Fair Oaks 11, Manhart/KV 7 (League: 15-4, Overall: 21-5) - July 2 @ Renfree Field - In a game that had more bizarre twists and turns than you could shake a bat at, the Fair Oaks Oaks battled Manhart/KV to an 11-7 victory at Renfree Field.
    Manhart took a 1-0 lead off Oaks starter Garrett Schoenfelder in the top of the first, but the Oaks came back for a 4-1 advantage in the bottom of the inning.
    The first six Oaks batters reached base as catcher B.J. Crone led off with a hit to left field. Left fielder Jim Ott followed with a double to right and then Schoenfelder doubled to center to score both runners for a 2-1 lead.
    Right fielder Jason Wilkerson followed with a walk and then first baseman Nick Palumbo got a hit to center to load the bases.
    Third baseman Justin Hoppes followed with a hit to center to score Schoenfelder and then with one out, center fielder Matt Blanford's grounder to third scored Wilkerson for a 4-1 lead.
    Things began to get weird in the second inning as the leadoff batter for Manhart beat out an infield hit. He stole second and then the next batter got a hit to right to score him and make it a 4-2 game.
    It was ruled, however, that the runner kicked catcher B.J. Crone as he crossed the plate and the player was ejected from the game, causing Manhart to play the game under protest.
    Manhart scored one more run in the inning to close its deficit to 4-3.
    Fair Oaks came back in the second for a run as Crone walked to lead off the inning and then stole second with Ott at the plate. Ott grounded to second allowing Crone to reach third and then he scored on Schoenfelder's ground ball to second for a 5-3 lead.
    Manhart kept pace, however, with a run in the top of the third, but the Oaks again came back to score in the bottom of the inning to maintain a two run advantage.
    With one out, Hoppes got a double to left to start things off. Shortstop Rick Patel followed with a walk and then Blanford was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs, Crone hit a ball to short that was misplayed allowing Hoppes to score for a 6-4 lead.
    Another controversial play occurred in the top of the fifth as Manhart's leadoff batter reached base on a grounder to third that resulted in a low throw to first.
    The next batter took a called strike before he reached the plate as the umpire lost patience with him coming up to bat and instructed Fair Oaks' pitcher to pitch.
    The base runner attempted to steal second and interference was called on the batter as he stood in front of Crone's throw. The call should have resulted in the batter being out, but the umpire instead ruled that the runner just return to first base.
    The batter lined the ball into center for a hit, prompting Fair Oaks manager Don Barney to protest that the batter should have not batted after the interference call.
    After a discussion between umpires, the batter was not only ruled out on the previous play, but another out was awarded for him batting after he was already out. Though correct on the surface, in reality, the next batter should have taken the out. But all turned out correct in the end.
    After all the confusion, the next batter flew out and Fair Oaks came back to score yet another run.
    With two outs, Ott doubled to left center. Schoenfelder followed with another double to score Ott and make it 8-5.
    Manhart went out in order in the top of the sixth and the Oaks came back for their final three runs in the bottom of the inning.
    Hoppes led off with a hit to right, followed by a ground ball to short by Patel. The throw to first, however, got away and Hoppes scored to make it 9-5, with Patel taking second on the play.
    Blanford then hit a double to left center to score Patel. Second baseman Dave Yurchak followed with a hit to right. Blanford tried to score on the play, but was cut down at the plate.
    With Crone at the plate, Yurchak stole second. Crone grounded to short, but beat the throw to first.
    This prompted Manhart to change pitchers, but the new pitcher threw a wild pitch with Ott at the plate allowing Yurchak to score to make it 11-5.
    Yurchak came in to pitch the top of the seventh, but couldn't get any outs, giving up two walks and a hit to load the bases.
    Ott then moved to the mound from left field, but he struggled as well, A fly to right scored one run and then a hit loaded the bases back up. Manhart scored again on a passed ball to make it 11-7 and then Ott gave up another walk.
    Fortunately things settled down after that, as Ott struck out the next two batters to end the game.
    It was Fair Oaks' first win in three tries at Renfree. Both of their previous losses came in the final inning as the opposing teams homered for the winning runs.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	R	H	E
MANHART/KV	1	2	1	1	0	0	2	7	8	2
FAIR OAKS	4	1	1	1	1	3	-	11	12	4

Manhart/KV: N/A
Fair Oaks: Schoenfelder, Yurchak (7) and Crone. Top hitters: Crone 2x4; Ott 2x4, 2 2B; Schoenfelder 3x5, 3 2B, 4 RBI; Hoppes 3x3, 2B; Blanford 2 RBI.