July 26, 1995

Fair Oaks second baseman Reagan Reynolds slides into home in the second inning of play between Yolo Post 77 and Post 383 last Wednesday in Woodland. Fair Oaks advanced in the tourney and will begin Area 1 play today at Renfree Field. Photo by John Blenkle

Fair Oaks takes second in District 6
By Joe Blenkle/Sports Editor
(This article originally appeared in the July 26, 1995 edition of The Orangevale News)

After years of being knocked out midway through the District 6 playoffs in Woodland, it was Fair Oaks' turn to do a little knocking this past week, as Post 383 qualified for the Area 1 Playoffs to be held starting today at Renfree Field. Post 383 fell just short of claiming the District 6 title, but eased themselves into the championship game on Saturday to guarantee themselves a spot in the American Legion's second post-season outing.
After edging Citrus Heights in the final series of the regular season and claiming the No. 1 seed in the tourney, Fair Oaks sat out the opening round last Wednesday in Woodland, waiting to see who would survive the single elimination matchup between Yolo and Charles Eggen. Yolo nipped Eggen 5-4 and advanced to Thursday's game against Fair Oaks with Fair Oaks posting an 11-9 win over Post 77.

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	District 2 Team
OVERALL: 24-8 LEAGUE: 21-6

    Fair Oaks led big most of the game, taking a 4-0 lead in the opening inning as right fielder Kevin McKeown got a one out single to start things off. With third baseman Jason Wilkerson at the plate, McKeown advanced to second on a bad pickoff attempt and then stole third base. Wilkerson struck out, but first baseman Eric Henrikson doubled to left to score Wilkerson for a 1-0 lead. Pitcher Andy Tews followed with a walk and then second baseman Reagan Reynolds singled to score Henrikson. Catcher Shawn Lucchesi then got a hit to score both Tews and Reynolds, who had advanced on a bad throw, making it a 4-0 game.
    In the third inning, Fair Oaks made it 5-0 as Reynolds was able to score from third on a wild pitch.
    Yolo finally got on the board in the sixth with a single run, but Fair Oaks came back in the bottom of the inning to increase its lead to 11-1. Shortstop Garrett Schoenfelder started things off with a slow chopper up the middle for a hit. Ryan Case walked and then Stu Goodall got a bunt single to load the bases. Wilkerson singled to score Schoenfelder and then Henrikson was hit by a pitch to force in Case to make it 7-1. Tews then singled to left, scoring Goodall to make it 8-1, and Reynolds followed with a grounder to short to score Wilkerson for a 9-1 lead. Lucchesi also grounded to short, scoring Henrikson for a 10-1 margin and then with Dennis Hunt at the plate, Tews scored on a wild pitch to make it 11-1.
    Yolo came back to make it an 11-4 game in the seventh and added three more in the eighth for an 11-7 game. Two more runs came across in the ninth to close the gap to 11-9, but Goodall came in to strike out the final two batters of the inning to close out the game.
    The win advanced Fair Oaks into a Friday game against Citrus Heights, but this time Post 383 wasn't as fortunate as they were in their season-ending sweep over their neighbors. Citrus Heights pummeled Fair Oaks, beating Post 383 12-2. Fair Oaks scored its first run in the sixth as Case got a hit to right and Reynolds followed with a walk. With Wilkerson at the plate, Case stole third, with Reynolds moving to second. Wilkerson struck out, but then Tews sent a fly deep to right, allowing Case to come in and score, making it a 6-1 game.
    Fair Oaks scored its only other run in the eighth inning as Reynolds started out with a walk. With one out and off a new pitcher, a wild pitch sent Reynolds to second and a fly to right by Tews moved him to third. Lucchesi walked, but then McKeown hit a ball to short that was booted, allowing Reynolds to score to make it 10-2.
    Citrus Heights scored twice in the eighth to end the game via the "10-run rule." A hit and a double made it an 11-2 game, and then Citrus Heights' Harry Bunfill smashed a ball over the pulled in outfield to score the run, making it a 12-2 game. The loss dropped Fair Oaks into the loser's bracket where they faced Yolo again on Saturday.
    Faced with elimination, Fair Oaks rallied for a 4-3 win in its second meeting with Yolo. Jarred Hunt pitched seven strong innings, but left the game trailing 3-2. Fair Oaks went up 2-0 in the first inning as Wilkerson got a two out double and scored on Tews' hit to right center. The throw in was bobbled allowing Tews to take second and then Lucchesi followed with a walk. McKeown followed with a hit to center to score Tews for the 2-0 lead.
    Yolo put a run on the board in the fifth and then after Post 383 coach Don Barney was ejected in the bottom of the inning for arguing a play at first, Yolo came back to score twice to make it a 3-2 game.
    Hunt got one out in the seventh and then walked the next batter, prompting coach Jerry Crews to yank him in favor of Goodall. Goodall got two quick outs and neither team scored again until the eighth when Fair Oaks went back into the lead.
    Wilkerson started things off by getting hit by a pitch and then Tews smashed a double to left center, sending Wilkerson to third. Yolo changed pitchers but it didn't do any good as Lucchesi sent a fly deep to right that allowed Wilkerson to easily score and tie the game at 3-3. Tews advanced to third on the play, and with two outs a wild pitch with Brian Malchow at the plate allowed Tews to come in and score to make it 4-3.
    After giving up a leadoff hit in the top of the ninth, Goodall struck out the next three batters to end the game.
    Securing a berth in the Area 1 playoffs, the win meant Fair Oaks would face Citrus Heights again later in the afternoon, and in a reverse of their previous game, Fair Oaks pummelled Citrus Heights 14-5 behind the pitching of Jim Ott, with relief help from Reynolds in the ninth. Dennis Hunt had a homer and four RBI to lead Fair Oaks. Wilkerson had three hits, including a double, and Tews, McKeown and Lucchesi each had a pair of hits.
    The win forced yet another playoff game on Sunday, as each team now had one loss in the double-elimination tourney. Lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place, however, and Fair Oaks came up short in a slugfest, 15-11. The loss gave Fair Oaks the No. 2 seed in the Area 1 playoffs which begin today at Harry Renfree Field.
    Fair Oaks will play the sole representative from District 2 in a 4:30 p.m. contest, while Citrus Heights will meet the No. 2 District 1 team at 7:30 p.m. Should Fair Oaks win, they will play on Thursday in the winner's bracket at 4:30 p.m. A loss would send Fair Oaks into a 9:30 a.m. game on Thursday against the loser of the district 3-4/District 5 matchup.

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