Bucks/Pit Stop Wins ASA Men's Class C N.I.T.

Six Teams Particiapate At Itasca Softball Complex On June 18th

By Tom Birks

Itasca: Bucks Pit Stop from Hodgkins IL went 3-0 to capture the ASA C World Qualifier in Itasca June 18th. Bucks received a first round bye before they faced the Bandits from Joliet who had won their first game 25 -0 over Psychos. The Bucks/Pit Stop's Rick Geils two run single and John Ergo blasting a two run home run were the key hits for Bucks/Pit Stop who trailed this game 10 to 5 heading into the sixth inning. Brad Reynard hit two run single before a three run homer from Jeff Sahagian tied the score at 10 runs each. After holding the Bandits scoreless in the bottom of the sixth inning, Ergo lead off the top of the seventh inning with his third hit of the game. After one out, singles from Jim Lynch, and Reynard loaded the bases before Keith Henrichs hit a sacrifice fly to put Bucks ahead 11-10. Bucks defense did the rest as they held on for the 11-10 win. Leading the Bucks/Pit Stop offensively were Reynard 4-5, Henrichs 3-4, and Ergo 3-4. Another key for the game was Art Reboletti defensive presents on the mound.
In their next game the Buck's/Pi Stop next opponent was Chicago Steele in the winners bracket final. The Buck's/Pit Stop again fell behind early trailing 9-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. Buck's/Pit Stop than pushed four huge runs across in the inning to cut the score to 9-8 heading into the last inning. After using their defense to hold Chicago Steele scoreless in the top of the seventh inning the Buck's/Pit Stop needed just two runs to win. Geils lead off the bottom of the seventh inning with a hit, followed by a double from Reboletti to put the winning run on second. After an intentional walk to Bob Vaughn, Ergo came to the plate and hit his second homer of the game to give the Hodgkins squad a 12-9 victory. The leading hitters in this game for the Buck's/Pit Stop were Ergo 3-4, 2 HR with 5 RBI, Sahagian 3-4, Greg Henrichs 2-3 and Jim Lynch 2-3.
The Buck's/Pit Stop then watched Chicago Steele and The Hooded Frogs battle in an extra inning game, with Chicago Steele winning 16-13 to set up a rematch in the championship game. The Buck's/Pit Stop did not fall behind early in this game as their offense clicked to score in every inning as they built a 9-4 lead after five innings of play. It was in the top of the sixth inning that the Buck's/Pit Stop exploded for twelve and they never looked back winning 21-6 to give the Buck's/Pit Stop the championship. The leaders on offense in this game for the ball club were Sahagian 4-4, Geils 4-4 with 5 RBI, Reboletti 2-3 with 3RBI, Ergo 3-4, Henrichs 3-4, Lynch 3-4 with 4 RBI, and Chris Garza 4-4.
The Buck's/Pit Stop top offensive performers for the tourney were Geils .750 with 8 RBI, Jeff Sahagian .750, Ergo .750 with 9 RBI, Keith Henrichs .636, Lynch .550 with 6 RBI, Reboletti .550, and Reynard .500 with 6 RBI.
Manager Tom Birks of the Buck's/Pit Stop ball club had this to say, " We struggled offensively early, but good teams have to fight to the end and win some close games. Artie's defense up the middle and Ronnie Hause at 1b both made some spectacular plays. Reynard and Ergo also were solid in the infield. Our outfield also played very well as we only gave up 25 runs in 3 games. It was a tough week for us with the passing of Scott "Tubby" Riley. We lost a longtime friend and teammate. I know the last couple of weeks were very hard on Johnny Ergo, but he really played a great tourney. I'm sure Riles was looking down on us today."
Neither the Chicago Metro ASA or tournament runner up Chicago Steele provided Illinois Softball Reports with any information, team stats, highlights or quotes from this tournament.