Getting Doubly Defensive

Sox  turn six double plays in weekend wins.

July 15, 2007  -  North Lake, WI - With an inconsistent offense, and a 7-6 record coming into the weekend, the Brookfield Blue Sox needed to find some way to stay in the crowded playoff picture in the Western Division with a pair of wins.  They went to a classic baseball principal to get them:  strength up the middle.

The shortstop - second baseman combination of Ken Poniewaz and Nick Rechlitz turned four double plays, three against North Lake on Sunday to help preserve Darrin Leveritz's shutout, and push the Sox to a pair of wins.  In total, Brookfield turned six twin-killings on the weekend to help make the six runs the offense could muster enough.

"We've been struggling in some key spots at the plate, and teams have been making big plays," commented player/manager Jeff Lemmermann.  "North Lake came up with three diving plays that saved at least five runs today, and we have three chances with a runner at third and less than two-outs against the Bulldogs and failed to score." 

Paul Archambault made those missed opportunities against the Bulldogs less painful.  He drove in the Sox first run with a ground out in the 1st inning, then hit solo homeruns in the third and seventh to account for all of the Brookfield runs.

Archambault now leads the Sox with three homeruns on the season, and has a team hit .370 batting average.

Paul Archambault hit a pair of homeruns at North Lake

Pitchers Johnny Arnold and Darrin Leveritz made use of the defensive efforts in making the limited offensive output stand up.

Arnold held the Bulldogs to single runs in the first and the sixth innings.  After Archambault put the Sox ahead in the seventh, Arnold recorded four of his seven strikeouts in the game over the final three innings and never let the tying run get past first base.

"Johnny's been battling a sore back since the Oconomowoc game, and didn't have the power pitches he normally does," noted Lemmermann on Arnold's outing.  "His location and movement were outstanding though, and he was able to keep them off stride all game."

Leveritz followed up Arnold's outing with a gem of his own, pitching the third shutout of the season for Brookfield.  He worked out of a one-out, with runners at 2nd and 3rd jam in the second inning with a pair of strikeouts, and was picked up in the fourth when Jay Wojcinski threw out the Laker's Kevin Totzman trying to score from second on a single at home plate.

From there, no one reached second base as Leveritz faces only seventeen batters in the final five innings to notch his second win of the year.  He struck out six, and lowered his ERA to 3.91.

With three games left, Brookfield, and the rest of the league, will need some help to make the playoffs as Oconomowoc continued its unbeaten season with a pair of close weekend wins.  Any team that goes unbeaten for the regular season earns an automatic bid to the Grand Championship, eliminating the six-team playoff format for the West Division.

The Sox will take on Pewaukee on Sunday at McCoy field at 1:00.

Pulling the Right Lever

Leveritz controls Irish until offense arrives 

July 1, 2007  -  Monches, WI - The Brookfield Blue Sox offense was its usual fickle self Sunday afternoon.  In a season full of "a lot of runs one day, very few the next" it was little surprise that the Sox were locked in a 2-1 game entering the seventh inning at Monches.  The Irish had just scored to cut the Sox two-run lead in half after a two-out pop-up was lost in the sun.  Good thing that starter Darrin Leveritz was on top of his game before the offense heated up.

Prior to the lost pop-up, Leveritz had not allowed a runner past second base, and had surrendered only two hits into the sixth inning.  He was staked to a 2-0 lead in the 4th, after a Jeff Lemmermann double scored Bill Posteluk and Johnny Arnold.

In the seventh, the complexion of the game changed on one swing of the bat.  With two-on and nobody out,  Irish pitcher

Andy Smith made a mistake to Jim Pease who drove a fastball on top of the right-field fence and out of Monches Park for a 5-1 lead.  Three more singles by the Sox made it 6-1 going into the bottom of the seventh.

"That's where a young pitcher has to learn not to put one over the plate when the batter is digging in,"  commented Irish coach Dave Globig on the homerun by Pease.  "especially with 1st base open."

Starter Darrin Leveritz gets win vs. Irish

Arnold was the immediate beneficiary of the added run support on the mound.  He relieved Leveritz in the seventh, and kept Monches at bay, striking out a pair and getting a fly ball out after a lead-off single by Andy Globig.

Brookfield added to their lead in the eighth.  One-out singles by Lemmermann and Jay Wojcinski were cashed in on a pair of walks and a two-run single by Pat Tobiasz.  Bill Posteluk capped off the scoring with a sacrifice fly, giving the Sox a 10-1 lead.

Arnold cruised the rest of the way, striking out the final four batters for Monches to record his first save of the season.  Combined on the day, Arnold and Leveritz gave up just five hits, and struck out 13 batters.  Leveritz received the win, evening his record at 1-1.

"It was a great start by Darrin," commented player\manager Lemmermann on Leverit's start.  "He kept them off balance and kept us out of a hole until our offense woke up."

Every Brookfield starter had at least one hit, as the Sox pounded out 14 hits, including five for extra bases.  The homerun by Pease was his first since a round-tripper in the 2005 Grand Championships at Lannon.

The win moved Brookfield to 7-5 and into a three-way tie for 5th place in the Western division with Menomonee Falls and Pewaukee.  Their next action is July 4th against first-place Oconomowoc, who comes in with a perfect 12-0 record.

"They pounded us pretty good at our place earlier this year." noted Lemmermann on a 9-0 loss to them in May.  "We are expecting a great atmosphere for the 4th at their park."

That game is at Oconomowoc Roosevelt Field, starting at 1:00.

Signs of Life

18-hit attack puts Sox back above .500 

June 24, 2007  -  Brookfield, WI - Sitting at an even 5-5 in eighth place of the Land O' Lake's Western division, the Brookfield Blue Sox face a number of must-win games in the coming weeks, the first was Sunday's match-up with Hartland at McCoy field.

For the third straight game, the Sox found themselves training after the top of the first inning.  Two-out RBI hits by Mike Grabarczyk and Chad Dibb gave the Oilers a 2-0 lead against Brookfield starter Johnny Arnold.

But the Sox responded quickly in the 1st, and loudly in the 2nd.  Paul Archambault doubled and Pat Tobiasz singled with two-out to give the Sox their first run of the game in their half of the first.  In the second, six consecutive Brookfield hits, all with two outs, resulted in 5 runs and a 6-2 lead.  Archambault's second double in as many at bats drove in a pair, and he was again plated by Tobiasz who also doubled.

Paul Archambault hit 3 doubles in the Sox win over Hartland

Hartland got one of those back in the 3rd on Dibb's second two-out hit of the game to make it 6-3.  Brookfield answered in the 4th with a single run, then broke the game open in the 5th.  Five walks, a sacrifice fly, and Ken Poniewaz's third hit of the game resulted in four Brookfield runs and an 11-3 lead.

"A couple guys in our lineup ignited us today, especially Archambault Tobiasz, and Poniewaz,"  noted player/manager Jeff Lemmermann.  "We set the table for them and they each responded with three-hit games and a pile of RBIs."

Bill Posteluk also added to the offensive attack with a three-hit day, adding two walks and an eighth inning double to give Brookfield a 14-3 lead.

Sox pitcher Johnny Arnold, went the distance to earn his sixth win of the year.  He surrendered 4 unearned runs in the final inning after a misplayed fly ball and four two-out hits by Hartland made it 14-7.

"That was a game we had to have if we have any playoff hopes at all," commented Lemmermann.  "Today's win puts us tied for the last playoff spot, with some very important games coming up.  As it stands, the next must-win might be the game at Oconomowoc, since it won't matter at all if they run the table."

Lemmermann was referring to a rule in the Western division that cancels the post-season playoffs if any team in the division goes undefeated through the regular season.  Oconomowoc has won their first 11 games, and is 7 games away from a perfect regular season.

"We have to take care of the next game on the schedule before worrying about any playoff issues.  Things will take care of themselves as long as we play good baseball."

The Sox next travel to Monches to play The Irish on Sunday, July 1st at 1:00.

Riding the Long Ball

Fast start ends two game slide. 

June 3, 2007  -  Brookfield, WI - Pat Tobiasz and Ken Poniewaz helped the Blue Sox recover from last week's forgettable Memorial day weekend losses with a pair of 3-run homeruns to spark their 15-3 win over Merton on Sunday.

The Blue Sox scored in each of their first five innings, started by the Tobiasz blast with one out in the first. After a two-run second, the Poniewaz capped a two-out rally with his first homerun of the year to stretch the Brookfield lead to 8-0.

Starting pitcher Johnny Arnold surrendered two of those back in the

 Merton half of the 4th on a Joe Johnson two-out single, but the Sox again rallied with two-outs in their half of fourth, scoring 3 times on a Tobiasz single and a two-run double from Bill Posteluk.

Arnold cruised the rest of the way, striking out 15 in 8 innings of work to improve his record to 4-2. Chris Kostrewa was saddled with the loss, surrendering 7 earned runs in 3 innings of work. Brookfield's win ended a two-game slide, and improved their record to 4-3, while Merton slipped to 1-6.

The Sox will travel to Menomonee Falls to take on the Lakers next Sunday (6/10) at Trenary Field. Game time is 1:00.

Battery Powered

Blue Sox' pitcher catcher combo enough to clip Sussex Cardinals 

May 20, 2007  -  Homer-less in their first three games of the season, the Brookfield Blue Sox offense was taken over by their own Battery combination of Johnny Arnold and Paul Archambault early at Sussex.

In the first inning, after Jay Wojcinski led off the game by getting hit by a pitch, Archambault deposited an offering from Sussex pitcher Matt Kopp into the center field trees, staking the Sox and starting pitcher Arnold to a 2-0 lead.  Three innings later, it was Arnold's turn, lifting a one-out solo homerun to right for a 3-0 lead.

On the defensive side, Arnold and Archambault worked their way out of some early trouble in the first five innings.  With two on and two-out in the fourth, Arnold got a strikeout to end the threat, and with a runner on third with two-outs, Archambault caught Seth Kronke breaking for home as he tried to time the throw from home back to the pitcher.  Arnold tagged Kronke out in the run-down to preserver the 3-0 lead.

Brookfield added a run in their half of the sixth via small ball after Bill Posteluk literally knocked Cardinal starter Kopp out of the game with a

 line-drive off of his hand and chest to end the fifth.

A pair of lead-off walks against Sussex reliever Chris Erdman were turned into a run with Sox shortstop Nick Rechlitz bunting the runners to second and third, and a wild pitch later in the inning scoring Pat Tobiasz.

The Sox broke the game open in the eighth.  Blaze Selestow lined a one-run double to right center with two-on, then scored after a pair of passed-balls to make it 7-0.

Arnold went the distance, striking out 10 while walking six and surrendering six hits.  He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the 7th, and stranded a lead-off double in the 8th to get his second straight shut-out and third straight win of the season.

The win keeps the Sox tied for second place with Lannon, one game behind both the Brookfield Bulldogs and Oconomowoc.  Brookfield will host Oconomowoc next Saturday (5/26) at McCoy Field at 2:00, then travel to Lannon for a 1:00 game on Sunday.

Opening Credits

Arnold's two-hitter keeps North Lake at bay

May 13, 2007  -  Mother Nature and the Brookfield Blue Sox cooperated to put together a fine home opening day in the franchise's first Western division home game.

With early season temperatures in the 70's the Blue Sox bats warmed quickly, scoring in each of the first three innings.  Johnny Arnold started the scoring with a bases loaded ground-out, scoring Jim Pease who singled with one out to start the rally.

Isaac Bond, playing in his first game for the Sox, set the table in the second inning with a single, and stolen base.  Jeff Lemmermann knocked him in with a base hit to make it 2-0.

In the third, Brookfield put together four singles and two walks around a double play to stretch their lead to 5-0.  This was more than enough for Arnold, who pitched his third complete game in three outings.  He worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the second, then retired 18 of the next 21 batters in recording his second win of the season.  Arnold struck out 15, giving up only two hits in nine innings of work.

The win was the Sox second straight after an opening game loss at Pewaukee.  North Lake dropped to 0-3.

Brookfield, who is tied with 5 other teams at 2-1 in second place of the 12-team Western Division travels to Sussex next weekend to take on the Cardinals.  Game time is 1:00 PM at Sussex Village Park.