Saturday’s rainy weather still brought out 24 men to the diamond in a rare triple header. Game one was dominated by Scott Ellefritz’s Talons, as they prevailed over the Goonies 11-2. The Talons were led by Dakota Bacus’ debut 4-for-4 performance and Brett Highly’s three runs scored.
Game two featured Ellefritz hosting the Turtles. The Turtles, led by sub-captain Adam Chard, found themselves up 8-1 after 2.5 innings. The Talons then scored nine unanswered runs to take the lead. The Turtles plated two in the final frame to tie the game at 10 a piece. The Talons walked away with a win on a sac fly by rookie Chris Bliven, taking the game 11-10. Bacus had another solid game, going 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI.
Game three featured another big comeback. The away team Crushers were up 9-1 after 2.5 innings against the All-Stars. Tony Zier’s All-Stars had huge third and fourth innings, scoring a combined 13 runs in the final two frames to keep Jeff Kilgard’sCrushers winless after six games. Ryan Barton went perfect at the plate while Josh Paul drove in four runs. Rafe Thrasher belted his first career home run in a losing effort. Final score 14-10.
After a rained out Sunday, 14 players participated in a rare Memorial Day Monday double header. Defense played a huge role in both contests.
Game one featured the Goonies at Talons. The Talons were only able to plate four runs against the visitors, but that proved to be enough as Ellefritz’s squad gave up just three runs to the Goonies and won 4-3. The Talons remain undefeated at 6-0. Josh Paul’s Goonies fell to 2-4.
Game two began 2011’s interleague play, as the Turtles hosted the All-Stars. In the first inning, All-Stars captain Tony Zier drove in two runs on a single to right field to put his team up early. However, those were all the runs the All-Stars would see, as the Turtles shut them down for the final six innings. The Turtles (2-5), captained by Matt Veto, cruised to a 7-2 victory. The Turtles were led by rookie Johnny Fourdyce’s three RBI.
After just one month into the season, Veto League has played 19 games, hosted 63 players, and had 27 debuts. Interleague play will continue this Saturday and Sunday.