One mother of six in Rock Island wasn't as thrilled, as the back of her green mini van was hit with a ball off the bat of Michael Holst shattering the window. It was one of the most eventful foul balls in Veto League history.
The day started out cool with temperatures in the upper 40s and it was again a breezy day though not nearly as much as the previous day. There was not a cloud in the sky and a player attendance of 17 was ready to go.
Game one featured the Gremlins at the Crushers. After 2 innings it was 9-6 in favor of the Gremlins. When the game was over, the Gremlins picked up another 14 runs. The Crushers only managed 4 more and the game was not close with the Gremlins coming out on top 23-10 led by 7 RBI by Mark Wishnia. Wishnia finished the game going 4-6 with 3 runs scored in addition to the team leading 7 RBI. Michael Holst in addition to a shattered window (in which he was awarded no points), finished the game with 5 RBI of his own and 4 runs scored while also going 4-6. Josh Smith and Ryan Barton each finished with 4 RBI each.
For the Crushers, Tim DeBroeck led the way with 4 RBI including a homerun. But it was not enough as the Crushers were held scoreless in the final 4 innings of the contest. Anthony Reese went 4-5 with 3 RBI.
The Gremlins improved to 4-4 on the season. The Crushers fell to 3-4.
Game two was one of the more exciting Veto League games in recent memory as the Goonies hosted the High Rollers. After three innings, it seemed as though the game would be a snoozer with the Goonies jumping out to a 16-3 lead. The Goonies had 4 total homeruns in the game, two coming off the bat of Scott Raes. Raes finished with nine total RBI in the game and six runs scored as well as two doubles.
Tim DeBroeck left the game briefly to pick up his wife but then rejoined the game. He finished with five RBI, four runs scored, and three doubles. But despite many strong performances, the Goonies fell apart. They were held scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings meanwhile the High Rollers were high rolling having tied the game at 16 after five innings of play.
Nick Larson, Steve Roberts and Ryan Barton all finished with five RBI for the High Rollers. Josh Smith had four RBI. Roberts also hit a homerun earlier in the game and was inches shy of another later on hitting the very top of the fence for a double. Roberts also managed to hit a truck on a foul ball but fortunately no damage was done. Nick Larson had two doubles in the contest.
Between the fifth and sixth innings, the High Rollers scored 18 runs, compared to five by the Goonies and the game went into the final inning with the High Rollers up 26-21. In the bottom of the 7th, Scott Raes hit a long two run homerun (his second of the game) to get the game to within three. But unfortunately that was the only damage done and the Goonies after going up 16-3 ended up falling 26-23. The Goonies with the heartbreaking loss surrendered their first loss of the season falling to 5-1. The High Rollers moved to .500 improving to 3-3.
Following Michael Holst's eventul foul ball that shattered a window, the Rock Island Police were called to Douglas Park. Veto League President Josh Paul, who is also a Police Officer in Bettendorf was the one who handled the situation with the angry mother and the officer. No crimes were committed as there was no intent to break the window. Paul attempted to get players to chip in to pay for the damage but many members seemed reluctant to go along with that idea. A brief discussion ensued to potentially change the home field where Veto League is played as homerun balls have come close to hitting cars in the past.
Veto League recommends that citizens do not park their cars beyond the outfield wall in left field behind Douglas Park as their vehicles could potentially be in danger of being hit. Veto League baseball is played every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30am until about 3:30pm. Cars parked by Douglas Field during that time are at risk.
Paul requested that members of the league with homerun capability try not to hit the ball as hard, or to try to hit the ball the other way if they see cars beyond the outfield wall. Paul, a dominant right handed hitter, opted to bat left handed the rest of the afternoon. Paul has shown that he can hit for power on both sides of the plate regardless.
The next double header is planned for Saturday May 18 at Ridgewood Field. Today's incident has nothing to do with the change of venue. Rock Island Freshmen have a game on Saturday at the same time as Veto League. The early forecast for Saturday is calling for a chance of thunderstorms, otherwise cloudy skies and a high near 80. A chance of thunderstorms is also possible on Thursday and Friday so members of The VLB are hoping that Ridgewood will be playable. The giant puddle behind home plate that plagued Saturday afternoon's game will likely still be there no matter what.
Sunday's games are slated for Douglas Park with the forecast saying that showers and thunderstorms are likely with a high near 80.
**See a recap of Saturday's games here**