RANGERS TURN TRIPLE PLAY TO CAP WIN AND SEASON

The Rangers beat the Dirtbags 13 - 3 on August 10th at Florin High School.  There were many outstanding performances in this one as the Rangers saved the best for last, capped off as they turned a triple play in the bottom of the 9th to complete the win and their season. 

Starter Rob Dyer was dominant in the best Rangers pitching performance of the season.  He went 8 strong innings, scattering 6 hits and allowing 2 runs - both in the 1st inning - while striking out 8 and walking only 1.  Dyer retired 8 of the 9 batters he faced between the 1st and 4th innings, and then after allowing a hit in the 4th, retired 10 straight between the 4th and 7th innings.  He threw 105 pitches, 82 of which were strikes, holding the Dirtbags to only 2 hits from the 2nd through the 7th innings. 

Val Ravarra, pitching at his alma mater, worked the 9th inning, and was on the mound when the Rangers turned the triple play to finish the game.

The Rangers offense struck early and often, pounding out 14 base hits.  Dyer drove in David Ramirez with a single in the 1st.  Then with the Rangers trailing 2 -1 in the 3rd, Casey Zoller smashed a 3-run home run - his league leading 6th of the season - to give the Rangers the lead, and they never looked back.  Ravarra singled and scored on an error in the 4th, and singled to drive in a run in the 5th.  In the 8th Ramirez hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Ravarra, and Joe Caffrey singled to drive in 2 more as the Rangers built a commanding lead.

For the game Ravarra was 5 for 6 - the Rangers only 5 hit performance of the season - and scored 4 times.  Ramirez scored 3 times, Caffrey was 3 for 5, and Dyer and Reuben Hopper each had 2 hits.  Anthony Savage, Adam Moshofsky and Jason Blessinger also scored for the Rangers.

In the bottom of the 9th, the Rangers ended the game and their season in unbelievable style.  With runners on 2nd and 3rd and nobody out, the Dirtbags batter hit a sinking line drive to left.  Left fielder Jon Machado made a diving catch.  The baserunners, thinking Machado had trapped the ball, kept running.  Machado threw to shortstop Caffrey at 2nd, who threw on to Savage at 3rd, to retire the baserunners before they could get back to the bags, and complete the triple play.  It's hard to imagine a more exciting way to finish a season.

RANGERS FALL TO TIGERS

The Rangers lost to the Tigers 13 - 5 on August 10th at Nottoli Park.  The Rangers led midway through the game, but couldn't contain the Tigers offense in the later innings.

Casey Zoller started and pitched 7 innings for the Rangers, allowing 11 runs on 13 hits while striking out 5.  Joe Caffrey pitched the final frame, giving up 1 hit and striking out 1, but a couple of Rangers errors resulted in 2 unearned runs in that inning as the Tigers padded their lead.

Down 3 - 0 in the 3rd the Rangers came back to tie the score when Caffrey doubled to drive in a run and 2 more runs scored on Tigers miscues.  The Rangers then took the lead 5 - 3 in the top of the 5th on RBI singles by Reuben Hopper and Adam Moshofsky after a walk to Rob Dyer and a single by Tim Hodson.  But the Rangers offense sputtered after that, and the Tigers pushed across 10 runs in the final 4 innings to secure the win.

For the game Dyer, Hodson and Hopper each had 2 hits, Zoller reached base 3 times and scored twice, and Ian Bauer reached base 3 times and scored once.

The Rangers will close out their season against the Dirtbags on August 10th.

RANGERS PUT IT ALL TOGETHER IN WIN OVER GIANTS

Led by the pitching and hitting of Rob Dyer, the Rangers defeated the Giants 14 - 4 on July 27th at Playfields Park.  The Rangers displayed strong pitching, hitting and defense as all 9 players contributed to the impressive win.

Dyer recorded the complete game victory for the Rangers, allowing only 2 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 7 and walking only 1.  He retired 7 of the first 8 batters he faced, and 12 of the first 15, as the Rangers built a commanding lead.  Dyer was supported by a strong Rangers defense, led by David Ramirez, who showed outstanding range at 2nd base.  Right fielder Reuben Hopper made a nice running catch in the gap to end a threat in the 5th inning, and Tim Hodson played a solid 1st base for the Rangers.

Dyer also led the Rangers offensive attack.  He stroked a double off the wall in center field to drive in 2 in the first inning, and hit a long 2-run home run in the 4th.  Overall he was 2 for 3 with 5 RBIs as the Rangers displayed a lot of offensive firepower, pounding out 15 base hits.

Val Ravarra was 3 for 5 with 2 runs scored and 1 RBI from the lead off spot.  Ramirez was 2 for 5 with 1 RBI.  Casey Zoller reached base in all 5 plate appearances and scored 4 runs.  Joe Caffrey reached base 4 times, drove in 3 runs and scored 3.  Jon Machado singled, doubled and scored a run; and Hopper had 2 RBIs.  Greg Cech reached base 3 times and scored twice, and Hodson reached base twice and drove in a run.

This was truly a team victory.  The Rangers next game will be August 3rd against the Cubs.  

RANGERS BATTLE BUT LOSE TO BULLDOGS

The Rangers lost to the first place Bulldogs 19 - 7 on July 20th at Monterey Trails High School.  The Rangers battled throughout the game, but made too many mistakes against a good Bulldogs team.

Joe Caffrey started for the Rangers and went 5 innings, scattering 9 hits and allowing 4 earned runs while striking out 4.  But key errors in the first 2 innings led to 7 unearned runs and put the Rangers in a deep hole.  Casey Zoller and Val Ravarra each pitched 2 innings for the Rangers as the Bulldogs pounded out 14 base hits.  All told, the Rangers made 7 errors in the game, leading to a total of 8 unearned runs.

After giving up that early lead the Rangers battled to get back into the game.  In the bottom of the 2nd Adam Moshofsky drove in a run, and Ravarra doubled to drive in 2 more.  Hot-hitting Jason Blessinger drove in a run in the 5th, and knocked in 2 more with a double in the 7th.  But the Rangers couldn't close the gap as the Bulldogs offense continued to produce.

On the day Blessinger had 2 doubles, 3 RBIs and scored a run.  Ravarra and Moshofsky each drove in 2, and David Ramirez had 2 hits, stole a base and scored a run.  Caffrey reached base 3 times and scored twice, and Greg Cech reached base twice.

The Rangers next game will be July 27th against the Giants.  

RANGERS RALLY IN LATE INNINGS BUT SPLIT TWIN BILL

The Rangers split a double header with the Dirtbags on July 13th at Peterson Field.  Both games featured exciting, late inning Rangers rallies.  The Rangers won the opener 6 - 5 by scoring 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th, and rallied again in the 8th and 9th innings of the nightcap but came up short, losing 5 - 4.

Game 1

Casey Zoller started Game 1 for the Rangers and pitched effectively for 7 innings, scattering 10 hits and striking out 6 while allowing 5 runs, only 1 of which was earned.  Val Ravarra took over in the 8th with the Rangers trailing 5 - 1, and held the Dirtbags scoreless in the final 2 frames.

The Rangers struggled offensively for the first 7 innings, managing only 3 hits and 1 run on an RBI single by Rob Dyer.  But in the top of the 8th inning Rangers first baseman TK Connelly made an all-out diving attempt to catch a foul pop up, and barely missed making a spectacular play.  Connelly's effort seemed to wake up the Rangers.

In the bottom of the 8th singles by Ravarra and David Ramirez put Rangers at 1st and 3rd with 1 out, but the Dirtbags turned a double play to end the inning.  Ravarra quickly disposed of the Dirtbags in the top of the 9th that featured a nice 1-6-3 double play, and that brought the Rangers back to the plate for the dramatic bottom of the 9th.

Joe Caffrey led off with a sharp single, and moved to 2nd when Jason Blessinger was hit by a pitch.  A fielder's choice erased Blessinger, but Caffrey came around to score on a bad throw by the Dirtbags infielder.  Another hit batter and fielder's choice left the Rangers with runners at 1st and 3rd with 2 down, trailing 5 - 2.

Reuben Hopper was up next.  He stroked the 1st pitch to left for a single to drive in a run, making it 5 - 3 with Rangers at 1st and 2nd.  That brought Adam Moshofsky to the plate.  The Rangers were down to their last strike when Moshofsky lined a 1-2 pitch all the way to the wall in left center for a double, driving in both Rangers base-runners to tie the score at 5 - 5.  Ravarra then came up and lifted a slicing fly ball to left.  The Dirtbags left fielder misplayed the ball and as it squirted out of his glove, Connelly, who was running for Moshofsky, trotted home with the decisive run to complete the dramatic comeback and give the Rangers the 6 -5 win.

Game 2

Rob Dyer started the wood bat 2nd game for the Rangers, and pitched 7 strong innings, allowing 4 runs - 2 earned - on only 3 hits while striking out 6.  The Dirtbags scored an unearned run in the 1st without getting a hit, but the Rangers took the lead 2 - 1 in the 3rd inning on RBI singles by Casey Zoller and Joe Caffrey.  The Dirtbags got all 3 of their hits off of Dyer in the 4th inning, and combined with a couple of walks and a Rangers error, were able to retake the lead 4 - 2.

That remained the score until the 8th, when the Rangers mounted another late inning rally.  Reuben Hopper doubled with 1 out in the 8th and scored when Val Ravarra drew a bases loaded walk to make it 4 - 3, but the Rangers were unable to push across any additional runs and left the bases loaded.

Caffrey took over for Dyer in the 8th, and the Dirtbags were able to score a key insurance run on a single, a stolen base, and another single.  That set up the possibility of another dramatic 9th inning rally by the Rangers, who entered the final frame trailing 5 - 3.

With 1 out Jason Blessinger singled, and scored on a long double by Dyer.  But down by only 1 with 1 out and a runner in scoring position, the Rangers were unable to deliver the big hit this time as the rally fell just short in the 5 - 4 loss.

All 11 Rangers players made significant contributions in the double header.  Blessinger, Caffrey and Dyer each had 3 hits, while Ravarra, Hopper and Moshofsky each had 2.  Ramirez reached base 4 times and stole a base, and Zoller pitched well and drove in a run.  On defense, Blessinger caught all but 3 innings of the double header, and Connelly played 1st base for all of both games.  Ravarra pitched and played 3 other defensive positions, as did Jon Machado, and Tanner Paz made a couple of nice plays at 3rd base.

The Rangers next game will be July 20th against the Bulldogs.

6-29-08 - Aztecs v. Rangers - Monterey Trails Field

RANGERS PUMMELED BY AZTECS