Seamen Get First Win; Wettest Game in BWBL History

It always seems to rain when Pizza Bella and the Long John Silver's Seamen get together and toss around the plastic.

Last year, they played in the now infamous Mud Bowl. This season's game has yet to earn a friendly moniker, but it was the wettest game in the history of the Backyard Wiffle Ball League, perhaps almost twice as bad as last season's, and a precursor to the rising waters that would be found in the Wyoming Valley for the next six days.

In this year's game, the Seamen were able to once again "outslip" Pizza Bella, on their way to a 13-3 win. With the win, the Seamen improved to 2-3, while Pizza Bella dropped to 1-1.

LJS were able to push across four runs in the bottom of the first to set the tone of the game. Joe Kuss had a lead-off walk, Dan Schwartz singled, and Kenny Kandrac walked before Bob Bombay hit a three-run triple. Kuss would single him and tally the RBI, giving the Seamen a 4-0 lead.

After shutting down Pizza Bella in the second, the Seamen were able to tack on two more runs. Bomboy singled, later scoring on an RBI by Kandrac. Schartz would also score in the inning to put Long John Silver's up 6-0.

Pizza Bella was able to score two of their own the very next inning, go get them to within four. Shannon Claherty led off with a walk, but was later forced on a fielder's choice hit by Michael P. Stella. Following a walk by Bernie Ambrosavage, Stella would score following a single by Gary Wolczak. Ambrosavage would later essentially knock himself in, as he singled and his pinch runner scored to make the score Seamen 6, Pizza Bella 2.

LJS would score another run in the bottom of the third, thanks to the rain. Schwartz singled and then scored on a wild play following a single by Bomboy. Pizza Bella found themselves down by the score of 7-2.

The Seamen would add yet another run in the bottom of the fourth, courtesy of Mother Nature yet again. Kuss singled to start the inning and would later score on a crazy single by Bomboy, sans RBI. The Seamen were then up 8-2.

Pizza Bella attempted to make it a game by scoring a run in the top of the fifth. Wolczak hit a lead-off homerun that would be the only hit of the inning. Pizza Bella was down by five, 8-3.

Five runs in the bottom of the fifth by the Seamen all but ended the hopes of Pizza Bella on this day. Back-to-back singles by Kuss and Schwartz were followed by a two-RBI triple by Kandrac. Had he not been "greedy", as Kandrac would later say, the Seamen could have had a HUGE inning - he was tagged out trying to make an inside-the-park homerun. Bomboy then singled, Adam "Miller" Gresowski walked, and Kuss hit a three-run homerun to give the Seamen the 13-3 cushion.

Gary Wolczak again was the only scoring in the top of the sixth, as any attempt at making it a ballgame was futile for Pizza Bella. The rain-drenched game ended with PB on the losing end of a 13-4 decision.

Kuss led the way for the winners, going 5-for-6 with a round-tripper and four runs batted in. Bomboy was a perfect 6-for-6 with three RBI, while Kandrac also added three RBI during a 3-for-6 day.

Wolczak (0-1) took the loss for Pizza Bella, pitching five innings, allowing 12 runs on 15 hits. He struck out five and walked six. Stella made his 2006 pitching debut, pitching one inning and allowing only one run. Wolczak also led the way at the plate, going 4-for-8 with two homeruns, two RBI, and two runs scored. Ambrosavage was 3-for-7 with an RBI.

The LJS Seamen will next face Mericle Real Estate in a double-header on Sunday, July 2 beginning at 12 noon. Pizza Bella will have a double-dip with Saturday Crush on the same day, beginning at 4 pm.

Date: June 25, 2006     Time: 2:00pm      Venue: East End Minor League