Fair Oaks catcher Kent Guthrie takes the throw at home as Citrus Heights' Brandon Stokes slides into home plate during Post 383's game against Post 637 Sunday at Bella Vista High School. Stokes scored on a hit to left by teammate Eric Deckard, as Guthrie got the ball a little too late for the tag. Photo by John Blenkle
Fair Oaks salvages win against CH
By Joe Blenkle/Sports Editor
(This article originally appeared in the July 21, 1993 edition of The Orangevale News)
    A long season of frustration for the Fair Oaks Post 383 baseball team ended on Sunday as Fair Oaks dropped its final game of the season to Division champion Citrus Heights, 12-10.
    The week was not all bad for Fair Oaks, however, as Post 383 won three straight games (extending its streak to four) going into the final weekend series against Citrus Heights.
    In a makeup of an earlier postponement on July 13, Fair beat Haggin Grant 4-2 as Dave Moore and Eric Brolin combined to scatter eight hits for the victory. Fair Oaks also collected eight hits, three off the bat of Brandon Muskopf (including two doubles), and two from Joe Grawey. Ryan Brennan and Jeff Cooke also added doubles in the win.
FAIR OAKS 1993 SCHEDULE
Date Opponent Score
Haggin Grant Tournament
5-29 Charles Eggen W, 8-5
5-29 Walnut Creek W, 7-1
5-30 Citrus Heights L, 6-1
5-31 Lafayette RAIN OUT
District 6 League Games
6-6 Haggin Grant W, 10-1
6-6 Haggin Grant L, 4-3
6-12 Roseville W, 10-0
6-13 Roseville L, 11-6
6-13 Roseville L, 4-0
6-14 Post 61 L, 9-8
6-16 Southside W, 5-0
6-19 El Dorado W, 8-0
6-19 El Doeado W, 13-2
6-20 El Dorado W, 5-4
6-23 San Juan W, 7-2
6-26 Auburn L, 13-3
6-26 Auburn L, 8-2
6-27 Auburn L, 5-3
6-30 WintersAuburn L, 5-4
7-3 Charles Eggen L, 9-8
7-3 Charles Eggen W, 7-4
7-4 Charles Eggen L, 14-6
7-6 Yolo L, 4-2
7-7 Ft. Sutter W, 6-4
7-10 Cordova L, 10-5
7-10 Cordova L, 9-7
7-11 cordova W, 9-5
7-13 Haggin Grant W, 4-2
7-14 W. Sacramento W, 6-1
7-17 Citrus Heights W, 6-2
7-17 Citrus Heights L, 12-1
7-18 Citrus Heights L, 12-10
OVERALL: 15-16    LEAGUE: 12-15
    July 14, Fair Oaks picked up another win, defeating West Sacramento 6-1. After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Post 383 added another three in the fifth and two in the seventh for the win. West Sacramento's only run of the game came in the bottom of the seventh.
    Fair Oaks' three runs in the fifth scored without a Post 383 hit and the team also had 13 stolen bases in the game. Mike McDowell, Chris Read and Mike Lincoln combined for the win.
    Post 383 continued its streak into the first game of its three-game set with Citrus Heights on Saturday at Del Campo High School.
    Looking like the team everyone expected it to be at the beginning of the season, Fair Oaks jumped on Citrus Heights starter Romeo Llanes for two runs in the first inning. Grawey, Post 383's second baseman, led off the inning with a walk and moved all the way to third on a hit to left field by Muskopf. Grawey scored as Brennan sent a fly into center field that was dropped. Muskopf advanced to third on the play, with Brennan coasting into second. First baseman Brandon Straw then got a hit up the middle to score Muskopf making it a 2-0 game.
    Citrus Heights got one run back in the bottom of the second inning, but Post 383 expanded its lead to 5-1 in the top of the fifth. Muskopf and Brennan led off the inning with back-to-back hits to center field. Citrus Heights brought in 1993 San Juan graduate Dane Reckers to pitch to the next batter, Straw, and Reckers got Straw to ground out for the first out of the inning. Third baseman B.J. Green was the next batter and he took Reckers deep, with a three-run shot over the right field fence to give Fair Oaks a 5-1 lead.
    Citrus Heights loaded the bases in the seventh off Fair Oaks' starter Read, and Post 383 coach Don Barney called Lincoln out of the bullpen to replace Read on the mound. Lincoln got Citrus Heights shortstop Eric Deckard to fly to right center for the second out of the inning, but Post 637's runner on third, Jesse Smith, was able to tag and score to make it a 5-2 game. Lincoln walked the next batter, reloading the bases, but then got catcher Larry Platz to pop to first to end the inning.
    Fair Oaks added its final run of the game in the top of the ninth, as Muskopf started things off with a one-out hit to left field. Muskopf went to second on a ground balll by Brennan, and scored on a hit to center by Straw to make it 6-2.
    Lincoln struck out the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the ninth, gave up a single, and then got Matthew Hock to fly to center to end the game and give Fair Oaks the win.
    Despite its dominance in the first game, Fair Oaks couldn't put together a repeat performance in the second game, as Citrus Heights shelled Post 383 12-1.
    Citrus Heights collected 17 hits in the game, while holding Fair Oaks to only two.
    Sunday, it appeared as though Post 383 might finish its season with a flourish, as it again jumped out to an early lead, shelling Citrus Heights starter Bill Eastlick for seven runs in the first inning. Grawey led off the first with a hit to center and was bunted to second on Muskopf's sacrifice back to the pitcher. Brennan took a pitch in the ribs to become Post 383's second base runner and then Straw's hit to right scored Grawey for a 1-0 lead. In a repeat performance of Saturday's first game, Green came to bat and sent the ball over the fence - this time to left field - to give Fair Oaks a 4-0 lead. Shortstop Dave Scott and catcher Kent Guthrie followed with a pair of walks and then left fielder Scott Kinsey struck out for the second out of the inning. With McDowell - Fair Oaks' pitcher - at the plate, a pickoff attempt at second went into center field allowing Scott to take third. McDowell then hit a chopper to third that was booted, allowing Scott to score and McDowell to reach safely.
    Guthrie scored on another Grawey hit - his second of the inning - and with Muskopf at the plate, Grawey stole second base. The throw trying to get Grawey went into center field and McDowell trotted home with Fair Oaks' seventh run of the inning.
    Citrus Heights came back in the top of the second to tie the game, as two walks and a home run by Michael Levering made it 7-3. After the next two batters recorded outs, a walk and two hits brought in another run. Right fielder Jonathan Austin then followed with a three-run shot to left to tie the game at 7-7.
    Fair Oaks answered back in the bottom of the inning with three more runs to take a 10-7 lead. Brennan led off with a ground rule double to center. Straw walked, and then with one out, Scott got a hit to left to load the bases. A walk to Guthrie forced in Brennan to make it 8-7, and then with two out, Gregg Kenney doubled to left to score Scott and Straw to make it a 10-7 game.
    Lincoln relieved McDowell in the third inning after McDowell gave up two hits and a walk. Fortunately, a double play erased two of the runners, but Lincoln walked the first batter he faced to load the bases. Lincoln struck out the next batter, ending the inning.
    The game settled down until the fifth when Lincoln gave up a solo home run to John Ellis to make it 10-8 and then three more hits to tie the game at 10-10. Citrus Heights then loaded the bases and scored run No. 11 on a ball that got away from Guthrie, giving them an 11-10 lead. Post 637 added its 12th run in the seventh for a 12-10 lead.
    Fair Oaks loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to score and could not mount a threat after that, dropping the season finale to Citrus Heights, 12- 10. The loss gave Fair Oaks a 12-15 record in the American Division, 15-16 overall, good for sixth place in the eight team league.
    Citrus Heights finished its season at 20-7 and will receive a first-round by in the playoffs which begin today at Clark Field in Woodland. Auburn will meet Winters in first-round action at 2:30 p.m., and Cordova will face Yolo at 6:30 p.m. The winner of the Auburn-Winters game will meet National Division winner Post 61 at 6:30 on Thursday, while the Cordova-Yolo winner will face Citrus Heights in the opening game at 2:30. The double-elimination tournament runs through Saturday, with a deciding game on Sunday, if necessary. The American Legion All-Star Game will follow, slated for a 7 p.m. start. Fair Oaks representatives will include McDowell, Straw, Brennan and Kenney.
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