Tropics Times Vol. XIV (June 10 - June 20 '98)

[EchoesIE]

Honolulu, HA -- The Tropics are continuing to roll, posting a 6-3 record over the last 9 games. Hawaii boosted their overall record to 45-28, a full 6 games over their 2nd place competition. 14 games and 15 games ahead of the 3rd and 4th place teams in the Johnson League West, respectively. The biggest stat for the Tropics might not be a team ERA or Team Runs-For, rather their 27-15 record on the road. Hawaii has proven that they can fly across half the world and still be in the hunt.

June 11
Hawaii 3, California 5
3B Robb Wells continued his remarkable offensive streak, going 2 for 4 with a HR in the 5th. CF Mark Gosselaar also went 2 for 4 with a 2-run homerun in the 2nd. And despite leading into the 6th inning, SP Alan Hammer couldn't quite keep up, letting 3 runs cross in the 6th before being yanked. It was Hammers 3rd loss of the season.

June 12
Hawaii 4, California 8
With Hawaii putting up 12 hits, and attempting a comeback win with 2 runs in the 9th, it wasn't enough. SP Freddy Bilbao was in a funk all-night and not his usual dominate self. He lasted only 2.1 innings while being shelled for 6 earned runs. CF Clark Devereaux had his shot in the CF rotation, and made his time worth it -- going 3 for 4 with a homerun. 2B George Gutowski, and 3B Robb Wells both had 2 hits in 4 at-bats.

June 13
Hawaii 8, California 1
The Tropics exploded for a 5-run 8th inning to put the game to rest. Coming on the bat of surging 3B Robb Wells who went 3 for 5, with a 3-run homerun in the 8th. SP Remington Little went the distance in the game, pitching a 5-hit game through all 9 innings pitched.

June 14
Hawaii 2, Valencia 3
The only game Valencia stole from the Tropics in the 3-game swing saw both teams score a run in the 9th, the winning run for the Stars. The man with the hot bat showed his worth again, 3B Robb Wells, went 2 for 4 including his 14th homerun. RF Silas Camarena continued his hitting streak with a triple in the 1st inning. SP Todd Swader pitched 8 strong innings, only allowing 2 runs, but still got the loss to even his record at 7-7.

June 15
Hawaii 6, Valencia 4
4 Tropic pitchers combined for the win, with MR Ralph Desjardins eventually earning the win. CL Leo Lopez came in for his 17th save of the season. PH Steve Scroggs managed to jump-start a 3-run eighth with his solo shot. RF Silas Camarena, CF Mark Gosselaar, and LF Daniel Fabiano each had 2 hits in 4 ABs.

June 16
Hawaii 10, Valencia 5
Once again the bullpen was put to work -- 5 different pitchers combined to win this one. SS Tim McGraw had an excellent 3 for 4 day with 2 doubles, 2 runs and 3 RBI. 1B David Smurf had a 2-run shot (19) and 3B Robb Wells had a 3-run shot (15).

June 17
Hawaii finally got a much needed day off.

June 18
Hawaii 2, Louisville 0
This low-scoring affair finally went to the Tropics, who scored a single run in both the 3rd and 7th inning. Only 7 hits by both teams were registered, 5 belonging to the Tropics. SP Freddy Bilbao was spot on, in his start. Pitching a 2-hit complete game with 11 K's. The offense was relatively stagnant, yet RF Silas Camarena continued his hitting streak with a double...the 30th for Camarena this season.

June 19
Hawaii 12, Louisville 10
For the low-scoring battle the day before, both teams made up for it this game. 12 different batters came up to hit for the Tropics, with 7 of them recording a hit. 1B David Smurf knocked #20 out of the park. SS Tim McGraw went 2 for 4 with 2 runs and 5 RBI including a HR in the 1st inning. RF Silas Camarena had a double on his way to a 3 for 5 game with 2 runs and 2 RBI. SP Remington Little and MR Steven McCullough both game up 4 runs, although McCullough ended up with the win. CL Leo Lopez saved his 18th game of the season.

June 20
Hawaii 4, Louisville 3
SP Todd Swader pitched 9 innings, allowing just 7 hits, 3 runs while striking out 4 -- yet Swader still couldn't pick up the win. It took the Tropics all 20 innings to win, posting 2 runs through 8 innings before knocking in the walk-off run in the 10th. 1B David Smurf had a great 3 for 5 day, while C Robin Larker added 2 of his own hits.

~~~

Offensive Player:
3B Robb Wells
Its hard to argue with a player who a team high .325 with 4 HR and 10 RBI. Wells continues to have the hot bat, this is his 2nd Offensive Player award in as many weeks.

Pitching Player:
SP Remington Little
Little posted an unimpressive 3.00 ERA with 12 IP, but gave up 11 hits, 3 BB and 6 K's Little had a WHIP of 1.17 and an OAVG of just .239.

[KCCardinalFan]

Wells is having a nice bounce-back year for you, playing very good defense as well.

[EchoesIE]

Yeah, he's been on a rampage with the stick recently, probaly 2/3rds of my offense.

[ryankcollins]

What a rough series for the Sluggers. Going from a game where you can't hit anything to putting up ten runs on the board and still coming out with a loss. Such a disappointing series...

[EchoesIE]

Yeah, and you had more hits than I did as well. Welp, that's baseball.