Most groups of 12 would try and find a basketball court and shoot some hoops with a sub. But for Veto League, 11 players is enough to play baseball.
Attendance was sparse due to the Easter holiday as the Goonies (Josh Paul) took on the Playaz (Anthony Reese) in a game that varied between 6-on-5, 5-on-5, and 6-on-6 as some players came and went throughout the game. Only one nine inning game was played due to the shortage of players. You can read about how Veto League is played with a shortage of players here, but in short, any balls hit on a fly to right field is an automatic out, teams had players from their own team pitch when they were at-bat and all plays at home were force outs with throws needing only to come in to the pitcher since there were not enough players to have a catcher. It was another fantastic game and with the shortage of players, those who showed up had an opportunity to pad their stats with most seeing at least 9 at-bats. The Playaz defeated the Goonies in walk-off fashion on the bottom of the ninth in a high scoring 17-16 affair. For the losing team, captain Josh Paul went 9-12 with 5 RBI. Ryan Hardeman 6-12 with an RBI. Sean Castagnoli arrived late and had only 4 at-bats but made the most of them netting 3 hits, driving in 3 runs and scoring a run. Anthony Sandoval had a pair of RBI in the game as well. For the winning Playaz squad, captain Anthony Reese was 7-11 with a pair of RBI. Ashton Hardy also had 7 hits with 3 RBI. Most players on both teams picked up many hits with multiple RBI. However that was not the case for Mark Wishnia who took the opportunity of multiple at-bats to lower his average a tad. He struggled at the plate hitting just 1 for his first 10. But in the bottom of the 9th, Wishnia had the chance to be the hero. After DeeJay Jarvis had the game-tying RBI, Anthony Reese found his way on base. Then Todd Lopshire who was 5-9 on the day with a pair of RBI was intentionally walked to bring Wishnia to the plate with the go ahead run on second base. Wishnia ripped a pitch down the left field line past left fielder Ryan Kerber, allowing Anthony Reese to score and that gave The Playaz the win 17-16 over The Goonies. Veto League will continue again April 26 and April 27 with preliminary forecasts for Saturday calling for sunny skies with highs only in the upper 50s. Sunday calls for cloudy skies and a chance of rain with highs in the mid 50s.
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Andy Shehan was the hero in game one for the walk-off RBI hit in the bottom of the 8th to win it for the Crushers.
In a very exciting contest that went to extra innings, the Crushers (Jeff Kilgard) defeated the Phenoms (Scott Raes) 9-8 in game one on Saturday. The Phenoms got off to a hot start in the top half of the first inning with 4 runs and added another one in the 2nd. Jason Huling led the Phenoms with a double and 3 RBI though 6 different players in a lineup of 11 total players drove in at least one run. Captain Scott Raes had a pair of doubles with a run scored. After 6 innings of play the game was tied at 8 and in the 7th inning, neither team was able to get a run and the game was sent to extras. In the bottom of the 8th, Hunhui Oh was on base and Andy Shehan had a chance at being the hero. Shehan ripped a shot into the left center field gap and Oh was able to score with ease as the Crushers won their first game of the season in dramatic fashion. Jason Riordan led the Crushers with a pair of RBI. Like the Phenoms, the Crushers had 6 players in a lineup of 12 drive in at least one run. Omar Ortega, Hunhui Oh, and Andy Shehan all had a double in the contest as well. With the loss, the Phenoms fell to 0-2 on the season. In game two, it was the Crushers against the Narwhales and the Crushers were victorious once again. Sean Castagnoli had a pair of RBI in the win for the Crushers over the Narwhals (DJ Borkovec). The Crushers picked up two runs in each of the first two innings and never looked back in their 6-4 victory. Chris Waldron had a pair of RBI in game two for the losing squad. Game two featured a classic 9-on-9 game after a few players left following game one. Game one was 12 against 11. It was another Saturday of absolutely beautiful weather with clear skies and moderate temperatures. It was breezy again though not as much as week one and the wind did not play as much of a factor as it did the prior Saturday. Regardless, in the early-going due to weather and rust, balls have not traveled too far and in game two on Saturday there were zero extra base-hits. Last Sunday there were no games due to rain but the weather on Easter Sunday looks more favorable with rain not expected to plague the area until the evening hours. Many players will be busy spending time with family on Easter Sunday but there is hope there will be enough players to play. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day for baseball as Veto League opened its 2014 season on April 12 at Douglas Park.
Game 1 featured the Narwhals headed by first time captain DJ Borkovec against The Phenoms captained by 2012 and 2013 league MVP Scott Raes. It was an atypical game in the early going as after 3 innings of play, the score was only 1-0 in favor of the Phenoms. Considering that it was the first game of the season and wind did play a factor, a higher score was expected. But despite winds gusting at up to 25mph, players adjusted well to the conditions and the defense on both teams was pretty sound. Things changed in the top half of the 4th inning though when the Narwhals put a 3 spot on the board and an additional 5 in the 5th inning. The Phenoms were never really able to rebound scoring only one more run the rest of the game as the Narwhals finished the game on top 8-2. Six different players had an RBI on the Narwhals. Nate Hanson, Trent Marshall, and Jason Huling all led the Narwhals with a pair of hits. Marshall also had a double in the game. The wind was blowing in which limited extra base hits in general. In all in game one, there were only three extra base hits all of which were doubles. Anthony Reese had the lone extra base hit for the Phenoms. The Narwhals had 15 players to the Phenoms 14 and most players saw only 2 at-bats in the 7-inning game. A few players towards the top of each order had a third at-bat. In game 2 it was the Goonies taking on the High Rollers. Many players left after game 1 and so game 2 featured an 11 on 10 game with the High Rollers having the extra player. Game 2 was much more tightly contested but ultimately it was the Goonies, led by Josh Paul, on top of the High Rollers led by Michael Holst 5-4. Rich Hoxie for the Goonies had a triple, two runs scored and an RBI in the contest. Jason Huling and Trent Marshal both doubled in the game and had an RBI. For the High Rollers, DJ Borkovec went 3-4 with two runs scored while Kevin Powell went 2-4 with a double, a triple, a run scored and a pair of RBI's. In the bottom half of the 7th inning, the High Rollers trailed 5-3. They rallied to get it to 5-4 and eventually had the game-tying run on third base with two-time defending MVP Scott Raes at the plate with two outs. Unfortunately for the High Rollers, Raes grounded out to end the game. Sunday's games were postponed due to rain. The VLB will resume on Saturday, April 19 and Sunday, April 20 at Douglas Park at 11:30am. The preliminary forecasts for both games call for sunny skies and mild temperatures. Opening Day is two days away and the outlook for the 2014 season of Veto League Baseball looks fantastic.
On Saturday, The VLB will embark on its 16th season and here is what members both new and old can expect. First off, one of Veto League's biggest issues is conflicts with Rock Island Freshman baseball. Though the varsity Rocks play at the High School and the Sophomores play at Saukie Field, the Freshman call Douglas Park their home just like Veto League. But looking at the schedule, it appears that this year there will be zero conflicts. All of their weekend games for the rest of the season are on the road. Additionally, many new members can be expected to attend. Through word of mouth, social media and other internet sites, Veto League has grown significantly. Last season, the VLB saw its 500th ever player and it continues to expand beyond that. To date, 531 total people have participated in at least one Veto League Baseball game. Since last year's night game, 19 people have signed up to play on the Join The VLB page. It is never too early or too late to sign up. So feel free to join if you have not done so already. Veto League anticipates that it will see more than just 19 new players this year. New rules were implemented for this year as well and details on those can be seen here. All of the Veto League rules, including the new ones, can be seen on our Rules page. As for this weekend specifically, the weather for Saturday looks great. Temperatures will reach the mid 70s with sunny skies though wind is expected to play a factor. Winds could gust up to 30mph which could create havoc for players needing to field fly balls. Sunday the weather forecast is less favorable. Rain is expected to move into the area beginning on Saturday night and continue through most of the day on Sunday. The rain will bring cool air into the area as well. The field will potentially be unplayable and conditions overall may not be suitable for baseball. Veto League usually postpones games the morning of and individuals who plan to show up Sunday should monitor their emails as well as the league's social media pages on Sunday morning to know whether or not there will be games. The first game of the season is set for the Narwhals (DJ Borkovec) to take on the Phenoms (Scott Raes) which is an intra-division battle within the Saukie division. Game 2 on Saturday will be the Goonies (Josh Paul) at the High Rollers (Mike Holst) - a matchup of two Blackhawk Division teams. For the full schedule, check out the schedule page. If you or someone you know is interested in playing, please click the Join The VLB page and tell your friends. It is free to play and because there are no set teams you can join at any time. For more details check |
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February 2024
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