Fall 2018 Awards!

The Fall 2018 Awards Gala was a great event held at Parleaux Beer Labs. The following Pelicans won the team awards, and each received a special golden trophy:

Most Inspirational: Charlie Fitzgibbon

Charlie Fitzgibbon did the Pelicans a great service as the GM for two seasons, and has always been an anchor of support for all the players of the team. He is the originator and creator of the many nicknames, has great baseball IQ, and pays close attention to every game and can always offer support to any of the Pelicans. Congratulations Charlie!

Most Improved: Kyle Murphy

Kyle Murphy has been a solid player throughout his tenure with the Pelicans, and he possesses a great knowledge of the rules of baseball. This season, he took it upon himself to take strides to improve, especially in the batter’s box. We owe some thanks to Weebie Mike for building a batting cage in his backyard, an amenity Kyle took advantage of, and greatly improved his hitting. Kyle also pulled off one of the best double plays of the season by being aware of the league’s lack of an infield fly-rule. Congratulations Kyle!

Most Valuable Player: Illi Stovall

Illi Stovall has been with the Pelicans since the very beginning, and he’s the rock of the team. Illi can play any position, and is always willing to put in hard work for the team whether that means pitching and catching for nine innings in a game, or cheerfully going to whatever position we need him to go to. Illi brings a positive spirit to the team, and can always be counted on to do some work in the batter’s box. Congratulations Illi!

In addition to the team awards, the league awarded the following awards to these players of Pelicans BC:

Lifetime Achievement Award: Leo Leblanc

Leo Leblanc is an inspiration to us all. At 67 years old, he is the oldest player in the league, but you wouldn’t be able to tell it by his performance on the field. He looks and plays like a man at the peak of his physical ability. We are proud to call Leo a Pelican, and grateful for his skill on the field. He has been an indispensable player, especially as a catcher who can play all nine innings. Congratulations Leo!

Best GM: Mia D’Souza and Braden Piper

At the end of the 2018 Spring season, the Pelicans found themselves without a manager. Despite some proposals to have a player from another team step into the role, the league made an announcement that the Pelicans would be dissolved as a team. Many Pelicans protested, and two took the initiative to step into the role to ensure that this baseball team would stay intact. Mia and Braden are not the most experienced players on the field—prior to playing in the PBL, Mia had no prior baseball or softball experience, and Braden had not played baseball in 17 years. In this way, they exemplify what the PBL is all about—a league where anyone can play and enjoy the great sport of baseball. Congratulations Mia & Braden!

Championship Recap – Pelicans BC vs. Parleaux Beer Labs (4-5)

The Pelicans met the Parleaux Beer Labs at Perry Roehm Stadium to play the championship game for the Fall 2018 Season in a rematch of last season’s championship game, and Parleaux Beer Labs came out victorious in eight and a half innings. It was a beautiful day of baseball with both teams playing very well, outstanding weather, and good sportsmanship all-around. Pelicans BC thanks and congratulates Parleaux Beer Labs.

The Pelicans earned an early lead by scoring one run in the top of the first, but Parleaux answered with a big 4-run rally, and later scored another run giving them a 5-1 lead. Pelicans were able to chip away at the lead eventually scraping back 3 runs, but the Pelicans could not produce the important tying fifth run. Starting Pitcher Illi Stovall gave the team a formidable performance, and solidly pitched all eight innings. The Pelicans rejoiced to get their star 67-year old catcher, Leo Leblanc back on the field after several weeks of being out of town—and Leo kept runners on first honest all game, and made a great put out at home from an outstanding throw from Karl Tear in center field. Pelicans were also happy to see Charley Hession return after missing most of the season and put forward a solid performance at SS, participating in two double plays along with 2B Braden Piper and 1B Kelley Engman. Eddie Brettingham proved he can hit with the best of them with a 1.000 batting average for the day. Many other Pelicans had bats swinging and smart at bats to get runners on base or to advance runners. All-in-all the Pelicans played well.

Thanks to all Pelicans who played:

• Illi Stovall – SP
• Leo Leblanc – C
• Kelley Engman – 1B
• Braden Piper – 2B
• Cody Spillers – 3B
• Charley Hession – SS
• Hagen Curl – LF
• Karl Tear – CF
• Charlie Fitzgibbon – RF
• Eddie Brettingham – RF
• Mark Boucree – 3BC

We’ll see you next season! If not sooner for some winter pick-up games and practices!

 

Playoff Recap – Pelicans BC vs. Rougarou (16-4)

Pelicans BC defeated Rougarou in seven innings on Sunday in one of their best performances this season. The win against the Rougarou advances the Pelicans to the championship game for a rematch of last season’s championship against the Parleaux Beer Labs. This is the Pelicans third consecutive appearance in the PBL championship. Thanks to the Rougarou for good sportsmanship and umpires Ed of CSR and Nick of 5WW. Championship game will be held on Sunday, November 18, 11 AM at Perry Roehm Stadium.

The Pelicans arguably played their best game of the year with unquestionably the best offense with all players doing work to get on base and bring runs in. A strong 5-run first inning was key in creating momentum that Rougarou could not match. “Dr.” Dan April (SP) earned a big W with many strikeouts, and by producing many easily fielded infield shots to Braden “Rowdy” Piper (2B). Cody “The Jam” Spillers (C, CP) after doing the great service of catching six innings closed the game with a strikeout. Pelicans defense also looked great with only 1 error. Special thanks goes to Mark Boucree for coming out and coaching third base like a pro, supporting his team despite being on the DL with a broken finger. It is with sad hearts we say goodbye to Mark “Big Smooth” Erickson, as he departs on a new adventure to live in Peru—we wish you the best of luck and thank you for the good times playing with Pelicans BC. Great work all Pelicans:

• SP, C – “Dr.” Dan April
• C, CP – Cody “The Jam” Spillers
• 1B – Eddie “CanEda” Brettingham
• 2B – Braden “Rowdy” Piper
• 3B – Kyle “Murph” Murphy
• SS – Illi “Broken Hand” Stovall
• LF – Mark “Big Smooth” Erickson
• CF – Karl “Kleveland” Tear
• RF – Anna “Mia” D’Souza
• 3BC – Mark “Wall” Boucree

Game 6 Recap – Old No. 7 vs. Pelicans BC (4-8)

Pelicans BC secure another win in their first and only game facing off against Old No. 7 this season with a come-from-behind victory. The W brings the Pelicans’ record to 3-3, and clinches a spot in the playoffs.

Pelicans gave an early lead to Old No. 7, but recovered as Old No. 7’s pitching struggled and Pelicans MRP Dan April retired many Old7 batters. Thanks to the bullpen: SP – Kelley, MRP – Dan, CP – Cody all for great work. Cody and Dan doing double duty catching and pitching. Eddie got a rally started off hitting and scoring first run of the game. Great play by Kyle at 2B to turn a double play on an infield pop-up. Karl always keeping things on lockdown in CF and snagging the last out of the game.

Pels play the Rougarou in playoffs, and are on the hunt for their third consecutive championship title!

Game 5 Recap – Crete Street Riot vs. Pelicans BC (9-10)

We had a great win against Crete Street Riot Sunday. Pelicans BC are now tied for third place with CSR with a 2-3 record behind the undefeated Parleaux and the 4-1 Rougaroux. The Weebies and Old7 sit tied for fourth each with 1-4 records. Let’s keep this winning streak going!

I want to thank all who participated in what has been my favorite game of the season thus far. It was a close, competitive game with great umpiring from Parleaux, and both teams keeping things classy.

The team started behind the consistent pitching of Illi (SP), who kept us close through the early innings. Despite giving up a 1-run lead early in the game, and a few fielding hiccups we quickly answered and retook the lead. We continued to trade runs throughout the middle innings keeping the game tied and at times pulling in to a 1-run lead. Eddie “CanEda” Brettingham (3B) stepped it up in the hot corner and was knocking down balls. Braden “Rowdy” Piper (2B) demonstrated the importance of backing up plays covering an in-the-sun overthrow from catcher to first. We got into some trouble when CSR pulled Cody (MRP) on the hit-batters rule. Hagen (1B, MRP) struggled in his first pitching appearance of the season walking a few runners in, but he’ll come back stronger, and otherwise held down 1st and looked good at the plate. Kyle “Murph” Murphy (2B, RF, CL) stepped in for his first pitching appearance of the season as well, and got us out of the inning with a 3-run deficit, and then proceeded to keep the momentum going with a triple. To keep things going, Mark E. (SS, LF) provided the inspiration the team needed with a 2-run homer to right field, diminishing the CSR lead back to 1 run; great to see his bat come alive. “Murph” continued to flummox the CSR batting with his unorthodox style, and overall produced strikeouts, groundouts, and fly-outs that the defense handled with finesse. Shoutout to “Kleveland” Karl (CF) for a couple outstanding catches in the later innings. Other outfielders also looked good with heads-up-plays and getting the ball in quick with runners on base. The Pelican bats came alive this game with everyone showing marked improvement, and a much higher team OBP. Another big moment in the bottom of the 9th for “Murph” driving in the tying run to force extra innings. A reworked batting order allowed “Uncle” Charlie Fitzgibbon (LF, C) to show off his ability to get on base and play aggressive on the base paths. Mia (RF) constantly showing improvement at the plate, and proving it by starting things off by getting on base in the 10th, and ultimately scoring the winning run thanks to a redemptive deep shot from Hagen for the walk-off win.

Game 4 Recap – Rougarou vs. Pelicans BC (13-4)

Losing is never easy. Winning is even harder. It requires hard work, focus, and determination. We have the talent to beat any team in this league, but errors keep costing us games. Rougarou is a completely rebuilt team from last year, and they are solid contenders. We were also coming off of a three-week break, which doesn’t help. That said, we need to cut down on the errors: back up our pitchers, play smart when it comes to pick-offs, hit your cut-offs when making a deep throw from outfield, shift when necessary, back up throws/plays, etc.

The best thing you can do to minimize errors is to get out and practice regularly. The easiest way to get some good practice in is to show up at the pickup games every Wednesday at 5 PM at Lafitte Greenway. I’ve seen generally low attendance from the Pels at these games, and would love to see some more of you out there. You will get a lot of at-bats, and the chance to play a variety of positions. Even if you can’t make it right at 5, it’s easy to hop in to the game.

I’m also going to hold a practice tomorrow, Tuesday, at 5:30 pm at City Park. Daylight is short nowadays, so please come on time.

Finally, I know we all have busy lives and schedules, so it’s not always easy to make it out to practice or the pickup games. If the practice times don’t work for you, don’t hesitate to send a text out to everyone to see if someone else is available when you have free time—all you need is one other person to get a good practice in. And finally, if you still can’t find someone to practice with, it will not hurt to do some conditioning. Do what works for you whether it be running, lifting weights, biking, body-weight exercises, yoga, etc.—if you aren’t already doing it, 20-30 minutes a day will greatly improve your overall health/fitness and keep you ready for the game.

All Star Game Success!

Thank you to all the players who participated in the PBL All-Star Game! It was a great success. Special thanks especially to Cookie Rojas, GM of the New Orleans Baby Cakes for participating in the glove toss and for throwing out the first pitch. Thanks also to the Nola Petty Betties for an outstanding performance. And thanks to Parleaux Beer Lab for generously providing a keg of beer.

Game 3 Recap – Pelicans BC vs. Fifth Ward Weebies (12-5)

Great to see the Pelicans step out with their first win of the season against one of last season’s biggest competitors, the Fifth Ward Weebies in a decisive 12-5 win. Keep it up Pels.

Game 2 Recap – Pelicans BC vs. Parleaux Beer Labs (3-4)

We faced yet another tough loss to the Parleaux Beer Labs on Sunday in a 3-4 defeat. For the most part, we played a solid game, but when playing a game against Parleaux a few small mistakes is what makes the difference between winning and losing. Our biggest weak spot once again was defensive errors. It didn’t help that we lost momentum after a bad call at home plate ending an inning where we were scoring runs, and could have scored more, but such is the nature of things when you have player-umpires.

A quick reminder that we have umpires for a reason—things got a little too heated on that strikeout/baserunner confusion. Yes, we were right on that call: the play wasn’t dead, it was a baserunner’s error, and he was rightfully called out. I think some Parleaux players are also responsible for escalating that more than it needed to as well. But both teams got into a shouting match before the umpire even made a call. Remember, Pels fly high with a face full of fish, so keep it classy out there. We’re in this league to have fun paying baseball, not argue on the field. Even if it’s a call we don’t like—the umpire squad has the last say.

Next game we face off against the Fifth Ward Weebies in the late game at 7 PM. They were a formidable opponent last season, and like many of the teams in the league, they are looking stronger than ever. They’ve recruited a new pitcher who’s got a better arm than any of their previous pitchers. Charlie Fitz has said it many times, and I’ll say it again, we win games with our pitching and defense. Let’s keep those Weebies off the bases. The runs will come naturally for us.

Game 1 Recap – Parleaux Beer Labs vs. Pelicans BC (12-6)

Thank you to all who came out for opening day whether you could play or not. It was a successful day of baseball at Perry Roehm Stadium. We had a tough battle against Parleaux, and ultimately they took the W 12-6 in 7 innings. The Pelicans played well against Parleaux, but we made some defensive errors, stranded some runners, and gave up too many runs in the last inning which dampened our hopes of a comeback in the bottom of the 7th.

Game Notes:

• POTG to Cap and Cody on a Catcher to 1B pickoff to a Parleaux player who didn’t have his head in the game. Great awareness.
• Our biggest weak spot was defensive errors. In practice, let’s focus on cleanly fielding hard infield shots, clean transfers, and making our throws on target.
• Our bats looked pretty strong against Parleaux, and I think our hitting will improve as all our players get a chance to see more at-speed pitches. The pitching league-wide is vastly improved this year, so take every opportunity you can to get your eyes on some pitches.
• Perry Roehm Field notes: This is a very different field than Lafitte Greenway, and even the Perry Roehm of last year. There is a large overhang extending above home plate that kills what would be a lot of infield pop-flies. This combined with a fast infield that is still littered with small rocks makes for a lot more hard shots and weird skips to the infielders. They have cut down a lot of the excess shrubs and greenery on the fence borders as well, so it is rare to see the ball go out of play. All of this means we need to make extra effort to get in front of balls, so that even if you don’t field cleanly, you can knock it down, and make the play. Also passed balls are going to be more costly. Outfielders, you have a lot more ground to cover than Lafitte—pay attention to the other team’s hitting lineup and find trends for where players are hitting, so you can adjust positioning.

That’s all for now! See you on the field.