Monday, April 14, 2008

Rooters don't have a prayer against Muckrakers

CONCORD -- You know what they (whoooo’s THEYYYYY?) say about so-called professional hitters. “You could wake them up in the middle of the night,” they say, “and they could hit line drives.”

Well, the Muckrakers did a fine job of waking up after a rejuvenating offseason and wasted little time picking up where they left off, sending away the Rooters 22-5 in Thursday’s season opener on Field 2.

No tentative tiptoeing into the new season for the mighty Muckrakers. The Men of Muck sprayed an amazing 31 safeties around Yard Duece, a hit count that is believed to be a ‘Raker single-game record. An astonishing 10 Muckrakers had multi-hit games, with Randy Striegel doing the most damage (5-for-5, double, home run) and Kevin Schuler going the 4-for-5 route.

The Mucksters scored in every inning and led 9-0 after three frames. The offense was in high gear, the defense was solid, and a pleasant time was had by all.

Among those enjoying the pleasantries was Jimmy Durkin, making his ‘Raker debut in fine style, starting at first base and going 2-for-4 with three runs scored. Steve Moscatelli framed his ‘Raker return with some timely hitting, driving in five runs from the 11-hole. And let us not forget the performance of some ‘Raker stalwarts, such as Mike Yurkus (2-for-2), Dave Alcorn (3-for-4), Mike Gale (2-for-4), Rick Hurd (3-for-4, making basepath allowances for the lame-legged Dave Taxier) and Mat Petersen (2-for-3). Manager Chris Wagnon rebounded nicely from some early offensive setbacks and had a two-hit outing.

After the contest, the Rooters gathered for an infield prayer circle. One did not hear them say, “God, I hope we never face the likes of this team again,” but one can imagine the possibilities.

D-league, you’re on notice: the Muckrakers are back on the case. In a big way.

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