No Mercy! Buccos humble Dukes in quarterfinals

Photo above shows Eric Badener and his father, Sy.

Dukes’ manager Steve Miller was annoyed, to say the least, when he stepped into the batter's box with two outs in the sixth inning of Thursday’s quarterfinal playoff game against the Buccos, his team getting shellacked 24-6.

Both teams were probably hoping to end the game via the “mercy rule” (when a team is up by 17 runs.) Miller was tired of the prolonged Bucco at-bats and watching pitcher Bill Tarrant enthusiastically celebrating every good play by his defense.

But Miller did extend the game, scorching a ground ball past Tarrant and winding up at second on a wild throw. Both teams would add three more runs for a final score of 27-9 – the most runs one team has scored during the season of the Los Angeles Senior Softball League. So no mercy in this game.

Miller said he was annoyed “simply over how poorly my team played, and the fact to me that the game was essentially over by the 3rd inning or so. I just wanted it to be done. Perhaps a rare moment for me to be that annoyed, but it was ‘one of those SS (senior softball) days.’ “

Asked if he was trying to ‘send a message’ to Tarrant by slashing that hit past the rubber, Miller said: “Perhaps! But it was just real (pent up) frustration since I try to be non-critical with my players regardless of how poor the play gets.”

Miller is one of the best and most professional managers in the senior softball league, so he must have been as aggravated as a couch potato looking for his remote. 

The Buccos, who last week won in 11 innings in the opening round of the playoffs – one of the longest in memory – were firing on all cylinders on offense and defense. The team scored the limit of 4 runs every inning except the 5^th when they “only” scored 3.

Miller was changing pitchers faster than the sudden swirly winds that sweep the Valley, all to no avail.

Norm Friedman led the offense, going 5 for 5 with 4 runs scored and a half-dozen RBIs from the sixth spot in the lineup. Eric Badener also had 5 hits including two extra-base knocks, and Mike Pivarnick was 4 for 5 with 3 runs scored.

While the top of the lineup had a stunning .766 OBP, the bottom five were no less impressive with a .619 OBP, led by Ernie Garcia (4 for 5) day and Sy Badener (3 for 4).

The Buccos moved Dave Aguilar from his usual spot in left field over to right, getting the more experienced outfielder to handle the setting sun and the Dukes' tendency to hit that way. Third baseman Ernie Garcia and Eric at short were tasked with protecting the 3-rated Mark Weber who was making his debut in left. The strategy worked. Ernie and Eric shut down the left side, diving for balls as if they were in a swimming pool.

“Ernie made them think thrice about pulling the ball,” said Eric, whose throwing hand looked like he had undergone a crucifixion reenactment for Holy Week from his own dirt dives.

It all might have given the Buccos next opponent, the number 1-seeded Killabrews some food for thought. The ‘Brews, the Softball Junkies, and the White Sox all thoroughly trounced their opponents to move into the semifinals. It was an odd slate of lopsided scores in a season marked by league parity and close contests.

Thursday’s results were a bit like the Old Testament: a lot of unpredictability and no mercy.