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Muskies end regular season in first place  Share
The Beecher Muskies closed out the last week of their regular season with a 4-0 record to finish 30-17. The team will take a seven-game winning streak into their NABF (National Amateur Baseball Federation) regional that they are hosting at Kankakee Community College. The week started with a 9-5 victory over the Crestwood Panthers on July 29 that clinched first place in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League. After starting pitcher Greg Moss retired the Panthers 1-2-3 in the top of the first inning, the Muskies scored five runs in the bottom of the inning. Leadoff hitter Brett Velon got things started ripping a 3-1 pitch down the left field line for a double. Jimmy Calderone attempted to sacrifice Velon to third, but was safe on an error by the catcher, and Velon raced home with the game's first run. Calderone reached second on the play and stole third. Dan Weltmeyer (Manteno) scored Calderone with an infield hit and continued to second when the third baseman's throw got away. Steve Pellack (LW East HS) was safe on an error and Todd Sippel (Beecher) drew a walk to load the bases with Muskies. Tim Victor (Mokena) flew out to shallow right but Weltmeyer scored when the right fielder threw the ball away. Dave Pellack (LW East HS) reloaded the bases with a walk and David Blomberg (Beecher HS) lined a single to left to score Steve Pellack and Sippel to complete the scoring. Moss would yield a solo home run in the second inning and three more runs in the third to close the gap to one at 5-4. The Muskies would get three runs back in the bottom of the third to extend their lead to 8-4. Victor singled to left center to leadoff the inning and after a foul out to first by Dave Pellack. Blomberg chased Victor to third with a double to right center. Both would score on a single by Velon. Ryan Kopp would then bring Velon home with a double to the left centerfield gap.
The Muskies upped their lead to 9-4 with a fifth inning run. Calderone singled with one out and then stole second. He raced home when the catcher's throw to second was wild. Moss would leave after six innings and Ron Woodworth came in to relieve, yielding a run in the seventh inning. Frank Calderone (Crete) would pitch a scoreless eighth inning and Brett Kribs would do the same in the ninth. Moss was the winning pitcher, firing six innings allowing three earned runs on four hits with eight strikeouts and one walk. Woodworth pitched one inning, yielding one run on two hits with two K's and two walks. Calderone's line: one inning, no runs, no hits, one strikeout. And Kribs: one inning, no runs, one hit, one strikeout. Velon, Mike Henderson, Weltmeyer, Sippel and Blomberg each had two hits in the Muskies' 14-hit attack. Velon and Blomberg each drove in two runs with Velon and Jimmy Calderone each scoring twice. The two teams returned to Homewood Flossmoor's field of dreams for another game on July 31. This would be a wild one, won by the Muskies 18-10. The Muskies pounded out 24 hits including six home runs, while the Panthers registered 11 hits and three homers. Frank Calderone started and gave up three runs in one inning of work, yielding three hits (two home runs) with one strikeout. Jason Squier (Beecher) followed him and went five innings allowing two earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts and four walks and got the win. Kribs pitched the seventh inning giving up one earned run on one hit with two K's and two walks. Dillon Roark pitched the eighth with no runs, no hits, one strikeout and no walks. Dave Jones (Crete) closed out the game pitching the ninth with no runs, one hit and one strikeout. After Calderone yielded the three first inning runs, the Muskies got two back in their half of the inning. Velon led off with a double into the right center field gap and trotted home ahead of Marty Coyle who laced the first pitch he saw over the left field fence. Crestwood added three runs in the second off of Squier, but the Muskies matched that to close to 6-5. Brian Bajer led off with a home run over the fence in right center to open the inning. Henderson followed with a beautiful bunt single and stole second. Velon got his second double to score Henderson, and came home on a single by Dave Pellack. Squier would throttle the Panthers for the next four innings, allowing the Muskies to take the lead. Bajer singled and reached second when the Crestwood pitcher's pickoff attempt was wild. Henderson then plated him with a two out single to left to tie the game at 6. They took the lead in the fourth inning when Velon launched a 1-2 pitch over the left center field fence for a 7-6 lead. The Muskies would then erupt for ten runs in the fifth inning to gain total control. Sippel led off with a double and advanced to third on Bajer's bunt single. Henderson then scored Sippel with a sacrifice fly to center. Blomberg doubled down the left field line to score Bajer and then trotted home ahead of Velon's second home run, again to left center. Jimmy Calderone drew a walk and stole second and then came in on a double by Dave Pellack for a 12-5 advantage. Coyle quickly upped the score to 14-5, driving the first pitch to him over the fence in right center for his second home run. Batting for the second time in the inning, Sippel and Bajer both singled and came home when Henderson ripped a 2-1 pitch over the left centerfield fence, completing the scoring. Beecher added another single run in the sixth inning. After doubling his first two times up and homering his next two at bats, the Panthers' pitchers finally got smart, walking Velon to open the inning. But that didn't stop him from scoring his fifth run of the game, as he advanced to third on a Dave Pellack single and came home on Victor's groundout for an 18-6 lead. Velon and Henderson were both a perfect four for four on the night with Bajer going four for five and Dave Pellack five for six. Sippel registered three hits and Coyle two, both home runs. Henderson led with five runs batted in, with Velon and Coyle driving in four apiece and Dave Pellack two. Velon scored five runs and Bajer four, with Coyle, Sippel and Henderson each scoring twice. The Muskies then completed their regular season on August 2 hosting the South Bend (Ind.) Senators for a doubleheader at Sippel Memorial Field in Beecher. They swept the Senators, winning game one 6-4 and taking the nightcap 8-3. The Muskies staked starter Andy Marquie to a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, Jimmy Calderone was safe on a dropped third strike, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch. Kopp then drove him in with a single to left. The Senators tied it with a leadoff home run in the second inning and the Muskies regained the lead with a third inning run. Velon led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on a groundout and came home on Kopp's single to right. Marquie would give way to Jayson Koehn after four innings having yielded only the one run in the secoond. The Muskies would then pick up four very important insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth. Kopp walked to open the inning and Coyle was hit by a pitch. Steve Pellack sacrificed the runners to second and third and Weltmeyer walked to load the bases. Dave Pellack would unload them ripping a single to left, scoring Kopp and Coyle. Blomberg then drove Weltmeyer and Pellack in with a double into the right center field gap for a 6-1 lead. The Senators would not go quietly, scoring three times in the seventh inning and bringing the tying run to the plate with two outs. But Koehn was able to induce a soft liner to Steve Pellack at first to end the game. Marquie got the victory, hurling four innings, allowing one run on four hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Koehn pitched the last three innings yielding one earned run on four hits with three K's and one walk. Kopp and Blomberg each had two hits, with Kopp, Dave Pellack and Blomberg each driving home two runners. Between games, the Muskies honored the late Pat Rademacher, a former Muskie and teacher with the 11th annual Pat Rademacher Scholarship Awards. Pitcher Steve Styck, who attends St Joseph's (Indiana) and catcher Marty Coyle (Culver-Stockton, Mo.) were this year's recipients. Rademacher's father and widow were on hand to award the scholarships. In game two, the Muskies started quickly scoring four times in the bottom of the first inning. Velon led off, reaching base on an error and stole second. Jimmy Calderone flied out to center and Velon advanced to third when the centerfielder's throw in got loose on the infield. Sippel then scored Velon with a sacrifice fly to left. A walk to Weltmeyer was followed by an error on Squier's grounder. Bajer singled to right scoring Weltmeyer and Squier came home on an error on Victor's grounder. Blomberg would complete the scoring, singling to drive in Bajer for a 4-0 lead. The Muskies added a run in the second when Jimmy Calderone doubled, moved to third on Sippel's single to right and scored on a wild pitch. The Senators would close to 5-3 with three runs in the third inning off of starter Brandon Dubois (Beecher). The Muskies got one of those back in the bottom of the third on Bajer's home run over the center field fence. They would tack on single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, Bajer doubled, was sacrificed to third by Victor and scored on Blomberg's sacrifice lineout to center. In the sixth, Velon doubled and scored on Jimmy Calderone's single to left center. Dubois pitched three innings, notching the win, allowing three runs on two hits with one walk. Juan Desiderio (Grant Park), Woodworth, Frank Calderone and Styck would each pitch an inning. Desiderio allowed no runs on one hit with two K's and a walk. Woodworth: no runs, no hits, two K's and two walks. Frank Calderone: no runs one hit, one walk. And Styck: no runs, no hits, one strikeout and no walks. Jimmy Calderone and Bajer led the nine-hit offensive with three hits each, with Bajer going three for three with rhree runs scored. Velon scored twice with Bajer and Blomberg each driving in two runs. Russell Publications prints several community newspapers each week, serving Will, Kankakee and Cook counties.
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