Life of Wry

Happy 4th.

Great day, here.

Went to Davis Little League’s annual 4th of July pancake breakfast.  Saw folks, had fun.  Went to Little League exhibition game.  Was asked (a few days ago, very flattered by this) to cover the game for the newspaper.  Did.  Wrote it up, sent it in.  Had some cake.  Went out for a cold drink.  Leaving soon for fireworks.

Since it took me four (yes, FOUR) hours to write up the game (ahem), decided it’d pass for today’s blog entry.  But, warning, it’s a lot of detail about a baseball game, so if baseball’s not your thing.. well, feel free to move on.

This experience does remind me of a time about 30 years ago (that’s weirdly long ago), when I applied for a sports writer position with the Davis Enterprise.  I figured my 1) 2-year stint as a high school yearbook sports co-editor, and 2) supreme athleticism (but, of course) were sufficient training for the job (I was wrong about this).  As part of the application process, I was to go out and actually cover a sporting event.  I think it was baseball, but I’m not sure (that is, I can’t remember, it was long ago).  I submitted the story (with which I struggled mightily) to Bob Dunning, who was the head of the sports writing staff at that time.  I got a big thanks, but no thanks from him, which kind of amuses me now, but wasn’t so funny back then, as I was seriously considering a writing career (journalism) at that point.  So.. consider that too, if you choose to read on… I’m not sure I’ve improved my skills in the intervening years, but today was still a lot of fun.

He, Bruce Gallaudet, asked that I submit the story by today at 6:00 (I got it in by 5:15) and asked that I come in around 500 words (I was over… at 700) (Who’s surprised?).

Here’s a sheet from my scorebook, and the story (at least my original draft.. not sure what will make the paper) follows.  There is a sad postscript after that.

This guest reporter could not be happier to be sitting among hundreds of friends and fans gathered at the Little League complex at F and Covell on a 75-degree holiday morning.

The Fourth of July is exhibition day at the ball park and inter-league games were scheduled on all fields.  I was assigned to cover the Majors division game on the west diamond, so took my spot beneath the shade of the giant mulberry to watch the American and National League face-off.

The Majors exhibition game draws strong talent from both leagues.  It is the highlight of–and for some players, the conclusion to–a long Little League career.  The game is a wonderful holiday tradition in our community, and this one did not disappoint.

National League pitcher Tanner Olney opened the game with a decisive pair of strikes.  Lead-off batter for the American League, Tyler Mundy, responded by drilling the third pitch to center for a single, letting fans know that a see-saw battle and a great game were in store.  Mundy scored on Tony Munoz’s line drive to left, and Munoz scored on Brandon Rael’s grounder to short.  Dylan Lee also scored, giving the American League a quick 3-0 lead.  Gabe Gutierrez came in to relieve Olney, ending the inning with a strike out on four pitches.  

In the inning’s bottom half, the National’s lead-off batter, Giant stand-out Alex Levine, sailed a ball into deep center, but Mundy was there for the catch. American pitcher Dylan Lee then walked one and struck out two to hold the National League to a scoreless first inning. 

National pitcher Gutierrez got out of a tricky situation in the top of the second, leaving three Americans on, but gave up only one hit–another single by Mundy–and no runs. His teammates answered with a definitive showing in the bottom of the inning, scoring four runs on a double by Connor Bunfill, and singles by Ian McIsaac, Kevin Blanc and Olney. The inning featured heads-up base running by Bunfill and Blanc, who both stole home, and Gutierrez who stole second.  The Nationals went ahead 4-3. 

The American League came back in the top of the third with a grounder to center by Dylan Lee and a well hit line drive to right by Charlie Stephenson to tie the score, but the Nationals responded with another big bottom half, scoring three more runs on two hits–Trevor Hewitt’s sharply hit grounder past third base and Gutierrez’s 2-RBI fly into the gap in deep right.

The National League held its 7-4 lead going into the fifth, after both teams went scoreless in the fourth inning, thanks to sharp defensive plays by both teams.

The National’s Cooper Hosley, who relieved Gutierrez in the fourth, started the fifth inning with a walk to Kelsey Forrester, her second of the game, and gave up a home run to Munoz who slammed it over the left field fence to drive in Forrester. Hewitt relieved Hosley, gave up a hit to Dylan Lee, drew a fly ball from Stephenson and struck out two to end the inning.  That brought the Americans to within a run.

Taylor Lee held the Nationals in the bottom of the 5th, but Hewitt answered with another scoreless inning of his own in the sixth.  Teammates McIsaac and Hosley displayed impressive defensive plays, ending the threat… and the game.

The American League, coached by Tom Forrester and Dyke Mundy, was led by hitters Mundy (3 for 3), Munoz (2 for 3), Dylan Lee (2 for 2), Stephenson (2 for 3), and Dylan Schmidt who ripped a line drive into center in the sixth.  Pitchers Dylan Lee, Forrester, Mundy and Taylor Lee gave up seven runs on nine hits, striking out three. Rael, Kayden Hoal and Arvand Trillo rounded out the squad, providing solid defensive support.

Coached by Martin Smith (with assistance from son Landon) and Bob Thompson, the National League was led by Bunfill and Stephenson at the plate, each going 2 for 3, including a double by Bunfill.  Singles by Ronnie Lemaster, Hewitt, Gutierrez, McIsaac and Olney provided needed insurance. Pitchers Olney, Gutierrez, Hosley and Hewitt combined for nine strikeouts, and gave up ten hits.  Levine, Chase Jones and Tyler Babcock also contributed to an error-free defense.

Postscript: A few minutes after submitting the article, I got a call from Bruce.  He said, “It’s great, thank you.  Do you know the question I’m going to ask?”  I said no.  He said, “What was the score?” 

While it’s implied and figure-out-able within the context of the story, I completely forgot to report on the final score of the game. 

Cub reporter fail.

[Hangs head.]