Aug. 2, 1995

Fair Oaks second baseman Reagan Reynolds pegs a throw to first to try to complete a double play during the first inning of Sunday's championship game against Auburn. Fair Oaks won the game 12-4. Photo by John Blenkle

Post 383 captures Area 1 crown
By Joe Blenkle/Sports Editor
(This article originally appeared in the Aug. 2, 1995 edition of The Orangevale News)

    Surely the 1995 Legion baseball season must have ended for Fair Oaks Post 383 by now. Not!
    After taking the runner-up spot in the Division 6 playoffs the previous week, Fair Oaks came out swinging - and pitching - to claim the Area 1 championship this past weekend at Renfree Field in Sacramento.
    What this means for Post 383 is their season has been extended another week and the team is headed for a 3 p.m. start in the State Playoffs Saturday in Yountville.
    Only seven other Legion teams in the state have that distinction, and a first or second place finish in the Aug. 5-8 tourney would mean a trip to either Las Vegas, Nevada or Yakima, Washington for the Regional Playoffs.

American Legion - Post 383
Date	Opponent	Score
5-31	Fort Sutter	W, 15-6
6-3	Charles Eggen	L, 8-6
6-3	Charles Eggen	W, 5-4
6-4	Charles Eggen	W, 12-6
6-8	Roseville	W, 12-8
6-10	El Dorado	W, 9-6
6-10	El Dorado	W, 7-5
6-11	El Dorado	W, 13-2
6-18	Cordova	L, 6-2
6-18	Cordova	L, 2-0
6-21	Post 61	L, 3-1
6-23	Cordova	L, 3-2
6-24	Haggin Grant	W, 10-7
6-24	Haggin Grant	W, 14-7
6-25	Haggin Grant	W, 19-3
6-28	Winters	W, 22-7
7-1	Elk Grove	W, 16-0
7-1	Elk Grove	W, 6-4
7-2	Elk Grove	W, 13-3
7-5	Yolo	L, 4-0
7-8	Auburn	W, 10-3
7-8	Auburn	W, 5-3
7-9	Auburn	W, 10-3
7-12	Kennedy-Valley	W, 4-3
7-15	Citrus Heights	W, 6-5
7-15	Citrus Heights	W, 9-8
7-16	Citrus Heights	W, 10-6
District 6 Playoffs
7-20	Yolo	W, 11-9
7-21	Citrus Heights	L, 12-2
7-22	Yolo	W, 4-3
7-22	Citrus Heights	W, 14-5
7-23	Citrus Heights	L, 15-11
Area 1 Playoffs
7-26	Anderson	W, 13-3
7-27	W. Sonoma	W, 4-3
7-28	Citrus Heights	W, 7-6
7-29	Auburn	L, 14-3
7-29	Anderson	W, 12-4
State Playoffs
8-5	@ Yountville
OVERALL: 28-9 LEAGUE: 21-6

    Fair Oaks entered last week's tourney as District 6's No. 2 team, but they quickly showed that they were a force to be reckoned with, downing the Anderson Bucs from District 2, 13-3.
    Anderson took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first off starter Andy Tews, but Fair Oaks came right back in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1-1. Catcher Shawn Lucchesi started things off with a one out ground ball to short. The ball was bobbled slightly and Lucchesi beat the throw to first base. Tews followed with a grounder to third, but the throw to second to try to get Lucchesi was high and Lucchesi made it all the way to third. Third baseman Jason Wilkerson's ground ball to short allowed Lucchesi to score and tie the game.
    Fair Oaks went up 2-1 in the third as shortstop Garrett Schoenfelder got a hit up the middle to lead off the inning. He moved to second on right fielder Kevin McKeown's bunt to the pitcher and then scored on Lucchesi's hit to left center to make it 2-1.
    Anderson scored twice in the fourth to go in front 3-2, but Fair Oaks exploded for five runs in the fifth to retake the lead for good. Walks to second baseman Reagan Reynolds and Schoenfelder started things off and the McKeown bunted to the pitcher to move both runners over. Lucchesi came through with another hit to score both runners for a 4-3 lead, and consecutive hits by Tews, Wilkerson and first baseman Brian Malchow brought in three more runs for, a 7-3 lead. Malchow's blow was a triple, scoring both Tews and Wilkerson. Mark Wanaka was replaced on the mound by Harvey Virgin, who promptly got the next two outs.
    Fair Oaks padded its lead in the sixth as Schoenfelder got on with one out on a bad hop single off the third baseman's shoulder. With two out and Lucchesi up, a pickoff from the catcher to first went into right field, moving Schoenfelder to second, where he scored on Lucchesi's hit to center. Lucchesi advanced to second on the throw home. Tews got on via a hit to deep short, moving Lucchesi to third, and then Tews stole second with Wilkerson at the plate. Both runners scored on Wilkerson's hit to left for a 10-3 lead.
    In the seventh, Fair Oaks made it 12-3 as center fielder Stu Goodall started out with a walk. With one out and Reynolds at the plate, Goodall stole second and went to third on Reynolds hit to right. An errant pickoff to third with Schoenfelder at the plate scored Goodall. Schoenfelder walked with Reynolds stealing third and then a balk with,McKeown at the plate brought in Reynolds for a 12-3 lead.
    The game ended early via the 10-run rule in the eighth as Tews doubled and went to third on a wild pitch and then scored on Malchow's fly ball to the outfield for a 13-3 win.
    Thursday, Fair Oaks faced West Sonoma County in its second game of the tournament. Come from behind heroics gave Post 383 a 4-3 win in 11 innings.
    Fair Oaks went up 1-0 in the first on a triple by Lucchesi and a throw that was declared out of play when it got stuck in the fence, advancing Lucchesi to home. In the fourth with two outs, Schoenfelder got a hit to left, was wild pitched to second and scored on pitcher Jarred Hunt's hit to right to give Fair Oaks a 2-0 lead.
    Hunt shut the West Sonoma team out until the seventh when a hit batsman, error and balk scored a run. West Sonoma tied it up in the ninth on a hit sandwiched by two errors, forcing Hunt from the game in favor of Goodall.
    Fair Oaks almost came back to win it in the bottom of the inning, as Reynolds got a hit to center, stole second and then attempted to score on Goodall's hit to right. He was called out at the plate on a controversial call as he slid headfirst into home and appeared to beat the tag.
    Both sides went out in order in the 10th and West Sonoma went up 3-2 in the 11th.
    Fair Oaks faced a new pitcher in the bottom of the inning, needing at least a run to tie and two to win. With one out, Malchow walked. B.J. Crone went in to run for Malchow and moved to second on Dennis Hunt's hit to left center. A walk to Reynolds loaded the bases and then Schoenfelder's hit to left scored Crone to tie the game. Goodall was the next batter, flying deep to center and allowing Hunt to score from third for the 4-3 win.
    Fair Oaks next met Citrus Heights in the winner's bracket on Friday, beating their arch-rival 7-6 - their fifth win over Citrus Heights in seven meetings.
    Jim Ott pitched a gem for Fair Oaks, as Post 383 held Citrus Heights scoreless into the fifth.
    Fair Oaks took a 2-0 lead in the third as Malchow and Ott drew back-to-back walks with one out. Malchow scored on Reynolds' hit to left and then Lucchesi walked to load the bases. With two outs, Wilkerson was hit by a pitch forcing Ott in for a 2-0 lead. Fair Oaks went up 3-0 in the fifth as Reynolds reached via error and moved to second on Lucchesi's bunt to the pitcher. Tews singled to score Reynolds for the 3-0 lead.

Fair Oaks players "congratulate" coach Don Barney immediately after the last out of Sunday's championship game at Renfree Field. Photo by John Blenkle

    Citrus Heights came back in the bottom of the inning to take a 4-3 lead as Citrus Heights collected four hits and was benefitted by two walks and a balk. Goodall replaced Ott on the mound in the sixth after four straight balls put the leadoff batter for Citrus Heights on.
    Fair Oaks evened the game in the top of the seventh as Reynolds and Lucchesi drew back-to-back walks and Tews' hit loaded the bases. Wilkerson then hit a ball to short. The throw went to second, but was thrown away and Reynolds scored to tie the game.
    Fair Oaks came back with three runs in the eighth to take the lead as Dennis Hunt got a leadoff hit to left. Schoenfelder bunted him to second and then he was wild pitched to third with Malchow at the plate. Malchow walked and then Goodall collected his second straight game winning RBI with a hit to left off relief pitcher Kyle Leonard. Reynolds followed with a hit to score Malchow and Lucchesi's fly to center scored Goodall for a 7-4 lead.
    Goodall struck out the side in the bottom of the inning and another Citrus Heights reliever entered the game in the top of the ninth to send Fair Oaks down in order.
    A leadoff hit and a couple of errors almost let Citrus Heights back in the game, as they score twice to make it 7-6, but Goodall got the final batter to ground out to end the game and preserve the win. The game started two hours late due to the length of the two games before it, with the final out recorded well after midnight. The win guaranteed Fair Oaks a trip to the championship game, but one more contest remained before the title try.
    Post 383 faced Auburn - a team they swept during the regular season - on Saturday night, but the game quickly turned into a disaster for Fair Oaks as Auburn ran away to a 14-3 win. Interestingly enough, the loss probably worked to Fair Oaks' advantage, as Auburn then had to face Citrus Heights on Sunday in an 11 a.m. start. The winner of that game would then face a fresh Fair Oaks team in a 3 p.m. contest.
    Auburn defeated Citrus Heights, eliminating them from the tourney, and then faced Fair Oaks for the title. This time it was Fair Oaks turn to pound Auburn, running away to a 12-4 win for the Area 1 championship.
    Auburn's pitching was obviously depleted after the grueling tournament schedule and Fair Oaks loaded the bases in each of the first five innings to jump out to a 9-3 lead. Auburn added a run in the bottom of the fifth to cut their deficit to 9-4, but Fair Oaks went up 11-4 in the seventh - loading the bases for the sixth time in seven innings.
    Reynolds started off with a hit off the pitcher's glove, followed by hits by Lucchesi, Tews and Wilkerson. Wilkerson's blow scored Reynolds and Lucchesi for the 11-4 lead. Fair Oaks' final run scored in the eighth as Lucchesi got a two out hit to right. Tews followed with a hit to left that got by the left fielder, easily allowing Lucchesi to score. Tews allowed only one hit in the final two innings to record the complete game victory.
    Goodall was named as the tournament MVP for his two wins in relief and two game winning RBIs.
    Fair Oaks will start its quest for the state title on Saturday with a 3 p.m. game at the California Veteran's Home in Yountville.

Return to 1995 OV News Coverage