Losing Streak...Greenville Loses 2 in a Row

Well, the undefeated season has come to a screaching hault. Greenville loses two weeks in a row, as the Baptists got the best of Greenville last week, and a team of Shane Spencer's best friends beat us tonight 10 - 6.

Bottom line? We can't seem to win without Ben Patterson. I think when you break it all down, he is the one player that Greenville can't play without. Unfortunately, injuries to Ben and others have proven to be too much to overcome over the last two weeks. Luckily for Greenville, they started the season 4 - 0, so their playoff hopes are still alive and well.

So I am not a big fan of writing about losses if you can't tell. So let's talk about something a lot more fun.

The Rangers.

Mark my words. The Rangers beat the Rays in 4 games. There I said it, and it feels good. Once we dispatch of the Rays, and the Yankees take care of the twins, we will finally have sweet revenge and home field advantage against that dreadful team from the northeast in the ALCS.

Once we win the pennant, we will promptly get beat by the Phillies in the world series. But hey, at least we went to the series right?

Game next week at 7:30 against Mosaic.

Rally Time at Ford Field...Greenville Oaks Comes Back to Stay Undefeated

A lively crowd of 3 people(including my beagle Paisley) descended upon the Ford field 2 bleachers on Monday night to watch one of the hottest teams going in Church League Softball. Greenville Oaks didn't disappoint. In fact, Greenville Oaks had to come back from an 8 - 0 deficit against Cottonwood Creek in order to obtain the victory and preserve their undefeated record. Greenville posted an 11 run third inning to get back in the game, and they never relinquished the lead after that inning. The 14 - 11 victory pushes Greenville Oaks to 4 - 0 at the season's halfway point. The magic number is now 2 for the Greenville Oaks team to clinch a playoff spot.

The game's MVP was awarded to Dustin Swart who not only had one of his token 3 RBI triples, but he also flashed some leather on defense making one play after another at third base. In the later inning, every time a Cottonwood Creek hit a ball near third base on the ground, the hitters just went ahead and walked back to their dugout with their head down in disgrace.

Greenville wasn't without their obstacles on the night as they had to fight through a number of injuries. Jimmy Campbell was a defensive liability all night at shortstop due to a tough hamstring injury. Ben Patterson had to come out with an injury after legging out a ground ball, which ended up being one of the better plays of the game. Without him hustling down the line, it would have cost the team two important insurance runs. Unfortunately, it also cost Ben a hamstring.

Luckily Bryon Adams was able to pinch run, and he would later score on a bases loaded walk by Jimmy Campbell. Campbell and Bryan Brokaw led the team in walks with each having two on the night.

The story of the night was the Greenville third inning. Greenville batted around and then some in the inning, and they ended up scoring 11 runs. Everyone had a hit or a walk. Even if they got an out I am going to award them with a hit. It proved to be an important inning as the team only scored 3 more runs on the night.

GM Michael Shivers and Assistant GM Clay Platt also will receive kudos for their work in bringing Austin and Colin to the squad. They were able to bring in both free agents just before the midseason trade deadline. Their additions join Jake Wheeley as as players who have joined in the middle of the season in order to help Greenville push for the playoffs.

Greenville's storybook season continues next Monday night as they will take on FBC Allen at 8:30.

FBC Allen No Match for Greenville Oaks Offense

I apologize for the brief nature of this post, but my laptop is temporarily disabled and I am typing on my phone. Basically what happened was we won 23 - 10. It was awesome.

"Battle of the Oaks" Falls Greenville's Way...Finally

With a rivalry that is quickly becoming as heated as Cowboys vs. Redskins, Greenville Oaks and Chase Oaks squared off on Monday evening, and this time Greenville Oaks put one in the win column beating Chase Oaks with a 13 - 12 final score. It took some grit to get it done, however, as Greenville will undoubtably be looking forward to their off week next Monday night.

Greenville once again fell behind in the early innings, as Chase Oaks took an early 6 to 0 lead, but just like last week, the Greenville bats got hot and helped the team storm all the way to an 11 - 7 lead after 5. Things then got a little tricky for the home team, as Chase Oaks fought back in the top of the sixth to score five runs and take a one run lead. Greenville would have the final say though as Dustin Swart led off the inning with one of the biggest triples in the history of the franchise. Swart ripped one down the left field line that made it all the way to the fence, and he finished it off with a spectacular slide into third base. Swart would be driven in later in the inning as Clay Platt and Matt Wacaster reached to give Greenville runners on second and third and one out. Rookie Jonathan Garner took care of the walk off win as he hit a towering, majestic sac fly into shallow right field to score Platt.

The win marked the first win for Greenville against Chase Oaks in three tries. Chase Oaks leads the overall series 3 to 2.

Some people ask me, "Bryan, how great it must be to be able to watch such a great team week in and week out. I wish I could come out and watch, but I just can't seem to make it." Usually, I say, "Bummer, I sure wish you could come out and see how good we look." Well tonight, I have a better idea. How about I bring the game to you. Below is a look at how Monday night's game looked through the lens of the beautiful and talented Tara Edwards.

Clay Platt warms up with Bryan Brokaw and Jimmy Cambell before the game.

Pitcher Shane Spencer finally wins a pregame toss to determine Greenville as the home team.

Spencer throws the first pitch.

Ben Patterson catches the first pitch.

General Manager Michael Shivers sets up to hit a deep drive to left field.

This is where Shivers sits after his deep drive is caught and he is the second out of the inning.

Shane Spencer also out.

Matt Wacaster sets up for a stolen base.

Brian Edwards takes over for Patterson who was injured legging out single.

Triple Machine playing third base ironically.

Platt waits at third base to see if he will get to score the winning run.

Bryon Adams gets ready to hit. He may have missed this pitch.

All Star.

Swart is out of breath after his game changing triple.

Swart scores and the game is tied. Platt would later score the game winner on the Garner Sac Fly.

This is how we all felt about Spencer until he blew the lead in the sixth.

 It was a great Monday night. Greenville will get back on the field on Monday, September 13th at 9:30 against FBC Carpenter. Until the 13th, so long everybody. 

New Season, New Faces, New Results??

On a night when the Rangers almost no hit the Twins, Greenville Oaks brought all the hits to Ford Field 2 to start off strong in game one of this young fall season. Greenville dispatched of Suncreek UMC 21- 9 on Monday night to move them into a 4 way tie for first place.

The score doesn't tell the whole story, however, as the first 3 innings appeared as though the only team that showed up at 6:30 was Suncreek, as they jumped out to an early 8 to 1 lead heading into the top of the fourth. Greenville's lone run came on a single by Jimmy Campbell to score the leadoff man Bryan Brokaw. After that, the offense remained very quiet until the fourth inning.

Greenville, however, woke up in the fourth, and they scored 20 unanswered runs in the final 2 innings to win by a final score of 21-9. The team batted around twice in those two innings and they only seemed to get out when Clay Platt was at bat. It was wierd.

The last two innings were highlighted by some excellent plays, and excellent pitching. Shane Spencer went the distance for Greenville on the flat mound only allowing 3 runs in the last 3 innings to keep things close. Homeruns from Spencer and Shivers also helped bring the runs in. Brian Edwards also had a fantastic night at the plate. Wacaster ran down several balls in center field, and Dusty Swart got another triple because he can't quite run fast enough to turn them into homeruns, self-admittedly having lost a step in the last 3 weeks since our last game.

The win marked a great start for the team as they head into the fall season needing to finish in the final 4 to move on to the playoffs. The win also marked a great welcome to four new faces for the Greenville Oaks team. Michael Shivers was busy up until the trade deadline, as he added Jimmy Campbell, Bryon Adams, Ben Patterson, and Brandon Jones. All four players played pivotal roles in the victory.

So let's meet the new players...

Jimmy Campell - Batting third in the lineup, the only difference between him and Josh Hamilton is the fact the he is right handed. Jimmy also serves as executive assistant for Ben Patterson, so he has that going for him. Jimmy used to play college ball, so he automatically becomes the best player on the team. He is a high priced free agent coming back for his second tour of duty with Greenville Oaks, and it is expected that when his contract is up, he will probably go play with the RCN Stars.

Bryon Adams - I know what your thinking, and no he didn't sing the national anthem. The addition of Bryon brings a sense of professionalism to right field as he becomes the first player to wear actual baseball pants, which automaticall takes his WAR to 5.0. (That's wins above replacement for those of you wondering.) Speed on the field and the base paths are his specialty, and his bat speed is another high point that the scouts really like. Bryon took a few years off from Softball to discover himself, and now he returns as a new player as if he was playing for the first time.

Ben Patterson - Vladimir Guerrerro...that is all that can really come to mind when you think of Ben. He is a Designated Hitter deluxe that swings at everything and sometimes makes really good contact. He is one of those veteren bats that is key to every playoff team. His legend precedes him, and you can tell that most of his teammates are starstruck when they sit with him in the dugout. When he is not playing softball, Ben enjoys tea parties and hanging out with his "girlz."

Brandon Jones - Jones plays a mean outfield, and he draws a David Murphy comparison. He boasts a strong arm from the outfield, including an outfield assist in Mondays game. Brandon works in the land of professional athletes, so that makes him more athletic. Clay Platt was the lead scout in bringing Jones to Michael Shivers' attention, and the team is looking forward to having Brandon in the middle of the lineup. Anyone wearing a Ranger shirt to the game is good for the team.

Come out next Monday night at 8:30 as Greenville takes on the nemisis Chase Oaks. The battle of the Oaks V will no doubt be a great matchup.

Greenville Ends Summer Season...Shivers Loses 6 Pounds

It was hot. So hot in fact that GM Michael Shivers sweat off 6 pounds. Unfortunately, the heat also kept Greenville Oaks from being able to score runs as the RCN Stars marched to an undefeated season, and Greenville Oaks ends their summer at 4 - 4.

The night was not without it's highlights though...see photo below:

Stickland came back with a Chaplin mustache inspired by his time in the Utah extended spring training.

It was a strange night for Greenville, as they could not connect on a big hit all night. In fact, Greenville players had 40 at bats on the evening in a seven inning ballgame and could only push across four of those for runs. To spell that another way, Greenville left 15 men on base across 7 innings. How about this...Greenville averaged a little over 2 runners on base at the end of every inning. To say it a little differently, the only way that they scored runs tonight was with 2 walks, a sacrifice fly, and a full swinging bunt hit. To summarize, we couldn't get a hit with guys on base.

Most of the blame can probably be put on Brian Edwards not wearing his mustache, but it could also be shared by a sore rib that is plaguing rookie of the year, Curtis Damour. Or, of course, it might have been that the other team was better. We will never really know for sure.

One thing I do know is that it is time for me to hit the showers. Stay tuned, as the fall season kicks off on Monday, August 23rd.

Fall Softball begins August 27th

Please let me know if you would like to participate on our team in the Fall, before Tuesday, August 3rd. You can email me at bcbrokaw@gmail.com.