June 28, 1995

Post 383 pitcher Stu Goodall sends a pitch toward home plate in American Legion baseball action last week at Bella Vista High.Photo by John Blenkle

Fair Oaks 383 sweeps Haggin-Grant
By Joe Blenkle/Sports Editor
(This article originally appeared in the June 28, 1995 edition of The Orangevale News)

After going 0-4 without its seniors last week, the Fair Oaks Post 383 American Legion team came back with a vengeance this past weekend, scoring 43 runs in a three-game sweep of Haggin-Grant. Fair Oaks lost a 3-2 decision in a makeup game to Cordova on Friday, but with its full team back on Saturday, hosted Haggin-Grant in a doubleheader, winning the first game 10-7 before coming back in the second for a 14-7 win.
In Saturday's first game, Haggin-Grant snuck out to a 1-0 lead in the first off starter Brian Malchow. Fair Oaks came right back, however, to take an 8-1 lead in the bottom of the, inning.

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
OVERALL: 10-5 LEAGUE: 10-5

    Left fielder Ryan Case led off with a walk, followed by right fielder Kevin McKeown's slow ground ball to third. The throw to first was bad, resulting in McKeown getting on and Case moving all the way to third.
    Third baseman Jason Wilkerson then sent a ball back to the pitcher, but another error resulted as the first baseman dropped the throw and Case came home to score to make it 1-1.
    Shortstop Dennis Hunt followed with a hit to right to score McKeown and then first baseman Eric Henrikson popped to short. The ball was dropped, but unfortunately, the infield fly rule came into effect and Henrikson was out. Malchow followed with a walk and then catcher Shawn Lucchesi got a hit down the left field line to score Wilkerson and Hunt to make it 4-1. Second baseman Reagan Reynolds followed with a hit to right to score Malchow and Lucchesi for a 6-1 lead. Center fielder Stu Goodall then put down a perfect bunt which rolled halfway to third on the edge of the grass for a base hit. Case flew to right, allowing Reynolds to tag and go to third and with McKeown at the plate, Goodall stole second. McKeown then slashed a hit into left to score both runners for Fair Oaks' 8-1 lead.
    Malchow struck out the first two batters he faced in the second inning before giving up a walk, but finished Haggin-Grant off with a third strikeout.
    In the top of the third, Haggin-Grant loaded the bases and scored four runs to cut the deficit to 8-5, but Fair Oaks came back to add a run in the bottom of the inning for a 9-5 advantage. Goodall led off with a walk and moved to second on Case's ground ball to second. With McKeown at the plate, a wild pitch sent Goodall to third and then McKeown's grounder to second brought Goodall home for the 9-5 lead.
    Fair Oaks scored its next run in the sixth as McKeown hit a ball to short that went for an error as it rolled between the fielder's legs and into left field. Wilkerson walked and then with one out, Henrikson also walked to load the bases. Malchow then sent a fly to left to score McKeown to make it a 10-5 game.
    Jim Ott came in to pitch in the seventh, holding Haggin-Grant scoreless until the ninth, when Haggin-Grant brought two more runs home for the 10-5 finale.
    In Saturday's second game, Fair Oaks continued to bash the ball, collecting nine hits and capitalizing on six Haggin-Grant errors for a 14-7 victory. Fair Oaks led 12-1 after three innings, giving starter Jarred Hunt all the runs he'd need for the victory. Garrett Schoenfelder had a home run in the game for Fair Oaks.
    The marathon doubleheader started at 10:30 a.m. and was never completed until almost 5 p.m. Sunday saw another lengthy game, stretching over three hours, but this time there was good reason as Fair Oaks blasted Haggin-Grant 19-3.
    Post 383 made it a 1-0 game in the second as Lucchesi led off with a hit to left center. Schoenfelder followed with a bunt that popped up right in front of the plate, falling just out of reach of the catcher for a hit and sending Lucchesi to second. Reynolds followed with a hit to left to score Lucchesi for the 1-0 lead. In the third, Fair Oaks used up Haggin-Grant's starter and two relievers, as they posted another seven runs for an 8-0 lead. Pitcher Andy Tews, who carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning, led off with a hit to left and moved to second on Dennis Hunt's grounder to third. Malchow then tripled over the head of the center fielder to score Tews, and he scored on Lucchesi's hit to left. Schoenfelder then smashed a ball that bounced over the fence in left center for a ground rule double, sending Lucchesi to third. Reynolds followed with a home run to left center to bring in Lucchesi, Schoenfelder and himself for a 6-0 lead. Case walked, chasing Haggin-Grant's starter from the game and with McKeown at the plate, stole both second and third. McKeown was hit by a pitch and with Wilkerson at the plate, stole second. The throw to second got away, allowing Case to score for a 7-0 game. Wilkerson walked forcing yet another pitching change and then Tews flew out to right. With Dennis Hunt at the plate, McKeown stole third. The throw went into left field, allowing him to score to make it an 8-0 game.
    Haggin-Grant went out in order in the bottom of the inning and Fair Oaks scored two more runs in the fourth. Malchow led off with a double to left center and scored on Lucchesi's hit to center. Schoenfelder walked and then Reynolds got a hit to left. Lucchesi tried to score on the hit, but was thrown out, with Schoenfelder taking third on the throw home.
    In the fifth, Fair Oaks made it 11-0 as Tews doubled to right center with one out. He scored on Dennis Hunt's hit to right. Haggin-Grant finally got on the scoreboard with single runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth. Fair Oaks came back with six runs in the top of the eighth for a 17-2 lead. With one out, Lucchesi walked and scored on Ott's triple over the head of the center fielder. Reynolds then bashed his second home run of the day over the left field fence, making it 14-2. Another pitching change greeted Case as he came to the plate, but he walked and then went to third as Goodall hit a ball to second. The throw went to the shortstop covering second base, but the ball was dropped and everyone was safe. Case scored on B.J. Crone's hit to right and then a passed ball and errant throw let Goodall score to make it 16-2. Tews doubled deep to the fence in left center to score Crone for a 17-2 lead.
    Fair Oaks forced yet another Haggin-Grant pitcher to the dugout in the top of the ninth as Lucchesi and Ott drew consecutive walks to start the inning. Reynolds nearly got his third homer of the day as he drilled a hit off the left field fence to score Lucchesi. With one out, Goodall walked to load the bases and then Crone grounded to third for a force play, while Ott came in to score to make it a 19-2 game.
    Goodall came in to pitch the bottom of the ninth, with Haggin-Grant scoring its final run after a hit, walk and error for the 19-3 finale.
    The sweep of Haggin-Grant kept Fair Oaks in second place with a 10-5 record, behind Citrus Heights' 15-1 mark. Post 383 is hoping to solidify their standing with four games against cellar dwellers this week. Wednesday, Fair Oaks hosts Winters (3-10) at Bella Vista in a 5 p.m. start and Saturday travels to Laguna High School to face Elk Grove (3-13) in a 10:30 a.m. doubleheader. Sunday, the two teams return to Bella Vista for a single game beginning at 11 a.m.

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