Saginaw “Old Golds” Keep State of Michigan Cup for another Year
The Saginaw “Old Golds” went into the State of Michigan Cup play in Bay City this weekend as the current “World Champions of Vintage Base Ball” and they looked the part. Game one saw Saginaw beat Detroit’s Lah-Dee-Dahs for the third straight time this season 16 to 9. Captain Adam “Squints” McCauley (GAME BALL) led the way with two doubles and 4 hits. John “Lumberjack” Piersall and Chuck “Ducky” Mahan were also perfect at the plate. Rick “Slink” Spitz and Dennis “Vanilla Gorilla” Konuszewski added doubles. Dennis, Mahan, and Kevin “Big Wheel” Beemer were on the mound all day and the team behind them played solid defense. Game two saw Saginaw trailing 5-4 to Kent in the third inning before their bats came alive to win going 21-7. Piersall was 4 for 4 again. But the GAME BALL went to Dennis Konuszewski who should have his nickname changed to “The Silver Back Gorilla.” Big Dennis crushed a base ball out of site for a gigantic home run. They’ve yet to find the ball. He followed that up with a single, double, and a triple for the cycle. When Dennis hits balls, they come in round, but leave oblong. McCauley (triple), Toby “Scoops” Larkin (double), Brandon “Baby” Daig (double), Beemer (double), Mahan, slammed 3 hits each. Nick “Brute” Hammond also ripped a double. A Kent player was heard to say, “Who are these guys-the Mid-Michigan White Caps?-there hitting and fielding is unreal.” Game three started fast as the “Old Golds” first seven batters hit 5 doubles and 7 straight hits to build a 6-0 lead. The Championship game saw them pound the Rochester “Grangers” 21 to 6 to finish Saginaw’s season at 16-1-1. Piersall, who just recovered from a broken finger in the World Tournament, was 4 for 4 to go a perfect 12 for 12 on the day. Dennis (triple) and Ryan “Britches” Dost (GAME BALL) also went 4 for 4. Chris “Rooster” Rousseau was a perfect 3 for 3. Sonny “The Hustler” Guerra caught balls hit to left all day and added 5 Tournament hits. Hammond (7 Tournament hits) and Daig (5 hits) handled hot line drives to come their way. “Slink” Spitz was awesome at 1st base. But Toby Larkin made a play that had to be seen to be believed. Toby miss judged a ball, reached back, caught it on his finger tips, flipped- completely upside down- slammed to ground and came up with the ball. People that saw that catch were stunned into silence. From a Granger player, “The Old Gold’s lads represent Saginaw with excellent batsmanship and highly capable fielding skills-they are a fine representation of Saginaw.” Adam “Squints” McCauley, along with a great defensive job at catcher, went 9 for 12 for the day. Tom “Sawdust” Tesch knocked out 5 Tournament hits. Pitcher Beemer only allowed 3 runs in three games. Manager Richard “The Professor” Curry, “Nothing this team does surprises me anymore-They’re just plain good.” Richard also added, “Jayme Johnson of the Bay City “Independents” put on great tournament.” Team owner Harold “Lumber Baron” Campau held a party at Heck’s Bar that went deep into the night. Karaoke in Carrolton will never be looked at the same again. Sonny Guerra was accidentally locked in the men’s room for a half an hour at Hecks, he didn’t have his cell phone but he did have a full can beer. And the party continues. Radio’s 100.5 FM’s Charlie and Art said, “This town has a team to be proud of.” He is correct.
Richard Curry
tcobb43@yahoo.com.