Portland Flyers Summer 2010 |
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8/31/2010 10:57:17 PM 8/24/10 - The Flyers lost to the Royals 4-2 in 8 innings, eliminating them from the playoffs. The Flyers were one out from winning, clinging to a 2-1 lead with two outs in the seventh, but couldn't hang on. George Heath pitched all 8 innings for the Flyers, striking out 10, but also hit three batters. As he has all season, Heath gave the Flyers a strong performance, keeping them in a close game and getting out of several jams. He picked a runner of second in the top of the first to quench a potential rally and stranded runners on second and third with one out in the 8th. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Joey Pagano singled to lead off the inning, stole second, and later scored on Michael Hoffman's sacrifice fly to right. The Flyers scored their second run in the third inning when Steven Kasinger led off with a triple to deep right field and scored on Brian Gramaje's RBI hit to left center. Unfortunately that was all the runs the Flyers would score. Center fielder Kasinger was ejected in the top of the fifth inning on a controversial play. With runners on the corners with two outs, the Royals runner on first tried to steal second. Taylor cut off Zach Caffall's throw as the runner on third tried to come home. Taylor threw to the plate, beating the runner by several steps, but the Royal baserunner dove headfirst into Zach's chest, inciting a bench clearing confrontation at the plate. The Royals' runner was ejected for failing to slide, and Kasinger was thrown out for yelling at the Royals' players. In the seventh inning, Jesse Spain was also ejected for arguing the call at first that allowed the Royals to tie the game. The Flyers would like to thank all the players, friends, family, and everyone else involved for their time and support this year. They look forward to another successful season next summer. 8/23/2010 6:13:21 PM 8/22/10 - The Flyers bounced back from a 8-5 loss to the Pirates in the second round of the playoffs to beat the Titans 7-1 Sunday afternoon. The Flyers took a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Louie Opatz led off with a triple and scored on Michael Hoffman's sinlge. After hoffman stole second and went to third on George Heath's single, he scored on a past ball. The Flyers scored 4 runs in the second inning to stretch their lead to 6-0 on walks by Zach Caffall, Michael Austin, and Opatz, and singles by Steven Kasinger, Jesse Gonzalez, and Heath. The Flyers scored their final run in the third when Billy Calloway singled and scored on Austin's infield single. The Flyers only allowed a single run to the Titans, on back to back doubles in the fourth inning, as Michael Austin and Louie Opatz combined to keep the offense in check. The Flyers will face the Royals on Tuesday night in another elimination game as both teams hope to extend their season. 8/17/2010 11:18:23 PM 8/17/10 - The Flyers won their first round playoff game against the Reds 7-0 in an all around excellent performance. The Flyers had 15 baserunners, didn't commit an error, and only allowed two hits in the victory. George Heath threw 6 shutout innings, only allowing one hit and no walks while striking out 8 Reds batters. Louie Opatz pitched the seventh to complete the shutout, striking out a pair of hitters. The Flyers took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when Billy Calloway and Jesse Gonzalez singled to lead off the inning and Opatz walked to load the bases. Mike Taylor had an infield single to bring in the first run, Justin Shorts was hit by a pitch to score Gonzalez, and Louie scored on George Heath's shallow fly ball to left, when the relay throw eluded the Red's catcher. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Flyers stretched their lead to 6-0 when Shorts doubled with two outs, Heath walked, Pagano singled to drive in a run, Heath scored on an error by the shortstop as Joey was stealing second, and Matt Halvorson singled in a third run. The Flyers scored their final run in the bottom of the seventh when Brian Gramaje doubled down the third base line and Corey Breiland singled him home. In beating the Reds, the Flyers avenged a 13-7 loss from last week and advance in the winner's bracket of the playoffs to face the winner of the Pirates-Twins game next Saturday at 1 PM. In separate news, the team announced that the 2010 All-Stars are George Heath, Louie Opatz, and Michael Hoffman, with Justin Shorts as the alternate. Zach Caffall, Mike Taylor, Joey Pagano, and Matt Halvorson also received strong consideration. 8/17/2010 10:56:25 PM 8/15/10 - The Flyers beat the Titans 5-0 in their final regular season game to finish the year 14-6, first place in the Willamette division of the NWIBL, and to clinch the fourth seed in the playoffs. The Flyers used a familar formula to win their last game of the regular season, good pitching, solid defense, aggressive baserunning, and clutch hitting. The Flyers played outstanding defense behind Michael Austin, who pitched a complete game, only allowing two baserunners on a hit and a walk. The best defensive play of the game was by first baseman Louie Opatz who made a diving stop on a hard hit groundball down the line, then threw from his back to Austin to just beat the runner at first base. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Mike Taylor and Michael Hoffman singled on back to back pitches before George Heath doubled to drive in Taylor. The Flyers scored a run in the third on textbook small-ball when Opatz singled, Taylor bunted him to second, Opatz stole third, and Hoffman hit an RBI ground ball to first base. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Flyers scored a pair of runs on singles by Taylor and Joey Pagano, a double by Billy Calloway, a walk by Hoffman, and a sacrifice fly by George Heath. In the bottom of the sixth, Louie Opatz doubled to drive in Michael Austin for the Flyers final run of the game. With the win, the Flyers finish with their best summer league record in history and will play the Reds on Tuesday in the first round of the playoffs. 8/8/2010 11:09:58 PM 8/8/10 - George Heath threw a complete game to lead the Flyers (13-4) to a 5-3 win over the Circles. The Flyers used timely hitting and aggressive baserunning to score in the first four innings to provide Heath with all the run support he needed. The Flyers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when Louie Opatz led off with a single, stole second and scored on Justin Shorts' RBI single. Shorts took second on the throw to the plate, advanced to third on Heath's ground out, and scored on a passed ball. The Flyers added single runs in the next three innings when Joey Pagano scored on Steven Kasinger's ground ball, Michael Hoffman scored on Heath's sacrifice fly, and Pagano scored on Zach Caffall's single to right. Heath struck out 10 Circle batters in his third complete game of the season. The Circles loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with two outs, but Heath struck out the Circles' cleanup hitter Hargrave to escape the jam. The Circles scored all three of their runs in the top of the fourth inning on a walk, two singles, a double, and an error. But Heath pitched out of trouble the rest of the game, leaving the tying run on second to end the game. The Circles first two runners reached base in the seventh on a single and a walk. After a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Heath got the next Circles hitter to pop up to catcher Jesse Gonzalez, and Heath struck out the last hitter of the game to clinch the victory. The Flyers stole four bases; two by Pagano, and one each by Opatz and Millard. The win gives the Flyers a 1 game lead over the 12-5 Circles with three games remaining. The Flyers look to continue their momentum into their next game Thursday against the Reds. 8/6/2010 1:25:03 PM 8/5/10 - Louie Opatz hit a game winning double in the bottom of the 8th inning to lead the Flyers (12-4) to a 4-3 comeback win over the Bulldogs Thursday night. Having scored just 2 runs in their previous 21 innings, the Flyers hope Opatz' big hit will be a turning point for their offense in the final weeks of the season. Tied 0-0 after 7 innings, the Flyers went into extra innings for the first time this season setting up Opatz' late game heroics. The Bulldogs scored 3 runs in the top of the inning off Wacey Hayes. After the Bulldog's first hitter singled to right, the next two hitters reached on bunt singles to load the bases. Hayes induced a ground ball to second from the next hitter. Mike Taylor forced the runner at the plate, but Justin Shorts' throw to first for a double play was off the mark allowing the Bulldogs to score the first run of the game. The next hitter hit a sacrifice fly to left, making it 2-0, followed by an RBI single to center, giving the Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. The Flyers, though, rallied in the bottom of the eighth with some help from the Bulldog defense. Brian Gramaje reached first on an error by the first baseman with one out. The next hitter, Joey Pagano, singled to center to put runners on first and second. Billy Calloway hit a grounder to short and Pagano was forced at second, but the relay throw to first was errant, allowing Calloway to reach second and the Flyers to cut the lead to 3-1. Jesse Gonzalez hit a grounder to second and reached on the Bulldog's third error of the inning. Wacey Hayes then walked to load the bases, setting up Opatz' base clearing, game winning double to left center. Starting pitcher Michael Austin and reliever Wacey Hayes combined to shut out the Bulldogs for the first 7 innings of the game, only allowing five baserunners. Unfortunately the Flyers were not able to push across even a single run, despite doubles by Michael Hoffman, Pagano, Opatz and George Heath. Mike Taylor was playing for the first time in a week after injuring his shoulder and Billy Calloway started in left field for the first time this season, making several catches on hard hit balls. The Flyers return to action this Sunday against the 12-4 Circles. 8/2/2010 12:31:24 AM 8/1/10 - The Flyers (11-3) lost to the Riverhawks 6-1 on Sunday morning to snap a seven game winning streak. George Heath pitched a complete game against a potent Riverhawks offense and drove in the team's only run. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when Michael Hoffman singled and Heath doubled down the left field line to drive him in. The Riverhawks tied the game at 1 apiece in the top fo the fourth when Mike Wood singled, advanced to second on an errant pickoff throw, stole third, and scored on a wild pitch. The Riverhawks then scored three runs in the top of the fifth on a hit batter and four hits. The Riverhawks scored two insurance runs in the top of the seventh. The Flyers stranded a runner in scoring position in each of the first four innings, leaving Heath on second in the first, Jesse Gonzalez on second the next inning, Louie Opatz on second in the third, and Hoffman on third in the fourth. The Flyers next game is Monday against the Columbia division Indians. 7/29/2010 12:33:47 AM 7/28/10 - The Flyers (11-2) beat the Pirates 5-2 for their seventh straight victory. After the Flyer's offense scored 5 runs in the first two innings, Louie Opatz held a potent Pirates' lineup in check during a complete game victory. In the bottom of the first inning the Flyers took an early lead when Michael Hoffman walked with two outs and George Heath followed with a two-run homerun to left center field, his team-high third homer of the season. After Joey Pagano walked, Chris Millard drove him in with a double to deep center field, the third two-bagger in five games for the speedy outfielder. Trailing 3-0 in the top of the second, the Pirates first two hitters reached base on a walk and double. With runners on second and third with no outs, Opatz fanned the next three hitters to strand both runners and defuse the rally. This momentum carried over into the bottom of the second as the Flyers scored two more runs on Mike Taylor's singled to center that scored Jesse Gonzalez and Opatz. Pitching with a 5-0 lead, Opatz consistently worked ahead in the count against the Pirates and only allowed a pair of runs in the top of the sixth. Opatz had a season high 9 strikeouts and only allowed two walks in one perhaps his best game of the season. Corey Breiland reached base both plate appearances with a walk and a sharp single in the fourth. In addition to his homerun in the first, Heath singled in the third and fifth innings. Zach Caffall and Brian Gramaje, who both played for the Pirates two seasons ago, were facing their former team for the first time as Flyers. The Flyers are now 3-0 this season against teams in the Columbia division, having beaten the Royals, Angels, and Pirates. They return to action this Sunday against the River Hawks. 7/21/2010 12:44:45 AM 7/17/10 - The Flyers (8-2) won both ends of a double-header on Saturday agasint the Highlanders and the Angels. In the first game of the day, the Flyers exploded for a season high 17 runs on 16 hits to beat the expansion Highlanders 17-2. WIth the game tied 2-2, the Flyers scored 6 runs in the top of the second to take the lead for good. Chris Millard had two hits, including a double to deep center field and George Heath hit a two run homerun over the left center field wall for his second home run of the season. Michael Hoffman had three hits as every starter had at least one hit for the Flyers. Corey Breiland and Michael Austin combined to allow 2 runs on three hits over five innings. In the second game of the day, the Flyers defeated the 2009 NWIBL champion Angels 12 to 3. The Flyers took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on singles by George Heath and Wacey Hayes followed by Zach Caffall's 2-run triple, his second three bagger of the season. The Flyers scored another 5 runs in the top of the third inning to take a 7-0 lead. George Heath held the Angels to 3 runs in five innings, striking out 6, before Louie Opatz finished the game with two shutout innings. Chris Millard hit his second double of the day on a deep fly ball to center field to start a Flyers 5-run rally in the top of the fifth. The Flyers play a double header next Saturday against the Bulldogs and Twins. 7/11/2010 10:55:23 PM 7/11/10 - The Flyers (6-2) came from behind to win their second straight game 8-4 against the Reds (1-7). Trailing 4-1, the Flyers scored 5 runs in the top of the sixth on four hits and a pair of walks. Zach Caffall's 2 RBI triple to deep left center field put the Flyers ahead and keyed the rally. Mike Taylor made his first start of the season for the Flyers and allowed 4 runs (1 earned) in 4 innings. The Reds scored all four runs in the bottom of the fourth on an error, a walk, and 3 straight infield hits followed by a double to right center. Michael Hoffman (1-0), making his pitching debut for the Flyers, pitched three scoreless innings, allowing a pair of baserunners, to pick up the win. The Flyers took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on two out singles by Joey Pagano, Mike Taylor, and Michael Austin. After the Reds took the lead 4-1 in the bottom of the fourth, the Flyers scored five times in the top of the fifth. with one out, Hoffman singled to center, stole second, and scored on Pagano's RBI single. Joey stole second and third and scored on a passed ball to make the score 4-3. Taylor and Austin walked before Caffall's triple put the Flyers up 5-4. Billy Calloway followed with an RBI sincle to provide an insurance run. The Flyers scored two more in the top of the 7th on singles by Steven Kasinger, Matt Halverson, Hoffman, and Taylor. In the bottom of the seventh, the Reds centerfielder Andrew reached base after being hit by a pitch, and Caffall threw him out trying to steal, to frustrate their rally. Hoffman had three hits to raise his team leading total to 13 on the season, and shortstop Halverson had 5 assists and a put out to lead a strong defensive showing by the Flyers. Every starter had a hit except Jesse Gonzalez, who had two sharply hit line drives caught by outfielders. The Flyers next play a double header on Saturday against the Highlanders and Angels at 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM. 6/28/2010 12:20:02 AM 6/27/10 - The Flyers (5-2) broke out of their offensive slump to score 8 runs against the Vancouver Twins and help George Heath (1-0) win his first game of the season. Trailing 3-1 after four and a half innings, the Flyers scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead, and after the Twins tied the game 4-4 in the top of the sixth, the Flyers scored four more runs to secure their second come from behind win of the season. In what may have been the turning point in the game, the Twins, having already scored once to tie the score, loaded the bases with one out against Heath. The Flyer twirler struck out the next two hitters to prevent further damage and regain the momentum for Portland. In the bottom of the sixth, Steven Kasinger led off with a single, stole second, and advanced to third on Louie Opatz' third single of the game. Michael Hoffman followed with a two RBI hit, and after George Heath walked, Brian Gramage hit a double over the left fielder's head to score another run. Corey Breiland followed with a walk and Justin Shorts drove in the Flyers final run with a sacrifice fly to center. Opatz, Hoffman, and Gramaje each finished with 3 hits. The Flyers scored their first run of the game when Chris Millard led off the bottom of the second with a single, stole second, and after Shorts walked and Jesse Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, scored on Steven Kasinger's fly ball to center. In the bottom of the fifth, the Flyers took the lead on singles by Opatz, Heath, Gramaje, and Shorts, a walk by Billy Calloway, and a double by Michael Hoffman. The Flyers have had strong pitching and defense all season, but haven't found a consistent offensive rhythem. Hopefully for Flyer Nation, this win is the beginning of an offensive surge for the Flyers. Their next game is Friday evening at 6 pm against the Bulldogs. 6/27/2010 11:56:37 PM 6/22/10 - The Flyers (4-2) lost 2-0 to the Dodgers (5-4) in a tight game between division rivals. After the Dodgers scored twice in the top of the first inning, neither team scored again all game. Louie Opatz (0-1) pitched six strong innings, retiring 16 of the last 17 batters he faced and fanning 9 in 6 innings. George Heath pitched a perfect seventh to finish the game. The Flyers continued their offensive struggles, scoring 2 runs or less for the third time in four games. Leadoff hitter Louie Opatz reaching base all three at bats, with a single and pair of doubles, but the Flyers couldn't capitolize, stranding him in scoring position each time. Matt Halverson continued his resurgance at the plate, with a sharp single to left and a walk in three plate appearances. Justin Shorts was hit by a pitch for a team leading 4th time, and Michael Hoffman has reached base in all 6 games this season, although his hitting streak was snapped at 5 games. Although the Flyers had 10 baserunners to the Dodgers five, the Dodgers consistently made a big play or pitch when they needed. In the seventh inning, catcher Zach Caffal hit a sharp ground ball down the third base line that bounced just fair off the top of the base. The Dodger third baseman made a backhanded stop and then threw strongly to first, just beating the fleet footed backstop by half a step. With the win, the Dodgers split the 2010 season series with the Flyers. Last summer they Flyers' season ended when they lost to the Dodgers in the playoffs. The Flyers look to rebound on Sunday against the Vancouver Twins. 6/10/2010 1:19:34 AM 6/5/10 - The Flyers (3-1) lost their first game of the season to the Bulldogs on Saturday 2-1. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, the Flyers had at least one baserunner in each of the next six innings but didn't score again in losing 2-1 to the Bulldogs. 5/9/2010 11:12:42 PM 5/8/10 - The Flyers won a 2-0 pitchers' duel against the Dodgers as three Flyers pitchers combined to scatter five hits over seven shutout innings. Wacey Hayes (2-0) won his second straight start striking out five in four innings. In the top of the fourth, with the Flyers clinging to a 1-0 lead, the Dodgers had runners on first and third with one out. The Dodger's five hitter grounded back to Hayes, who looked the runner back to third and forced the runner at second in a clinic worthy play. Louie Opatz followed with two shutout innings to protect the lead and Mike Taylor pitched a perfect seventh to earn his second save of the season. Flyers' leadoff hitter Steven Kasinger scored in the first and sixth to account for both of the team's runs. After being hit by a pitch to lead off the game, Kasinger stole second and scored from second on Opatz' grounder to the pitcher. The Flyers scored their second run in the sixth after Billy Calloway's hard hit single down the third base line started the rally. Kasinger followed with a walk and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Corey Breiland narrowly missed driving in both runners when his line drive down the first base line hooked just foul. Breiland later grounded to the shortstop, forcing Calloway at the plate for the second out. Opatz followed with an RBI single to right to give the Flyers an insurance run. Justin Shorts was hit by a pitch for the third time this season and Michael Hoffman has now hit safely in all three games. The game ended when third baseman Hoffman made a highlight reel play on a hard chopper down the line. Evoking shades of Derek Jeter, Hoffman ranged to his right to glove the ball, leaped high into the air, and threw as his momentum carried him across the foul line, just beating the runner at first. The Flyers return to action next Wednesday against the RiverHawks. 5/7/2010 3:04:11 AM 5/5/10 - George Heath, Steven Kasinger, and Mike Taylor combined to allow a single hit over seven innings as the Flyers (2-0) came from behind to beat the Royals 4-1. After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Flyers scored in the fourth without a hit as Kasinger walked to lead off the inning and Mike Taylor reached on an error by the first baseman. Justin Shorts later walked, and Joey Pagao reched first on an error by the catcher, tying the game at 1. The Flyers scored three in the top of the next inning on singles by Brian Gramaje, Kasinger, Taylor, and Michael Hoffman. The Flyers continued their strong play in the field, turning a pair of double plays to end Royal rallies in both the first and sixth innings. The Royals shortstop almost make a highlight reel play on a sharply hit ball by Matt Halvorson in the sixth inning. After making a diving stop deep in the hole, his throw was off-line and Halvy reached on an infield single. The Flyers stole six bases and Shorts and Billy Callaway both reached base after being hit by pitches. Mike Taylor pitched a perfect seventh to record his first save of the season and the game ended on a deep line drive to right that Callaway hauled in to help the Flyers win their second straight game. In other news, the team is still in negotiations with Louie Opatz's agent Matt Borason to finalize a one-year contract for this summer. Sources familiar with the negotiations revealed that Opatz' demands include a new pair of spikes, a full no-trade clause, and an exemption from any weekend games before 1 PM. According to the team source, on the condition that he remain annonymous, there is no truth to the rumors that Opatz has threatened to sit out the entire season and re-enter the NWIBL draft in 2011 if his demands aren't met. 5/3/2010 1:34:34 AM May 2, 2010 - The Portland Flyers won on Opening Day for the second year in a row, beating the Titans 7-2. Newcomer Wacey Hayes pitched 5 no-hit innings to win his NWIBL debut, finishing with 1 hit and 8 strikouts in 6 innings. The Flyers scored 5 runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 7-0 lead. After George Heath led off with a base hit, left fielder Justin Shorts singled to center. Michael Hoffman then doubled to deep center to bring in a run and after Brian Gramaje walked, catcher Zach Caffal drove in run the second run of the inning. Lead-off batter Steven Kasinger's infield single brought in two more runs to finish the scoring. Louie Opatz pitched the seventh to preserve the win for the Flyers (1-0). Mike Taylor singled in the bottom of the third and stole second, for the Flyers' first stolen base of the year. Sunday's game featured the regular season debut for 8 Flyers, including Billy Callaway, Kevin Chambers, Corey Breiland, David Zimmerman, Hoffman, Hayes, Kasinger, and Shorts. The Flyers next game is this Wednesday against the Royals. |