THIS IS A BLOG SET UP FOR THE 2013 SEASON OF THE ORWIGSBURG ROHRER'S BASEBALL CLUB. UTILIZING THE PHRASEOLOGY AND WRITING OF THE 19TH AND EARLY 20TH CENTURY WHEN BASE BALL WAS PLAYED FOR FUN.

Friday, June 21, 2013

ORWIGSBURG L.L. CHAMPIONS....ROHRER'S IN A FANTASTIC COMEBACK DEFEATS BOYER'S 13-11

ROHRER'S WINS CHAMPIONSHIP IN 7 INNINGS
13-11
 
 
 
BOYER'S CAME TO MEMORIAL FIELD
NURSING CHAMPIONSHIP HOPES,
ROHER'S KNOCKED' EM GALLEY WEST,
AND SENT' EM TO THE ROPES;
NOW THOSE SELFSAME BOYER'S
LUCKY WILL BE RECKONED
WHEN THEY FINISH OUT THE SEASON
LANDING ONLY IN SECOND.
 

If you ask the many fans in attendance what the outstanding features of the game were, they will answer you:

"The way those Rohrer's boys came back after being down 9-0 in the first inning."

"Oh, boy you should have seen that smash home run Big Nate Dixon had in the third. We can't forget the excellent pitching by Brent Kaunas and Blake Lipko and that game winning  homer by Dylan Biever in the 7th that was hit to deep center field where the ball disappeared in the starry sky and gave Rohrer's the championship."

 

Well, cranks, let’s take a moment and look back at what these boys did this season.

It was a season of a lot of ups and very few downs.  The club went down only twice in the first half of the season against a very good pitching and hitting Boyer’s club. If you want a fine example of coaching and support for our club, not one time did Manager Ken Grace, or the coaching staff, fall down and admit defeat. Never did I hear a moment of negative coaching come from any of our coaches, only fine examples of keeping the boys` spirits up and exhortations to put forth their best efforts. A hardy Huzza, three cheers and a tiger for the Rohrer’s coaching staff!

On a beautiful, puffy cloud early summer evening, a make-up game was played.  A perfect double rainbow appeared in the eastern sky.  They always say a pot of gold can be found at the end of a rainbow. Could this pot of gold be a win for Rohrer’s?

If you search through all the games played on Memorial Field in Orwigsburg, you will never find the yarn of such a contest. It was a battle of mighty fingers, left handers, right handers, and kids on the hill who had one thing in mind, don’t give up. Add to this yarn a manager, who after being down 9-0 in the first inning, said with confidence, “Look, guys, we have six innings to play. Don’t worry. Let’s get our bats going NOW!” Off they went, bent on heeding  the manager’s advice and staged an amazing comeback.

 On the defense our boys went to work. On the mound, our hard throwing, fast right hander Brent Kaunas went to work on the Boyer’s batters. He was backed up by a tremendous infield and outfield. They set their minds to it and stopped the insane onslaught of the Boyer’s club.

The third inning at bat was our moment.  The boys started reversing the rolls of who was going to win this ball game. Blake got on first on balls; Dylan blasted a single scoring Blake. Brent, in his usual style, slammed out a double scoring Dylan. Then, in the fading light of the evening, big Nate Dixon stepped into the batter’s box. In his characteristic, methodical movements that he is known for, Nate took a deep, slow breath, put his  bat on his shoulder and  stared down the Boyer’s pitcher, Mike DeHaven.   Nate took one ball, then one strike and then Boyer’s pitcher slipped one right across the rubber. A sound like the crack of a rifle shot rang through the park. The fans` heads jerked upward and watched the old apple sail high out over the center field fence, out of sight into the dark summer sky.  At the sound of the crack, Brent scampered around the bags.  Nate slowly made his triumphant pass among the bags and sailed on into home plate with that big kid grin he usually has on face.

And so it began, cranks, that once- in –a- lifetime game a kid will remember for the rest of his life.  The runs started tallying in favor of Rohrer’s with nothing moving on the Boyer’s side of the scoreboard. In the fourth inning, our slugger Dylan Biever blasted his ninth homerun of the season.  

Like climbing Mt. Everest steady and strong, the boys were working their way to the top of the score card.  We maintained our great defensive ball playing and kept Boyer’s to a minimum on the score card.  Then, in the bottom of the sixth the score stood 11-11 and the game went into extra innings.

 Brent Kaunas, who pitched an excellent game stifling any big innings by Boyer’s, was relieved by another right hander, Blake Lipko. Blake stepped on the mound in as tense a situation as any pitcher could want with  a tie score and a hard hitting, never give up Boyer’s club at bat. Top of the seventh and the ball park was quiet as if there were a funeral going on. Blake gave up a single to the first batter. The tension built as the winning score was now standing on first. Next batter popped out to Dylan Grace on third base. One down when the next batter blasted one to the second baseman who throws to first for the second out.  The third batter comes to the plate and in the quite of the evening, Blake has him with one ball and two strikes. Blake comes out of his stretch and fans the batter. Now it is the chance of a life time. Rohrer’s has the opportunity to put this game away and go on record as having  one of the best comebacks in Little League history and taking the Orwigsburg championship.

Our first batter is Matt Ross who goes down swinging on two balls and two strikes. Next up is Andrew Phillips who went down on a full count, leaving us with 2 outs and nobody on.  Back to the top of the order and Blake Lipko cracks out a single, putting him in the winning run on first.  

OK ,cranks, as all things seem to go around or come around, as the old saying goes, what would be the worst thing a pitcher for Boyer’s would want to avoid? Yes! As we all know by now, no pitcher would want to see the slugger Dylan Biever stepping into the box with the  score tied ,two outs and the winning run on first base.   The way it turns out goes like this. Dylan steps up to the bat, takes that legendary deep breath, readies that bat and takes the first pitch for a strike.  As a batsman, Dylan is cool-headed, a good base runner, remarkable fielder, and pitcher with an arm of steel. But when it comes to batting, cranks, look out!

On the next pitch, a fast ball right down the line was met with a bat on ball that blasted the  ball up and into the dark of the  night sky and out over center field scoring Blake and giving Dylan his tenth homer for the season. Dylan’s home run brought the Rohrer’s fans to their feet. The ball club jumped like a bunch of gazelles on the open Serengeti. Blake rounded the bases, came running to home plate and leaped three feet into the air to land on home plate for the winning run followed by the hero of the game, Dylan Biever.  Team mates and coaches mobbed Dylan and he was lost in a crowd of rejoicing players. Dylan’s homer sealed the win  and helped to restore Rohrer’s to the top rung of the Orwigsburg Little League for the second year in a row.

So, cranks, on a beautiful summer evening at Orwigsburg’s Memorial Field on June 14, 2013  kids and adults watched the game they will remember forever. And in years to come, fans will always say, “Remember that game when the Rohrer’s kids came back from a 9-0 deficit and won the championship? Boy, what a game!”

With the end of this game and of the baseball season, we also mark the end of Little League careers. We, as Rohrer’s fans, have watched for the last time Brent Kaunas and Nate Dixon, two tremendous ball players who put their heart and soul into a game we all love. May your futures be wonderful, boys, and always remember this game  for the rest of your lives.

 

“MAY THE SUN NEVER SET ON AMERICAN BASEBALL”

HARRY TRUMAN

 

THE BABE`S FAREWELL ADDRESS

Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen.

You know how bad my voice sounds – well it feels just as bad.

You know this baseball game of ours comes up from the youth. That means the boys.

And after you’re a boy and grow up to know how to play ball, then you come to the boys you see representing themselves today in your national pastime, the only real game – I think – in the world, baseball.

As a rule, some people think if you give them a football, or a baseball, or something like that – naturally they’re athletes right away.

But you can’t do that in baseball.

You’ve gotta start from way down the bottom, when you’re six or seven years of age. You can’t wait until you’re fifteen or sixteen. You gotta let it grow up with you. And if you’re successful, and you try hard enough, you’re bound to come out on top – just like these boys have come to the top now.

There’s been so many lovely things said about me, and I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to thank everybody.

Thank you

 

 

RAINBOW AUGERS THE POT OF GOLD FOR THE ROHRER'S BOYS

LAZY HAZY SUMMER EVENING












LOOK GUYS WE HAVE SIX INNINGS TO PLAY!



































NATE DIXON HOME RUN













DYLANS NUMBER NINE HOME RUN



























DYLAN BIEVER'S GAME WINNING HOME RUN IS TENTH FOR THE SEASON


























 
 
 
 
 
 
THE LIGHTS SHINE BRIGHTLY, AS BRIGHTLY AS THE ROHRER'S BOYS' AND FANS' FACES,ON THE CLOSING GAME OF THE SEASON.