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The Outcome
The Buffalo Gap Chips continued their winning ways during last Saturday’s
Texas Forts Trail Vintage Base Ball Tournament, mounting an offensive effort
that left even the most well-conditioned members of the team breathless.
Taking on the Buck and Breck Base Ball Club from Irving, and the Montgomery
College Saw Dogs, the Chips put on an offensive show, tallying 72 aces
in two games while holding the opposition to only 23 scores.
In the first game, Scott “Sparks” Douglas performed yeoman service as hurler, spelled in later innings by “Spider” Simpson and Bob ”The Commish” Wettemann, who often had difficulty finding the plate. Nonetheless, the offensive prowess of the Chips, anchored by a 7 of 7 effort by Matt “Mitts” Crisman and a 6 of 6 performance Josh “The Prophet” Poorman, proved to be too much for the intrepid competitors from Irving. With home runs added by Douglas, Terry “Cookie” Juarez, a pair by both Ed “The Diamond” Gongora and Don “Ranger” Connell, and a final homer by John “Half Life” Garza, the Chips simply put up too many crooked numbers for the valiant Buck and Breck club to match, with Trey “Cracker” Cox, Mike “Ready” Ready and a host of others tallying aces in a 40-11 effort.
After a second game in which the Montgomery College Saw Dogs defeated Buck
and Breck 12-8, the Chips and the Saw Dogs met in a rematch of last fall’s
Presidents Cup Tournament. Both teams started slowly, but once they began
swinging the timber, there was nothing stopping either nine. With “The
Commish” successfully locating the plate, the Saw Dogs were held scoreless
in the first two frames, before tallying 5 aces in the third. By that point,
however, the Chips bats began swinging to life. Alex “Rosco” Orosco sparked
the scoring onslaught, supported by steady play on the diamond offered
by Wade “The Ghost” Goolsby, Darren “Third Grade” Kieschnick, “Fossil Joe”
Christensen, and Joel “Flaps” Brant, en route to a 32-12 victory.
At the conclusion of play, the Chips added another trophy to their growing
collection, with “Shoeless Joe” Garza of the Saw Dogs taking home the cup
as tournament Most Valuable Ballist, having mounted an impressive effort
for the Saw Dogs.
Plans are already underway for a number of tournaments in Conroe and Irving
throughout the remainder of the season, and discussions are being held
among a number of clubs regarding the formation of a Texas Vintage Base
Ball League. In the absence of Bob “The Commish” Wettemann (who has been
traded to the Colorado Vintage Base Ball Association for a player to be
named later), management/leadership of the Chips will fall to Joel “Flaps”
Brant and “Spider” Simpson. |
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