Tropic Times Vol. X (April 30 - May 10 '98)

[EchoesIE]

Honolulu, HA -- The Tropics played 11 games in as many days...and came out with a record of 8-3. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Tropics are here (and not too shabby). The Tropics continued their first large road-trip of the season, and came out with flying colors. With a record of 23-12 (a .657 WP), and in dominant control over the Johnson League West (5 games ahead), the Tropics are looking to continue to build this momentum throughout the year. Some games arn't pretty, others are pretty priceless, but the Tropics are competing, and competing at a high level...including taking all 3 games on the road at Baltimore. The middle of the road-trip had Hawaii swept at home by the Wolves of Madison, then rebounding and finishing strong, sweeping Louisville, in Louisville.

April 30
Hawaii 10, Baltimore 6
With 17 hits, and 5 of the starting 9 having more 2 hits or more...this was the largest offensive game the Tropics have had all season. 3B Robb Wells led the way, with a 4 for 6 performance. The 4 hit game included 2 RBI, 3 runs scored and Wells' 3rd Homerun of the season. SS Tim McGraw, and RF Silas Camarena both contributed with 3 hits. CF Mark Gosselaar had 2 hits in 4 trips including 2 RBI, 2 Runs Scored and a Homer in the 5th (his 1st of the year). SP Alan Hammer scored his 3rd win of the season, pitching 8 innings.

May 1
Hawaii 5, Baltimore 4
The closest of the games this roadtrip saw the Tropics play an extra inning against the Monarchs. The Tropics had a hard time mustering any offense, scoring only 2 runs through 8 innings. The low scoring game didn't help SP Freddy Bilbao, who pitched 7.1 innings and gave up 4 runs. The 10th inning including a string of events that will make GM Josh Cornel happy, as the Tropics played small ball for the inning after CF Clark Devereaux singled on a line drive to center. Devereaux stole 2nd, followed by a Sac-Bunt that landed Devereaux on 3rd. RF Silas Camarena slapped the ball up the middle, allowing Devereaux to score. The offense managed 11 hits, with Devereaux posting 3 hits in 5 at-bats. Camarena had 2 RBI, while 3B Robb Wells hit his 4th homer of the year.

May 2
Hawaii 7, Baltimore 6
The Tropics used their entire bullpen in this win. 7 pitchers in total threw 114 pitches. MR Mark Dewey finally ended up with the win. SP Remington Little had an iffy outing in his No-Decision. CF Clark Devereaux again ended up with the best game offensively for the Tropics. Devereaux went 3 for 6, with both an RBI and Run. C Robin Larker and 1B David Smurf both hit long balls in the game, it was the 8th HR for both players.

May 3
Hawaii 1, Madison 4
In the first of 3 close games in Madison, Hawaii had 8 hits and 1 run. 7 of the 9 starters had 1 hit, and C Robin Larker had 2 hits in 4 at-bats, including a double in the 1st inning. SP Todd Swader ended up with the loss (3-3) after 8 IP, 4 earned-runs and 6 K's.

May 4
Hawaii 2, Madison 4
Madison starting pitcher Ramon Cisneros pitched a 4 hitter against the Tropics who had just 4 hits. RF Silas Camarena, SS Tim McGraw, C Robin Larker, and P Steve Cooke was the entire Hawaii offense. Cooke was also tagged for the loss in the loss, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits...yet 3 of the 4 hits were homeruns.

May 5
Hawaii 2, Madison 3
The closest game of the 3 game set came as both teams ramped up their offense a tad bit from their previous matchup. SP Alan Hammer was given his 1st loss of the season after giving up 3 runs on 8 hits. The Tropics offense was hit or miss, with both 2B George Gutowski and RF Silas Camarena both going 2 for 4.

May 6
Hawaii 5, Louisville 4
The Tropics flew from Madison to Louisville following the 3-game sweep from the Wolves. Louisville proved to be a much better place than Madison, as the Tropics took all 3 from the Sluggers. RF Silas Camarena and SS Tim McGraw both had 2 for 4 games with Camarena driving in 2 runs. SP Freddy Bilbao was back into normal form. Bilbao tossed 8 innings, allowing just 5 hits, 1 earned run, while recording 8 punchouts.

May 7
Hawaii 12, Louisville 7
Hawaii exploded for 12 runs and 12 hits, with C Kevin Bulder leading the Tropics crew. Bulder went 4 for 5, plating 3, scoring 3 and hitting his 6th HR of the season. 1B David Smurf went just 2 for 5, yet put one in the right field crowd for a 3-run HR as part of his 4 RBI's on the day. 3B Robb Wells also went deep for 3 RBI's. SP Remington Little had his 2nd rough outing in the same week. Little went just 3 innings before MR Mark Dewey came in for 2 innings of relief. Lucky for Dewey, the Tropics exploded for 6 runs in the top of the 6th inning, which allowed Dewey to pick up his 4th win of the season.

May 8
Hawaii 3, Louisville 2
The tired legs and restless hearts of the Tropics was finally prevelant in this low scoring game. SP Todd Swader was in good form, pitching 8 innings and allowing all 3 runs. CP Leo Lopez picked up his 8th save of the season. 1B David Smurf knocked out his 11th HR of the season. 3B Robb Wells]3B Robb Wells[/url], SS Tim McGraw, and 2B George Gutowski had 2 hits in 4 AB's.

May 9
Hawaii 9, California 3
After getting on the red eye flight back to Hawaii following their win in Louisville, the Tropics surprisingly showed up to the May 9 game to start their 8 game home-stand. RF Silas Camarena had 2's all around. 2 Hits, 2 RBI and 2 Runs (with a HR, #5). 3B Robb Wells had a 3-run bomb in the 7th inning that sealed the deal for the Tropics. C Robin Larker hit his 11th HR of the season in the 2nd inning. SP Steve Cooke pitched well in his 7 innings. MR Ralph Desjardins and MR Michael McBean combined for the last 2 innings of work on the mound.

May 10
Hawaii 7, California 5
The Tropics used 12 different batters in their win. 9 different batters had at least 1 hit. 2B George Gutowski had 2 hits and 2 runs in his 4 at-bats. RF Silas Camarena also had 2 hits and his 16th double of the season. Once again, a barrage of pitchers faced the Crusaders lineup. 6 different tropics thew 166 combined pitches. MR Mark Dewey earned his 5th win of the season in his 13th appearance of the season. CP Leo Lopez needed only 6 pitches to record his 9th save of the year.

~~~
Offensive Player:
RF Silas Camarena
In 49 at-bats, Camarena had 18 hits (4 doubles, 1 triple)...which equals out to a .367 average. Camarena had 10 RBI, 2 HR and just 3 strikeouts in his stretch.

Pitcher:
SP Freddy Bilbao
Bilbao pitched in 15 IP in 2 games, striking out 15, allowing 15 hits but earning only 4 runs against his record (2.35). Bilbao had 15 K's, 5 BB for a WHIP of 1.30.

[recte44]

Camerena has really emerged since I dealt him to the Tropics a couple years ago. Nice to see it!