Holiday Wishes and Spring 2011 Season Info!

The Holidays are upon us and that can mean only one thing...Dodos Baseball season is just around the corner!

The PCBL site has all the info you need, and the link is provided below. Opening Day is Sunday, March 6, 2011.

PCBL Spring 2011 Season information

Dodos Drop the Ball and Game!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

The Dodos winning streak to start the fall season ended at two when they played the Breakers at "The" Master's College. With the temperature well into the triple digits, the Dodos caught a break in the first inning when the Breakers' right fielder overran a pop up hit by Eddie Knipps, putting Knipps on first via error. Then Rich Ortiz stepped to the plate and smashed a 1-2 pitch into deep left-center (that would have cleared the fence for a homerun, had there been a fence), scoring Knipps. Ortiz ended up at third with a triple, scoring on Sal D'Angelo's single two pitches later. Matty Lane continued his hitting streak, plating Sal and giving the Dodos an early 3-0 lead.

Jason Colegrove (0-1) made the trip to the college he is currently attending and made his Dodos' pitching debut, which was spoiled with seven Dodos' fielding errors, three of which happened in the bottom of the first inning, leading to three Breakers' runs, tying the game at 3-3.

The Dodos would be retired in order to start the second, then commit two errors in the bottom half of the inning, surrendering two more unearned runs, giving the Breakers a 5-3 lead.

An uneventful third inning yielded one Dodo runner stranded on one hit, a single by Knipps. The Breakers added a run to increase the lead to 6-3. But the Dodos would answer back with a solo homerun over the left field fence that Chris Hoffman reached out and pulled, giving Sloth his second hit of the game. Leading 6-4, the Breakers added two more runs on three hits including a triple to deep left-center.

Trailing 8-4, the Dodos' hitters managed just four baserunners over the next three innings, all of whom were left stranded on base. In fact, the Dodos didn't get a hit in those three innings, but on the bright side, the runners all drew walks!

The breakers added a ninth run in the sixth inning, closing the book on Colegrove (6IP, 4ER, 10H, BB, 6K), who left the game in-line for the loss in his first game of the season.

Also making his pitching debut for the Dodos was Jason Orona. Orona entered the game in the bottom of the seventh in relief, and he walked the first batter he faced. He got the next batter to hit a ground ball to third, which was thrown away by Jason Butter. The next batter hit a deep, flyball to center fielder Matty Lane. Lane had the ball go off his glove for another Dodo error. The Breakers would add four more hits before Orona was lifted from the game with just one out. Ken Gerber made a relief appearance for the Dodos with the bases loaded. He got the first batter he faced to popup to short, then a walk, hit batter and single plated the seventh runs of the inning, leading to the game being called due to the 12-run "mercy rule". The Dodos lost 16-4 in 6 2/3 innings of play.

The Dodos face the 5-time defending PCBL AAA Division champion winners, Barracudas this Sunday, October 3 at 10AM, at Conejo Creek.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Hewitt 0-4; Knipps 1-2 (R, BB, SB); Ortiz 1-3 (R, RBI, 3B, E); D'Angelo 1-3 (R, RBI, K, E); Farris 0-3 (K, 2E); Lane 1-3 (RBI, E); Hoffman 2-3 (R, RBI, HR, E); A. Gerber 0-2 (BB); Butter 1-3 (3B, E); Boll 0-2 (BB, K, SB)
Colegrove (L) 6IP, 9R, 4ER, 10H, BB, HB, 6K; Orona .1IP, 7R, 1ER, 4H, BB, K; K.Gerber .1IP, H, BB

Amid Chaos, Dodos Win Championship!

Thursday, September 23. 2010
With their captain, Matt Marsh, on his honeymoon (congrats on the marriage Matt and Ashley, it was an awesome wedding), the Dodos Hockey team faced their rivals, the Renegades in the Division 5 Championship at Rollerdome. From the onset of the game, it looked as though it was going to be a heated exchange between the two teams, and it most definitely did not disappoint. Just over one minute into the game, a much hated Renegade player flipped the puck onto the Dodos bench and flashed a smile to the players. The game was riddled with penalties, high sticks and ejections, leading to an early exit for both teams.

The Renegades took an early lead. scoring a goal a mere 1:16 into the first period. The Dodos answered back, when Matt Haddad took the puck off the wall and snuck a goal into the net (1:52). Exactly one minute later, Haddad passed to a streaking Jason Hibarger, who shot a wrister in for a goal (2:52). Wanting to secure the championship, Dodos Hockey started to pile on the goals, as Dylan Mlcoch scored after taking a pass from Pat Heninger (3:49). With a 3-1 lead still in the first, two-sport star, Jeff Hewitt, thread a pass to Brian Silvey, who promptly scored (6:22).

With a 4-1 lead in the second period, Big Chris stopped slapshot after slapshot from Mama's Boy (he might as well have been shooting from the locker room). Dylan would add his second goal of the game with an assist from Haddad (11:42) to extend the Dodos' lead to 5-1.

The Renegades frustration began to show early in the third period when the fat guy was called for a tripping penalty 32 seconds in. The Dodos capitalized, scoring a power play goal on Silvey's second goal of the championship, a wrister that went glove side (1:04). After Brian Breithaupt intercepted a Renegade pass, he an unassisted goal with a slapshot (2:26). Trailing 7-1, another Renegade player was called for a penalty (5:27, holding). The Dodos once again took advantage when Pat passed to Jeff for the eighth Dodos' goal of the game.

With the championship all but out of reach, the Renegades managed to sneak a goal by big Chris (6:24), cutting the lead to 8-2. Less than four minutes later, Mama's Boy and Hibarger were skating down the court when Mama's Boy brought the stick up a little too high, prompting Hibarger to give a little back, resulting in a wrestling match between the two and an ejection to only Hibarger. When the referees finally managed to gain control of the situation, Breithaupt received a game misconduct penalty for talking. Hah! Talking.

Just when the game appeared to be on the way to a finish, the fat guy cross checked Pat and started a fist fight. With just 1:32 remaining in the game, the referees called the game and the Dodos emerged victorious champions, although the celebration was put on hold as the Mama's Boy's mama began shouting at the Dodos' players and their fans. Very professional way to run the Rollerdome. I mean, the Renegades were called for seven penalties to the Dodos' three, so, you figure it out.

Fantasy Performaces of the Day: Hewitt 1G, 1A; Haddad 1G, 2A; Heninger 2A; Silvey 2G; Hibarger 1G, Ejected; Mlcoch 2G, 1A; BHop 1G

Dodos Frustrate L.A. Braves Yet Again!

Sunday, September 19, 2010
The vendetta the Braves have against the Dodos remains unfulfilled, as Dodos Baseball beat them for the second time in as many games on Sunday with a score of 9-7. Steve Cole (2-0) backed his season opener winning effort with an even more impressive performance, pitching eight strong innings and returning to the game in the ninth to record a save in addition to a win. Cole frustrated the Braves' batters all day, surrendering three earned runs on eight hits, while striking out a season-high 12 and cutting his walks to four.

After stranding two runners in the first inning, the Dodos scored the game's first run in the second. Matty Lane drew a walk to start the bottom half of the inning and stole second. He would score on a two-out RBI double by Eddie Knipps.

Following a hit batter and two strikeouts, Brandon Farris belted a full count, two-tun home run to give the Dodos a 3-0 lead after three innings.

The pitchers from both teams were on cruise control until a two-out error by Sal D'Angelo followed by a single and a walk to load the bases. Cole escaped that jam with a lineout to second.

The Braves scored three runs in the top of the sixth on a leadoff walk, two singles and a two-run double to tie the game, but Rich Ortiz' second home run, a single and two errors on a stolen base attempt by Lane would allow the Dodos to reclaim the lead, 5-3.

After a walk to catcher Andy Gerber, Farris courtesy ran and promptly stole second, then scored an insurance run on two passed balls by the Braves' catcher to double the Dodos' lead, 6-3.

The Dodos scored three more runs in the bottom of the eighth after the Braves scored scored one on an error in the top part of the inning. A single by Jeff Hewitt started the rally, followed by two outs, then a walk to D'Angelo and two singles from Farris and Lane to score the runs and give the Dodos a 9-4 lead going into the last inning.

Cole pitched a solid eight innings, yielding to Farris to pitch the ninth. Farris proceeded to walk the first batter, then got a ground ball out. He walked the next batter and then got a flyball to center for the second out. A single, error, walk and a hit batter would extend the inning, plating three Braves and loading the bases. With only one out left, Cole reentered the game to pitch and converted the save opportunity while also getting the win.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Hewitt 1-4 (R, K); Boll 0-3 (R, SB, HB); Ortiz 2-4 (RBI, R, HR, 2K); D'Angelo 1-3 (R, BB, K); Farris 3-4 (2RBI, 2R, 2-R HR, SB); Lane 1-3 (2RBI, 2R, BB, 2SB); Butter 0-4; A. Gerber 0-2 (R, BB); Hoffman 1-3; Knipps 1-3 (RBI, 2B); Jason 0-1 (BB); Cole 0-1.
Cole (W, SV) 8.1IP, 4R, 3ER, 8H, 4BB, 2HB, 12K; Farris .2IP, 3R, 1ER, H, 3BB, HB

Dull Blades Can't Cut It!

Thursday, September 16, 2010
While the team captain was enjoying excessive drinks and Mexican food at his wedding rehearsal dinner, the Dodos Hockey team dulled the Blades' late effort to mount a comeback and advanced to the Division 5 Championship game with a 4-2 victory.

Brian Silvey led the Dodos' charge with a hat trick and Keith Loitz also scored a goal. Jeff Hewitt collected three assists on four goals, while big Chris shut the Blades out until 1:30 left in the game, when the Blades scored two unanswered goals, but fell three goals short of advancing to the final round of the playoffs.

The Dodos face the Renegades in the final game of the postseason, a team that beat them during the regular season. Word around the Rollerdome says the Renegades lobbied to have the Dodos team split-up or moved up a division, but to no avail. In all honesty, a few players on the Renegades were seen playing in the upper division last season, leading one to believe that they are making an attempt to "sandbag" the league.

It should prove to be an interesting game, if not exciting. Be there to cheer on the Dodos as they make a run for the first roller hockey championship in Dodos' history on Thursday, September 23 at 8:30 PM.

New Look Dodos Win Fall Season Opener!

Sunday, September 12, 2010

On Troy Jr.'s birthday, Dodos Baseball opened the Fall 2010 season with a victory. Despite losing their top four hitters from the summer season, the team was moved into the Higher Division and faced the AAA Giants. The Dodos acquired new uniforms and some new key players who contributed heavily, as the Dodos went on to a 12-10 win.

After a scoreless top of the first inning, new Dodos' pitcher, Steve Cole, made his pitching debut, striking out the first batter looking before getting a ground ball out and then another strikeout. Cole worked eight innings, striking out eight, surrendering seven earned runs on eight hits and 14 walks. Dodos' summer league left fielder, Matty Lane, has slid into center field this season, and he led off the second inning with a single and scored when Brandon Farris doubled off the wall. Chris Hoffman would double Farris home, giving the Dodos a 2-0 lead.

With the score tied 2-2 in the third, Sal D'Angelo made his return to the Dodos with a first pitch single. Newcomer Rich Ortiz followed with a 2-R home run. After two flyouts, Lane doubled, followed by another RBI-double by Farris and a dropped flyball hit by Dodos' Sports first two-sport star, Jeff Hewitt. Hewitt advanced to second and scored when Hoffman singled him home. The Giants scored three runs in the next two innings from four walks, a hit batter, two hits and a dropped flyball to narrow the lead, 7-5.

The Dodos would score one run in each of the next two innings via solo home runs by the new additions, D'Angelo and Hewitt. Trailing 9-5, the Giants pitcher used the next pitch after the Hewitt home run to hit Hoffman in what seemed like a mild retaliation move, to which the Dodos seemed to shrug off. After the Giants ran themselves out of the sixth inning, the Dodos opened the seventh with Eddie Knipps reaching first on an error, then Brandon Boll bunting for a hit before D'Angelo added his second home run of the game, a three-run shot to right center. That prompted a pitching change, and the younger Diaz shut the Dodos down the next two innings.

Feeling the need to complete the game, Cole went back out to the mound to pitch the eighth, even after the manager had told him he was finished. Cole proceeded to walk the first batter, get a fielder's choice and walk another batter before giving up a 3-R home run. Not satisfied with eight innings, Cole went back to the mound in the ninth, only to surrender a single and a 2-R homer. He was showing obvious signs of fatigue and the home run closed the door on his day. Farris came into the game facing a save opportunity with the lead now dwindled to 12-10. Farris would get a ground ball to third, then Lane would rob a hit in shallow center with a sliding catch. A pop up to Farris would end the game, giving the Dodos their first victory and Farris his first save in as many chances. The Dodos face the LA Braves in a rematch of the last regular season game in the summer league this Sunday at Occidental College at 10AM.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Boll 1-5 (1R, 2K); D'Angelo 3-5 (3R, 4RBI, 3-R HR, HR, K); Ortiz 1-5 (1R, 2RBI, 2-R HR, K); Butter 1-3 (BB); A. Gerber 0-3; Lane 2-4 (2R, 2B, K); Farris 3-4 (2R, 2RBI, 3 2B); Hewitt 1-3 (2R, 2RBI, HR, BB, 2E); Hoffman 2-3 (2RBI, 2B, HB, CS, K); Jason 0-4 (3K); Knipps 0-2 (R, BB); K. Gerber 0-1 (K).
Cole (W) 8IP, 10R, 7ER, 8H, 14BB, HB, 8K, 2HR; Farris (SV) 1IP, H

Dodos Hockey Passes First Playoff Test!

Thursday, September 9, 2010
The Dodos Roller Hockey team won their first playoff game in Division 5 when they went to visit the Toads. After finishing the regular season with a 7-2 record, the Dodos drew the second seed and skated to an easy 10-5 victory.

After scoring only one goal in the regular season, Dylan Mlcoch led the way for the Dodos with four goals and one assist. Brian Silvey added a hat trick and an assist, while Jeff Hewitt, Matt Haddad and Keith Loitz chipped in goals as well.

The Dodos breezed to a 5-0 lead in the first period before surrendering four goals in the second and scoring just two themselves. Trailing 7-4 to start the third, the Toads scored a goal just 54 seconds in to the period, but that would be their last goal, as Big Chris would deny all other attempts to score. The Dodos scored three unanswered goals after that to sail to the win.

The Dodos meet the Blades on Thursday, September 16, in round two of the playoffs. The winner goes on to the Championship next week.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Hewitt 1G; Haddad 1G, 2A; Heninger 1A; Silvey 3G, 1A, 2 Min. hooking; Loitz 1G; Marsh 2 Min. tripping; Mlcoch 4G, 1A; Big Chris 31SV

Regular season stats: Hewitt 8GP, 5G, 4A; Haddad 6GP, 5G, 5A, 4PEN/10MIN; Heninger 7GP, 11G, 5A, 2PEN/4MIN; Silvey 8GP, 14G, 11A, 3PEN/6MIN; Loitz 5GP, 2G, 1A; Marsh 8GP, 9G, 3A, 1PEN/2MIN; Hibarger 3GP, 1G, 2A. 2PEN/4MIN; Mlcoch 7GP, 1G, 4A, 2PEN/4MIN; Breithaupt 5GP, 1G; Big Chris 7GP, 216SF, 195SV, 21GA

The Nation is Back!

After a brief hiatus, Dodos Nation is back in full force!

Dodos Baseball finished the 2010 summer season with a 10-8 regular season record (10-4 in single A division) and lost in a "California Tiebreaker" playoff game. We at the Nation HQ are assuming the PCBL league president has been holding somewhat of a grudge against the Dodos (reason is yet unclear). The Dodos faced opposition all season from the league, including playing only six of the 18 total games as the home team (a 33% clip). In addition, the league made the Dodos play the hottest team in the division to end the regular season, to which the Dodos promptly gave them a 17-2 thrashing. But, the league had the last laugh, throwing softball rules into a baseball league, ending the Dodos run for the championship.

The Dodos will start the 2010 fall season next Sunday, September 12 when they face the Royals at Occidental College at 10AM.

Dodos Hockey finished last season 0-9, but after dropping to a lower division and making some personnel changes, they find themselves tied at the top of Division 5 with a 7-2 record to end the regular season. The playoffs will start next Thursday, September 9, 2010.

As far as Dodos Angling goes, the Nation HQ has not heard any news regarding any tournament happenings.

Be on the lookout in the near future, as the Dodos Sports Franchise looks to expand into the paintball and roller derby arenas. More info to come.

Once again, the Nation HQ apologizes for the lag, but rest assured, we are back!

Lightning Strikes Four Times!

Thursday, May 27, 2010
The defending champions scored twice in the first period before the Dodos finally answered back when Dylan Mlcoch skated backwards, received a pass from Matt Marsh and scored a power play goal (9:15). The Lightning scored two more goals to close out the period with a 4-1 lead, while outshooting the Dodos 17-4.

Thirty-one seconds into the second period, The Lightning scored their fifth goal. The Dodos outshot the Lightning in the period 15-12, but none of the shots found the net. Meanwhile, the Lightning scored four more goals, to extend the lead to 9-1.

The Lightning scored 2:12 into the third period, and were called for a slashing penalty a minute later. The Dodos capitalized on the man advantage, scoring when Jeff Hewitt passed the puck to Mlcoch, who found Brian Silvey cutting towards the goal. Silvey beat the goalies for the Dodos' second power play goal of the game (4:25). With an eight goal lead, the Lightning defense softened up considerably, allowing Marsh to score a goal with just five seconds left in the game (14:55).

Fantasy Performances of the Day: J. Hewitt 1A; Silvey 1G; Marsh 1G, 1A; Mlcoch 1G, 1A, K. Hewitt 2 Min. Tripping; Big Chris 28SV

Dodos Separate Twins!

Sunday, May 23, 2010
Dodos Baseball bounced back from their loss Saturday to get a decisive victory over the Single A Twins, 8-5 at Sylmar High School. Making his first start of the season and his debut for the Dodos was RHP Kyle Thomas. Thomas struck out the first batter he faced before allowing two bloop singles, but he then got a pop up and a strikeout to strand the runners and send the Dodos to the plate. The Dodos took the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Dustin Burke hit a single and advanced to third on two pass balls before scoring on a ground ball hit by Chris Hems that was misplayed by the Twins.

With a 1-0 lead, Thomas would retire the side with only four pitches after surrendering a first pitch, leadoff single. Following a ground out back to Thomas, Twins' 3B Kevin Anderson popped up to Shane Shoemaker at second, who caught the runner off second to complete the inning ending double play. Charles Dethloff returned after a two-game absence and promptly led off with a single. With one out, Rick Jarakian singled Dethloff home and Ken Gerber followed with an RBI triple, scoring on a sacrifice grounder to second by Shoemaker. The Dodos were winning, 4-0 after two innings.

Two walks and two singles by the Twins cut the lead in half, but a sprawling catch by Chris Hoffman stopped the bleeding in the third. Hems led off the bottom of the third with a first pitch triple, but Twins' pitcher, Tim Wayne managed to stop the Dodos from scoring and strand a runner at third.

The Twins tied the game in the fourth with two singles, a walk, a throwing error and a controversial balk call.

In the fifth, Thomas retired the side in order and the Dodos had one out, with the bases loaded, but failed to get a hit and capitalize on the opportunity.

The Twins would take a brief lead in the sixth when Thomas hit a batter, who advanced to third on a throwing error. With two outs, Shoemaker misplayed a ground ball, allowing the run to score. Leading 5-4, the Twins made a move to the bullpen and Dethloff welcomed him to the game with a 385-foot double off the left-center wall, an a wild throw from the outfield allowed him to get to third. Two batters later, Jarakian grounded out to short, plating Dethloff and tying the game.

Thomas would retire the side in order again, while collecting two more strikeouts in the top of the seventh. In the bottom half, with two out and bases loaded, Dethloff hit a routine fly ball to right field. The right fielder appeared to have the ball tracked down, but dropped it at the last minute, allowing three runs to score and give the Dodos an 8-5 lead.

The Twins were shut down in the eighth despite loading the bases with no outs, and Thomas collected his final two strikeouts of the game to bring his total to 12 in eight innings.

Troy Warn, Sr. came on in relief in the ninth and posted a 1-2-3 inning to get the save.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 1-4 (RBI, SH, 2K); Burke 3-5 (R, SB); Hems 1-4 (3B, R, RBI, SB); Jas. Butter 1-3 (R); Warn, Sr. 1-3 (BB, K); A. Gerber 0-3 (R, BB); Dethloff 2-4 (2B, 2R, K); Hoffman 0-3 (SB, HB, 2K); Jarakian 1-4 (R, 2RBI, K); K. Gerber 1-3 (3B, R, RBI, HB).
Thomas (W) 8IP, 5R, 3ER, 9H, 4BB, HB, 12K; Warn, Sr. (SV) IP

Dodos Lose a Special Game!

Saturday, May 22, 2010
The Dodos faced the PCBL AA Division Royals in a makeup game at College of the Canyons. The Royals would prove too much for their former division counterparts, defeating the Dodos 22-10 in 6.2 innings of play. The Dodos were off to an early 1-0 lead from two singles from Chris Hems and Jason Butter and an RBI double by Matty Lane. Shane Shoemaker shut the Royals down in the home half of the first inning.

After a ten-week holdout, Jared Butter finally made his first appearance for the Dodos, leading off a nine-run second inning with a walk, followed by an Albert Hernandez single to bring Chris Hoffman to the plate. Hoffman had just recently purchased a pair of those HD Vision sunglasses and boy did they pay off! Hoffman belted the first pitch to left field for his first homerun of the year. Leading 4-0, the Dodos pounded the Royals' starting pitcher Anthony Carusa with two doubles, two singles and a walk before Carusa was pulled from the game. The Dodos would get a hit batter, a sacrifice fly and an RBI double before they were finally retired with a 10-0 lead in the second inning.

An error by short stop Dustin Burke to start the bottom half of the second inning opened the flood gates and the Royals scored seven runs on four hits, two errors, six stolen bases, two passed balls, two walks and two hit batters.

Clinging to a 10-7 lead to start the third, the Dodos offense disappeared. In fact, over the next five innings they struck out seven times and only managed two hits, including Hoffman's third hit of the day.

The Dodos defense also decided to call-in sick after the third inning, giving up two more runs in the third, seven in the fourth, four in the sixth and two in the seventh to enforce the mercy rule.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 1-3 (R, RBI, BB, K); Burke 1-3 (R, RBI, BB, 2B, SB); Hems 1-3 (2R, BB, 2K, SB); Jas. Butter 2-4 (R, 2RBI); Lane 1-4 (R, RBI, 2B, K); Warn, Sr. 0-4 (K); Jar. Butter 0-2 (R, BB, K, HB); Hernandez 2-3 (R, RBI, SF); Hoffman 3-3 (R, 4RBI, 2B, 3-R HR); K. Gerber 1-3 (R, 2B, K).
Shoemaker (L) 5.2IP, 18R, 12ER, 13H, 7BB, 2HB, 3K, 2HR, 3WP; Hoffman (IP, 4R, 4ER, 5H, BB, HB, K, HR, WP)

Kings Double Up Dodos!

Thursday, May 20, 2010
Dodos Hockey lost another forgettable game, 10-5 to the Kings, falling to 0-6 for the season. Trailing 1-0 in the first, Dylan Mlcoch passed the puck to Jeff Hewitt, who shot the puck between the goalie's legs for the Dodos' first goal. The Kings would score three more goals in the first period to amass an early 4-1 lead.

Following five more goals (score was now 9-1), Dylan took a rebound from a shot by Pat Henninger and scored (13:29). The Dodos trailed 9-2 after two completed periods.

The Dodos would score three goals in the final period, the first coming exactly two minutes into the period when Pat passed to Jeff, who sent a pass to Dylan for the backhand goal (2:00). A mere 59 seconds later, Shane Linnenberger passed the puck to Pat, who then put a wrist shot by the diving goalie to cut the lead to 9-4 (2:59). Minutes later, Shane stole the puck and took a slap shot that found the goal (10:07). The Kings would add another goal with just 15 seconds remaining in the game to win 10-5.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: J. Hewitt 1G, 1A; Henninger 1G, 2A; Silvey (left game in 2nd with a broken stick); Linnenberger 1G, 1A; Mlcoch 2G, 1A; Big Chris 35SV

Dodos Scalp Indians!

Sunday, May 16, 2010

The Dodos jumped out to an early lead against the Indians, sending 16 to the plate in the first inning, scoring 11 runs on eight hits and five errors. Chris Hems continued his dominance of league pitching when a pop up fell in for a single. Two batters later, Troy Warn, Sr. extended his hit streak to nine games with an RBI single. An error by the Indians' short stop would put runners at the corners for Chris Hoffman. Hoffman executed a picture perfect squeeze play, giving the Dodos a 5-0 lead. With two outs, a 2-RBI double by Shane Shoemaker and an RBI double by Hems helped give the Dodos the 11-0 lead after the first half of the first inning. The Indians would counter with four runs via two hits, a walk, a hit batter and two Dodos' errors. The Dodos led 11-4 after one inning.

The second inning started the same for the Indians when Albert Hernandez hit a lead off double followed by an RBI single by Hoffman. RBI singles from Rick Jarakian and Dustin Burke along with a sac fly by Jason Butter and an RBI double hit by Sr. helped extend the Dodos' lead to 18-4. Shaun Stephans was on the hill for the Dodos, and he continued to have trouble finding the strike zone in the second inning, walking three, hitting one and giving up a 2-RBI double to the Indians to close the gap, 18-7 after two complete.

The Dodos scored another eight runs in the third inning, after a dropped third strike put the lead off runner on base. A walk, ground out and hit batter brought up Shane with one out. Shane hit an 0-2 fastball into left, scoring Hoffman. Three straight singles after Shane's would prompt an Indians' pitching change. The new pitcher walked Sr. on four straight pitches before serving up a double to Andy Gerber which scored two more runs. Stephans would face only four batters in the third, allowing one hit and striking out one. The Dodos were cruising 26-7.

The bottom of the fourth saw Stephans unravel on the mound. After a lead off walk to the ninth batter, he hit the next batter on a 2-2 count, then walked the next hitter, loading the bases with no outs. Two more consecutive singles and another walk would chase Stephens out of the game. The Dodos would turn to Shane for relief. Shane would hit the first batter faced, allowed a walk and a single before retiring the side on the three straight called strikes to the number ten hitter. At the end of four innings, the Dodos lead 26-14.

Dodos Baseball would score three more runs on two walks, an RBI double by Burke and an RBI single hit by Sr. Shane would get two quick outs in the bottom of the fifth before giving up a walk and a single, surrendering a run. A runner caught stealing third would end the game, giving the Dodos a 29-15 victory in five innings.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 2-3 (5R, 3RBI, 2B, 2SB, HB, BB, K); Burke 4-5 (4R, 5RBI, 2B); Hems 3-3 (5R, 2RBI, 2BB, SB); Butter 2-4 (2R, 3RBI, SF, SB); Sr. 3-3 (3R, 3RBI, 2B, 2BB); A.Gerber 3-4 (R, 5RBI, 2 2B, BB); Hernandez 1-4 (2R, 2RBI, 2B, SF); Hoffman 1-4 (2R, 2RBI, SacBunt, SB, 2K); Stephans 2-3 (2R, RBI, BB); Jarakian 1-3 (2R, RBI, HB); K. Gerber 0-1 (R, HB).
Stephans (ND) 3IP, 13R, 10ER, 6H, 7BB, 3HB, 2K; Shoemaker (W) 2IP, 2R, 2ER, 2H, 2BB, HB, 2K

Dodos Anglers in the Money!

Saturday, May 15, 2010
The team of Luigi Lucas and Brian Vasey finished in the money, taking tenth place in the Angler's Choice Region 2 Tournament held at Lake Casitas Night Trail.

The field consisted of 33 teams. Lucas and Vasey caught the five fish limit with a total of 18.46 pounds and a big fish weighing in at 6.19 pounds.

Dodos Roller Hockey Winless!

Thursday, May 13, 2010

The Wings had a 1-0 lead when Dylan Mlcoch passed the puck ahead to Jason Hibarger who had his first shot blocked, only to poke the rebound in for the tie (9:33). The Wings would regain the lead just 33 seconds later, only to be tied again when Brian Silvey scored a rebound goal after Matt Marsh's shot was blocked (13:45). The game was tied 2-2 at the first intermission.

After a near miss that hit the crossbar, Shane Linnenberger found Silvey breaking to the goal and completed the pass. Silvey flipped the puck over the goalie's shoulder for the goal (10:39). The Wings would tie the game at three apiece with 31 seconds left in the second period.

Both teams pelted the goals with shots (13 each) but were unsuccessful until Hibarger and Mlcoch skated the length of the court, passing back and forth twice, then Mlcoch scored (6:23). The Wings would score two unanswered goals from a substitute player to take the lead and seal the victory. The Dodos lost a close one, surrendering the game winning goal with just 2:18 left in the game.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Silvey 2G; Marsh 1A; Hibarger 1G, 1A; Shane 1A; Dylan 1G, 1A; Breithaupt 1Pen. 2 Min. Tripping; Big Chris 25SV

Dodos to Mothers...Sorry!

Sunday, May 9, 2010

A windy Mother's Day at The Master's College would prove fruitful for home run connoisseurs, but not for the Dodos. They lost 16-4 in just over two hours and 7 2/3 innings of play to the first place River Cats.

The Dodos would lead the game off with a strikeout before shortstop Dustin Burke singled a 2-0 pitch to the outfield. With Burke on first and one away, into the batter's box stepped the hottest Dodo hitter, Chris "Hitman" Hems. Hems watched the first pitch go outside for ball one before launching his second home run of the season, a two-run shot to left. Jason Butter singled next, sending left fielder Matty Lane to the plate. Lane would jump on the first pitch, smashing a line drive in the gap, scoring Butter and landing himself on third with a triple. Lane would score on catcher Andy Gerber's single before the Dodos were retired. It was a great start to the game as the Dodos took an early 4-0 lead with the River Cats coming up. Shane Shoemaker took the hill for the Dodos, getting the lead off hitter to pop up to first base. Shoemaker struck out the next batter before the Dodos employed their classic defensive strategy of committing errors. As the wind picked up, the ball was hit high to left field. Lane was scrambling all around left, trying to track the ever changing flight of the ball in the high velocity Valencia winds. The ball just hit the tip of Lane's glove, allowing the runner to get to second on an error. The 'Cats cleanup hitter doubled off the wall, plating the unearned run before a ground out to Butter at third base. After one inning, the Dodos were ahead, 4-1.

Albert Hernandez would draw a walk to begin the second inning, advancing to second on Chris Hoffman's slow dribbler back to the pitcher. With Hernandez in scoring position, Shoemaker singled to left field and Hernandez tried to score. The left fielder hit the cutoff man, who threw a perfect strike to the catcher, nailing Hernandez at the plate. Burke would hit his second single of the day, putting runners at the corners with two out. Hems hit a deep shot to left center, sending the 'Cats player to the wall to make the catch for the third out. The home half of the inning was opened with a single followed by a comebacker to Shoemaker, who made an errant throw, allowing both runners to be safe and putting himself in a real bind. He left a 1-0 pitch up in the zone, resulting in a three-run home run to tie the game at 4-4. Shoemaker retired the next three batters in order to end the inning.

Both pitchers recorded 1-2-3 innings in the third, Shoemaker's via just six pitches. Still tied 4-4 in the bottom of the fourth with two outs and bases loaded, the 'Cats pitcher would hit an RBI single, giving himself the lead 5-4.

With one out in the top of the fifth, Hems and Butter hit back-to-back singles. Lane hit a ground ball to the second baseman. He fielded the ball cleanly and tossed to the shortstop to start the double play, but Lane beat the throw to first. Not seeing the play and apparently thinking there were three outs, Hems rounded third base and started walking home. The first baseman threw the ball to the catcher, who proceeded to tag Hems for the third out.

The sixth inning was nothing to write about, save the single by Sr. to extend his hitting streak to all eight games of the season. The Dodos gave up six more runs in the bottom half. Shoemaker appeared to be out of gas, leaving the ball up, surrendering five hits.

The 'Cats would also tack on three more runs in the seventh after Shaun Stephans came on in relief and gave up a towering home run to the first batter faced. "I've never seen a ball hit that hard," said Hems. It was a blast. Stephans walked two and gave up another single before being relieved by Ken Gerber. Ken would give up a single before retiring the 'Cats to end the seventh.

The only bright spot the Dodos saw the rest of the game was a third hit by Burke, going 3-4 with his mother on-hand to watch on her day. Ken would give up a solo home run to the first batter of the inning. With the 12-run mercy rule lurking ever so close (15-4), Ken got a ground ball out to Burke at short, gave up a single to the lead off hitter, who advanced to second on a pass ball by Andy. Ken got the second hitter to pop up to second before walking the next batter. A single to right field on the next pitch scored the runner from second, ending the game with the mercy rule. The Dodos record is 2-6 for the season.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 1-4 (3K, E); Burke 3-4 (R, K, E); Hems 2-4 (R, 2RBI, 2-R HR); Butter 2-4 (R, E); Lane 1-3 (R, RBI, 3B, K, E); A. Gerber 1-3 (RBI); Sr. 1-3; Psuedo Charles 1-3 (K); Hernandez 0-2 (BB, K); Hoffman 1-3, Stephans 0-1 (K); Jarakian 0-1 (K). Shoemaker (L) 6IP, 11R, 7ER, 9H, 3BB, 2HB, 7K, 3-R HR; Stephans .1IP, 3R, 3ER, 2H, 2BB, HR; K. Gerber 1.1IP, 2R, 2ER, 5H, 2BB, HR

Eighth on the 8th!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

The Dodos Angling team was in action Saturday as Bubba Proctor fired up the bass boat and looked to tame Lake Piru. Bubba caught his five fish limit, totaling just over ten pounds. That was just enough weight to secure eighth place. Better luck next time Bubba!

Lightning Strikes Thrice!

Thursday, May 6, 2010
The game started out rather slowly. For the first four minutes, it was a defense lover's dream skate. Both teams did manage to attempt a few shots, most veering wide of the opponent's net until 8:05 when the big semi-truck looking guy on the Lightning trickled the puck by Big Chris for the game's first goal. Another Lightning goal quickly followed merely seconds after the face off at 8:31. Trailing 2-0, Pat Henninger skated the puck into the Lightning zone, flipped it off the wall by the oncoming defender and beat him to the puck to shoot off the back off the Lightning goalie's skate for a goal (9:36). Still ahead 2-1, the Lightning pelted Chris with an onslaught of shots in the final minutes of the period, only to be turned away each time. To reward Chris for his duties, the Dodos tied the game when Jason Hibarger dished a pass into the Lightning zone to Brian Silvey. Silvey beat the goalie over the shoulder to score (12:44, assist Hibarger).

With the score even at 2-2, the Lightning continued to bombard Chris with shots, amassing 14 total shots in the second period compared to just nine for the Dodos. Chris made two great saves in a row before surrendering a cheap goal to #0 (Frankenstein on skates). Not only was it a cheap goal, but Chris' stick also broke on the play. The Dodos would answer with almost three continuous minutes of pressure in the Lightning zone, but ultimately managing only one shot on goal. The Lightning added a fourth goal (11:28) before #12 shoved Henninger into the boards, drawing a two-minute penalty for boarding. The Dodos would keep the puck in the Lightning zone for most of the power play, however, they only took one shot on goal. Again. Down 4-2 with 27 seconds remaining in the period, Hibarger was nabbed for a holding penalty.

The Lightning capitalized on the power play to start the third, scoring a mere 29 seconds into the period. The Lightning would chip in two more goals (4:00, 4:33) before the Dodos would score their third goal, which was setup when Matt Marsh stole the puck, passed to Silvey, who deeked the defender before sending a wrister into the net (10:59, assist Marsh). The Lightning would score again at 13:06 to close out the game, dropping the Dodos to 0-4 for the season.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Henninger 1G; Silvey 2G; Hibarger 1A, 1PEN; Marsh 1A, Big Chris 30SV

Can't be any Geek off the Street!

Sunday, May 2, 2010
Apparently the PCBL Regulators Baseball team has never heard the song made popular in the mid-90s by Warren G and Nate Dogg. Their team was overflowing with a cornucopia of douches, geeks and creeps. This team is as Bush League as it gets, right down to their softball looking jerseys and clipart infested logo. They used a trick play, took walks and stole bases up ten runs and nearly caused a bench clearing brawl while personally attacking the Dodos' players.

The game started with a Regulator single by lead off hitter, Tyler Thompson. Thompson stole second on the next pitch. A ground ball out to Dodos' short stop, Dustin Burke, advanced the runner to third. Rob Blank's sacrifice fly to left fielder Matty Lane provided the game's first run. Dodos' starting pitcher, Shane Shoemaker would walk the next hitter, hit the next batter, then get a fly out to center, where Chris Hems made short work of the out. Trailing 1-0, Shoemaker would lead off for the Dodos, lining a 1-2 fastball into center for a single. Shoemaker would steal second during Burke's at-bat, before Burke struck out. Hems would draw a walk, then Jason Butter struck out, leaving runners on first and second for Lane. Lane fouled off two pitches before grounding an 0-2 pitch to second, who forced Hems out with a toss to the shortstop. Dodos were losing after the first inning, 1-0.

The Dodos would get an easy 1-2-3 second inning, bringing Troy Warn, Sr. to the plate to lead off the home half. Sr. would battle to a full count before lining out to right field. Then, third baseman Charles Dethloff stepped in the box and drew a walk, bringing up Albert Hernandez. Hernandez singled to center, advancing Dethloff to third. After going to the cages just about every day of the week leading up to the game, Chris Hoffman stepped to the plate and dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt with one strike on him, scoring Dethloff from third. Ken Gerber would ground out to end the inning tied at 1-1.

It wouldn't be Dodos Baseball without one inning that completely destroys the game, and the third inning was just that. Shoemaker threw ground ball after ground ball, but the Dodos' defense offered no support, committing six errors in the inning, leading to ten unearned runs and putting the team in a gigantic hole. The Dodos would chip away at the 11-1 deficit in the bottom half of the inning. Designated Hitter Rick Jarakian was hit with the first pitch, setting Hoffman up to come on and run for him. Hoffman promptly stole second on the ensuing first pitch to Shoemaker. Shane would strike out this at-bat, but Hoffman would steal third. Burke hit a single to score Hoffman and set up Hems with an RBI opportunity when he advanced to second on the short stop's errant throw. Hems smashed a 3-1 fastball, burning the center fielder and allowing Hems to end up at third base with an RBI triple. Butter would then double to left, easily scoring Hems. The next batter (Lane) would get hit by the pitch, then Sr. would be called out on a low, outside, controversial third strike before Dethloff was also hit. With the bases loaded and two out, Hernandez belted a 2-2 RBI single, scoring Butter before Hoffman popped up to end the inning. The Dodos trailed 11-5 after three complete.

The Regulators would add three more runs via two doubles and a 2-run home run by the pitcher Kris Domaradzki. The Dodos would go quietly in the fourth, getting just one base runner and stranding him at second.

Down 14-5 to start the fifth, the Dodos called on Sr. to offer some pitching relief. Facing the lead off batter, Sr. got a routine pop up to right field that started drifting foul. Hernandez just overran the ball, dropping the attempted catch in foul territory, giving the hitter another chance. The next pitch would fall into shallow center for a single. That runner would score two batters later when Hems misplayed a tricky hop in center field. Hernandez would redeem himself, making a full diving catch in shallow right to save a run. The top of the inning ended when a line drive went screaming up the middle towards Sr.'s head, which he calmly snagged out of the air for the final out. Now down 16-5, the Dodos tried to mount a comeback with two outs when Lane hit the first pitch he saw for a single. Sr. would draw a four pitch walk and Dethloff fouled off a few pitches with the count full before getting ball four. It was a perfect scenario for the much coveted two-out rally, bases loaded, two down, pitcher having trouble throwing strikes. Perfect. Hernandez popped the first pitch up to shallow center, ending the chance for a rally, bailing out the Regulators' pitcher and stranding the bases loaded.

Ken Gerber would relieve to start the sixth. Ken was welcomed into the game by the Regulators with a lead off single. Now, if you've read this far, congratulations, you're in for a treat! Ken threw a perfect pickoff attempt to first, which Tony Ross caught and quickly applied the tag well before the runner got back to the bag. The umpire must have been asleep because it wasn't really close, but somehow he felt compelled to call the runner safe. Whoops! Leading 16-5, this douchebag not only steals second, but third as well (Bush League offense #1)! Ken nailed down the next three batters, getting one to fly out to right, striking out the next batter looking and getting a ground out to third, which Ross apparently applied a tag to the runner after already touching first base. Maybe it was retaliation for the two stolen bases or quite possibly just to make sure the umpire saw the out, either way, the Regulators' dugout was in an uproar, to which the umpires rapidly told them to let it go.

With tension mounting, Hoffman stepped into the box to lead off. He laced a single to bring up Ken. Hoffman loves to talk, so he proceeded to strike up a conversation with the field umpire. So preoccupied with his conversation, Hoffman started to take his lead off first base, not noticing the Regulators' pitcher standing on the grass rather than the dirt of the mound. The first baseman tagged Hoffman out, utilizing the legendary little league tactic known simply as the "hidden ball trick" (Bush League offense #2). Hoffman was irate about the incident and the casual convo with the ump turned into a "blame game", with Hoffman trying to convince Gary that it was a balk and Gary shouldn't be talking to him and what not. After the Dodos managed to wrangle Hoffman into the dugout, it was finally time for Ken's at-bat. Ken popped the second pitch he saw straight up to the pitcher, tossing his bat in disgust, which some how made it's way onto the field about ten feet from the pitcher, inciting the usual banter, "Hey! What's up with that? Blah blah blah." You get the picture. Still upset at the use of the trick play, Hoffman started yelling at the pitcher and then Burke chimed in on his counterpart at short stop, all while Ken took a long walk and talk back to the dugout. Needless to say, the Regulators had had enough. The 52 year-old right fielder came sprinting in to give Hoffman his two cents, but all he could muster was, "Look at your hair man! Look how long your hair is!" (Bush League offense #3) Hoffman laughed it off, as did the rest of the Dodos who were on the field to protect their fellow teammates from the whole Regulator team who was now just feet away from the Hoffman, Burke and Ken. After all the hot air and people hiding behind other people, the plate umpire issued a "blanket" warning to both teams, telling them not to say another derogatory word to the other.

With the game back on track, Jarakian was up to bat with two outs. Jarakian sent a chopper between first base and the mound, which was fielded cleaning by the pitcher, who then ran to first to finish the play unassisted and outrun Rick as if to send a message. As Rick headed back to the dugout, the Regulators taunted him with,"Get some pants that fit!" and "Fatass!" (Bush League offense #4) None of this was heard by the warning giving umpire, as he was engaged in a conversation with none other than, yep, you guessed it, Chris Hoffman. So, the game went on.

Ken opened the seventh inning with a walk and wouldn't you know it, that creep stole second and third! How Bush League! But it doesn't stop there, the next batter would wait out a walk with an 11 run lead and then he stole second. The next batter should probably has worn the ball in the ear, but Ken gave him a pitch to hit and he hit a sac fly to left. Chris Hems would come in from center field to make his pitching debut with two outs. He responded with a full count hit batter, leaving the Dodos in a real bind, having used all available pitchers (Shaun Stephans was absent). Shoemaker was reluctantly reinserted as pitcher, and he gave up a single, double and hit two batters before the Dodos recorded the third out.

Now down 21-5, the Dodos tried one last ditch effort to save face and close the gap. Shoemaker drew a lead off walk, then Burke hit a grounder between the legs of the SHORT stop. Hems would bat next and be called out on another controversial third strike. Butter would single Shane home next. Then, following a pop up to short and in typical baseball movie drama fashion, Sr. stepped up to the plate with his six game hitting streak on the line. Wouldn't you know it, just like the movies, Sr. hit and RBI single, scoring Burke. Dethloff would smash the next pitch to the wall, plating Butter and Sr. With four runs across, two outs and a runner on second, Hernandez once again stepped into the batter's box. He took the first pitch for a strike before flying out to center to end the inning and the game as both the 12 run mercy rule and time limit were both reached.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 1-3 (R, BB, K, 2SB); Burke 1-4 (2R, K, E); Hems 1-3 (R, 2RBI, BB, K, 3B, E); Butter 2-4 (2R, 2RBI, 2B, K); Lane 1-3 (HB); Sr. 1-3 (R, BB, K); Dethloff 1-1 (R, 2RBI, 2B, 2BB, HB, 3E); Hernandez 2-4 (RBI, E); Hoffman 1-2 (RBI, Sac Bunt, 2SB, CS, 2E); K. Gerber 0-3 (K), Jarakian 0-2 (R, HB). Shoemaker L (4.1IP, 15R, 5ER, 11H, 2BB, 3HB, 2K, 2-R HR); Sr. (1IP, 2R, 1ER, 3H); K. Gerber (1.2IP, 4R, 3ER, H, 3BB, K); Hems (0IP, R, ER, HB)

Dodos Bow Down to the Kings!

The Kings would win the opening face off, setting the tone for the night as they played host to the visiting Dodos. The action started early as the Kings skated into the Dodos' zone, taking an early slapshot which was blocked by a sliding Matt Marsh. Dodos' forward Shane Linnenberger picked up the loose puck, skated his way towards the Kings' goal and had his point-blank shot turned away by the Kings' goalie. The Kings jumped out to an early lead with two goals by #97, one of which deflected off Dodos' defenseman Kevin Hewitt's skate and into the goal (5:40, 6:14). But the Dodos would bounce back when Brian Silvey intercepted an errant Kings' pass, setting up a breakaway, allowing Silvey to sneak a backhand shot over the goalie's shoulder at 9:01 in the first period. Following a brilliant kick save by Big Chris, the Kings added another goal to take a 3-1 lead. Feeling pressure to score, Dodos' defenseman Jeff Hewitt picked up a loose puck, skated into the Kings' zone, passed to Silvey, who passed to Linnenberger. Linnenberger skated in front of the crease and took a shot on goal. The shot was blocked, sending the puck into the corner, which Linnenberger tracked down and wristed past the goalie (12:32; assists to Silvey, J. Hewitt). The Kings would act fast before the end of the period, adding an insurance goal with just 47 seconds remaining. This goal would prompt Big Chris to fill the Dome with profanities expressing his disappointment.

Leading 4-2 to start the second period, the Kings came out of the intermission fired up. The action got hot in a hurry as some midget on the Kings tripped Jeff Hewitt at center court. The penalty was not called, and Hewitt's attempt to avenge the non-call would fail miserably when he somehow tripped himself. Neither justice nor offense would be served during the second period for the Dodos. At 4:14 in the second, the Kings would take a shot that went between Kevin Hewitt's legs, and then past Big Chris for a goal. From our angle, Hewitt may have screened Chris from seeing the shot. The Dodos had a few chances to score, only to have their shots blocked or their passes broken up, leading to a breakaway goal by the Tripping Midget (11:57).

Trailing 6-2 to begin the final period, Marsh stole the puck from a Kings' forward and proceeded to score an unassisted wrist shot at 4:12. The Kings would regroup and put two more goals into the Dodos' net (4:55, 6:01) before the Dodos would score again. With the puck at center court, Silvey passed to Dylan Mlcoch, who made a move in front of the goal, setting up his backhand shot which he put glove-side into the goal (7:17; assist by Silvey). Finally, after 43 minutes and 44 seconds of playing dirty hockey, the Tripping Midget got his when he was nabbed for a tripping penalty (imagine that) with just 1:16 remaining in the game. The Kings would kill the power play and the hopes of a Dodos' victory in game three of the season.

The Kings pelted the Dodos' goal all game, amassing a hefty 45 shots on goal. The Dodos were wearing the same uniforms, but they looked nothing like a team.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: J. Hewitt 1A; Henninger (lots of hustle); Silvey 1G, 2A; Marsh 1G; Linnenberger 1G; K. Hewitt (goal for them); Mlcoch 1G; Big Chris 30SV

Dodos' next game is Thursday, May 6th at 7:30pm when they face the defending champions, the Lightning.

Dodos are Heating Up!

Coming off an 0-4 start, Dodos Baseball has won two straight games, making their record 2-4 after a 21-9 taming of the Cougars on Sunday. The Dodos unveiled a new lineup which featured Shane Shoemaker as the leadoff batter. Shoemaker made the most of his move up the lineup, smacking the first pitch of the game back up the middle for a single. After a flyout to left field by Dustin Burke, Chris "The Hitman" Hems (just awarded the nickname, now it's stamped and certified) continued his hot streak, lacing a single off Cougars' starting pitcher, Kyle Booth. Booth would then issue a walk to cleanup hitter, Jason Butter, then throw a wild pitch, allowing Shoemaker to score from third. With runners on second and third, fresh back from his stint coaching little leaguers, LF Matty Lane smashed a 3-2 pitch in the gap, scoring Hems and Butter before Lane hustled into second with a standup, 2 RBI double, his first of the year.

Looking to continue the dominant pitching from last week (Shoemaker CG), Shaun Stephans (1-2, 14.44 ERA) took the mound for the Dodos. Coming off a sub-par outing two weeks ago against the Tribe, Stephans pitched his best inning of the season, striking out the first two batters looking before getting Josue Iniguez to flyout to center to end the inning. Dodos lead after one inning, 3-0.

The second inning began just as good as the first for the Dodos, as Troy Warn, Sr. hit a ball in the hole between first and second, just out of the reach of a diving Dominic Smith for a single. Charles Dethloff was up next. Behind in the count, 1-2, Dethloff smoked a line drive to center, putting runners at the corners. Dodos' catcher, Andy Gerber stepped up to the plate with no outs and placed a "seeing-eye single" in the 5-6 hole, scoring Sr. and advancing Dethloff to second. After an infield fly out from the bat of Shoemaker, Burke lashed a laser line drive that went over the center fielder's head, scoring Dethloff and A. Gerber as Burke slid into third with his first triple and 2 RBI on the season. Burke would then score went Hems hit a line drive single to left before the Cougars managed to retire the side. Stephans would continue to pitch well in the second inning, getting the first two batters to ground out to second and short, respectively. Following a dropped pop up in foul territory by Butter at first, Kasey Funes doubled in the gap, only to be caught in a pickle taking too big of a lead off second base, ending the inning with the Dodos up 7-0.

Third inning action began with a pitching change, as the Cougars replaced Booth with Ronald Romero. Romero would walk the first batter, Lane on four straight pitches before settling down and recording a strikeout to DH Rick Jarakian. After Sr. hit a fly out to right field, Lane stole second base, putting Dethloff at the plate with two outs. Romero hit Dethloff with a 3-1 fastball, then he would balk the runners to second and third before a pass ball allowed Lane to score. A. Gerber would notch his second RBI single of the day when he hit an 0-1 fastball into the outfield, scoring Dethloff. The Dodos were cruising along 9-0, as Stephans retired the side in order with two pop ups and a called third strike.

A leadoff 2-2 single by Chris Hoffman would be all the offense the Dodos could muster in the top half of the fourth, but the Cougars were ready to get on the scoreboard. With the count at 2-2, Trevor Boynton was hit by a pitch, then Stephans' next pitch was sent over the fence in left center for a 2-run home run by the twelfth hitter in the lineup, Anthony Murphey. Trailing 9-2, Cougars' leadoff batter Jason Griffith was hit with the next pitch, then stole his way to third from first on two pitches. Stephans would calm a bit, recording two straight strikeouts before an RBI single by Booth. Another single and two walks would follow, loading the bases with two outs for Cougars' pitcher Romero. With the count at 2-1, Andy Gerber caught Funes taking too big of a lead (AGAIN!), but Dodos' 1B Butter mishandled the throw and missed tagging every runner possible, including Booth, who managed to score from third before the next batter would strike out to end the inning with the Dodos leading 9-4.

Jason Butter would redeem himself, hitting a single and stealing second to open the fifth inning. Stephans would wear some slow pitch next, and then Matty Lane would work a walk from Romero. With the bases juiced, and nobody out, Jarakian stepped up to the plate. He sent the first pitch he saw on the ground to the shortstop, who flipped the ball to the second baseman for an out. The ball would be thrown in the dirt to first, which allowed Butter to score and the inning to continue as Jarakian was safe at first on the throwing error. Sr. would then strikeout, followed by a pop up in shallow right, caught by the second baseman to bring the Cougars to bat. Stepahans' last inning of work started rather ominously when the Dodos' pitcher would surrender a single and a walk to the first two Cougars' batters. He worked Boynton to a full-count before getting him to flyout to left. Stephans walked the next batter, loading the bases. The Cougars made a controversial move when they added a player to the lineup to bat next. That backfired when he struck out looking on three straight pitches and the next batter, after fouling off four pitches in a row, popped up to Dethloff at third. Threat averted.

The sixth inning would yield pitching changes for both teams, with the Cougars bringing in Josue Iniguez to start the inning. He proceeded to retire the Dodos in order, striking out one. The Dodos would send Sr. to the mound, in just his second outing of the season and first since game one. Sr. would start off shaky, walking the first batter, then giving up back-to-back singles to the three and four hitters before settling down and getting Jorge Iniguez to strikeout. Trailing 11-5, the Cougars would get a hit batter, an RBI single and sacrifice fly to center to add two more runs before Sr. tallied another strikeout to end the inning.

With one out in the seventh, Shoemaker would double off the wall in left, trotting into second as he was fooled by the trajectory of the ball. Two batters later, Hems would stay hot and lace another RBI double, scoring Shoemaker from second base. Butter grounded out to short to end the visitor half of the seventh inning. Sr. would step it up this inning, recording two strikeouts before getting a pop up to third to end the inning. Dodos lead 12-7.

Cougars' reliever Chris Simons would take the hill to start the eighth. He walked the first three batters (Stephans, Lane & PH Tony Ross) on twelve straight pitches before Sr. hit a 2 RBI single, scoring Stephans and Lane. Dethloff would then hit a 1-0 single, loading the bases for Andy Gerber. Gerber would draw an RBI walk before his brother, Ken, popped straight up to the pitcher. Bases still loaded, Hoffman stepped up to the plate and was hit with the second pitch, scoring a run and prompting the Cougars to make their fifth pitching change of the game. New pitcher Anthony Murphey would use his first pitch to hit Albert Hernandez, forcing the 17th run of the game across home plate for the Dodos. Shoemaker hit a 2-RBI double and Hems would add a 2-RBI single before the Dodos nine-run eighth inning would come to and end with the Dodos up 21-7.

With the three hour time limit rapidly approaching, Sr. got the leadoff batter to hit a grounder to Dethloff at third. Dethloff charged the ball and sent the throw into the runner, narrowly avoiding a collision with replacement 1B Ross. The runner reached third on the throwing error and the next hitter, Smith, hit a single to score Griffith. Two more singles and a sacrifice fly would score one more Cougar run before Sr. would get Romero to flyout to lane in left to end the game and get the first save of the season for Sr. and the Dodos.

On a side note, the Dodos' 21 runs scored was more than the GBT basketball team scored, even though they somehow managed to win, 20-17. Eww!

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Shoemaker 3-5 (2RBI, 2 2B, 3R, K); Burke 1-5 (2RBI, 3B, R, K); Hems 4-5 (4RBI, 2B, R, SB); Butter 1-4 (2R, BB, SB); Stephans 0-2 (2R, BB, HB, K); Lane 1-1 (2RBI, 2R, 2B, 3BB, SB); Jarakian 0-3 (K); Warn, Sr. 2-4 (2RBI, 2R, K); Dethloff 2-3 (3R, HB); A. Gerber 2-3 (3RBI, 2R, BB); K. Gerber 0-3 (K); Hoffman 1-2 (RBI, R, SB, HB); Hernandez 0-1 (R,RBI,HB,SB); Ross 0-0 (R, BB)--Stephans (W) 5IP, 4R, 3ER, 5H, 5BB, 2HB, 7K; Warn, Sr. (SV) 3IP, 5R, 3ER, 6H, 2BB, HB, 4K

Dodos next game is at oak Park High, 2PM versus Regulators. Regulators are 5-1 and in second place. This is sure to be a good game as the rising Dodos take on one of the top teams in the league.

Dodos Angling Suffers Shakeup!

The road to Lake Pyramid was a rough one for the Dodos Angling team. Earlier in the week, Bubba Proctor had to back out of the tournament due to a wedding obligation, leaving Rick "The Stick Jackpot" Jarakian his bass boat and a solo trip to the lake. The alone time left Jarakian just that, lonely. Over the duration of the tournament, Rick only managed to reel one fish into the boat, a three-plus pound bass that would not help him achieve the BIG check. Better luck next time Jackpot.

Wings Clip Dodos!

Last Thursday night, the Dodos Hockey team suffered another loss on the season, 7-3 to the Wings. Highlights of the game were a fist fight featuring Brian Breithaupt (imagine that), a second period unassisted goal by Shane Linnenberger (7:40) and two third period goals by the Dodos, one by Dylan Mlcoch (1:38 remaining) and a last second goal by Linnenberger (0:04 remaining, assisted by Pat Henninger).

Dodos next game is Thursday night at 9:30PM versus Kings.

Back From Extinction!

Dodos Baseball found the win column Sunday, attaining a hard fought victory over the visiting Rangers. The Rangers were undefeated before losing their first game of the season last week and were looking to turn their luck around when they ran into the winless Dodos. The Dodos were without key players 3B Charles Dethloff, OF Matty Lane, P Shaun Stephans and P Scott Allan (rotator cuff injury, out for season), so they had to play a mistake free game. Pitching lead the way, as Shane Shoemaker showed he was returning to form in his second start of the season, tossing a 10 strikeout, complete game, just barely missing the shutout due to an unearned run.

The Dodos started the game in usual fashion when Rangers' leadoff batter Eddie Baker hit a ground ball to starting 2B Chris Hoffman. It looked routine until the throw was mishandled by 1B Rick Jarakian. The error would prove costly as Baker would steal second two pitches later and score the game's first run when the fifth hitter, Davis Hernandez drove a line drive to right center. The home half of the inning did not yield a bright outlook for the Dodos, as Dustin Burke had a leadoff strikeout, Chris Hems singled but was out on the next pitch when Shoemaker grounded into a tailor made 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.

Shoemaker appeared to be a little rattled out of the gate to begin the second inning, as he hit the first batter he faced and threw a wild pitch. After a brief mound visit from Dodos' catcher, Andy Gerber, Shoemaker settled down and struck out the next batter looking, got a ground ball out to the shortstop and then another strikeout to end the inning.

The next three innings were dominated by great pitching and defense as the Rangers batted balls into the ground or struck out and the Dodos just couldn't seem to solve Rangers' starting pitcher Johnny Winkler and his curve ball (5IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 5K) until the fifth inning when Troy Sr. lined a first pitch fastball into right center field for a base hit. After a hard hit line drive out by Andy Gerber, Rick Jarakian belted a 1-1 fastball into left field, scoring Sr. from first and tying the game at 1-1.

A pitching change to start the bottom of the sixth would benefit the Dodos. Rangers reliever, Hernandez would surrender a little dribbler off the bat of LF Kenny Gerber to give Gerber his first hit of the season and the Dodos a leadoff runner. Burke followed with a 2-1 single of his own to put runners on first and second with no outs with Chris Hems on deck. Hems has been a machine to start the season and today was no different (3-4, 1R, 3RBI, HR). Behind in the count 1-2, Hems 'tomahawked' a fastball over 340 feet away in left field, giving the Dodos a 4-1 lead and Shoemaker some insurance runs.

The last two and a half innings were the same as the first few, neither team could piece anything together and the Dodos went on to notch their first PCBL win of the season.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Burke 1-4 (1R, 1K); Hems 3-4 (3RBI, 1R, 3-R HR); Shoemaker 1-4 (SB); Butter 1-3 (HB); Sr. 1-4 (R, 2K); A. Gerber 0-3; Jarakian 1-2 (RBI, BB, K); Hoffman 0-2 (2K, SB, HB); Hernandez 0-3, K. Gerber 1-3 (R)--Shoemaker (W) 9IP, 0ER, 4H, 3BB, 10K, 2HB, CG

Lightning Strikes Twice!

Dodos Roller Hockey played their season opener last night when they visited the defending Division 4 champions. The Lightning defeated the Dodos to begin the season on a sour note. While the Lightning bench was stocked full with a whole other 4-man line, the Dodos had to substitute a goalie (Big Chris was out) and were also missing three other players, Kevin Hewitt, Pat Henninger and Shane Linnenberger.

The shorthanded Dodos were off to a rough start, surrendering a quick goal to the Lightning (wasn't paying attention to the scorer, I apologize) at the 13:01 minute mark. Let's not go into details, but it was a fairly uneventful first period for Dodos Hockey, save the Jason Hibarger broken stick incident (his stick hit the crossbar and strangely broke in half, weird) and a 2-minute penalty by Brian Breithaupt for slashing. The Lightning scored two more goals (#10 CCCP jersey, 2:40; #90, 1:20) towards the end of the period to put the Dodos in the hole 3-0 with two periods to play.

With a 3-0 lead, the Lightning stormed into Dodos' territory and rained several shots on Sub-Goalie. He made a great on a shot by #10 CCCP, but the rebound was promptly backhanded over a sprawling Sub-Goalie (12:12). Following the next face off, the Dodos stole an errant pass and broke towards the Lightning zone. Dylan Mlcoch was tripped (no-call) and managed to push the puck to Brian Silvey, who wristed the shot into the net for the Dodos' first goal of the season (11:34). The Dodos had several more fast breaks, including one with a nice Breithaupt backhand which was somehow saved by the goalie (must have hit his nose). Dodos would however score a second goal with 3:32 remaining in the period when Silvey found himself with a shot attempt, which was blocked and flipped about four feet in the air, only to be batted in by Mlcoch. Lightning would add another goal at 1:52 to lead at the end of two periods 6-2.

This sure is a lot of typing, but I digress. Apparently the Dodos had some Gatorade during the second intermission, as they began the third period with a little rally as Silvey stole the puck at center court and rifled a breakaway goal at 13:20. Just over a minute later (12:02), the Dodos were pressuring the Lightning zone. Mlcoch passed the puck to Silvey, who's shot was deflected to the right of the goal, then swooped up and scored by Matt Marsh.

After two unanswered goals, Lightning scored again (10:52) to take a 7-4 lead. While there was a bathroom break, Mlcoch scored somehow at 9:34. Gotta go, you gotta go. Anyway, Dodos' Sub-Goalie faced a ton of tough shots all night, but the heartbreaker was the next Lightning goal. which hit his shoulder, flipped over his back, hit the crossbar, hit his back, then rolled into the goal (#91, 8:24). Ouch. Now down 8-5 with 5:25 remaining in regulation, Hibarger skated down court (?), passed the puck to Marsh, who then shot but was denied. Mlcoch tapped the rebound in to close the gap. Feeling a second wind, Jeff Hewitt found himself with the puck and proceeded to put a good shot on net, which was blocked, but once again Mlcoch was there to put in the rebound over the goalie's shoulder (4:34). That's as close as the Dodos would get, as #91 would score his second goal of the game at 2:53 to seal the victory. Dodos lose 9-7.

Fantasy Performances of the Day: Mlcoch 4G, 2A; Silvey 2G, 2A; Marsh 1G, 1A; Hibarger 1A, hilarious broken stick moment; J. Hewitt 1A, Breithaupt 1Pen. 2 min. Slashing

Dodos Hockey Rolls on Tonight!

The Dodos Roller Hockey team is back in regular season action already with the first game tonight. Ouch, with a 10:30 PM game time, the Dodos seek revenge for the Division 4 Championship loss suffered just two weeks ago when they face off versus the Lightning tonight.

Costly Errors Starve Dodos!

Dodos Baseball would have had their first victory of the season on Sunday, if it weren't for eight (that's right, 8) fielding errors. Shaun Stephans started the game with an impressive strikeout looking, only to be taken for a solo home run ride by the second batter for the Tribe. The Dodos escaped their usual first inning drama by surrendering just one run.

In the second inning, after an error on the Tribe shortstop by a hard hit ground ball by Charles Dethloff, the Dodos pieced together a three-run inning led by Troy Warn, Sr.'s RBI single. Andy Gerber hit an RBI single after a walk to Rick Jarakian and then Shane Shoemaker hit a sacrifice fly to deep center to score the third run of the inning. Not to be undone, the Tribe scored three runs of their own to retake a 4-3 lead after two complete innings.

The Dodos seemingly always find a way to let teams put them in the hole early, and the third inning was evident of that. An error by second baseman Shoemaker started the inning, followed by a walk, then an error by Dethloff at third, then another error by Dethloff two batters later. But the bleeding would not be stopped there, as first baseman Jason Butter dropped a ball and an error by center fielder Matt Lane allowed two more unearned runs to cross home plate as the Tribe extended the lead to 8-3, capping a five error filled inning.

The Dodos would score one run in the top of the fourth, but two more Dodos' errors in the bottom half of the inning proved to be costly, as the Tribe scored six more runs to up the lead to 14-4.

Dethloff looked to redeem himself in the fifth however, with a runner on first and two outs, he smashed a double in the gap, scoring Butter all the way from first base (prompting several jokes from the Dodos' dugout). The Dodos would score three that inning and cut the lead to 14-7.

Stephans looked his best of the season Sunday, walking five, hitting three and striking out three, while giving up 14 runs (6 ER) in 5 1/3 innings of work. He was relieved in the sixth, after hitting this third batter of the game. Shoemaker came in and faced nine batters, striking out five, walking none and only giving up one hit in 2 2/3 innings. Shoemaker also went 2-3 with 4 RBI, including a mammoth 2-run homer in the sixth.

The Dodos would put together another two-run inning in the seventh, but that's all they could do, wasting a leadoff walk to start the ninth inning with a double play. Butter would get hit in the next at-bat, but Dethloff was called out on strikes on a rather controversial strike three call to end the game and the Dodos' rally.

Fantasy performances of the day: Burke 1-5; Lane 0-2 (3BB, R, SB); Stephans 1-5; Butter 1-2 (2R, RBI, 2HB, SB); Dethloff 1-3 (2R, 2BB, RBI, 2B); Warn, Sr. 1-2 (2RBI, SF); Jarakian 1-3 (2RBI); A. Gerber 2-3 (RBI, 2B, SB); Hernandez 1-4; Shoemaker 2-3 (4RBI, 2R-HR, SF); K. Gerber 0-2 (2BB). Almost forgot, Nick Chiodo was picked off while pinch-running for Jarakian in the 7th.