Parma MSI Baseball

Game Recaps 2001

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August 13, 2001

MSI Button Monday, 8/13/01.  The team arrived back in Cleveland last night and that concludes another highly successful season for Parma MSI. The final pictures from San Diego with be available in the next few days.
MSI Button Saturday, 8/11/01.  Friday was spent at Mission Beach so the boys could get a taste of the Pacific Ocean. The report was that the water was cold. Today it's off to Los Angeles for a little sightseeing on Venice Beachand a California Angels game at night. The team is scheduled to arrive in Cleveland at 5:00 pm EDT on Sunday via Houston on Continental Airlines.
MSI Button Thursday, 8/09/01.  Parma was eliminated from the USABF tournament this morning with a 3-1 loss to the San Diego Rookies at El Capitan High School in Lakeside, CA. It was another day with good pitching but the hitters couldn't put much together while the defense held it's own. Blake Green gave the team everything he could on the mound and did an admirable job with six innings of work, giving up two runs on four hits, while walking four and striking out seven. He didn't give up a hit until the fourth inning and the two runs came in the sixth. Meanwhile, the game was a pitching duel for the first three innings until Parma managed to take a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Dave Waters walked, Brent Benefield singled him to third base, and Brian Vickers drove home Waters. It looked like that might be enough until the sixth inning when San Diego pushed across two runs on two doubles, a walk and a single for a 2-1 lead. Brett Diamond pitched in the seventh and gave up the final run on two hits while Brent Benefield came on to register the final three outs. Parma could only muster five hits, a single in the second inning for Benefield, Drew Saylor's single in the fourth, Benefield & Vickers run producing singles in the fourth and Sean Van Guilder's infield single in the fifth. The team finished the tournament with a 5-3 record. That concludes the season for Parma. The team will be returning to Ohio on Sunday. Good luck to Izzy Victor, Troy Yoder, Danny Painter and Brian Vickers as they head off to college and the next step in their baseball careers.
MSI Button Wednesday, 8/08/01.  Parma MSI was forced into the losers bracket this morning with a 4-3 loss to Chaffey (WA). Despite a good pitching performance from Ryan Earnest, with a complete game, the lack of hitting and defense cost them a chance to stay in the winners bracket. The game started with John Beeler walking, advancing to second on Sean Van Guilder's groundout and then scoring on Drew Saylor's RBI-single for a 1-0 lead. The team looked like it was ready for anything despite the 8 am start time. Earnest struck out two of the three batters in the first inning and it looked like everything would come together. Then the second inning struck.
The Parma batters went down 1-2-3 and the momentum began to swing to Chaffey. In the bottom of the second, Earnest gave up a one-out walk followed by a pass ball and a wild pitch putting the runner at third base. The next batter hit a single to right field scoring the first run. The batter advanced to second base when Dave Waters let the ball get by him for an error. The next hitter doubled to right field scoring the second run. Another pass ball on catcher Brian Vickers sent the runner to third base and that was followed by a single up the middle to plate the third run. That made the score 3-1 at the end of two innings.
In the third inning, Parma went down 1-2-3 again on only six pitches and Earnest barely had time to catch his breath before he was back on the mound. Chaffey scored another run in this inning on two consecutives singles and then a fielding error. With runners on first and second, a high chop ground ball to shortstop Drew Saylor was fielded cleanly but the throw was in the dirt and went past first base. The runner on second scored for a 4-1 Chaffey lead.
Meanwhile, the Chaffey pitcher (Monroe) was keeping Parma in check by retiring the side in order in the fourth (8 pitches) and fifth (6 pitches) innings. He retired 14 batters in a row from the first inning until Aaron Hutson hit a lead off single in the sixth. On the other side, Earnest didn't give up a hit the rest of the way after the two singles in the third inning while striking out six in that period.
MSI finally rallied in the top of the seventh when Izzy Victor led off with a single up the middle. Waters followed with a single to right field with Izzy advancing to third. A sacrifice bunt by Earnest put Waters at second base. With the two runners in scoring position, Blake Green popped out to the shortstop for the second out. Then Brent Benefield hit a single to right field scoring both runners and the score was 4-3. With the tying run on first base, the game ended with a strike out ......
Tomorrow, Parma will play at 11 am PDT at El Capitan High School. Should Parma win that one, they will advance in the losers bracket and play again on Friday morning. In order to advance to the bracket final, Parma will have to win three times on Friday (8am, 11am, 2pm).
MSI Button Tuesday, 8/07/01.  Parma continues to advance in the USABF Nationals in San Diego with a 5-4 win in nine innings against a team from East County/El Cajon, CA. In the first day of double elimination, Parma should have had an easier time of it then they did. The winning run came in the bottom of the ninth inning when John Beeler singled home Brian Vickers with the bases loaded. Vickers singled to open the inning, Blake Green laid down a bunt for a single and Ryan Earnest also bunted for a base hit.
The game never should have gotten that far as Parma held a three run lead in the seventh inning but couldn't hold it With one out, it appeared Parma had everything under control but two consecutive singles brought the tying run to the plate. A third consecutive hit to centerfield brought home one run, but the centerfielder let the ball get by him as the second run scored. The throw from the outfield went over the third baseman and the third run scored to tie the game.
Unlike other days, Parma came out of the gate swinging. Lead-off batter John Beeler singled in the first inning and made it to second base as the ball got past the first baseman. Sean Van Guilder singled Beeler home for the first run and went to second on the throw home. Drew Saylor grounded out sending Van Guilder to third. Izzy Victor's ground out scored Van Guilder as MSI jumped out to a 2-0 lead. East County came back with a solo home run for a 2-1 score. Parma went ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the second by manufacturing a run. Blake Green got to first base on a fielding error. Earnest laid down a sacrifice bunt and Green made it all the way to third base. A wild pitch allowed Green to score. In the third, MSI added it's fourth run when Izzy singled, Dave Waters singled, sending Izzy to third. Waters then stole second base and the catcher attempted to pick Izzy off third but threw the ball into left field scoring Izzy.
The bats went silent after the third inning and Parma would only get three more hits until the ninth. On the mound, Michael Hyde started and pitched very well into the seventh inning before tiring. He only gave up two hits in the first six innings, the home run in the second and a single in the sixth. After giving up the three hits in the seventh, Hyde gave way to Steve Less who finished off the seventh, pitched the eighth and got the first out in the ninth. After walking a batter, Less gave way to Brett Diamond who got the final two outs, setting up the winning scenario for Parma in the bottom of the inning.
Tomorrow, Parma plays Chaffey of Seattle, WA at 8 am PDT at Mar Vista High School, the same site as today's game.
MSI Button Monday Night, 8/06/01. Parma MSI is seeded #2 in Pool E. They will play at 2 pm PDT on Tuesday at Mar Vista in Imperial Beach, CA.
MSI Button Monday, 8/06/01.  In the most satisfying game of the tournament so far, Parma increased it's record to 4-1 in San Diego with a convincing 11-3 win over the Westchester (CA) Mariners in a game played at San Diego State University. The team started out quickly when Tim Begley led off the game with a double down the left field line. Two batters latter Drew Saylor unloaded a triple to centerfield to drive home Begley. The next batter, Danny Painter, returning to action after an injury, singled up the middle to score Saylor and MSI had a 2-0 lead. It was short lived as Westchester answered with two runs in the bottom of the first off starter Matt McKinnon. The score stayed tied at 2-2 until the third when Parma score two more. Dan Victor doubled with one out and after the second out, Painter stepped to the plate again and blooped a single to right field scoring Victor. Dave Waters came up next and hit a smash to centerfield for a triple and Painter scored for the 4-2 lead.
The Mariners score once more in the bottom of the third but that was for them as McKinnon pitched into the fifth inning for the win. Steve Less got the three outs in the fifth and John Beeler pitched for two outs in the sixth while Brent Benefield got the last out of the game on the mound. The game was called on the seven run rule after six innings.
In the run production, with a 4-3 lead going into the fourth, Parma scored two more when DH Blake Green singled to start the inning and then stole second base. Aaron Hutson walked and Troy Yoder sacrifice bunted them to second and third. After the second out, Dan Victor belted a single into centerfield scoring Green and Hutson and MSI was out in front 6-3. In the sixth, Parma erupted for it's final five runs as ten batters came to the plate. It started out with Hutson's lead off single. Yoder flied out. Hutson stole second base. Begley walked. After a pitching change, Dan Victor singled again but Hutson was thrown out at the plate. Saylor singled home Begley for one run. Izzy Victor, who came in for Painter in the fifth, walked to load the bases. Waters then walked to force in a run keeping the bases loaded. Then Brian Vickers came up and smoked the first pitch to left field hitting the fence for a bases-clearing double. That put the final at 11-3 and Parma finished up the round robin portion of the tournament on a positive note. Later on this evening the games for tomorrow will be decide as the elimination round begins. Most likely for Parma the next game will be at 2 pm or 4 pm on Tuesday depending on the seeding. The time will be posted as soon as it is known.
MSI Button Monday, 8/06/01.  Parma got up early today to take on the Cal Legends at Mt. Miguel High School and once again came from behind to win, 11-6. The come-from-behind mode seems to be the MSI specialty as the game didn't start out too well. The first four batters scored for Cal when starter Clegg Snipes walked the lead off man, then gave up two singles to load the bases and the cleanup hitter belted the ball over the left field fence for a grand slam. The team faced a 4-0 deficit and hadn't gotten to bat yet. But Snipes settled down and retired the next nine batters in a row.
Parma got on the board in the first with when lead off man John Beeler made it to third base on an error when the centerfielder couldn't handle a fly ball. He scored on Drew Saylor's infield ground ball. The score stayed at 4-1 until the fourth inning when the Legends scored again on a walk, single and ground out. Parma countered in the fourth with a run when Dave Waters walked, stole second base and came home on Troy Yoder's single to centerfield. It was 5-2 going into the fifth when the team finally woke up from the early inning sleep. Sean Van Guilder opened with a single to left. Saylor followed with a single up the middle. Izzy Victor walked to load the bases. The game got interesting from a scorer's perspective at this time. Brett Benefield bounced a ball to third base. The third baseman tried to get Saylor going to third. He couldn't, so he forced Izzy out at second base but Saylor hadn't reached third yet and headed back to second. With no one covering third, Saylor headed that way and the second baseman threw the ball past the base scoring Saylor. Van Guilder had already scored on the bouncer to third. That was two runs for Parma and made it 5-4. Benefield then scored on Brian Vickers' double to tie the game.
Heading into the sixth, Parma had tied the game but it didn't last long when Snipes gave up a single and double to have runners on second and third with one out. Cal then singled in the go ahead run for a 6-5 advantage.
It was time for Coach Pelka to become creative in the bottom of the sixth. With only five hits thru the first five innings, Parma needed to get some runs on the board. It was small ball time. Lead off batter Ryan Earnest laid down a perfect bunt that Cal never saw coming. Up stepped lead-off man Beeler and did the same thing, a perfect bunt that couldn't be fielded. Now with runners on first and second, Van Guilder also laid down a perfect bunt toward first base and beat it out with his speed but the first baseman fielded the ball and threw it away for an error. Earnest and Beeler scored on the error and Van Guilder ended up at second base. Saylor then singled him home and moved to second on the throw home. Drew went to third on Izzy's ground out and scored on a wild pitch. That made it 9-6 and it wasn't over. Dave Waters walked and Michael Hyde drove him home with a double Vickers than singled to scored Hyde. At this point, the two hour time limit had arrived and the game ended, 11-6. Snipes picked up his third win with the complete game after the shaky start giving up a total of seven hits, with two walks and six strikeouts. Parma next plays this afternoon at 4 pm PDT at Sand Diego State. The game is scheduled for the Internet. Parma nows stands at 3-1 in the tournament
 
MSI Button Sunday, 8/05/01.  Parma MSI raised their tournament record to 2-1 this afternoon with an easy 7-0 victory over the Knights from Auburn,WA. The game was called after five innings because of the seven run rule. The team was led by the pitching of Blake Green and the hitting of Tim Begley. Blake went the distance for the win only surrendering two hits in the five innings while striking out three with no walks. Begley, hitting out of the number nine position, went 2-for-2 including a three-run double in the second inning.
Parma started the scoring in that second inning when Izzy Victor walked, Dave Waters forced him at second, then Michael Hyde and Aaron Hutson both walked to load the bases. Begley then clubbed the ball to deep centerfield for a double, clearing the bases. He attempted to stretch it into a triple but was called out at third base to end the inning. MSI's fourth run came across in the third inning when John Beeler walked and Ryan Earnest attempted to sacrfiice bunt him to second base but ended up with a single. The two runners attempted a double steal but Beeler was caught at third base. Izzy came up and brought Earnest home from second base with an RBI-single to right field and the lead went to 4-0.
In the fourth, Hyde singled, Hutson singled and Begley singled to load the bases followed by Beeler's two-run single to left field to run the score to 6-0. The bottom of the lineup (Hyde, Hutson, Begley) did more than their share in this game as they were on base six of the seven times with two walks and four hits while scoring four runs and getting the three RBI's from Begley. Parma's final run came in the fifth inning when Izzy doubled and newcomer Brian Vickers brought him around with a double of his own. In the bottom of the fifth the game ended on a double play for Parma, the 49th of the year setting a new team record for double plays in a season.
On Monday, Parma will play two games again. The first is at 8 am PDT and the second at 4 pm PDT. Clegg Snipes will be on the mound against the Cal Ledgens in the early game. Matt McKinnon goes in the later game against the Westchester Mariners. The later game will be broadcast on the Internet. Click on the link above for details. Special software may be required to listen to the game.
MSI Button Saturday, 8/04/01.  In game two of the day, Parma MSI came from behind with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to defeat Taylor, WA, 5-3. The game was called after Parma had scored the runs and the inning had ended. The umpires called the game due to the two hour time limit. With one out in the bottom of the sixth, three consecutive walks loaded the bases for Parma. Troy Yoder laid down a bunt and Izzy Victor raced home with the tying run while Yoder beat out the bunt loading the bases again. Sean Van Guilder stepped up to the plate and also bunted while Dave Waters raced home with the go ahead run while Sean was safe. John Beeler than hit a sacrifice fly to right field for the final run. Parma jumped out to an early lead in the first inning with a run on Tim Begley's double, a fielding error and a ground out-RBI for Brent Benefield. The lead went to 2-0 in the third when Van Guilder led off with an infield single, stole second base and came home on Drew Saylor's single. Taylor made it close with a run in the fourth for a 2-1 score. Taylor then took the lead in the fifth with a two-run home run and things were not looking good for Parma as they trailed 3-2. But once again the team made a comeback to even the tournament record at 1-1. Izzy Victor started on the mound in this game and went five innings. Benefield pitched the sixth and picked up the win. Van Guilder was 2-for-2 with an RBI and had an outstanding game defensively behind the plate. There is only one game on Sunday with a 2 pm PDT start time.
MSI Button Saturday, 8/04/01.  Parma MSI did not get started on a good note this morning in the USABF tournament as they were defeated by the San Diego Aces, 8-7, using the tie-breaker rule. The game was tied 7-7 after six innings and with the game already over two hours old, the decision was made to use the tie-breaker rule. Each team put a runner at second base and then proceeded to play a three-out inning. Parma failed to get the runner home in the top of the seventh but San Diego pushed the winning run across on a wild pitch, sending the runner to third base, followed by a single in the bottom of the inning. Steve Less took the loss pitching the sixth inning and facing the one batter in the seventh.
Things did not start well for MSI as they fell behind 5-0 in the first inning when Brett Diamond gave up a lead-off single, then struck out two batters before giving up a walk, two hits, a hit batter, another single, another walk and one more single to account for the five runs after two outs. Meanwhile, it was a breakfast game for the offense because they came out flat as a pancake for the first time thru the lineup. They finally pushed two runs across in the third inning on two singles and a couple of errors but left the bases loaded after two more hits and a hit batsman. San Diego managed another run in the fourth inning off Parma's second pitcher, Michael Hyde, to run the score to 6-2. The hitters finally woke up in the fifth and tied the score with four runs when Ryan Earnest walked, Izzy Victor singled, Dave Waters followed with a two-run double and Blake Green followed with a run-scoring triple. Aaron Hutson drove in the tying run with a sharply hit ball to the shortstop scoring Green. The Aces went ahead in the bottom of the fifth with another run off Hyde. Parma came back to tie it again in the sixth when Earnest walked to lead off the inning, Brent Benefield singled, Izzy was walked intentionally to load the bases and then a wild pitch scored the tying run. Dave Waters was hit with a pitch loading the bases again and then a double play ended the inning. Steve Less went to the mound in the sixth and kept the opponent scoreless but the inning ended with the bases loaded. Next, for Parma is another game today at 4 pm PDT......
MSI Button Friday, 8/03/01.  Today was a day at the San Diego Zoo for the team and the evening was spent at Tony Gwynn Stadium on the campus of San Diego State for opening ceremonies. Tomorrow the games begin with two games for Parma MSI. The first one at 10:15 am PDT and the second at 4:00 pm PDT.
One other note of interest - All games played at Tony Gwynn Stadium will be carried live on the Internet. Parma is scheduled to play there on Monday at 4:00 pm PDT. Click here to go to Southwest Sports Network who is providing the broadcasts. For all details go to the USABF home page.
MSI Button Thursday, 8/02/01.  Parma MSI tuned up for the USABF Nationals on Wednesday as they opened their play in Southern California with a come-from-behind 8-5 victory over their future first round opponent, the San Diego Aces, at Vista High School. The victory was Parma's sixth in their last seven games and pushed them twenty games over .500.
MSI took the initiative in this contest in which neither club wanted to show too much in the way of strategy by plating two tallies in the top of first. After loading the bases with no outs on an infield error and back-to-back singles by Troy Yoder and Mike Hyde, the visitors scored on an RBI ground out by Aaron Hutson and infield single by Danny Painter. Painter still showing the after effects of jamming his ankle a week ago in Winter Haven legged out a bouncer to short to provide MSI a 2-0 cushion. It didn't last very long as starter Brett Diamond struggled with his control in the home half of the first and allowed the Aces to pound away for five runs on four hits and two walks.
Heading into the second inning, Parma found itself behind 5-2. MSI threatened in each of the next two innings, but failed to score until the fourth when they hit pay dirt. Ryan Earnest opened the fourth with a double down the leftfield line (his second of three hits on the day), and John Beeler then walked. After a strikeout, Drew Saylor was safe when his grounder was mishandled by the SD thirdbaseman loading the sacks. In dramatic fashion, Izzy Victor unloaded on a 1-2 pitch and hit his first home run of the season to left field for a grand slam and a 6-5 Parma lead. The Ohioans would add two insurance runs in the fifth on Blake Green's single, a walk to DH Matt McKinnon and a two-run single by Sean VanGuilder.
Earnest led the offense with three hits and Troy Yoder chipped in two more in the ten-hit barrage. The pitching after the first inning was stellar as five MSI relievers working one frame apiece shut down the Aces on no runs and four hits. Parma also struck out eight while walking only one after the initial frame. The victory went to Clegg Snipes (2-0) and the save to Steve Less (2nd).
Parma will practice on Thursday at El Toyon High School in San Diego and then ready itself for the opening ceremonies on Friday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium at San Diego State University.
They open pool play on Saturday against the same Aces at Granite Hills High School (the prep school of former Indians' and current Pirates' slugger Brian Giles and his Atlanta Braves' brother Marcus) at 10:15 a.m. PDT. They will then play the back half of the split DH at 4:00 against Taylor (WA).
MSI Button Wednesday, 8/01/01.  The team arrived safely in San Diego yesterday and relaxed last night with a ball game at Qualcomm Stadium with the Padres losing to the Chicago Cubs, 7-3. Today's activity includes a 5:30 pm PDT game against the S.D. Aces in Vista, CA in a prelude to tournament action which starts on Saturday.
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/31/01.  Today is a travel day as the team flies from Orlando, FL to San Diego, CA. The team should arrive at the hotel by 4 pm, Pacific time. They are staying at the Woodfin Suites, 10044 Pacific Mesa Blvd., San Diego, 92121. Phone (858)-597-0500. Fax-(858)-597-0550.
MSI Button Monday, 7/30/01.  Click on the San Diego link above and go to "18 year old" for info on the tournament. The schedule has been posted, subject to change.
Game Date Time Site Teams
9 Aug 4 10:15 am Granite Hills S/D Aces vs. Parma
30 Aug 4 4:00 pm Montgomery Parma vs. Taylor B/Ball
26 Aug 5 2:00 pm Mar Vista Knight B/Ball vs. Parma
3 Aug 6 8:00 am Mt Miguel Parma vs. Cal Ledgen
28 Aug 6 4:00 pm SDSU Westchester Mariner vs. Parma
ALL Times are Pacific Daylight Time. Elimination games begin on Aug 7.
 
MSI Button Sunday, 7/29/01.  Parma MSI spent their last day in Florida in a pair of dogfights in attempting to win the USSSA International World Championship for the second consecutive season.
The first contest saw Parma (the #4 seed) head into a showdown with the Manatee Titans (#1 seed) in a rematch of last year's title contest won by MSI. The two squads had also squared off in the opening round of divisional play on Wednesday which was won by Manatee, 2-1. The two teams have become the perrenial contenders for the title as they meet for the fifth time in this tourney in the past two years. They have split the first four meetings.
MSI jumped all over Manatee starting lefty Bartley for three first inning runs by using the running and short game. John Beeler walked to lead off the game and was advanced on a bunt single by Sean VanGuilder. Drew Saylor then executed a perfect hit-and-run single to right scoring Beeler with the game's first run. The two runners then performed a double steal (the first of eight stolen MSI bases in nine attempts) and both eventually scored on a RBI grounder by Benefield and a sacrifice fly by Izzy Victor.
Manatee countered in the first with a solo home run by leadoff hitter Merrwin and then plated three more in the second off starter Mike Hyde. Parma would assert domination in the third by putting up a six-spot to take a commanding 9-4 lead. Beeler and VanGuilder started the fracas once again with back-to-back singles. After a bounce out moved them to second and third respectively, Benefield double them both home and his smash was followed by an Izzy Victor single. Benefield then scored on a Dave Waters hit and the scoring was rounded out by RBI singles by Blake Green and Aaron Hutson. MSI completed its scoring in the sixth when Brent Benefield unloaded his first homer of the season with a runner on to make it 11-4.
Manatee scored two times (both unearned) off reliever Brett Diamond in the sixth to finish the scoring. VanGuilder and Hutson each collected three hits. John Beeler and Brent Benefield had two knocks as well. Benefield knocked home five RBI to lead six different MSI players in that category. On the hill, three relievers (Matt McKinnon, Brett Diamond, and Ryan Earnest) held the Titans to two hits and two unearned runs over the last five innings. McKinnon picked up the win (5-3) and Earnest collected his first save.
Meanwhile, Apopka scored three times in the bottom of the seventh inning after two were out to oust the Carson Capitols from the title game, 3-2. It would be Apopka and MSI for the championship.
Parma came out balazing once again. Picking up where they left off minutes earlier the sticks jumped out to a 5-0 lead through four innings. In the first, Beeler singled, VanGuilder sac bunted but was safe on an errant throw, after a strikeout, Benefield singled home the first two runs of the game. Dave Waters then knocked home Benefield with a single up the middle for a 3-0 lead. Parma scored two more in the third on three consecutive hits by Saylor, and back-to-back doubles by Benefield and Izzy Victor. That put MSI up 5-0. Meanwhile, starter Brent Benefield had faced the minimum number of batters through three innings and struck out the leadoff hitter in the fourth. Then the roof caved in. The next ten Apopka hitters reached safely against Benefield and reliever Steve Less and when all had stopped eight runs had scored for the Floridians who took an 8-5 lead. Parma could never muster any threats against reliever Shetrone who pitched five excellent innings yielding only two hits which came in the seventh, but Apopka ended the game by turning an infield double play to win their first World Championship. Apopka failed to get a hit outside their big inning.
Saylor and Benefield had two hits each for MSI and Benefield was joined with 2 RBI apiece by Izzy Victor. Five MSI players were named to the All-World Team. Drew Saylor, Izzy Victor, Brent Benefield and John Beeler got the accolades. Sean VanGuilder joined them on the squad as he was named the tournament's Defensive MVP.
Parma MSI will spend Monday at DisneyWorld away from baseball before travelling from Orlando to San Diego on Tuesday in preparation for the USABF National Championships in Southern California.
MSI Button Saturday, 7/28/01.  In a rather bizarre turn of events an the inception of the elimination round of the USSSA International Championships on Saturday, Parma MSI advanced to the semi-final round on Sunday with victories over the host team, the Winter Haven Pelicans, and the A's from Statetsboro (GA).
In the opener at 8:00 a.m. at Marchant Stadium (the spring training home of the Detroit Tigers) in Lakeland, Winter Haven was tardy in arriving at the ballpark and, by rule, was forced to forfeit the contest. The rule states that a team must be ready to play at game time with no grace period. Winter Haven was still arriving and the tournament officials declared it a forfeit propelling MSI into the quarterfinals. "It was unfortunate that Winter Haven wasn't able to get there on time. The USSSA Officials informed me of the rule and declared it a forfeit. You hate to see that at anytime, but especially at a juncture of a tourney like this with a lot at stake," stated Coach Gregg Pelka. Izzy Victor was declared the winning pitcher to raise his record to 6-2.
Parma caught another break when the 13th-seed, Statesboro (GA), upset the #5 seed, Polk County Stars, 7-0. That meant MSI would then play the Georgian squad with advancement to the semi-finals on the line. Even though the baseball gods had appeared to smile upon Parma, Statesboro had other ideas and forgot to acknowledge that they were playing the fourth-seeded Ohioans. Statesboro righthander Anderson bent in the first five innings, but never broke. He allowed seven runners to be stranded, but kept MSI shut out through five frames. Meanwhile, his offense scratched and clawed against MSI righty, Clegg Snipes for solo runs in the second and fifth innings on some clutch hitting from both Hunter Davis and Brooks Brown. The MSI bats would finally awaken in the sixth frame and it took some key hits to get it going. Drew Saylor started off with a 9-pitch at-bat after falling behind 0-2 to coax a walk. Brent Benefield then singled off the leftfield wall moving Saylor, who had tagged when it appeared the Statesboro leftfielder would catch the ball, to second. Dave Waters then laid down a perfect sacrifice bump and hustled hard to first base causing the Georgia pitcher to throw it away loading the bases. John Beeler hit a sacrifice fly to center scoring Saylor and advancing Benefield to third. Izzy Victor then lashed a single to left scoring Benefield to tie the contest and moving Waters to second base. Both runners then moved up on a wild pitch and Troy Yoder broke the deadlock with a solid single to left center scoring two and allowing MSI to advance.
"Troy's hit was certainly big for us since it gave us the momentum heading into the final innings. It was a key blow since he had looked baffled in his first two at-bats (both strikeouts)," observed Pelka. "Good players step up in situations like that and Troy did it for us this afternoon."
Snipes immediately shut down the A's in the sixth and MSI plated their final two scores in the top half of the seventh. Sean VanGuilder led off the inning with a single to left, Saylor followed with a text-book hit-and-run double don the RF line moving VanGuilder to third. Then Dave Waters bombed the first pitch he saw off the warning track in dead center field plating the final two scores. Saylor and Benefield had two hits each to lead the 11-hit attack for Parma. Waters and Yoder each drove in two. Nine different Parma players collected a safety.
Snipes went the distance on the bump scattering eight hits and striking out the same number without yielding a base on balls. "Clegg kept us in the game until we were able to get our sticks to wake-up," mentioned Pelka. "Our pitching has been solid here and will have to continue to do well if we are to have a chance on Sunday."
Sunday is set up like this. MSI advances to the semi-final round at 8:00 Sunday at Chain-O-Lakes Park in Winter Haven. Michael Hyde will get the start for Parma MSI in the semi-final. An MSI triumph would send them to the title tilt at 10:30 a.m. and a defeat would send them to the 1:00 consolation game for third-place. Brent Benefield will start the second game regardless of the situation.
Here are the USSSA International semi-final pairings for Sunday:
8:00 a.m. Parma MSI vs. Manatee Titans at Chain-O-Lakes Park #1
8:00 a.m. Carson City Capitols vs. Apopka at Chain-O-Lakes Park #2
10:30 a.m. Winners for National Championship at Chain-O-Lakes Stadium
1:00 p.m. Losers for 3rd place at Chain-O-Lakes Park #2
MSI Button Thursday, 7/26/01.  Parma MSI won their second game in a row on Thursday pounding the Southwest Eagles from Fort Myers, Florida, 10-2 at Lake Regon High School in Eagle Rock, FL.
The victory completes the round robin portion of the tourney and places Parma as the number four seed in the thirteen-team championship. They open play on Saturday morning at 8:00 a.m. against an undetermined opponent at Marchant Stadium in Lakeland (the Spring Training home of the Detroit Tigers).
In Thursday's win, MSI used a fifteen-hit attack and some timely baserunning to comfortably control the contest from start to finish. They also received tremendous pitching performances from four hurlers led by Matt McKinnon who tossed three-shutout frames with only 30 pitches in registering his fourth triumph in seven decisions. Brett Diamond, Steve Less and John Beeler completed the win in dominant fashion. Heroes on the offensive side were plentiful as MSI racked up double-digit totals of runs for the second consecutive divisional game. Aaron Hutson and Blake Green led the charge with two hits and two RBI each. Brent Benefield, Izzy Victor, and Ryan Earnest also collected two hits apiece as ten different batters got into the hit column. Parma also swiped five bases and capitalized on six Southwest errors to be the aggressor in the win.
Parma's first game on Saturday at Marchant Stadium will see Clegg Snipes take the mound and his high school teammate, Michael Hyde, will go in Game two (at 10:30 a.m.) also at Tigertown.
MSI Button Wednesday, 7/25/01.  Parma MSI opened the USSSA International tourney with a split of a doubleheader at Chain-O-Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida dropping the first contest to the Manatee Titans 2-1 and rebounding to smother the Chattanooga Lookouts 16-3 in 4 1/2 innings. In Game one, an outstanding pitching duel was decided on some MSI miscues as Manatee eeked out a 2-1 victory to atone for their Championship game defeat in last year's USSSA International World Series. Each team stroked five hits in a game that will be hard to duplicate the rest of the week.
Manatee drew first blood in the third off hard-luck loser Izzy Victor (5-2) when the only two infield errors of the game allowed the lead off man to reach base and eventually score with two outs. The Titans plated their final tally in the fifth off of Ryan Earnest when a one-out walk, a passed ball and a single put the Floridians up 2-0.
MSI rallied in the each of the last two frames. They cut the margin in half in the sixth when John Beeler singled, was sacrificed to second by Earnest, moved to third on an infield out and later scored on a balk by reliever C. Yoder. A threat in the seventh was cut short when C. Yoder picked off the tying run. Parma did get a tremendous pitching performance from Victor, Earnest and Brent Benefield who combined to yield five hits and no earned runs. "It was an excellent game in which we made two mistakes and they capaitalized on them to score their runs," observed coach Gregg Pelka. "All five pitchers in the game were in control the entire way and we made one more error than they did. Hopefully, we will get a chance to redeem ourselves against them later in the week." This game marks the fourth meeting between the two squads in the last two years in this tourney. MSI won two of three last July including the title game. Manatee is coached by former Major League pitcher Don Robinson who toiled for the San Francisco Giants and PIttsburgh Pirates in his impressive MLB career.
Game Two was a complete reversal as the sticks, dormant for most of game one, blossomed with a flourish to pummel the Lookouts in the first meeting ever between the two squads. After Chattanooga scored three times in the first off starter Blake Green, he settled down and pitched three scoreless frames while striking out ten of the twelve outs against him. Dave Neely pitched the final frame to wrap things up for MSI.
Parma got on the board in the first with two tallies. Dan Victor single in the first run and Tim Begley walked with the bases loaded to force in the second to trim the Lookouts' lead to one. They picked up where they left off in the second. Ryan Earnest was hit by the pitch to start the inning and moved to second on Drew Saylor's single (his first of three hits). Brent Benefield tied the game with a sacrifice fly to deep leftfield. Izzy Victor then walked and Dave Waters cleared the two runners with a frozen rope double to rightcenter. Waters then scored on Dan Victor's single.
MSI put a solo run up in the third when Earnest and Saylor singled and the two pulled off a double steal to give MSI a 7-3. The men from north of the Mason Dixon Line blew things open in the fourth with nine runs. With one out, Dan Victor doubled to left, Tim Begley followed with a two-bagger to rightcenter to score Victor, Troy Yoder then singled, Ryan Earnest walked, Begley scored on a wild pitch. Saylor continued the assault by singling in Yoder and Earnest and, later, he scored himself on Benefield's base knock. Izzy Victor walked and Michael Hyde was hit-by-a-pitch. The last three runs were pushed across on successive walks to Begley, Yoder, and Earnest.
Parma was paced offensively by Saylor and Dan Victor who had three hits each. Tim Begley drove in three runs and was joined in RBI parade by "two-ribbie" days by Saylor, Benefield, Waters, and Dan Victor. MSI had seven players with hits and RBI.
MSI returns to action in the round robin portion of the tourney Thursday morning at 10:30 when they tangle with the Southwest Eagles from Fort Myers, Florida. That game will mark the end of divisional play and seed the thirteen total teams for the elimination round which begins on Saturday. Parma is slated to send Matt McKinnon, Brett Diamond, John Beeler and Steve Less to the mound tomorrow in the hopes of finiishing no worse then second in the division heading into play Saturday. Current standings in the division are: Manatee Titans 2-0 Parma MSI 1-1 Southwest Eagles 1-1 Chattanooga 0-2
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/24/01.  Today is a travel day as the team heads for Winter Haven, Florida for the USSSA International World Series. First games are on Wednesday. Here is a website although info is not up-to-date.  USSSA website
 
MSI Button Thursday, 7/19/01.  The roller coaster ride of inconsistency continued for MSI on Thursday at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia as they fell to the Huntington Hounds, 13-5. After playing one of their better games of the season on Wednesday in a win against the Hounds, Parma reverted back to shakey control by its pitchers and the inability to convert some routine defensive plays to fall to their 14th loss of the season.
"We have had real problems playing defense when our pitchers are constantly behind in the count and throwing ball after ball," stated Coach Gregg Pelka. "Our staff has got to do a better job of keeping the remainder of the team in the game by challenging hitters and throwing strikes. Controlling the tempo of the game is essential when you have a bunch of young players and with certain guys on the mound we have not been able to do that effectively."
Parma's day started out well when they jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run triple by Dave Waters high off the wall in dead centerfield. The Hounds countered with a run in the first and threatened for more but a fine play by SS Drew Saylor got them out of the inning. Huntington would not be denied in the second however when the scored five times off starter Dave Neely (2-4). Walks, two key hits, and some errant throws in the infield contirbuted to the disaster which found MSI down 6-2 after two.
Parma came back to close the gap to 6-4 in the fourth and appeared to seize the momentum when Dan Victor singled in one run and Sean VanGuilder bounced into a run-scoring fielder's choice. Huntington came right back with a four-run fourth of their own off reliever Nick Dietrich and coasted the rest of the way for the win. Parma's lone remaining tally came home on a Chris Dietrich bounce out.
MSI was held to only four safeties after pounding out fifteen hits on Wednesday. Both Victors, Saylor and Waters had the knocks with RBI coming from VanGuilder, Waters (2), and Dan Victor.
Instead of heading down to the south upon departure from Marshall U. MSI returned home. Parma players will participate in the Continental World Series in Euclid, Ohio for the weekend replacing their scheduled appearance in the Somerset (KY) Classic. MSI will play at Solon High School Saturday at 2 and 5 p.m. and also on Sunday at the same times. They will also play on Monday at 5 before departing for Orlando, Florida on Tuesday morning.
MSI Button Wednesday, 7/18/01.  Parma MSI's Jekyll and Hyde show contnued Wednesday night at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia as the good guys showed up and the club played arguably their best game of the year in downing the Huntington Hounds, 12-1. The game was originally scheduled to be a DH, but when rain forced the start of the contest to be pushed back to 6:00 p.m. A single gme was slated wtih the second game rescheduled for Thursday morning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time.
MSI broke a scoreless tie in Wednesday's game in the second when Chris Dietrich and Dan Victor laced consecutive two-out singles and the first of three Hounds' errors plated the first run. Huntington quickly tied the game without the benefit of a hit in their half of the second with a double steal being the key component. MSI took the lead for good in the third on a Drew Saylor single, Izzy Victor's double, and Dave Waters' single to score two more for a 3-1 cushion.
The scoring continued in the fifth on a Waters' walk, Hutson double to left center field wall, and Chris Dietrich double for a 5-1 margin. The flood gates then opened in the seventh when a close game was broken open by a seven-run Parma rally. Key knocks in the high-scoring frame were singles by Saylor and Izzy Victor to go along with bunt singles and walks as MSI turned on the "short" game to blow it open.
Saylor finished with four hits and Izzy Victor with three. Chris Dietrich also collected two safeties and two-RBI performances were displayed by I. Victor, Waters, Chris Dietrich, and Sean VanGuilder. Eight of the nine MSI starters had aleast one hit in the game.
Meanwhile, the pitching staff was bedazzling Huntington. Brett Diamond tossed four hitless innings despite giving up a run. Matt McKinnon regained his form after a mechanical adjustment and blanked the Hounds for two frames and Izzy Victor pitched the seventh striking out the side. The three Parma hurlers kept Huntington hitless until Olson singled to rightcenter to start the sixth. Diamond notched his seventh win of the campaign in eight decisions. Parma returns to the diamond of the Thundering Herd of Marshall University Thursday morning at 11 to close out the season series with the Hounds. MSI has won the first four contests. This two-game set marks the first visit to the Mountaineer state for MSI since1989 when they won the NABF Regional at West Liberty State. Dave Neely gets the start in the series finale this morning in an attempt to even his record at 3-3.
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/17/01.  Parma MSI's game with Elyria scheduled for Tuesday night has been cancelled due to Elyria's American Legion Tournament game to decide a berth in the state tournament. No make-up date has been annouced. Parma MSI did announce a schedule change for Wednesday, July 18th. They will now play a DH at Marshall University in Charleston, West Virginia beginning at 3:00 p.m. The meeting was originally scheduled for one game. Coach Gregg Pelka has slated Dave Neely to pitch game one of the twin and Brett Diamond in the second game.
MSI Button Monday, 7/16/01.  The pitching woes continued for MSI on Monday night as the Boys of Summer lit up three Parma hurlers for seventeen runs and sixteen hits enroute to a 17-8 victory in Berea. The loss is the third in the last four games for MSI and they have now dropped eleven of their last twenty after starting the season 20-4.
The Boys brought out the heavy artillery and battered Sean VanGuilder, Matt Patton and Dan Victor. MSI immediately fell behind once again after a four-run Boys' first frame. Parma countered with three of their own on a walk, Drew Saylor's eighth homer of the year, Izzy Victor's triple and a double steal. The Boys came back with a third inning tally to push their lead to 5-3 in the third before Parma took their only lead of the game on a four run third. With two outs and no one on base, Saylor walked, then four consecutive singles by Izzy Victor, Dave Waters, Nick Dietrich, and Dan Victor plated three runs, then back-to-back walks to Brett Diamond and Brett Benedict forced in the fourth of the frame. MSI lead 7-5 at the time.
The Boys then smacked out twelve unanswered tallies and never looked back before MSI scored a token run in the bottom of the seventh on a Waters triple and Nick Dietrich sac fly.
MSI closes out their home season Tuesday night with a game against Elyria at B-W beginning at 6:15 with Dave Neely (2-3) tossing the pill.
 
MSI ButtonSunday, 7/15/01.  Well your sister just two more big smackaroos on Sunday afternoon as MSI turned another split of their DH at Baldwin-Wallace dominating the opener over the Ohio Hawks winning 11-2 before getting spanked by the Diamond Boys in the nigthcap 11-1.
What a difference a day makes as Parma returned the favor from Saturday's thumping at the hands of the Hawks to do a little thumping of their own. Bouncing back from the 16-4 loss only hours earlier, Izzy Victor went out and dominated the Hawks after a rough first inning which saw the Toledo club score two times without a hit. Victor settled down and retired fifteen of the next seventeen hitters he faced in flipping a two-hitter at the visitors. In the process he struck out five and walked only one in registering his fifth win in six decisions. He also atoned for two less than spectacular outings in a row on the mound.
After falling behind 2-0 MSI countered with a run of their own in the home half of the first on a double by Tim Begley (his first of two doubles and three hits) and a single by Izzy Victor to cut the lead in half. Parma took the lead for good in the second after two were out Chris Dietricch singled, Sean VanGuilder walked, and they both rode home on Begley's second two-bagger for a 3-2 lead.
The scoring continued in the third. Again with one down, Dave Waters singled, Troy Yoder was hit on the elbow by a pitch and had to leave the game, Nick Dietrich was safe on an error loading the bases. Dan Victor then singled to center knocking in two more and a third scored when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. MSI led 6-2 until the fifth when they plated three more on one-out doubles by Nick Dietrich, Dan Victor, and Chris Dietrich followed by a VanGuilder single. The finalt two tallioes touched paydirt in the sixth. Waters tripled and scored on a Bret Diamond single. Diaond later scored after singles by Aaron Hutson and Chris Dietrich. Begley (3 RBI) and Chris Dietrich (2 RBI) each had three hits in the contest. Waters and Hutson also had two safeties apiece in the fifteen-hit assault on two Hawks' pitchers.
The second game was a complete turnaround from the first as shoddy defense and poor hitting allowed the Diamond Boys to pummel MSI 11-1 gaining one win in the three-game season series from Parma MSI. Starter Matt McKinnon was the victim of a total lack of support and effort in evening his record at 3-3. MSI played shoddy defense in the outfield and couldn't convert many scoring opportunities to drop their twelth game of the season in forty-one outings.
The lone bright spots in this dismal performance were two-hit outings by Drew Saylor and Dan Victor. Chris Dietrich stroked a triple and scored on a Saylor infield single to plate the only Parma run.
MSI continues the homestand with a Monday date with the Boys of Summer. It is the third meeting of the season between these two rivals. The have split the intial two with Parma winning in Berea in early June, 10-5, and then dropping a decision to the Akronites in late June, 14-9, in Stow. Sean VanGuilder gets the starting assignment on the mound with game time slated for 6:15 p.m.
MSI Button Saturday, 7/14/01.  A gorgeous Saturday afternoon on the shores of Lake Erie turned into another MSI escapade of kissing their sister as Parma split a doubleheader in the opening day of a round-robin mini-tourney at Baldwin-Wallace College, winning 6-5, then losing 16-4.
MSI got things off on the right foot as Troy Yoder singled to the wall in rightcenter field scoring Izzy Victor with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 6-5 victory over the Diamond Boys. Victor had doubled off the wall in left to start the deciding frame and advanced on a fly to deep right field by Dave Waters. Yoder then smashed the first pitch he saw off loser Reenry past a drawn-in outfield for the game-winner. The triumph gives MSI the first two games in the season series with the Diamond Boys with one tilt remaining Sunday at 5:00.
Brett Diamond returned to form tossing a complete game and scattering ten hits and striking out eight without yielding a walk in winning for the sixth time in seven decisions. Offensive juggernauts for MSI in the opener were two hit performances by Sean VanGuilder, Izzy Victor, Yoder, and Aaron Hutson. Tim Begley knocked in two tallies as did Drew Saylor. Parma fell behind 4-1 in the fourth with the initial score coming on an RBI-grounder by Begley following a game-opening triple by VanGuilder. Parma came roaring back in the fifth when Dan Victor singled, was forced at second by VanGuilder, Tim Begley singled and Drew Saylor doubled them both home. Saylor then scored on a single by Izzy Victor. Parma took a short-lived lead in the sixth on four walks by reliever Ochwatt. After the Diamond Boys tied in their half of the seventh the stage was set for Yoder's heroics.
In the nightcap a passed ball on a strikeout with the bases loaded broke a scoreless tie to allow the Ohio Hawks an opening and they capitalized on it. The next hitter pounded a Steve Less fastball over the rightfield wall for a grand slam and the rout was on. Less never recovered and threw his worst outing of the year yielding nine hits and five earned runs. Matt Patton making his first MSI appearance could not stem the tide either and the Parma offense never could overcome their first meeting ever with the Hawks. The visitors from Toledo went on to post a 16-4 win.
Sean VanGuilder and Izzy Victor once again collected two hits apiece to pace MSI's eight-hit attack off all-state junior lefty Eddie Garcia. Even though the homestanders threatened they were never able to stem the offensive flow of the Hawks. The loss was the first of the season by MSI to a lefty in seven decisions. The one concerning occurence was when Troy Yoder left the game in the third inning when getting hit by a pitch blocking the ball behind the plate on the left wrist. No details are available, but it appears as though Yoder will be day-to-day. The wrist is the same one broken last summer against Lorain.
Sunday MSI will again take on the same two clubs in a DH with an 11:00 a.m. start against the Hawks with Izzy Victor (4-1) on the bump and then a 5:00 game against the Diamond Boys with Matt McKinnon (3-2) getting the nod. The homestand also continues thru Tuesday with Boys of Summer and Elyria paying visits to close out the regular season home campaign.
MSI Button Thursday, 7/12/01.  Everything about Thursday's first-ever meeting between Clevleand Select and Parma MSI turned offensive as twenty-five runners touched home plate and forty-three hitters reached base safely on either a walk or a base hit. When all the dust settled, Select walked away with a 14-11 triumph at Baldwin-Wallace College.
A lack of quality pitching once again was the Parma downfall as starter Dave Neely was rocked for nine earned runs on ten hits and six walks in 4.1 innings of work. Reliever Dan Victor didn't fare much better as he was touched up for four runs and eight hits in just over two innings of effort.
"Our pitching has really been struggling to get in front of hitters in the past few weeks," stated head coach Gregg Pelka. "Tonight it really hurt us as Dave (Neely) didn't have a lot of movement on his fastball and he struggled to get his curve over the plate until later in the game. That allowed Select's hitters to time him up and get some quality swings against him." "Offensively we did some good things but left an awful lot of runners in scoring position," continued Pelka. "Sometimes when pitching isn't going well hitters try to do too much at the plate in each at-bat. We have got to go back to just getting hits. It starts on the mound though. Eleven runs should be enough to win every game."
Select scored the first four tallies and never looked back as the built an eight-run lead after five and a half only to see MSI roar back to close the gap to 13-11 after six innings. Steve Less was the hitting star for MSI as he banged out two hits and a season-high five RBI. One of those hits was a monsterous blast to left for a three-run homer that travelled an estimated 430 feet. Troy Yoder contributed three safeties and Drew Saylor had two knocks to lead Parma's 11-hit attack.
Parma MSI's DH scheduled for Friday at Chillicothe against the Generals has been cancelled due to Chillicothe's appearance in a regional tournament. No make-up date has been rescheduled.
MSI returns to action as part of a unique three-team round-robin tourney at Baldwin-Wallace on Saturday and Sunday. The Diamond Boys and the Ohio Hawks (Toledo) participate as well. On Saturday at 11 MSI will meet the Diamond Boys. It's MSI and the Hawks at 2 and the the Diamond Boys and the Hawks at 5. The three teams do it again on Sunday at B-W. Steve Less will toss the opener on Saturday and Brett Diamond gets the nightcap assignment Saturday.
MSI Button Wednesday, 7/11/01.  Today's doubleheader against Ohio Thunder has been cancelled. No makeup date has been scheduled. MSI returns to action Thursday at home against Cleveland Select beginning at 6:00.
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/10/01.  On Tuesday night a funny thing happened on the way to end of the game at Baldwin-Wallace. The JL Collegians outhit MSI 13-5. Parma committed seven errors. JL righthander Ben Whitney retired the last twelve MSI hitters to face him. Now for the good news! MSI beat the thunderstorms slated to hit Cleveland and in the process beat the Collegians, 14-13, to split the season series.
It took a season-high twelve run second inning to offset a scoring display by JL for MSI and make a winner out of Matt McKinnon to even his record against JL to 1-1 this season. Loser Cook is now also 1-1 in two starts against Parma in '01.
MSI jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a walk, error, an Izzy Victor sacifice fly and a Dave Waters double. The lead was short-lived as JL struck for seven scores in the top of the second on five hits and two MSI miscues. Down 7-2 and facing another demoralizing hill to climb, MSI immediately countered with the record-setting inning. Parma began the ball rolling with three consecutive walks. Dan Victor then lashed a single to left. Drew Saylor's grounder was kicked to score another. Izzy Victor then doubled to deep left scoring three. Three more walks plated another and then Steve Less singled home a pair. Then scoring was capped on an RBI-grounder by Dan Victor and a two-run opposite field homer by Drew Saylor (his seventh). When the dust had settled, MSI had a seemingly comfortable 14-7 lead. Think again!
Methodically, JL picked away and when they got the first two runners on in the top of the seventh inning, Dan Victor was summoned from the pen. He retired all three batters he faced, the last of which he deflected to Drew Saylor who made an excellent play behind the bag at second and threw out the batter to give MSI their third win in the last four games and Victor his second save. The Parma homestand continues on Wednesday with a DH against the Ohio Thunder beginning at 1:00. Brett Diamond and Dave Ashton get the starting nods in the twinbill.
MSI Button Monday, 7/09/01.  Parma MSI returned to the familiar confines of Heritage Field on Monday and picked up a well-needed victory over Willoughby in a game shortened to six innings due to darkness, 10-6.
Even though the quality of play was not up to normal standards MSI got some timely hitting and clutch defensive play in conquering Willoughby for the second time this season to sweep the season series. Parma overcame five errors and eight walks to register their ninth home win of the season against three defeats.
MSI struck first by scoring five times in the bottom of the opening frame by batting around to support the pitching of Izzy Victor. With one out, Tim Begley and Drew Saylor singled, Dave Waters and Troy Yoder then walked forcing in the initial run. A throwing error scored another before Dan Victor walked to reload the bases. Aaron Hutson then lofted a sacrifice fly to right center to score Saylor. When the other two runners advanced on the fly, Willoughby threw the ball around errantly on a number of tosses to plate the remaining two runners for a 5-0 lead.
After Willoughby had narrowed the cushion to 5-3 in the fourth, MSI responded once again with four runs to push the lead out of danger. The damage happened with one out once again. Bret Diamond walked, Jesse Schoendienst singled him to second, and Begley walked. Saylor then cleared the slate with a triple to the wall and later scored on a Waters' sac fly. Parma concluded their scoring in the fifth on a Diamond walk, Schoendienst base on balls, Begley hit, and a walk to Waters.
MSI was led by Begley who collected three hits and a walk to raise his average to .419. Saylor had two hits and three RBI. Waters knocked in two with two walks and a sac fly in four official at-bats. Izzy Victor notched his fourth win of the season with last inning help from Diamond (his first save). Victor yielded five hits and walked six while striking out four and giving up three earned runs.
"We still need to refocus on throwing strikes as a pitching staff," stated Coach Gregg Pelka. "Earlier in the season we were able to dictate the tempo of the game by coming right after hitters and getting in front. We have begun to pitch tentatively of late and now we are prolonging innings and putting our defense to sleep. It puts stress on our defense and runs up the pitch count needlessly."
Tuesday night the homestand continues when the JL Collegians come calling at 6:15 at Baldwin-Wallace. Matt McKinnon (2-2, 5.87) will get the start. JL defeated McKinnon and MSI in the first meeting in mid-June, 14-9.
 
MSI Button Saturday, 7/07/01.  Parma MSI finished up the Capitol Classic in Carson City, NV with a semi-final game loss to Austin, TX, 9-2. The team couldn't muster much offense today only getting three hits, one of them a two-run home run by Troy Yoder. Steve Less started on the mound, went 4+ innings and pitched well until running into trouble in the fifth inning. Matt McKinnon came on to finish the final two innings.
Austin took a 2-0 lead in the first inning but Parma tied it on Yoder's home run in the second. The game was mostly pitching for the first three inning as neither team could generate much offense. Austin took the lead in the fourth on a single, a sac bunt and a run-scoring double. They scored six more times in the fifth on four straight hits and a walk off Less and two more hits off McKinnon.
Despite getting eight walks from the Austin pitcher, MSI couldn't push any runs across the plate. The other two hits were by Dave Waters and Sean Van Guilder.
That completes the successful road trip with a record of 6-4 in Arizona and Nevada. The team will spend Saturday night in Reno, NV and fly home Sunday arriving in Cleveland at 11 pm Eastern time.
MSI Button Friday, 7/06/01.  Parma MSI made it to the semi-final game tomorrow with a 15-2 drubbing of Boise, Idaho today. In a game shortened to five innings because of the eight run rule, David Ashton went the distance for the win and Dan Victor provided much of the offense with a three-run double and two-run home run. Dave Waters added three RBI and Josh Jones had two RBI.
The game was scoreless for two innings before Parma scored seven times in the third with the help of the Boise pitcher who issued six walks, hit one batter, and one fielding error before being replaced. He walked in two runs, hit the batter for the third run, walked in a fourth run and then his replacement gave up the three-run double to Victor who hit the left field fence on the fly.
Parma added six more runs in the fourth inning but this time had seven hits starting with Drew Saylor's single, Izzy Victor's double, Josh Jones run-scoring double, Dave Waters' two-run single, Aaron Hutson's RBI-double and finally Dan V.'s two-run HR. His home run hit the scoreboard in straightaway centerfield and took out a couple of lights.
The fifth inning was a pitcher's inning but not in the way you may think. With a 13-0 lead, the bench was emptied with pinch hitters. After Drew Saylor walked, Steve Less stepped up to the plate and coaxed a walk. Pinch-hitter Dan Neely then singled to load the bases. The next pinch-hitter, Matt McKinnon, known for his flared hits to right field, did it again with an RBI-single to you know where. McKinnon, tired of singles, tried to stretch it to a double and was tagged out in an unspectacular run-down. Saylor scored on McKinnon's hit and Less later scored on an error for the final two runs. Boise came back with two runs the bottom of the fifth for the 15-2 final. Tomorrow's semi-final game will be at 11 am Pacific time. If Parma wins that one, they will play for the championship at 8 pm Pacific time.
MSI Button Wednesday, 7/04/01.  Parma MSI took on the host team, Carson Capitols, this evening and came away with a lopsided defeat, 14-3. Parma, with it's young team, was clearly overmatched in this one going against a more experienced team with many players going to Division I colleges in the Fall. Even though Carson only got eight hits, they hit the ball hard every time keeping Parma in a defensive position most of the game. Pitcher Brett Diamond gave up all 14 runs in the game shortened to five innings because of the eight run rule. He also issued 10 walks and hit two batters while striking out one. Brett did the best he could against a group of hitters who were playing in their own park and had every advantage. He also wasn't given much defensive support with four fielding errors.
Parma scored it's three runs in the third inning after Carson had taken a 7-0 lead. Drew Saylor hit a solo home run for MSI's first run and first hit. Sean Van Guilder and Izzy Victor followed with consecutive walks. Then Josh Jones hit a single to centerfield to score Van Guilder for run number two. Izzy scored when Jones stole second base and the throw went into centerfield for an error.
Tomorrow is on off day with tournament activities scheduled including a golf tournament in the morning, a barbeque in the late afternoon and team hitting, running, throwing contests in the evening. Parma will spend the afternoon at Lake Tahoe sightseeing.
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/03/01.  Player pictures have been added to the profiles. Click on "Players" in the upper left column.
MSI Button Tuesday, 7/03/01.  Hitting and pitching was the name of the game today as Parma MSI got neither in a 14-5 loss to a team from Honolulu. The Hawaii pitching held Parma to three hits and none past the second inning despite giving up nine walks to the MSI batters. Dan Neely went the distance giving up 14 runs on 13 hits, striking out four and walking four.
Once again the opposing team jumped out to an early lead with a two-run first inning. Parma countered with a single run in the bottom of the first when Drew Saylor walked, and Izzy Victor tripled him home. Hawaii came back with two more in the second to take a 4-1 lead. It appeared that MSI was in for another comeback win in the second when they scored four times to take the lead on RBI's for Sean Van Guilder on a two-bagger and Saylor with a single. The other two runs scored on an error and a wild pitch.
Honolulu went ahead for good in the third when they sored twice to lead, 6-5. After Hawaii starter Matt Oda walked his seventh batter to start the third inning, he was replaced by Guy Mc Dowell who did not surrender another hit to the Parma batters over the next four innings.
Hawaii added to their lead in the fourth with a solo home run. They scored five more times in the fifth to put the game out of reach and plated two more in the sixth for the 14-5 final. The game was called after six innings due to the eight run rule. Tomorrow, Parma plays the host team, Carson City, at 6 pm Pacific time.
MSI Button Monday, 7/02/01.  It didn't start out very good but things turned around in the last two innings as Parma MSI defeated Omaha, Nebraska, 12-11 at the Capitol Classic in Carson City, NV. A six run sixth inning tied the game at 11 and then MSI pushed across the winning run when Dave Waters singled home Drew Saylor in the bottom of the seventh. It was the 13th come-from-behind win of the year.
The game started as a continuation from yesterday when Omaha scored five times in the first inning including the first four batters with Matt McKinnon on the mound. Parma answered with one run in the bottom of the first when Josh Jones led off with a double, went to third on a ground out and scored on Drew Saylor's ground ball.
But Omaha came right back with three more runs in the second to make it 8-1 after two. MSI crept closer with two runs in the third when Jones led off with another double and went to third on an error on a pickoff attempt by the pitcher. Sean Van Guilder then singled home Jones. Van Guilder later scored on a double play ball to make the score 8-3. Newcomer Dave Ashton took over for McKinnon on the mound in the third inning and pitched two scorless inning while Parma edged closer in the fifth with two runs. Once again Josh Jones led off the inning and produced a single this time. He later scored when Saylor doubled to right field. Saylor then scored on Water's RBI-groundout.
With the score 8-5 in the fifth, Ashton appeared to tire and gave up a lead off walk followed by a triple and then a single for two more Nebraska runs. Ashton made it thru the fifth and gave way to Brett Diamond who gave up a run in the sixth but picked up the win
The 11-5 score set up the dramatic sixth inning. Parma only managed two hits as the Omaha pitching collapsed and couldn't find the strike zone. Two walks, two hit batters and the two hits made the score close before three more walks by three different pitchers forced in the tying run with only one out. The inning ended with the bases loaded and Diamond retired the side in the top of the seventh to set up the winning run in the bottom of the inning.
Tomorrow, Parma MSI takes on Honolulu, HI at 10 am Pacific time.
 
MSI Button Sunday, 7/01/01.  Parma MSI started the Capitol Classic in Carson City, NV today with a doubleheader split. In the first game, MSI came out quick in a 10-2 win against Danville, CA. In the second game, Parma didn't show up in a 21-11 loss to Salem, OR.
Steve Less pitched a complete game in the 10-2 win giving up eight hits allowing two walks with two strikeouts. Only one of the runs was earned. MSI jumped out early with three runs in the first inning when Sean Van Guilder singled, Drew Saylor walked and Izzy Victor doubled home the first run. Dave Waters walked to load the bases and then Troy Yoder hit a two-run single to make it 3-0 before Danville even came to bat. They responded with a single run in the bottom of the first but Parma came right back in the second on solo home runs by Josh Jones and Drew Saylor for a 5-1 lead. They added a run in the fourth when Saylor tripled followed by Waters' RBI-double. It went to 7-1 in the fifth when Jones was hit with a pitch, Saylor singled and Jones scored on a throwing error to second base by the catcher. Danville scored their second run in the bottom of the fifth but MSI came right back in the sixth when Waters' led off with a single and Yoder brought him home with a double. Parma added two more in the seventh without a hit when Van Guilder walked, Saylor was hit by a pitch followed by two wild pitches for one run and a groundout for the other to complete the 10-2 final.
Offensively, Saylor went 3-for-3 with 4 runs and one RBI, Waters was 2-for-3 with 2 RBI, and Yoder was 2-for-5 with 3 RBI.
The second game was in complete contrast to game one. Parma was there but you wouldn't have known it from the lethargic play. Izzy Victor started on the mound but didn't have his stuff today. Salem took a 1-0 lead into the third inning when everything collapsed for Parma. Izzy gave up four straight hits then hit a batter. Put in a pass ball for a run and a wild pitch for a run before giving up his fifth hit of the inning and it got ugly in a hurry. Izzy was relieved by his brother Dan who walked the first two batters before getting the first out of the inning. Then he walked another batter, gave up a couple of hits and had a wild pitch for a run himself. When it was all over, Salem had scored 10 runs in the inning.
Parma managed to get on the scoreboard in the third with two runs after two outs when Jesse Schoendienst walked, Van Guilder bunted for a single and Saylor hit an RBI-single up the middle for one run. The second run scored on a ground out before a runner got tagged out for the third out of the inning.
With the score 11-2 you might think things would settle down but they didn't. Salem came back with six more runs in the fourth on only two hits. Add three hit batters, a walk and a two-run error and once again it was ugly. But MSI came back with three runs in their fourth on Yoder's two-run HR and a wild pitch run of their own. The score was 17-5 at this time but it wasn't over yet. Salem scored four more in the fifth mainly on a couple of home runs given up by Van Guilder who replaced Dan Victor on the mound. But Parma made the score look a little better in the bottom of the fifth, trailing 21-5, when Salem pitching fell apart giving up four hits and four walks giving Parma six more runs before the game ended. The game was called after five innings due to time limit and the eight run rule.
Tomorrow Parma takes on Omaha, NE at 2 pm Pacific time.
MSI Button Friday, 6/29/01.  New photos added. Click on the link above or "Photos" in upper left column.
MSI Button Wednesday, 6/27/01.  Parma MSI continued their trek throughout the desert southwest on Wednesday with a 6-4 win in Yuma, AZ against the Yuma Braves for their eighteenth victory in their last twenty games. The triumph also marks the eleventh in the last twelve games and makes the western road trip 2-0 with eight to play.
Parma drew first blood at Sun Desert Stadium in a contest orginally scheduled for a DH and reduced to one game when Josh Jones reached on an error, moved up on a walk to Izzy Victor and then came home on Dave Waters' single. Starter Dave Neely couldn't hold it though as he yielded two first-inning tallies to the Braves who are now winless in two all-time meetings with MSI. Neely walked two and gave up two hits to give Yuma the 2-1 lead heading to the third.
Parma tied the contest up at 2-2 on a single by Sean VanGuilder, a passed ball and two infield outs. The last grounder by Izzy Victor plated the run despite the infield playing-in early in the contest. Yuma came right back to reclaim the lead in their half of the third when a one-out double by Mesa, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly gave the Braves a 3-2 cushion. That was all for Dave Neely who yielded to the eventual game-winner, Brett Diamond.
Parma took the lead for good in the fifth when Drew Saylor doubled and VanGuilder bashed his second homer of the season way over the left field fence for a 4-3 lead that the Buckeyes would never relenquish. MSI added solo tallies in the sixth on a throwing error after a Matt McKinnon single and in the seventh on a passed ball that scored Saylor who had walked.
Yuma added a sixth inning run to close out their scoring. Jason Anderson then came on in the final frame against his former mates to record his first save of the season and preserve Diamond's fourth win (a team high) against no losses.
Offensive jauggernauts for Parma MSI were VanGuilder (two hits and two RBI), Waters (two hits and an RBI), and Aaron Hutson (two hits). Once again eight MSI players collected at least one hit in the game. The amazing stat in this game was MSI's ability to turn four double plays in the game which is a new team record. That also gives Parma seven twin-killings in the last two contests in Arizona and 28 on the year. In the last week, Parma has converted 14 double plays since beginning the 24-game road trip on June 21 in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
In a scheduling change due to some tournament commitments by teams and fields in the Phoenix area, MSI will next play on Sunday in Carson City, Nevada when they open the Capitol Classic (their ninth visit to this prestigious tourney) against the Danville (CA) Hooters and Salem (OR). It is the first meeting ever between MSI and either opponent. Steve Less (3-0) will take on Danville who is a traditionally strong California representative and Izzy Victor (3-0) will clash will Salem who is a regular participant in the American Legion Pacific regionals.
" As always our entire organization is really looking forward to our trip to Nevada," stated Gregg Pelka. "The Capitols run a class tourney and we are just fortunate to play in it."
MSI Button Tuesday, 6/26/01.  It's amazing what twenty-four hours and over 2000 miles can make as MSI began a twelve-game road trip in the Arizona desert by knocking of the Arizona Mavericks on Tuesday, 5-4.
In a complete transformation from Monday night's debacle in Stow, MSI used timely hitting and effective pitching to hand the Mavericks their third loss of the season against twenty-one wins. Meanwhile, the victory gave Parma their tenth win in the last eleven contests and seventeenth in their last nineteen.
MSI drew first blood in the first inning when Tim Begley was hit by a pitch, adavnced to second on Josh Jones' infield single and scored when catcher Pagnozzi threw the ball away trying to nail Begley advancing on a wild pitch. Arizona tied it in the third on an error and a single.
It remained that way until the fifth when MSI took command of the game by scoring three times to break the deadlock. Begley and Jones singled to start things once again. After a strikeout and a fielder's choice, Dave Waters slammed a triple high off the centerfield wall to score both runners. Waters then trotted home on Troy Yoder's base hit to left. The Mavericks tallied a solo run in their half of the fith to cut the lead to 4-2. MSI final tally came on a Jason Anderson double, a Dan Victor single and a errant pickoff throw by the Arizona pitcher.
MSI was led at the plate by Josh Jones, Jason Anderson, and Dan Victor with two hits apiece. Dave Waters collected two RBI. Sean VanGuilder was the starter and winner to even his mark to 2-2 as he went six plus innings yielding five hits and three earned runs. Dan Victor closed the seventh earning his first save of the campaign.
Tonight Parma MSI ventures to the California/Mexico border to take on the Yuma Braves at Sun Desert Stadium for a doubleheader beginning at 9:00 Eastern. Dave Neely (2-1) and Brett Diamond (3-0) get the starting nods. The two teams met for the initial time last time last season in San Diego with MSI victorious 7-2.
MSI Button Monday, 6/25/01.  That thud you heard off in the distance was Parma MSI's nine-game winning streak coming to an abrupt halt. Fatigue and a fine hitting performance by the Boys of Summer enabled the Akron club to even the season series against MSI by defeating them at Walsh Jesuit High on Monday, 15-8.
MSI couldn't withstand poor fielding, a less-than-sharp pitching outing, and a lack of clutch hitting to lose for the first time in ten games and, for only, the second time in the last eighteen appearances.
It went bad right from the start as four first inning miscues put Parma into a 3-1 deficit from which they could never recover. The Boys kept up the pressure and just kept producing tallies which MSI could not answer.
Hitting stars for Parma were led by Izzy Victor with two doubles and two RBI. Sean VanGuilder had two hits, Jason Anderson three RBI and Dave Waters two RBI to pace the nine-hit Parma attack. MSI did strike out a season-high ten times in the loss.
"Our bats and gloves were definitely suffering from a lack of rest," said Coach Gregg Pelka. "It is valuable to see who plays well when they are tired since it helps get us ready for the stretch at the end of the season and answers questions about who can withstand a little fatigue and produce. We will get another challenge over the next two days with the cross-country travel and games against excellent competition on Tuesday and Wednesday in Arizona. We will find out what we are made before we get to Nevada."
Tonight Parma will send Sean VanGuilder (1-2) to the hill against the Arizoma Mavericks beginning at 11:00pm EST in Phoenix. The Mavericks are coached by former major leaguer Tom Pagnozzi and should provide stiff competition before they head to Memphis to compete in a Fourth of July tourney.
 
MSI Button Sunday, 6/24/01.  PARMA WINS THE WOODEN BAT CLASSIC IN ILLINOIS.
Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks of the Chicago Cubs once said, "Let's play two!" Well on Sunday afternoon about 45 minutes south of Chicago with sunny skies and temperatures hovering in the upper 70s, Parma MSI decided to play three in their quest for the championship of the Wooden Bat Slugfest in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
In game one and the completion of the round robin portion of the tourney, Parma completed a sweep of the four-game pool series by thumping the Homer (IL) Heat convincingly 10-1. The victory gave MSI the #1 seed in the double elimination segment which began later in the afternoon.
Dan Victor was spectacular in dominating the Heat on a three-hitter. After yielding an unearned first-inning run, the Parma righthander held Homer to two singles in coasting to his third win in as many decisions. The Tallmadge native threw only 66 pitches on the day.
The offense posted its tenth come-from-behind victory by answering Homer's first inning tally with five of their own. With one out, five consecutive hits plated four runs and the final scoring of the frame came home on a Heat throwing error. Sean VanGuilder doubled, so did Drew Saylor scoring VanGuilder. Izzy Victor singled home Saylor and scored himself on a double by Walker Gorham. Gorham then crossed the plate on a Dave Waters single and Waters scored on the error.
MSI completed the onslaught with six runs in the fourth highlighted by RBI singles by Tim Begley, Saylor, I. Victor, and a double by Gorham. Izzy Victor collected three hits and two RBI on the day. Two-hit performances were garnished by Saylor (2 RBI) and Gorham (3 RBI).
Game two of the Sunday that would never end saw a semi-final matchup between two teams that had met less than twenty-four earlier as Parma MSI tangled with the host squad Upper Deck Cougars whom they had beaten 5-4 on Saturday. That was Upper Deck's only loss in 18 outings this season. This time it was an 8-3 final.
MSI drew first blood off left-hander Nelson in the first inning when Jesse Schoendienst walked, VanGuilder singled, and Izzy Victor walked. Schoendienst then scored on Gorham's sacrifice fly to give Parma a 1-0 early lead. Parma stretched the lead to 4-0 in the third. With one out, walks to Izzy Victor and Gorham and a single by Dave Waters gave them a 2-0 lead. Gorham and Waters then scored on a single down the rightfield line by Aaron Hutson.
Upper Deck bounced back in the fifth capitalizing on three infield singles and a walk to score three times off starter and winner Steve Less (3-0). Less induced another bouncer when it counted though to allow Parma to turn an inning-ending double play to escape further damage. It was one of three MSI twin-killings on the game. The three runs closed the Parma lead to 4-3 heading to the sixth.
Parma salted the game away with four tallies in the sixth frame highlighted by RBI hits by VanGuilder, Izzy Victor, and Gorham (2 RBI). On the day, VanGuilder and Waters each collected two safeties while Gorham (3) and Hutson (2) led in RBI. The victory catapulted MSI into the title game against the team they opened the tourney against (Mt. Greenwood) and allowed them to sweep the two-game series against Upper Deck to drop the Cougars to 17-2.
The championship game matched two tremendous pitching performances in Mt. Greenwood righty, Andrew Webber, and MSI southpaw, Izzy Victor. The two matched goose eggs until the tie was broken in the sixth on a sun-aided double, a stolen base and a sac fly to give Mt. Greenwood a 1-0 lead.
MSI regrouped in the seventh when Parma matched the three hits they had for the first six innings with three more. Drew Saylor singled through the right side to start the rally. After a fly out, Dave Waters singled and Troy Yoder was walked intentionally to load the bases. Down in the count 0-2, designated hitter Jason Anderson stroked a two-run double up the rightcenterfield gap to plate two runs and give Parma the lead and eventually the win.
Victor came out and shut down the Mt. Greenwood offense without a wimper in the seventh giving Parma its twentieth victory of the season and their sixteenth in the past seventeen games. It also gave MSI its ninth win in a row which is a season high.
They go for #10 tonight as they return to northern Ohio to play at Walsh Jesuit High School beginning at 6:15 against the Boys of Summer. Matt McKinnon (2-1) will take the mound against the Boys in the second game of the three-game season series. MSI won the opener in Berea on June 5th, 10-5.
Tuesday MSI begins a twelve-game swing throughout the desert of the southwest United States with a game in Phoenix.
They will make the trip and play the rest of the season without first-baseman Walker Gorham who left Ohio on Monday bound for West Point on a baseball scholarship to the US Military Academy. "We were fortunate to have Walker for the first 24 games of the season," stated Gregg Pelka. "He is going to make a great player in college and beyond. He added a lot to our club and we will miss his talents at the plate and around the bag. We all wish him the best in his future on the diamond and off of it."
MSI Button Saturday, 6/23/01.   Outstanding pitching and timely hitting was the name of the game Saturday afternoon as Parma MSI swept a pair of games in the Wooden Bat Classic held in Bourbonnais, Illinois.
In the first contest, they shut out the Orland Park Sparks behind the three-hit pitching of Jason Anderson, 1-0. In the second tilt, a three-run fifth outburst and a fine outing by Brett Diamond sent MSI to 3-0 in the tourney by knocking off the Upper Deck Cougars (IL), 5-4. That loss was the first for the Cougars in sixteen games this season.
Jason Anderson coming back off a tender arm went the distance in notching his third win against no defeats and lowered his ERA to 3.43. He permitted three singles and was helped by two MSI twin-killings. Even though MSI collected seven hits off Aasen of Orland Park the big blow was delivered by Walker Gorham who cleared the rightfield fence with a drive in the second inning for the only run of the contest. That was Gorham's fourth round tripper of the season. Sean VanGuilder and Troy Yoder also collected two hits for MSI in a winning cause.
Game two saw the undefeated Cougars jump to a 3-0 lead in the first on a pair of doubles, a wild pitch and a home run. In the bottom of the first, MSI countered with two of their own. With one out, Tim Begley walked, Drew Saylor singled and Gorham doubled them both home to cut the lead to one. It stayed that way until the fifth with both pitchers settling down nicely. After an Upper Deck tally made it 4-2, Parma went to work again at the plate. With one out, Begley walked, following a strikeout, Izzy Victor walked, as did Gorham. Dave Waters got an infield single to score both Begley and Victor (from second base) on a hustle play by both Waters and Victor. Troy Yoder followed with a hit to score groham with the game winner. Diamond buckled down and quelched a Cougar threat in the top of the seventh with two on and no outs. He retired the next three hitters to earn the victory, his third against no losses.
MSI returns to action tomorrow morning at 9:00 against the Homer (IL) Heat with Dan Victor (2-0) doing the pitching. A win guarantees MSI a spot in the semifinals at 1:00. If that is the case, Steve Less will toss the pearl. Should Parma make it to the 3:00 title game, Izzy Victor will toe the slab. It could be a long interesting day for MSI with three possible games before they return to Ohio to play Monday night at Walsh Jesuit High against the Boys of Summer.
MSI Button Friday, 6/22/01.   Lefthander Dave Neely picked a fine time to step-up and throw his best outing of the season to open the Wooden Bat Classic in Bourbonnais, Illinois on Friday with a 5-0 win over Mount Greenwood (IL).
Neely, pitching in front of a large contingency from his hometown of Kirkwood (MO) which is about four hours away from Bourbonnais, was masterful in shutting out the Illini on four hits. Mount Greenwood threatened twice but their efforts were thwarted by Neely who won for the second time in three decisions and lowered his ERA over three runs a game to 5.43.
"Dave did a great job of going right at the hitters," observed Head Caoch Gregg Pelka. "He got into a comfort zone, spotted his fastball and made his offspeed pitches more effective. I'm sure he would be the first one to credit Troy Yoder's calling of the game and our infield defense in helping with this gem."
On offense, MSI struck early. Two first-inning runs got things going. Jesse Schoendienst walked, Sean VanGuilder singled moving Schoendienst to third. The first run was plated when team RBI leader Drew Saylor bounced into a fielder's choice driving home Schoendienst for his 23rd RBI. Saylor eventually scored follwing consectuive singles by Izzy Victor and Walker Gorham.
MSI plated their third tally in the like-numbered inning on a Saylor double off the wall in left-center, an infield out, and a run-scoring knock by Gorham. Scoring was completed in the sixth when three stright singles by Yoder, Dan Victor, and Tim Begley and a balk scored two runs.
Saylor and Gorham each had two safeties to lead the MSI ten-hit parade. The tandem also knocked in three of Parma's four runs. The fourth RBI belonged to Begley. Once again the wooden bats didn't hold back MSI's potent offense as eight starters collected at least one safety in the game.
It's a Saturday doubleheader for MSI when play resumes in the Classic. They lock horns at 1:00 with Orland Park (IL) Sparks with Jason Anderson (2-0) making the start in quest of his third victory. Then at 3:00, Brett Diamond will look for his third victory against the Upper Deck (IL) Cougars.
MSI has now won four in a row and eleven of their last twelve games.
MSI Button Thursday, 6/21/01.   Parma MSI's game at Elyria on Thursday was rained out and no make-up date has been scheduled. MSI returns to action Friday afternoon when Parma opens the first round of the Wooden Bat Classic being held in Bourbonnais, Illinois. Dave Neely will get the opening nod on the mound as MSI goes after its eleventh win in the last twelve games and its third victory in a row.
MSI Button Tuesday, 6/19/01.   Amazing comebacks have become the norm rather than the exception for Parma MSI in the early portion of the campaign. Tuesday wasn't any different as they fell behind an aggressive Lake Erie Admirals' squad 7-1 after four innings when some shoddy fielding was converted into what appeared to be an ample amount of offense.
Dan Victor was the victim of a five error MSI display. He struggled through two plus innings and yielded to Brett Diamond who soaked up his second win in two 2001 decisions. Diamond went the remainder of the game giving up two runs on three hits as Parma MSI won 13-9.
The story of the evening at Cuyahoga Community College West was the resilient MSI offense and the bat of Dave Waters. The Wadsworth native slammed his second and third roundtrippers of the season including the game winning grand slam in the sixth off Muesel (0-1). Waters wrapped one from each side of the plate, added a double and drove in six runs on the night. That puts him two RBI behind team leaders Drew Saylor and Izzy Victor.
Other hitting stars for Parma MSI included Jason Anderson who belted his second homer of the season in the fourth (a 3-run shot) to go with a single and Sean VanGuilder who also chipped in two safeties. Anderson added three RBI and Izzy Victor had two ribbies. MSI was held to less than ten hits for only the second time this season in eighteen games, but eclipsed their average runs per game (10.1).
Wednesday is a well-deserved off day for MSI. Parma returns to action against a strong Elyria team (12-4) on Thursday at George Daniel Field. The game has a location change since it was originally scheduled for Elyria Catholic High, but has been moved. Starting time is 6:00 pm and Matt McKinnon (2-1, 3.00) will toss the pill for MSI.
"We have to pay special attention to our fielding since it has been terrible in the past eight days. We are causing our pitchers to go deep into innings and chalk up pitches since we can't convert routine plays in the field," commented Coach Gregg Pelka. "With a young pitching staff like we have its essential that we minimize their margin for error by not prolonging the innings. Our infielders must become more aggressive and not sit back on the ball as much they are now."
MSI Button Monday, 6/18/01. Parma MSI celebrated the Fourth of July a few weeks early on Monday night as they played long ball setting off plenty of offensive fireworks in disposing of the Euclid Panthers 16-8 at The Palace in Euclid.
Parma picked up their ninth win in the last ten outings and kept Euclid winless all-time against them in seventeen tries. This is the only meeting of the year between the two teams. MSI has now won two in a row and two of the first three on this 24-game road trip.
It didn;t take long for the run machine to kick into gear for the good guys when Jesse Schoendienst singled to lead off the game, stole second, and after Drew Saylor walked with one out, Walker Gorham unloaded his second homer of the season over the right-center fence to get the baseball version of Dick Clark's hit parade started at 3-0. MSI added two additional first inning scores off Euclid starter Leppheimer on a two-run double by Aaron Hutson.
Gorham went to work again in the second belting his second round-tripper of the game and third of the year with a majestic blast to right-center to make the score 7-0. A Troy Yoder sac fly plated the sixth run in the fourth inning to run the tally to 8-0.
Meanshile, MSI starter Steve Less (2-0, 3.94) was coasting along until he hit a bump in the road. After motoring his way through first four frames shutting out the Panther offense on four hits with the help of two nifty DPs, Less ran into trouble due mainly to some shoddy defense. Euclid scored six times in the inning on two hits (one of which was three-run homer by Cahill), two walks, and three MSI miscues that prolonged the at-bat. Only two of the tallies were earned.
Parma came roaring back and answered Euclid with five more scores in the top of the sixth inning to regain control of the contest at 13-6. Once again with two outs and no one on, the scoring got cranked up. Consecutive two-out hits by Gorham, Yoder, and Dave Waters preceded walks to Hutson, Brett Diamond, and Tim Begley. Jesse Schoendienst then followed with another single to round out the scoring. Three more tallies touched home plate for Parma in the seventh on a Yoder double and a two-run homer by Waters to right (his first of the season).
MSI got an impressive relief performance by Dave Neely who pitched the last two frames and yielded two runs on a bad bounce triple in the bottom of the seventh but regrouped nicely and closed things out for Less.
All nine MSI starters had hits and seven of those had RBI. Parma now has 38 hits and 33 runs in their last two contests. Gorham and Yoder each had three hits. Two safeties were garnished by Schoendienst, VanGuilder, and Waters. Multi-RBI performances were registered by Gorham (season high-5), Waters (3), Schoendienst (2), and Hutson (2).
Next up for Parma MSI is a Tuesday rematch with the Lake Erie Admirals at Tri-C West beginning at 6:00 pm. Dan Victor will try for his third win of the season and to lower his 2.50 ERA. Victor had that outstanding performance last week in Columbus against the Bombers in the 13-1 win. The Admirals and MSI are meeting for the third time of the season. They split the first two back on June 10. MSI victorious 14-4 in the opener and Lake Erie registered an 11-9 win in the nightcap. Parma will enjoy an off-day following this contest and return to action on Thursday in Elyria.
 
MSI Button Sunday, 6/17/01.   In a character building opportunity on Sunday, MSI came away with everything a coach could hope for. After dropping the opener, 7-6, while leading 6-3 in the bottom seventh when the strike zone literally disappeared, Parma rebounded to pummel the Lumberkings in the nightcap roughing up two Olean arms 17-10 in a twin bill played at St. Bonaventure.
"We easily could have folded after the way we lost game one of the double dip and the four hour travel to Olean," stated Coach Pelka, "Our character really came forward by taking no prisoners in the second game and taking ourselves out of a situation where the umpires controlled the outcome of the game. We should have left New York with two wins, but we did the best we could all things considered."
The reliable MSI pitching staff was the victim in the opening game when Olean used only five hits to score seven times with the help of twelve walks. Seven of those free passes came in the questionable final inning. SeanVanGuilder took the loss despite pitching extremely well in relief and watched his record fall to 1-2.
At the plate, Tim Begley and Gorham Walker had two hits apiece as MSI was held to eight safeties by two D-1 college pitchers (Niagra U. and St. Bonnie U.). RBI came from the bats of Izzy Victor, Begley, and Aaron Hutson. The teams combined to leave 22 runners on base.
Game two saw the Parma bats come to life and resemble the potent offense their followers have grown accustomed to seeing this season. Seventeen runs and twenty-two hits later MSI chalked up their eighth win in the last nine outings and ran their record to 12-4.
Once again eight of the nine starters put a number in the hit column led by four-hit performances by Jesse Schoendienst and Troy Yoder. Drew Saylor, Dave Waters, and Dave Neely also had three hits each while Tim Begley and Dan Victor collected two knocks apiece. RBI were plentiful as Neely banged two doubles and drove in five. Schoendienst, Yoder, and Waters had three apiece.
"It was so nice to see our offense come alive and answer the challenge against high quality pitching," stated Pelka. "Dave Neely had a career offensive day and we got key performances from Jesse, Drew and Troy as well."
Izzy Victor didn;t have his great stuff and overcame the aforementioned mysterious strike zone in posting his second win of the season in going to distance. He walked seven and struck out the same number yielding ten earned runs.
MSI returns to the Cleveland area Monday and ventures to Euclid to meet the Panthers. Steve Less (1-0, 4.45) will go to mound in an effort to duplicate his outstanding performance last week over Mentor. Game time at the Palace is 6:00pm. Please note that Tuesday's game vs. Lake Erie Admirals at Tri-C West has been reduced to a single game beginning at 6:00 as well.
MSI Button Saturday, 6/16/01.  Parma MSI ran their winning streak to eight games completing a weekend sweep of the Huntington Hounds on Saturday chalking up a 10-1 win behind a stellar pitching performance by sophomore Matt McKinnon.
The lefty threw only 67 pitches to register seven innings and hold the power-laden Hounds to only three hits and an unearned run. McKinnon kept Huntington off balance and completed the gem in fine fashion.
The second game of the DH was forfeited due to travel complications by the Hounds.
The offensive forces continued to produce but the streak of consecutive games in double-digit hits was halted at thirteen games when MSI produced ten runs on only eight hits off two Huntington pitchers. Dan Victor was the star of the contest smashing three hits and driving in four runs. The big blow of the game occurred in the second inning with MSI up 2-1 and the bases loaded. Steve Less smashed a bases-clearing double to decide the issue and make a winner of McKinnon.
MSI now begins an unprecendented 24-game road trip on Sunday with a visit to Olean, New York for a 1:00 double dip with the powerful Olean Lumberkings of the Adirondack Collegiate League. Jason Anderson (2-0) and Izzy Victor (1-0) toe the slab for MSI.
Bad news for Parma though as Dan Painter should be out for a couple of weeks due to a broken bone in his hand when he was hit by a pitch on Saturday. Painter is expected to be out approximately three weeks.
MSI Button Friday, 6/15/01.  If you like offensive baseball then Baldwin-Wallace was the place to be on Friday as Parma MSI opened up a four-game weekend series against the Huntington Hounds of West Viriginia. Both games saw Huntington jump out to large leads in the early stages only to have the Parma offensive respond in the middle frames and withstand furious rallies in the top of the seventh innings for an MSI sweep, 10-9 and 13-12.
In the first contest Huntington jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third inning. MSI roared back with nine unanswered runs for a 10-6 lead. Stuart Shepard's three-run homer in the ninth got the Hounds to within one, but Izzy Victor, in relief of starter Brett Diamond, induced a foul pop-up to end the game. Diamond went the first six and two-thirds notching his first win. The righthander yielded four earned runs, walking one and striking out three.
Hitting stars in the first game were Jesse Schoendienst with two hits and two RBI (coming back off a sprained wrist), Dan Painter also had two hits as did Drew Saylor. Parma collected ten hits to maintain thier streak of double digit hit totals in all their games this season.
The second tilt saw MSI fall behind again 5-1 in the third as Shepard stroked another three-run homer to vault Huntington ahead. The MSI comeback was tougher off Justin Myers (Ohio State recruit), but they took a 6-5 lead after four. Huntington took advantage of shoddy MSI fielding to reclaim the lead at 10-6 in the fifth. Three runs for Parma in the fifth and four more in the sixth put MSI ahead 13-11 when reliever Sean VanGuilder (1-1) coaxed a bases-loaded fly ball to the warning track in left that was hauled in by Dave Waters to secure the sweep.
Starter Dave Neely went the first 5.1 innings and gave up 6 earned runs and pitch better then his opening assignment last weekend. He lowered hius era by over a run in holding the fort for the MSI stafff as they began a stretch of six games in threee days. On offense, the MSI 15-hit attack was paced by Drew Saylor (.650) and Izzy Victor (.514) who each had three hits. Eight MSI players knocked in runs in the victory led by Victor with 3, Walker Gorham and Dave Waters with two. Sean VanGuilder, Gorham, Waters, and Tim Begley each had two safeties.
The four-game weekend series concludes on Saturday with two more games at Baldwin-Wallace beginning at noon. Jason Anderson (2-0) gets the opening game assignment and Matt McKinnon (1-1) will toss the nightcap.
Following the games, MSI emabarks on 24-game road trip beginning Sunday in Olean, NY, against the Olean Lumberkings (a collegiate team) from the Adrirondack League. MSI will meet the Huntington Hounds one more time in Charleston on July 18 at Marshall University.
MSI Button Thursday, 6/14/01. Parma MSI brought out the heavy artillery last night and dismantled the Columbus Bombers at Worthington High School, 13-1, for their third straight victory and seventh of the season. Dan Victor went the distance to collect his second win in as many decisions and lowered his era to 2.50.
Victor baffled the collegiate team on five hits over seven innings allowing only two runners past second base. The junior-to-be RHP lost his shutout on a questionable call at first base in the home half of the sixth, but regrouped for a strong finish and the win. MSI pichers have now yielded only that run in the past 14.3 innings.
Offensively, it was another impressive display with the sticks for Parma as for the tenth game this season collected over ten hits in a contest. Longball was the name of the game yesterday and two third-inning homers broke open a scoreless game and catapulted MSI to a 5-0 lead. Dan Painter homered to leftcenter field for his first fourbagger of the season to kick off the scoring. Later that inning, Jason Anderson hit an opposite-field grand slam to push the lead out to five. That was Anderson first homer of the year.
MSI continued scoring in the fourth plating a solo tally on Walker Gorham's sacrifice fly. The fifth frame saw three more MSI runners cross the plate. With two outs, Dan Painter singled (his second hit and RBI of the game) to score Tim Begley. Drew Saylor then followed with one of his two safeties when he hit a no-doubter to dead center for his fourth homer of the young season. MSI completed its scoring in the sixth on a Dave Waters single, a hit-by-pitch, a walk, and back-to-back two-run hits by Saylor and Izzy Victor. Izzy had four hits on the night and two RBI. Saylor and Anderson also had two hits and four RBI apiece. Tim Begley also contibuted a couple of knocks for Parma.
Back to the friendly confines of Baldwin-Wallace today for the first of back-to-back DHs against the Huntington (WV) Hounds beginning at 3:00 pm. It will be the first meeting ever between the squads and mark the start of a five-game series this season which continues Saturday in Berea for two more. The teams will conclude the series in Charleston, WV at Marshall University in mid-July.
Brett Diamond (0-0) will get his first start of the season in the opener and then be followed to the hill in game two by Dave Neely (0-1). Jason Anderson today's original Game One starter will be pushed back until tomorrow and be joined by Matt McKinnon to complete the series. MSI then hits the road for 24 straight road games before returning home on July 9.
MSI Button Wednesday, 6/13/01. Parma MSI chalked up their second win in a row as they dominated at the plate and on the hill in coasting to an 11-0 triumph over Mentor. Righthander Steve Less twirled the gem yielding five hits (all singles) and striking out two to raise his record to 1-0 and lower his era to 4.45. He threw a solid amount of strikes and kept the visitors from Lake/Geauga Counties off balance.
Offensively, there were an abundant amount of stars as for the ninth consecutive game MSI eclipsed double digits in total hits for the game. The twelve hit performance raised the team batting average to an amazing .413. The streak that did come to a halt was the Parma record for games with at least eight starters getting a hit apiece during the game.
Six starters got into the hit column this evening. Drew Saylor continued his torrid clip in going 3-3 and driving in 3 RBI to raise his team-leading average to .633. He also leads the club in RBI with 15. Sean VanGuilder also turned in a tremendous performance going 3-4 and swiping 3 stolen bases. Izzy Victor and Troy Yoder smacked two hits apiece in the winning cause. Victor and Dave Waters also drove in two runs apiece. MSI continues to average in excess of ten runs per game this season.
Next up for Parma MSI will be a brief one game road trip to Columbus to meet the Bombers at Worthington High School beginning at 6:00 pm. Dan Victor makes his second start of the summer looking to improve upon his 1-0 record and 4.00 era against the central Ohio Collegiate Club. This marks the second of four games for Parma against collegiate teams this week. Monday they fell to JL Collegians and Sunday they travel to meet the Olean (NY) Lumberkings in a DH at St. Bonaventure in New York. MSI returns home on Friday to open up a four-game series with the Huntington Hounds (WV). The first DH begins Friday at 3:00 pm.
MSI Button Tuesday, 6/12/01. Parma MSI's two-game losing streak was short-lived as they returned to action on Tuesday at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High School and dismantled the Diamond Boys in methodical fashion by the score of 11-3. Effective pitching by southpaw Israel Victor in his first start of the fledgling season combined with a potent offensive arsenal destroyed the outmanned Diamonders.
Izzy Victor went the distance striking out nine and relenquishing seven hits. Three of those safeties were collected by Diamond's firstbaseman Johnson who also had all three RBI. Meanwhile, Victor kept the remainder of the lineup handcuffed and out of scoring threats while his teammates went to work with the sticks.
For the eighth consecutive contest (an MSI record), Parma hit double figures in base hits with a 17-safety attack against two Diamond Boys' arms. The hitting stars were aplenty led by Drew Saylor who continued his torrid week with three more hits and an RBI. Six other Parma players collected two hits each in the game as MSI raised its team batting average to a gaudy .402. The big blows of the contest occurred in the second inning when the MSI lineup flexed its muscle with three homers in four at-bats. Sean VanGuilder (3-run shot), Saylor, and Walker Gorham each connected to narrowly miss the team mark of four consecutive homers during a 1984 victory over Cincinnati Midland. Maybe the most impressive streak going for MSI though is the fact that for the sixth straight game at least eight of the starters have collected at least one hit. That is a 20-year team record!
Next up for Parma is a return back to the friendly surroundings of Baldwin-Wallace College and a game with Mentor on Wednesday. Steve Less (0-0, 8.17) will get the start as the teams meet for the first time this season. A scheduled contest on 6/7/01 was washed out. This will also be the first meeting ever between the two squads. MSI now stands at 5-3.
MSI Button Monday, 6/11/01. Parma MSI had another furious comeback fall short Monday night as they dropped their third game in the last four, 14-9, to the JL Collegians at Baldwin-Wallace.
JL (the defending champions of the Erie Shores Wooden bat Collegiate League) broke open a 3-3 contest with 11 unanswered runs (six earned) in the third and fourth innings and then held on for the victory. JL ups their mark to 5-2 while MSI falls to 4-3. The teams will meet again on July 10.
MSI southpaw starter Matt McKinnon went the distance to absorb the loss and even his mark at 1-1. McKinnon suffered from a lack of support during the two big innings as his mates committed four errors. The lefty also contributed to his woes walking three and hitting three more Collegians. "I thought Matt pitched well and handled some adversity," stated head Coach Gregg Pelka. "In the long run it will help him as a pitcher, but its tough to give teams the caliber of JL as many outs as we did and expect better results."
Offensively, Parma continued to shine as for the seventh consectuive game they pounded out double-digit hits. Sean VanGuilder and Dave Waters each had two safeties to lead eight MSI starters with at least one hit. That is fifth consectuive game that all but one MSI hitter collected a base hit during the contest. Both of Waters hits were doubles.
Izzy Victor and Danny Painter knocked in two runs apiece to pace the RBI parade. MSI hits the road today for a brief visit to Chardon for a showdown with the Diamond Boys beginning at 6:15 pm. Izzy Victor gets his first start of the season and, ironically, it will take him to the site of the team that defeated his school for the State Championship (Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin High) less than two weeks ago.
MSI returns home Wednesday to meet Mentor at Baldwin-Wallace at 6:15.
 
MSI Button Sunday, 6/10/01. Parma MSI kept up its torrid hitting pace on Sunday, but was only able to come away with a split of their doubleheader against the Lake Erie Admirals winning the first game, 14-4, and then being edged in the nightcap, 11-9.
Parma used its potent offensive attack to bludgeon the Admirals in the opener from the start. Four runs in each of the first two frames and three more in third inning erased a 1-0 Lake Erie lead. Drew Saylor began an amazing afternoon at the plate with three hits and four RBI. Other mulit-hit performers for Parma in the opening game were Sean VanGuilder and Jesse Schoendienst. Tim Begley also knocked in a couple of runs with a base hit and three walks. Jason Anderson went the distance in registering his second win against no defeats.
Game Two saw a completely different tempo and result to the contest. MSI starter Dave Neely struggled with his control in the second inning and became his own worst enemy with three throwing errors, five walks and one hitsbatsman as Lake Erie plated seven tallies for a lead they would never give up. MSI scratched and clawed their way back into the contest with a solo tally in the second and three more in the fourth. The Admirals big blow came off a tiring Neely when they used a Neil French grand slam (the second yielded by the MSI staff in three games) to push the margin back out to seven, 11-4.
Undaunted by the late inning deficit, MSI continued to pound away scoring one in the fifth and four more in the home half of the sixth to close within two. French then came on in the seventh to earn his first save of the season warding off one last Parma rally.
The loss leaves MSI at 4-2 overall while Lake Erie climbs to 1-5.
Drew Saylor capped an eventful afternoon with four additional hits to go 7-8 on the day with five RBI. Seven of the eight remaining MSI players had safeties led by Matt McKinnon with two hits and the same number of RBI, while Izzy Victor and Tim Begley each collected two hits and an RBI. MSI has accumulated double digit totals in hits in each of the first six games this season and raised the team batting average to .390.
Next up as the homestand continues for MSI is a Monday showdown at Baldwin-Wallace with the JL Collegians who are the defending champs of the Collegiate Erie Shores conference. MSI took the season series from the Collegians last summer. Matt Mckinnon (1-0) gets the starting nod this evening weather permitting.
MSI Button Friday, 6/08/01. Three valiant Parma MSI comebacks were able to send Friday's contest into extra frames, but it went all for naught as an unearned eighth-inning run gave Fielder's Choice a 12-11 victory and a split of the season series. The game not one of the pretty things to watch as the teams combined for seventeen walks and eleven errors.
Things began on a sour note for MSI as starter Steve Less had control problems in the first inning issuing five walks in the frame. The big blow in the top of the first was a grand slam by Kelly of Fielder's Choice which was the only hit Less allowed in the frame. Faced with a 4-0 deficit before they even picked up the sticks Parma responded with four of their own on four walks, an error, a balk, a sacrifice fly, and a base hit by Dan Victor to tie the at 4-4 after one. After Fielder's Choice had reclaimed the lead (5-4) in the second MSI tied in the same inning with a walk, stolen base, and two errors. Fielder's Choice then pushed the lead out to 9-5 with a three-run fourth and another tally in the fifth inning. MSI began their third comeback with three consecutive hits in the fifth. Troy Yoder's double, and back-to-back singles by Dan Victor and Tim Begley got the run home to close Parma within three at 9-6. Two more unearned FC runs in the sixth off reliever Sean VanGuilder made the MSI deficit 11-6 before the major comeback began. In the sixth, a Walker Gorham triple and infield out by Dave Waters closed the gap to 11-7 setting the stage for some seventh inning magic. Tim Begley singled with one out to start the rally. After a second out, VanGuilder walked, Dan Painter singled in one run, Matt McKinnon (batting for Drew Saylor who left the game in the sixth with a strained elbow and is day-to-day) singled home a second score, and then Gorham singled in the final two after a wild pitch moved the runners up. That tied the game 11-11 and sent it to extra frames.
The MSI momentum was short-lived though as they committed two crucial errors in the top of the eighth to plate the deciding tally. MSI threatened in the bottom of the eighth but left runners at second and third off reliever and winner Moviel. The hitting stars for Parma were Gorham (2 hits, 2 RBI), Yoder (2hits, RBI), Dan Victor (2hits, RBI), and Begley (2 hits, RBI). Dave Waters also knocked in two scores for MSI. Following an off day on Saturday MSI returns to action on Sunday by hosting the Lake Erie Admirals in a DH at B-W beginning at 1:00. Jason Anderson (1-0) and Dave Neely (0-0) get the starting assignments on the mound. The homestand continues on Monday against the JL Collegians.
MSI Button Thursday, 6/07/01. Parma MSI took there 2001 edition on the road Thursday and came away victorious for the third consecutive time 9-7 over Willoughby at Colby Park in Wickliffe. The win has MSI off to a 3-0 start which matches the third best in team history. This also was the first meeting ever between the two teams. They will lock horns again in Berea on Monday, July 9th.
MSI began the scoring in their first at-bat plating two tallies on a single by Dave Waters and a wild pitch. Willoughby countered off Parma starter and winner Dan Victor (1-0) by scoring one in the bottom half of the first inning and four more times in the second after two were out with no one on. Facing their largest deficit of the young season (5-2), MSI rebounded with four third-inning runs of their own for a 6-5 lead they would never give up. Waters walked with one out and came trotting home on Drew Saylor's first home run of the game. Izzy Victor followed with a single and after an infield error for Willoughby, Troy Yoder's double scored both runners. Parma expanded their lead to 8-5 in the fourth on an RBI single by Izzy Victor and a sacrifice fly by Walker Gorham. Willoughby plated a couple of runs in their half of the fifth to close within one, 8-7. Drew Saylor closed out the game's scoring with his second homer of the game (and season) to lead off the sixth. Meanwhile, MSI starter Dan Victor struggled with his control but threw five innings in posting his first win of the season and giving up four earned runs. The bullpen was flawless in the final two frames as Dan's brother, Izzy, pitched a perfect sixth and Sean VanGuilder earned a save by tossing a scoreless seventh. Offensive stars for Parma were Waters (2 hits, RBI), Saylor (2 HRs and 3RBI), Izzy Victor (2 hits, RBI), and Jason Anderson (2 hits).
MSI returns home tomorrow for a rematch with Fielder's Choice whom they defeated on Monday in the season opener, 8-4. It will mark the final encounter of the summer between these two rivals. Steve Less (0-0) will make his first start of the season in search of the season sweep.
MSI Button Wednesday, 6/06/01. Parma MSI's game at Baldwin-Wallace vs. Mentor has been rained out. The game has not been rescheduled at this time. The teams will meet for their second regularly-scheduled contest next Wednesday (6/13) at Baldwin-Wallace. Dan Victor (tonight's scheduled starter) will get the nod tomorrow when Parma makes their first road appearance of the year at Colby Park in Wickliffe against Willoughby. Starting time is 6:15. MSI returns home Friday night for a rematch of the season opener against Fielder's Choice. This will mark the final meeting of the season between these two rivals. Parma won the first encounter on Monday, 8-4. Steve Less will make his first start of the season.
MSI Button Tuesday, 6/05/01. Parma MSI won their second game in a row to start the 2001 campaign on Tuesday by defeating the Boys of Summer 10-5 at Baldwin-Wallace. Lefthander Matt McKinnon (1-0) went the distance to post the club's first complete game of the season limiting the Boys to seven hits and three earned runs while walking three and striking out the same number. McKinnon kept the hard-hitting Boys at bay all night with a strong assortment of off-speed pitches and coaxing 13 fly-ball outs in the process.
MSI drew first blood in the initial frame combining a walk, two infield outs and an Izzy Victor single for their first run. After the Boys scored three times in the third inning on a pair of extra base hits, Parma responded with five-run fourth to take control of the game. Steve Less led off the frame with a triple down the right field line and remained on the corner on back-to-back strikeouts from Boys' starter Glaus who fanned seven in 3.2 innings. The complexion of game turned when Sean VanGuilder walked on four pitches the last of which eluded the Boys' catcher for a passed ball plating Less. MSI then opened the flood gates as the miscue was followed by a Dan Painter double, Drew Saylor single, an error, and a Walker Gorham two-run single to push the MSI lead to 6-3. Parma completed their scoring in the sixth after two were out on a walk, Izzy Victor's second hit of the game, a HBP, and consecutive two-run singles by Jason Anderson and Less.
The Boys scored two seventh inning tallies after the issue was already decided to complete the scoring for the game. Offensive catalysts for MSI saw two-hit performances by Izzy Victor, Gorham, and Less. Gorham, Anderson, and Less each collected two RBI apiece in the winning cause. Eight of the MSI starters had at least one safety in the game.
Wednesday the season opening homestand continues for Parma as Dan Victor makes his first start of the season when MSI hosts Mentor at 6:15. A win would give MSI its third-best start in team history.
MSI Button Monday, 6/04/01. Parma MSI started the 2001 campaign on an upnote with a come-from-behind 8-4 win over visiting Fielder's Choice at Baldwin-Wallace on Monday. The victory opens the 20th campaign in franchise history on a solid note.
Izzy Victor (Tallmadge) broke up a tie game with a bases-loaded triple in the fourth inning to give the home club a 4-1 lead which they never relenquished. It was one of two hits for the elder Victor. Izzy also doubled and scored to lead off the sixth. Drew Saylor (Wadsworth) and Dan Painter (Wadsworth) also collected two safeties in the ten-hit MSI attack.
Fielder's Choice drew first blood with a walk, hits batsman, wild pitch, and infield out in the top of the first to seize a 1-0 advantage. The lead held until the bottom of the second when MSI scored the first of seven unanswered tallies on an infield single by Tim Begley (Walsh Jesuit) and Victor's three-run triple. Parma scored two more in the third with the big hit a double by Dan Victor (Tallmadge) driving home Dave Waters (Wadsworth). The final of the seven runs scored on an infield out by Troy Yoder (Cardinal) in the fourth.
Jason Anderson went the first five frames to notch his initial win of the year yielding five hits and all four Fielder's Choice runs. Anderson walked five and struck out four before he tired. The righthander was bailed out in the top of the fifth when he induced Grant Mosback to ground into a nifty 5-3 double play started by Sean VanGuilder (Lincoln) and quelch a rally. Steve Less (Elyria Catholic) pitched a perfect final two innings to notch his first save of the season. Less struck out two in the process.
The homestand continues this evening at B-W when long-time MSI rival, the Boys of Summer come calling for the first time this summer. Matt McKinnon (Walsh Jesuit) will get the nod on the bump as Parma attempts to chalk up their second season opening win for only the third time in the last decade.
MSI Button Monday, 6/04/01. Schedule revised. Roster will be added pending number verification after today's opener.