled Cooper Pauley, reaches on another base on balls to load them up! Craig Grebeck comes to the plate and delivers a huge two-out single to score both Slaughter and Bottomley to stake Lanark to a 2-0 lead.

Dean took the mound in the sixth going for the win and a no-hitter. The quirky righty struck out Willie Wells to begin the inning but had his no-no trashed by pinch-hitter Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn! When the next batter, scrappy outfielder "Gee" Walker, also singles, Dean is lifted and lefty David Price inserted to try to finish things off. He gets a big strikeout of catcher Jack Lapp for the second out. Dangerous slugger Mike Trout flied out to left to end the game.

Final Score: Lanark 2, Mt. Carroll 0

Mt. Carroll Highlight Performances:

LaLoosh L, 5 IP, 2 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K

Lanark Highlight Performances:

Grebeck 1-1, 2 RBI

Dean W, 5 1/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, 4 K

Price S, 0 ER, 0 H, K

Shannon Eagles @ Savanna Indians, Old Mill Park

Two innings pass without a score until Savanna's star hurler Greg Maddux is touched for an unearned run in the top of the third when first sacker Hector Espino bumblds a Roberto Clemente grounder, allowing Chip Hale to score from second. Eagles pitcher Larry French cruised through four innings leaving three frustrated Savanna baserunners in scoring position. 

Shannon puts the game away with solo blasts off Maddux by pinch hitter Kenny DeNunez in the fifth and Adrian Gonzalez to lead off the sixth. DeNunez stays in the game after his homer to pitch a hitless two innings to get the save.

Final Score: Shannon 3, Savanna 0

Savanna Highlight Performances:

Maddux L, 5 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 3 K

Cummings 1 IP, 0 R, 0H

Shannon Highlight Performances:

Maranville 2-3, K, CS

Gonzalez 1-2, R, RBI, HR, BB

DeNunez 1-1, R, RBI, HR, Pitching 2 IP, BB, 2 K

Hale 1-2, R

French W, 4 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Monday July 17, 2017

Savanna Indians @ Chadwick Silver Streaks, Handel Park

Chadwick ace Charlie Root got dinged in the first, with quite a bit of the damage inflicted by his own defense. The Indians leadoff man reached on a booted grounder Craig Biggio and then scored on a bomb by Mickey Mantle. Another error, this time by catcher Danny Scheaffer, with one out in the second allowed Davey Freese to reach with one out. He scored later in the inning on a single by Kingery, which gave Savanna a 3-0 lead. 

During this time The Streaks were getting blanked by William "Candy" Cummings. The righty with the nasty curveball did not allow a baserunner until a single with two outs in the fourth. Cummings was relieved by "Windy" McCall for the final two innings, and he was equally effective, setting down all six Chadwick batsmen he faced in order.

Final Score: Savanna 3, Chadwick 0

Chadwick Performance Highlights:

Root L, 3 IP, 3 R, 1 IP, 4 H

Karsay 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Weaver 1 1/3, 0 R

Savanna Performance Highlights:

Kingery 1-3, R, RBI, 2B

Mantle 1-2, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR

Freese 1-2, R

Cummings 1-2, K: Pitching W, 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K

McCall S, 2 IP, 0 R, 2 K

Milledgeville Missiles @ Lanark Beavers, Eastland H.S.

A classic!

The Beavers' David Price and Milledgeville's Ray Brown both were touched up for a run in their respective first innings. The Missiles tallied their run in the top after Rickey Henderson reached on an error by Chris Iannetta (one of two he would commit in that inning), stole second base, and crossed the plate when the next batter, Dixie Walker, singled. The Beavers John Ward singled to lead off the bottom half and also swiped second. Craig Grebeck promptly drove him home with a liner to the outfield to tie the game. And the score stayed like that for quite some time!

The Missiles threatened in the third when Henderson reached on a base on balls, took second with nobody out, but was caught getting greedy trying to steal third. The Beavers had a golden opportunity in the sixth to walk it off but with "Pinky" Higgins on third and just one gone "Baby Doll" Jacobsen ripped a liner to third baseman Eric McNair, who smartly gloved it and tagged out Higgins for an unassisted double play!

With the score still deadlocked at one apiece each squad left a runner stranded on third in their respective halves of the ninth. "Dizzy" Dean then came on in relief of Chuck Finley, who threw five innings of dominating ball, and quickly ran into trouble against the visiting Missiles by walking the first batter, the frightening base stealer Henderson. The muscular leadoff man promptly stole second for the third time in the game and scored on a ringing double by Walker. Martin Dihigo and Harry Craft were retired by Dean but McNair dealt a death blow to The Beavers when his ground ball found a hole in the defense and plated Walker for a 3-1 advantage. Lanark got two men on in the bottom of the inning but could not score against reliever Hilton Smith.

Final Score: Milledgeville 3, Lanark 1

Lanark Highlight Performances:

Grebeck 3-5, RBI, E

Higgins 3-5, 2B

Slaughter 1-3, BB, K, 2B

Iannetta 1-1, 2 EWard 1-5, R, SB

Price 4 IP, R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Finley 5 IP, 0 ER, H, 3 BB, 4 K

Dean L, 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, BB

Milledgeville Highlight Performances

Henderson 0-2, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 SB, CS

Walker 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 2B

McNair 2-4, RBI, BB

Brown 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Valenzuela W, 3 IP, 0 R, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Smith S, 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 K

Mt. Carroll Hawks @ Shannon Eagles, Lions Park

After both teams failed to score in the first, Mt. Carroll's bats awoke and went berserk against Leroy Paige and co. Four singles in the second scored two. The Hawks' Austin Jackson tripled home two more in the third, sending Paige to the bench. Reliever Kenny DeNunez fared no better giving up a two run moonshot to Willie Wells in the fourth and a solo homer to Jackson in the fifth. The Missiles tallied three more in the sixth on four consecutive base hits off of Larry French.

Shannon did fight back with a three-run fourth, the big shot being a two-run dinger by Rogers Hornsby. But it was not nearly enough to keep pace with the red hot Mt. Carroll batters.

Final Score: Mt. Carroll 10, Shannon 3

Shannon Highlight Performances:

White 1-2, BB, 3B, SB

Hornsby 1-3, R, 2 RBI, HR

Dickey 2-3, RBI, 3B

Paige 2 1/3 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K, L

DeNunez 2 2/3, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 7 K

French 1 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, K

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:

Wells 2-4, R, 3 RBI, 2 K

Lapp 1-2, R, 2 BB

Trout 0-2, R, 2 BB, K, SB

Betts 1-3, R, K

Moustakas 2-4, 2 R, RBI

Jackson 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 3B, HR

Baez 2-4 R, RBI, 2 K

Benzinger 1-3, R, 2 K, 2B

Radbourn W, 4 IP, 3 ER, 6 H, K

Vander Meer 1-1, RBI: Pitching 2 IP, 0 R, H, 2 BB, 3 K

CCJBL STANDINGS

Lanark                            4-2
Savanna                          3-3
Milledgeville                  3-3
Chadwick                       3-3
Shannon                          3-3
Mt. Carroll                      2-4

LEAGUE LEADERS

Batting Average
Clemente, Shannon                     .588
Grebeck, Lanark                          .538
Walker, Milledgeville                  .500
Frisch, Savanna                           .444
Wells, Mt. Carroll                        .429
Gibson, Chadwick                       .429
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                    .417
Gonzalez, Shannon                     .400

Hits
Clemente, Shannon                        10
Walker, Milledgeville                      8
Frisch, Savanna                               8
Kingery, Savanna                            7
Ward, Lanark                                  7
Grebeck, Lanark                             7

Runs
White, Shannon                              6
Kingery, Savanna                           5
Walker, Milledgeville                    5
Henderson, Milledgeville              4
Wells, Mt. Carroll                          4
Trout, Mt. Carroll                          4
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                      4

RBI
Clemente, Shannon                        6
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                      6
Walker, Milledgeville                    6
Frisch, Savanna                             5
Gibson, Chadwick                         5

Doubles
Hamilton, Lanark                           3
Higgins, Lanark                             3
Kingery, Savanna                           2
Walker, Milledgeville                    2
Iannetta, Lanark                             2

Triples
Samuel, Chadwick                         2

Home Runs
Walker, Milledgeville                    2
Mantle, Savanna                            2
Trout, Mt. Carroll                          2
Jackson, Mt. Carroll                      2
Gonzalez, Shannon                        2
Gibson, Chadwick                         2

Stolen Bases
Henderson, Milledgeville              7
Coleman, Chadwick                      4
White, Shannon                             3
Ward, Lanark                                 3


Walks
Mantle, Savanna                            6
Lapp, Mt. Carroll                          5
Henderson, Milledgeville             5
Walker, Milledgeville                   4
White, Shannon                            4
Hamilton, Lanark                         4

Errors
Dihigo, Milledgeville                    2
Reese, Savanna                              2
Iannetta, Lanark                             2

Wins
Dean, Lanark                                 3
Root, Chadwick                             2
DeNunez, Shannon                        2
Cummings, Savanna                      2
Valenzuela, Milledgeville              2

Saves
Price, Lanark                                 2

E.R.A.
Weaver, Chadwick                         0.68
Finely, Lanark                                0.69
Maddux, Savanna                          2.00
Root, Chadwick                             2.12
Price, Lanark                                 2.25
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                    2.70

Innings Pitched
Dean, Lanark                                  21
Maddux, Savanna                           18
Root, Chadwick                              17
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                      16 2/3
Smith, Milledgeville                       15 2/3
Weaver, Chadwick                          13 2/3

Complete Games
Maddux, Savanna                            2
Root, Chadwick                               1 (only Shutout)
Weaver, Chadwick                          1
LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                      1

Team Average
Savanna                                            .291
Shannon                                           .280
Lanark                                             .274
Mt. Carroll                                      .273
Chadwick                                        .238
Mt. Carroll                                      .169

Runs Scored
Mt. Carroll                                       24
Savanna                                           21
Lanark                                             16
Shannon                                          14
Milledgeville                                   14
Chadwick                                        13

Team E.R.A.
Chadwick                                         1.86
Lanark                                             2.14
Savanna                                           3.00
Mt. Carroll                                       4.89
Milledgeville                                   4.97
Shannon                                           6.61

Runs Allowed
Lanark                                              11
Chadwick                                         12
Savanna                                            15
Milledgeville                                    21
Mt. Carroll                                       21
Shannon                                           26

Run Differential
Savanna                                            +6
Lanark                                              +5
Chadwick                                         +1
Mt. Carroll                                       +1
Shannon                                           -5
Milledgeville                                    -7

CCJBL Week Two, 2017

THIS WEEK IN CCJBL BASEBALL!!!

Monday June 5, 2017

Lanark Beavers @ Shannon Eagles, Lions Park

The Beavers and The Eagles sent two wiry hurlers to the bump in this one, Leroy Paige for Shannon and David Price for rival Lanark. Not much to note happened until the third when Paige ran into trouble after retiring the first two batters. James Bottomley doubled and was then driven home when Josh Hamilton launched a fastball into the stratosphere for a 2-0 Lanark lead. But the Beavers were not finished scoring in the inning. John Ward singled to right center and then scored when Pinky Higgins sent him home with a hard hit double. Cooper Pauley was retired on a pop out and Paige was finally out of it. 

Meanwhile Price had little trouble with the Shannon batters, getting through three inning without allowing a score until being relieved by Chuck Finley. Finley picked up where Price left off, striking out the side in the fifth and giving up just one hit, a solo shot by Adrian Gonzalez with two outs in the final inning. 

Final Score: Lanark 3, Shannon 1

Shannon Highlight Performances:

Gonzalez 2-3, HR, R, RBI 

Paige 5 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 5 K

Lanark Highlight Performances:

Bottomley 2-3, R, 2B

Higgins 2-3, RBI, 2 2b

Hamilton 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR, BB, K

Price W, 3 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Finley S, 3 IP 1 ER, 1 H, 5 K

Milledgeville Missiles @ Savanna Indians, Old Mill Park

The Missiles struck first in this contest when Dalton Carriker reached on a Pee Wee Reese error in the second. Two batters later catcher Kirt Manwaring drove home Carriker with a line single. That lead was erased dramatically in the bottom of the third on little Frankie Frisch's two-run homer. Mickey Mantle, the next batter up, then also cranked a home run off of the Milledgeville starting pitcher Fernando Valenzuela. 

Milledgeville gamely battled back against Savanna ace Greg Maddux when Eric McNair  drove home Rickey Henderson with a blooper into center. Henderson had reached on a Benito Santiago miscue and stolen second base. That run closed the gap to 3-2, but not for long. The Indians send ten batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning and scored five times, highlighted by a Santiago two-run base hit. Maddux hurled a scoreless sixth to finish an 8-2 victory. 

Final score: Savanna 8, Milledgeville 2

Milledgeville Highlight Performances:

McNair 1-3, RBI, K

Manwaring 1-3, RBI

Valenzuela 2 1/3, 3 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Raymond Brown 1 2/3 3 ER, 2 H, 1 BB

Hilton Smith 1 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 1 BB

Savanna Highlight Performances:

Frisch 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, HR

Mantle 1-1, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, HR

Espino 0-2, R, RBI, BB, K

Santiago 1-3, R, RBI, E

Cowgill 0-2, RBI, Sac Fly

Maddux batting 2-3, R, RBI- Pitching W, 6 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K

Mt. Carroll Hawks @ Chadwick Silver Streaks. Handel Park

Things escalated quickly in this game when Willie Wells led off the game with a homer off of Chadwick pitcher Charlie Root. Chadwick evened things up in the bottom of the third against the Hawks' "Nuke" LaLoosh on back-to-back singles from Brady "Cheese" Kness and Root, followed by a run-scoring double by tiny scrapper Craig Biggio.

That would be the last of the scoring for The Streaks, unfortunately for their boys. Mike Trout broke up the scoreless tie by knocking a dinger over the center field scoreboard of historic Handel Park. A run-scoring ducksnort by Jack Lapp in the fifth and a Javier Baez double in the sixth that plated two more tallies off of reliever Jered Weaver put the game away. Chadwick's home opener was spoiled!

Final Score: Mt. Carroll 5, Chadwick 1 

Chadwick Highlight Performances:

Biggio 1-2, RBI, BB, SB

Kness 1-1, R

Root 5 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 6 K

Weaver 1 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 K

Mt. Carroll Highlight Performances:

Wells 1-2, 2 R, RBI, BB, HR, SB

Lapp 1-3, RBI, K

Trout 2-3, R, RBI, K, H

Austin Jackson 1-2, R

Baez 1-2, 2 RBI, K, 2B

LaLoosh W, 4 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K

Radbourn S, 2 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 K

Monday June 9, 2017

Chadwick Silver Streaks @ Shannon Eagles, Lions Park

Chadwick hurler Steve Karsay was touched for a first inning run when red hot Roberto Clemente tripled and scored on Monte Irvin's ground ball single. The score remained 1-0 until the top of the third when speed demon Vince Coleman reached on an infield single off  Shannon's Larry French, stole second and took third on a base hit by Craig Biggio. Kirk Gibson continued to produce when he knocked Coleman in on a base hit. A double play grounder off of the bat of Frankie Lindor moved Biggio to third and he scored one batter later on a Reggie Sanders line drive hit. Chadwick led 2-1.

Clemente continued his torrid batting streak with a double in the bottom of the third and scored when Rogers Hornsby lined a hit into right center to tie the game at two. Kenny DeNunez, on in relief of French, gave up two decisive runs in the fifth when Gibson launched a ball over the right field fencing. Hammering Hank Bauer added a two-run exclamation point in the sixth when he too went yard, this one off of "Satchel" Paige. Charlie Root got the win with three scoreless innings of relief for The Silver Streaks.

Final Score: Chadwick 6, Shannon 2

Shannon Highlight Performances:

Clemente 2-3, 2 R, 2B, 3B

Hornsby and Irvin 1-3, RBI

French 3 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, K

DeNunez 2 IP, 2 ER, 2 H

Paige 1 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, K

Chadwick Performance Highlights:

Coleman 2-4, 2 R, 2 SB

Biggion 1-3, R

Gibson 2-2, R, 3 RBI, BB, HR

Sanders 1-2, RBI

Leach 1-3, R, 2B

Bauer 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR

Karsay 3 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, BB, K

Root W, 3 IP 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Lanark Beavers @ Savanna Indians, Old Mill Park

"Windy" McCall took the mound against the Beavers and was rudely greeted by a one-out double from lefty swinger Tony Gwynn. Joshua Hamilton knocked in Gwynn with a single two batter later. Lanark's "Dizzy" Dean soon gave up that narrow cushion, however, when he gave up three in the second. The big blow coming on a two run triple by Michael Kingery.

Things took a bad turn for Savanna in the fourth. McCall was touched for a two-run shot off of the bat of "Pinky" Higgins. The next inning saw three more runs cross the plate for The Beavers on three straight run scoring hits by Hamilton,  Billy "Baby Doll" Jacobsen, and Craig Grebeck, all off of reliever "Candy" Cummings.

After the rough second inning Dean had gotten himself together and allowed no runs. He was relieved by David Price with two gone in the bottom of the sixth and the tying run at the plate. Price retired pinch-hitter Greg Maddux to put the game in the win column for Lanark, improving their record to 3-1.

Savanna Performance Highlights:

Kingery 2-3, R, 2 RBI, 3B

Frisch 2-3, RBI

Mantle 0-3, 3 K

Cowgill 2-2, 2B

McCall 4 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K

Cummings L, 2 IP, 3 ER, 5 H, K

Lanark Performance Highlights:

Ward 2-4, SB, CS

Gwynn 1-4, R, 2B

Bottomley 1-3, R, K

Hamilton 2-3, R, 2 RBI, SB, 2B

Jacobsen 2-2, 2 R, RBI, SB, 2B

Grebeck 1-2, RBI, BB

Higgins 1-2, R, 2 RBI, HR, Sac Bunt

Dean 5 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 10 H, BB, 6 K, W

Price 1/3 IP, S

Milledgeville Missiles @ Mt. Carroll Hawks, Point Rock Park

The Hawks drew first blood when Michael Trout hammered a Hilton Smith breaking ball for a solo shot in the top of the first. Hawks hurler Johnny Vander Meer cruised through the first two frames facing the minimum but struggled in the third against the Milledgeville bats when he gave up two. Harry Craft drove one in with a double and the other was tallied on a very costly error by Javier Baez at second.

Smith and Vander Meer then blanked the opposition from then on. "Nuke" LaLoosh relieved Vander Meer in the sixth and got out of a bases loaded jam with back-to-back strikeouts. Ray Brown took the mound in place of Smith to begin the bottom of the sixth and retired the Hawks' "Mookie" Betts, Trout, and Mikey Moustakas in order to get the save.

Mt. Carroll Performance Highlights:

Trout 1-3, R, RBI, HR

Jack Lapp 1-1, BB

Vander Meer L, 5 1/3, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 BB, 5 K

LaLoosh 2/3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 2 K

Milledgeville Performance Highlights:

McNair 1-2, BB

Manwaring 1-2, R, BB, K

Craft 1-3, RBI, 2B, 2 K

Smith batting 1-2, R: Pitching 5 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, K, W

Brown 1 IP, S

CCJBL STANDINGS

Lanark Beavers                           3-1

Chadwick Silver Streaks             2-2

Shannon Eagles                           2-2

Savanna Indians                          2-2

Milledgeville Missiles                2-2

Mt. Carroll Hawks                      1-3

LEAGUE LEADERS

Batting Average

Clemente, Shannon                     .727

Frisch, Savanna                           .538

Hamilton, Lanark                        .455

Gibson, Chadwick                      .455

Reese, Savanna                           .444

Wells,Mt. Carroll                        .444

Ward, Lanark                              .429

Kingery, Savanna                       .417

Jacobsen, Lanark                       .400

Gonzalez, Shannon                    .400

Hits

Clemente, Shannon                     8

Frisch, Savanna                           7

Ward, Lanark                              6

Hamilton, Lanark                       5

Kingery, Savanna                       5

Gibson, Chadwick                     5

Runs

White, Shannon                          6

Clemente, Shannon                    5

Kingery, Savanna                       4

RBI

Clemente, Shannon                     6

Frisch, Savanna                           5

Espino. Savanna                          4

Gibson, Chadwick                       4

Doubles

Hamilton, Lanark                         2

Higgins, Lanark                           2

Iannetta, Lanark                           2

Home Runs

Gibson, Chadwick                        2

Stolen Bases

Henderson, Milledgeville             4

Coleman, Chadwick                     3

Biggio, Chadwick                        2

Jacobsen, Lanark                         2

Ward, Lanark                              2

White, Shannon                           2

Walks

Wells, Mt. Carroll                       3

Lapp, Mt. Carroll                        3

Henderson, Milledgeville            3

White, Shannon                           3

Clemente, Shannon                     3

Errors

Dihigo, Milledgeville                  2

Reese, Savanna                            2

Wins

DeNunez, Shannon                      2

Root, Chadwick                           2

Dean, Lanark                               2

 

Saves

Many Tied with 1

E.R.A.

Weaver, Chadwick                       0.00

Finley, Lanark                              1.13

Maddux, Savanna                        1.38

Root, Chadwick                           1.93

LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                   2.31

Strikeouts

Dean, Lanark                               17

Maddux, Savanna                        11

Root, Chadwick                           10

LaLoosh, Mt. Carroll                   9

Vander Meer, Mt. Carroll             9

Walks

Vander Meer, Mt. Carroll             8

Weaver, Chadwick                        5

Five tied with 4

Innings Pitched
Dean, Lanark                                14 2/3

Root, Chadwick                            14

Maddux, Savanna                         13

LaLoosh, Mt. Carrol                     11 2/3

Smith Milledgeville                      10 2/3

Complete Games

Maddux, Savanna                          2

Root, Chadwick                             1 (Only Shutout of season)

Team Average

Savanna                                        .327

Lanark                                          .294

Shannon                                       .274

Chadwick                                     .264

Mt. Carroll                                   .227

Milledgeville                                .161

Runs Scored

Savanna                                         18

Shannon                                         15

Lanark                                            13

Mt. Carroll                                     12

Chadwick                                       10

Milledgeville                                  10

Team E.R.A.

Chadwick                                        2.03

Lanark                                             2.77

Savanna                                           3.75

Mt. Carroll                                      5.25

Shannon                                          5.63

Milledgeville                                   6.65

Runs allowed

Lanark                                              8

Chadwick                                         9

Savanna                                            12

Shannon                                           16

Mt. Carroll                                        16

Milledgeville                                   17

Run Differential

Savanna                                           +6

Lanark                                             +5

Chadwick                                        +1

Shannon                                          -1

Mt. Carroll                                      -4

Milledgeville                                  -7

Whew! That's all for Week Two!!! Let's Play some more ball!