Tropic Times Vol. XIII (June 1 - June 10 '98)

[EchoesIE]

Honolulu, HA -- The Tropics continued playing .500 ball or better throughout the season. The Tropics went 5-5 during their last stretch of games, improving their record to 39 wins and 25 losses, still 4.5 games up in the Johnson League West over the Valencia Stars. The Tropics finished their homestand with just a 1-4 record, but started their road trip 4-1. The Tropics have made moves this season as well, the biggest being the $35 million dollar extension signed by RF Silas Camarena that will insure the outfielder will stay in Hawaii through the 2003 season.

June 1
Hawaii 3, Madison 2
SP Alan Hammer is starting to truly hit stride in the middle of this season, as he went 8 strong innings, and picked up his 5th win. CL Leo Lopez recorded his 14th save. SS Tim McGraw proved he wanted a new contract as well, going 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI. RF Silas Camarena continued showing why he was worth the extension, going 2 for 4 with a run, RBI and a double.

June 2
Hawaii 0, Madison 6
Hawaii was blanked and could never really get anything going with just 5 hits. SS Tim McGraw provided just about half that offense with 2 hits in 4 at-bats. In a battle of pitching stars, Tropic's SP Freddy Bilbao got the short end of the stick, pitching 6.2 innings, allowing 5 runs on 6 hits.

June 3
Hawaii 1, Omaha 6
The Hawaii bats continued their struggle, gaining 1 run on 5 hits with 2 of them coming from lead-off man RF Silas Camarena. CF Mark Gosselaar barely kept his average over .300, going 1 for 4 with a double in the 5th. The normally steel-strong SP Remington Little was humiliated at home, pitching just 2.2 innings while allowing 5 runs on 5 hits while walking 5.

June 4
Hawaii 1, Omaha 4
The stagnant Hawaii offense was at it again, posting 6 hits from 4 different players. The lone run of the game was a solo shot by SS Tim McGraw, his 6th. SP Todd Swader continues to struggle, allowing 8 hits in just 5 IP. Swader received his 6th loss of the season.

June 5
Hawaii 3, Omaha 10
The last of the horrendous games for the Tropics came this game. Hawaii managed 3 runs on 9 hits, but as usual, the pitcher proved to be the downfall. SP Steve Cooke was downright gross in his outing. Cooke managed just 2.1 innings, allowing 5 runs, 7 hits and 2 homeruns against. The Tropics never could rebound back from that. 3B Robin Wells hit his 8th homerun of the season on a 2 for 3 day.

June 6
Hawaii 9, Vancouver 4
Hawaii finally hit the ball in this game, posting 15 hits. 7 of the 9 starters had a mult-hit game. 2B George Gutowski went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and a double. SS Tim McGraw plated 4 on his way to a 2 for 4 day, including a 2-run HR in the 4th. 1B David Smurf went yard for his 17th of the season, while 3B Robb Wells got the game off right with his 1st inning solo-shot his 9th on the year. SP Alan Hammer was just good enough to earn the win, his 6th win.

June 7
Hawaii 8, Vancouver 2
3B Robb Wells had a career game, going for 4 for 5 -- including a 3-run double, a homerun and the player of the game award. SS Tim McGraw (8), and RF Silas Camarena (11) each had solo homeruns in the game. SP Freddy Bilbao earned his 7th win of the season on a 7 IP game, and despite giving up 8 hits, only 2 runs crossed, Bilbao also had 9 strikeouts on the game.

June 8
Hawaii 9, Vancouver 10
The back-and-forth game was all over the place, both teams combining for 28 hits. 3B Robb Wells had another 3 hit game, including his 11th HR. SS Tim McGraw went 2 for 4 with 2 doubles and 3 runs. CF Jorge Abad went 3 for 5 in his spot-start. His 3 hits included a double and 2 RBI. Both teams bullpens were ugly, the Tropics used 5 pitchers, with MR Ralph Desjardins evenutally earning the loss.

June 9
Hawaii 4, Vancouver 3
C Kevin Bulder had a great game, including a 2-run homerun on a 2 for 2 day. SP Todd Swader was decent in his start, going 8 innings, allowing 8 runs but still picking up his 7th win of the season. CP Leo Lopez earned his 15th save of the season.

June 10
Hawaii 3, California 1
2B George Gutowski went a perfect 4 for 4. The Tropics scrapped together all 3 runs in the 6th and 7 innings, while SP Steve Cooke pitched 6 innings for his 5th win of the season, and CP Leo Lopez got his 16th win of the season.

~~~

Offensive Player
3B Robb Wells
Wells was downright phenomenal in his last 37 at bats -- which netted 14 hits for a .378 average. 4 HR, 8 RBI, 4 doubles, and an incredible .410 OBP and .811 Slugging Percentage.

Pitching Player
SP Alan Hammer
With 14 IP, 16 hits-against, yet only 6 earned-runs. Alan Hammer was good enough to warrant 2 wins and the Pitching Player award. He posted a 1.21 WHIP during his last 2 starts, with just 1 BB, but only 2 K's.