Rounders Find Spark Enroute to Nationals Berth and Second Place Finish at National Qualifier at Stockton, CA

The Rounders finished their 2004 Alliance season by winning three of the last four Alliance tournaments played. They made it to the title game four times, winning all four.

In 2005, however, they have struggled to find their mark, failing to make it to the championship game in four Alliance tournaments thus far. Though holding down third place, something was missing. So the team hoped they could find the answer on their road trip to the National Qualifier in Stockton over the Memorial Day weekend.

A first game loss in which they could muster only three hits didn’t exactly inspire confidence, as they headed into the loser’s bracket, one game away from elimination, but a 17 run outburst in their second game set the stage for a long, productive weekend that resulted in a second place finish, with the Rounders claiming one of two National Tournament berths for the ASA “C” Nationals, back in Stockton over the Labor Day weekend. It didn’t come easily, especially against a strong field of teams that included the likes of Northern California’s McLaughlin Air, A-1 Tank, Santa Rosa Storm and the San Juan Pride, and Central California’s Mixed Company and the Painters. By the end of the day on Sunday, the Rounders had played 8 games, and seemingly spent every waking moment of their weekend at Louis Park in Stockton. The Rounders left town “Sleepless in Stockton”, but having found their spark, and hopeful, when they return for the National tournament three months from now.

The team found success in a variety of places and players, with everyone contributing to the turnaround. Certainly among them were Gerald Pyle, the 27 year old pitcher-DH who clubbed five home runs and picked up 2 wins on the mound, and Linnell Culver, who had three home runs, and seemed to be on base all weekend long. Both Pyle and Culver had a two-home run game, producing runs that proved crucial to the Rounders’ survival in the loser’s bracket. Veteran pitcher Mitch Mendenhall found his mark, and pitched three outstanding games on Sunday, winning all three, including the loser’s bracket final that clinched a national tournmament berth for the Rounders. We provide the following recap of the Rounders’ eventful weekend.

(Editor’s note: If any other teams, including the champions, McLaughlin has info from your games, please send it to us for posting; email us at info@fastpitchwest.com. Click here to view photo galleries from the weekend. Credit David Echeveste of Santana Concrete for coming up with the “Sleepless” headline to this story.)

Game 1: A-1 Tank 5, Rounders 1 (0-1)

As the first place team in the Northern California travel league, A-1 Tank was one of the favorites for this tournament. A-1 lived up to the billing, shutting down the Rounders offense. A-1 Tank lefty Rich Rivera, and his unorthodox delivery stymied the Rounders, holding them to just one hit through the first six innings, a first inning double by Mark Villalobos. (Rivera keeps the ball hidden until late in his delivery, and comes off to the left side of the rubber as he releases the ball) A-1 Tank scored a run in the first on a solo home run by Ardu Panisotto, another in the second on a solo homer by Don Meyers, and two more in the third on singles by Craig Daruk, Shawn Ching and Erin Linnell.

Villalobos added another hit in the seventh, and Gerald Pyle singled him in for the only run for the Rounders in this one-sided affair. Mitch Mendenhall went the distance, holding a strong A-1 offense to five runs, while Rivera picked up the win in the 3 hit gem. To make matters worse, Rounder catcher Donald Younger suffered a dislocated thumb in the game.

Game 2: Rounders 17, Mel’s 3 (1-1)

The Rounders bats came to life in a big way in this one, scoring 17 runs as everyone on the Rounders roster got into the act in this five inning abbreviated affair. Gerald Pyle launched the first of his five tournament home runs, a blast landed in the street beyond the centerfield fence and sidewalk. Jimmy Crotzer moved into the #2 spot in the batting order and helped spark the offense to shake the cobwebs loose for the Rounders.

Game 3: Rounders 19, Native Americans 15 (2-1)

This game proved to be the turning point for the Rounders, and will be long remembered as one of the wildest and more memorable games played by the team. The Rounders knew of the Native American team for scoring runs, and come-from-behind heroics, having heard about the two games in last year’s Cal Cup Tournament in Fresno, in which they overcame two five run deficits. The game was slated for a 10:30pm start, but didn’t get underway until after midnight, due to earlier games running over.

Gerald Pyle got the start for the Rounders and held the Native Americans in check through the first half of the game, while the Rounder offense kept firing on all cylinders for the second game in a row. The Rounder offense scored one in the first on an RBI single by Donald Jewett, two in the second, on RBI’s by Mark Villalobos single and a Steve Tollington double. Tollington drove in two more to key a three run third for the Rounders, on three hits and a couple of errors, for a 6-0 lead. The Native Americans trimmed the lead to 6-3 in the fourth on a two run homer by Arron Lopez, but Gerald Pyle helped pad the lead back to 8-3 with a two run blast to left field in the bottom of the inning. The Native Americans scratched for two more runs in the fifth, on three hits and a wild pitch, cutting the lead to 8-5. But like a heavyweight prize-fighter, big Gerald Pyle took those punches and delivered a round-house right in the top of the sixth, a monstrous two run homer that went over (and I do mean over) the light tower in left centerfield, extending the lead back to 10-5. Traveling as high as it did far, the ball was located by Rounders catcher Mike Hemperly, who paced off 132 feet back to the 254 foot fence. (That’s 386 feet if you’re doing the math). The trajectory of the ball was akin to a Tiger Woods 9-iron, so with negligible roll, the blast was estimated at 350 feet. Pyle commented matter-a-factly, “I don’t think I’ve ever hit one that far”.

Led by shortstop Nate Rich, the Native Americans kept playing like it was 0-0, and scoring again in the sixth and four more in the seventh to tie the game at 10, with the momentum shifting towards the Native Americans, as it does when teams overcome big deficits. Pyle battled to escape the inning, but gave way to relief as the game headed to extra innings and the international tie breaker rule, as the clock passed the 2 am mark. The Rounders scored two runs in the top of the 8th inning, on a 2 run single by Mike Hemperly, who came on to finish catching for Donald Younger, who had dislocated his thumb earlier in the day.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Native Americans came right back with two of their own and loaded the bases with nobody out. The Rounders escaped on three straight ground outs, and put the adrenalin to work in the top of the 9th, scoring 7 runs, with Michael “Spanky” Thomas delivering the key blow, a bases clearing triple to the fence in right center. Even with a 19-12 lead in the bottom of the 9th, the Rounders held their breath, fighting off a three run Native American bottom of the 9th to hold on for the 19-15 win. The Native Americans fell just one run shy of getting their place kicker into the game. Time ran out as the clock struck 3am, with the Rounders heading back to their hotel rooms for a 3 hour nap before returning for their next game at 8:30 a.m. Gerald Pyle drove in 4 on three hits (two of them home runs), Michael Thomas had three RBI on 2 hits, Steve Tollington 3 on 2 hits, while Eric Geierman had three hits, and drove in a run in the win.

Game 4: Rounders 11, Pride of San Juan 6 (3-1)

A weary bunch of Rounders made it back to the field just hours after they left, for 8:30am eye opener against The Pride of San Juan. The Pride lineup boasted a solid lineup of hitters who have earned All American honors at the “A” level. With each of the three Rounder starters having gone one game each, Mitch Mendenhall took the ball for his second start. The two team traded runs during the early going, with the Rounders holding a 6-3 lead. Gerald Pyle got his fourth home run in as many games, and Mendenhall pitched strong down the stretch to nail down the win for the Rounders.

Game 5: Rounders 8, West Coast Cardinals 5 (4-1)

If the Native American game the night before was the turning point in the Rounders’ tournament, this game was the brink of elimination. Down 5-0 in the early going after a four run first inning outburst by the Cardinals and a controversial call that ended the second inning, the Rounders appeared to be running on fumes. With runners on second and third and two outs, Rounder third-baseman Mark Villalobos grabbed a hard grounder and tagged the oncoming runner for the third out of the inning. The home plate umpire turned to the press box and signaled to the scorekeeper that the run had not crossed the plate before the out, and the Rounders came off the field, with the score at 4-0. However, the Cardinals persuaded the base umpire to conference with the plate umpire, who then reversed the call, and declared the score 5-0. The call did not set well with the Rounders, who saw the hole over their head closing fast.

The Rounders made a pitching change to start the third, with Gerald Pyle coming on in relief. After a quick run back to the hotel, the Rounders’ Mike Hemperly arrived back at the fields in time to roast his teammates for the 5-0 deficit and fire them up. Hemperly’s counterpart, catcher Donald Younger responded by striking the key blow of the game, a bases clearing triple to the left field corner, cutting the lead to 5-3. (hitting with that just dislocated thumb no less). Another single cut the lead to 5-4. The Rounders’ Linnell Culver crushed two home runs to give the Rounders the lead, (the second landing across the street, just shy of the girl scout tents at a camp site) while pitcher Gerald Pyle shut down the Cardinal offense, and added a home run of his own, his fifth of the tournament, for the 8-5 final.

Game 6: Rounders 4, Mixed Company 2 (5-1)

The ball went back to Mitch Mendenhall, who picked up where he left off earlier in the morning, pitching well in this 4-1 win, scattering eight hits. Mixed Company’s Greg Gainor also pitched well, holding the Rounders to six hits, but they made the most of them, scoring four runs for the win. The Rounders got things started in the first when Eric Geierman led off the game with a single to center, was advanced to second by Jimmy Crotzer and scored on a single to left by Mark Villalobos. The Rounders extended the lead to 4-0, scoring two runs on two hits. It was Eric Geierman getting things going again, with a bunt single. Jimmy Crotzer walked and Mark Villalobos was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Linnell Culver. Culver brought home one run on a sac fly to right. Donald Jewett was then hit by a pitch to load the bases. A single to left brough Crotzer home to score. Mixed Company put three consecutive singles together in the 5th to score their lone run, but Mendenhall slammed the door shut, retiring the last six batters in order to claim the win, and set up the rematch with A-1 Tank, the team that had dispatched them to the loser’s bracket.

Game 7: Rounders 4, A-1 Tank 1 (6-1)

The Rounders’ seventh game set up a rematch with the team that had sent the Rounders to the loser’s bracket on Saturday afternoon. A-1 had eliminated a strong California Painters team 14-2 on Sunday morning, after falling into the loser’s bracket themselves at the hands of McGlaughlin Air. (A-1 Tank and McLaughlin are currently holding down the top two spots of the Northern California Travel league.) Gerald Pyle kept the ball to start this one, but A-1’s leadoff hitter Craig Daruk put them on top 1-0, hitting the first pitch of the game for a solo homer to left. The Rounders’ Eric Geierman led off the third with a single to left, advancing to second on a single by Andy Lawry. After Mark Villalobos was hit by a pitch, Linnell Culver was once again the man of the hour, driving in two with a single to center, and a 2-1 Rounders lead. The Rounders got a couple more in the fifth when Donald Jewett delivered a two run triple to the gap in right-center field, scoring Villalobos who reached on an error, and Culver, who had singled to left, for a 4-1 lead. A-1’s Shawn Ching hit a solo homer over the center field fence to lead off the sixth, but the Rounders Gerald Pyle got the final six outs to hold on for the 4-2 win.

Game 8: Rounders 4, Storm 3 (7-1)

The Santa Rosa Storm hails from the hometown of the legendary Guanella Brothers, and has on their roster a member of that former team, Jim Vargas. Vargas took up pitching late in his career and went 3-0 over the weekend in Stockton. The Storm notched wins over Country Club Villa, the Pride of San Juan, and Elk Grove (5-4 in 9 innings), and was one win away from a berth to the Nationals, as they met McLaughlin Air in the winner’s bracket final at Stockton on Sunday. They dropped a heart breaker to McLaughlin, 9-8, giving up three unearned runs on two dropped fly balls in the sixth inning. The Storm then moved over to face the Rounders, who had reeled off six wins in a row.

Mitch Mendenhall started his third game of the day, after notching wins against the Pride of San Juan and Mixed Company. The Storm took a 1-0 lead in the second playing “small ball”, squeezing a run home with two outs. The Rounders got even in the bottom of the inning as Michael “Spanky” Thomas coaxed a walk, move to second on a second walk, tp third on a single by Steve Tollington and came home on a bases loaded walk. The Rounders took a 3-1 lead in the 3rd inning when Mark Villalobos walked and scored on a double to center by Linnell Culver, who scored on a sac fly by Michael Thomas. Mitch Mendenhall scattered seven hits over the first six innings, holding the Storm to the lone run, until they rallied in the seventh inning and cut the lead to 4-2. The Rounder cut one runner down at the plate, Jewett to Younger. Gerald Pyle entered the game in relief, surrendered one run on base hit through the left side to cut the lead to 4-3, with the tying run at second base. Second baseman Jimmy Crotzer made the final putout of the game, grabbing a ground ball and tagging the runner coming from first to end the game. With the win, the Rounders clinched second place, and with it, a berth to the ASA “C” National Tournament. The Storm suffered their second tough loss of the afternoon, and narrowly missed clinching a nationals berth for the second time in the afternoon.

Game 9: McLaughlin 7, Rounders 0 (forfeit) (7-2)

The Rounders conceded the championship to McLaughlin, forfeiting their final game.