BATS SCORE EARLY, HOLD ON TO DEFEAT LIGHTNING, 4-3, IN FATHER’S DAY GAME; REMEBERING LARRY BARNES
WOODSTOCK — The Bats scored early and then defended against a last-inning rally to win a Father’s Day morning game, 4-3, over the Lightning at Emricson Park. It was just the second win for the Bats (2-5) while the Lighting (4-1) suffered their first defeat of the season. Greg Kaczmarek went the distance for the Bats to pick up his second victory while allowing 5 hits with 4 strikeouts.
The Bats collected 8 hits on the day including 5 safeties in a 3-run first inning. Joe Nebel got the Bats started with a one-out triple to right center. Kaczmarek knocked Nebel in with a base hit then stole second to put himself in scoring position. Earl Blankenship then singled Kaczmarek home to make it 2-0. Bryan Albers and Steve Bliley followed with base hits to bring Blankenship around giving the Bats their third run of the inning and a 3-0 lead.
The Lightning came back in the third inning with 2 runs on 3 hits and an error to tighten the score at 3-2. The Bats got one of those runs back in the fourth, however, when Paul Abbinanti singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. Nebel then singled home Abbinanti with what would prove to be the winning run as the Bats increased their lead to 4-2. A couple of walks to Rob Matassa and Blankenship loaded the bases with two outs, but the Bats were unable to cash in on the opportunity.
Despite committing 3 errors in the game, it was the Bats timely defense that ultimately saved the game. In the fifth inning the Lightning had a runner on second with one out when Harry Rabenhorst blasted a drive into a stiff wind towards the gap in right centerfield. Due to a depleted line-up, oft injured Ron Skrabacz was forced into action in right field for his first playing time of the season. With Skrabacz hiding out near the foul line, Nebel was off at the crack of the bat and made a great running catch in the gap for the second out of the inning. The Lightning base runner advanced to third on the play, but failed to score as the ensuing batter grounded out to Tom Paul at third base.
In the sixth Kaczmarek picked a runner off of first base with one out to thwart any chance of a big inning. With the base runner leaning towards second the crafty right-hander threw to first baseman Albers as the runner broke for second base. Albers chased him to the bag and tossed to shortstop Abbinanti waiting to make the tag. Kaczmarek struck out the next batter to end the inning.
The Lightning had the middle of their order coming up in what could best be described as a harrowing seventh inning. With the Bats still hanging on to a 4-2 lead, the first batter reached on an error followed by a walk to put the tying runs on base. After a strikeout, Kaczmarek walked the next batter to load the bases and followed that with a hit batsman to force in a run cutting the Bats lead to 4-3.
That brought Rabenhorst back up to the plate, still reeling from being robbed by Nebel on his gapper in the fifth. Nursing a 1-run lead with only one out and the bases loaded, the Bats decided to pull the infield in. Once again Rabenhorst delivered a hard-hit ball, but this time it was right at a drawn-in Abbinanti at shortstop. Abbinanti snagged the liner for out number two and ran to second base to catch the runner breaking for third before he could return to the bag for a game-ending double play.
The Bats (2-5) next game will be at 1:00 PM on Sunday, June 23 against the Marauders (2-4) at Emricson Park in Woodstock, Ill. The Marauders won, 2-0, in the only previous meeting between these two teams this season.
BATS DROPPINGS
Sunday’s 4-3 victory was the 40th 1-run game the Bats have played in since 2004. The Bats are 18-22 overall in 1-run contests, but are 7-5 since 2018 …. Sunday’s victory boosted the Bats 2024 record to 2-5 — the 6th time since 2004 the Bats stood at 2-5 after 7 games. The last time they started with a 2-5 record was in 2022 when they finished the season at 9-8 thanks to a 6-game winning streak midway through the season …. Joe Nebel’s triple was the first by a Bats player since Tom Klauba tripled on May 21, 2023, the second game of the season — a total of 18 games between three-baggers. The longest the Bats have gone without a triple is 32 games spanning three seasons from 2006-08 …. Sunday’s game moved Earl Blankenship’s consecutive games played streak to 105 games. The streak began in 2017. Earl is only the second Bats player to play in 100 or more consecutive games. The other is Don Gragnani who set the standard with 113 straight games played between 2011-17 … The next in line behind Don and Earl is Tom Paul whose consecutive games streak now stands at 73. Greg Kaczmarek has the next longest active streak with 26 consecutive games.
IN MEMORIAM
LARRY BARNES
May 9, 1951 — June 11, 2024
I found out recently that Larry Barnes, one of the charter members of the Diamondbacks/Bats team, passed away on June 11. Most of the members of the current Bats team have never met Larry, but he was instrumental in the formation of a franchise now in its 27th season. Anyone enjoying playing for the team today owes Larry a debt of gratitude for holding the team together in those early years.
Larry Barnes joined the Diamondbacks in 1998 when the team was formed and added to the McHenry County Men’s Senior Baseball League, now the Northern Illinois Men’s Baseball League (NIMBL). Larry was the manager of the team through the 2001 season before handing the reins over to Ron Skrabacz. He remained with the team as a player through the 2011 season.
Larry was a beloved teammate with an easy-going personality, an infectious smile, and a usually subtle sense of humor that could keep the dugout snickering, if not laughing heartily. He wore Number 23 to honor Michael Jordan, although some would say Ryne Sandberg. He was most comfortable as an infielder at third or first base, but often used himself as a catcher when the team had no one else on the roster who could catch.
He had ten children by the time he left the Bats, and he often brought them to the games in a large green extended van. For several years the Diamondbacks/Bats would have a Family Day at the Ballpark for the team which often brought as many as 20-30 fans out to watch the game that day — followed by pizza or a cookout. Larry’s family made up a large portion of the crowd.
Larry Barnes with seven of his ten children
I have some very fond memories of playing baseball with Larry and offer my sincere condolences to his family. RIP fellow senior baseballer. You made the game fun.
Larry’s obituary can be found at the link below:
https://www.smithcorcoran.com/obituaries/Lawrence-Larry-Barnes?obId=31855054
