Darren Schulz sent this recap about the Linda B. Schulz Memorial APBA Baseball Tournament VI held September 24, 2020 – October 29, 2020
While Slippery Rock did not include the familiar sounds of rattling dice at the township building in 2020, that did not stop a remarkable number of 44 participants from keeping the annual event alive and well during the pandemic. This was an opportunity for Apba enthusiasts to give the virtual game with cards and dice a try. Needless to say, the community once again stepped up and rolled 66s.
This year’s 9 game round robin play included 11 divisions of 4 players. The communication was tremendous from the launch; Ken and I could not have asked for more. When the final games were settled, these were the eight divisional champions and the lone wild card entry.
1 Seed – 1930 Chicago Cubs (John Roels)
2 Seed – 1913 Philadelphia Phillies (Rob Wyks/LBS IV Champ)
3 Seed – 2016 Boston Red Sox (Paul McEvoy)
4 Seed – 2013 Detroit Tigers (Ty Wyks)
5 Seed – 2000 New York Mets (PJ Uva)
6 Seed – 2015 Toronto Blue Jays (Tony Stevens)
7 Seed – 1967 Boston Red Sox (Jeff Scalzo)
8 Seed – 1930 New York Giants (Chuck Sorce)
9 Seed – 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks (Ken Wyks)
10 Seed – 2019 Cleveland Indians (Judd Fasold)
11 Seed – 2018 Los Angeles Dodgers (Dave Druk)
12 Seed – 1994 Cleveland Indians (Dick Butler)
See the Tourney Finals bracket of LBS VI!
There were three nail biters in the opening round as the 2001 Dbacks nipped the 1930 Giants (4-3), the 2000 Mets slipped by the 1994 Tribe in 12 innings (5-4), and the 2018 Dodgers held on to victory over 2015 Blue Jays (5-4). To complete the opening round, Scalzo’s 1967 BoSox clubbed their way to a 9-5 victory over the 2019 Indians.
In the quarterfinal matchups, 2019 runner up Ty Wyks guided his 2013 Tigers in 13 innings past the 2000 Mets (3-2); Ty’s uncle, Ken Wyks, and the 2001 Dbacks upended the top seeded 1930 Cubs (4-1); Rob Wyks discovered that deadball Philly pitching silenced the hot bats of the 1967 Red Sox (6-1); and Paul McEvoy’s Beantown doubled up on the 2018 Dodgers (4-2).
The bats were much stronger in the semifinals as Ty earned his spot in the finals with an 8-6 Tiger triumph over the 2001 Dbacks. Less than 24 hours later, he rooted for his dad to face him in the finals. He got his wish as Rob led Philly to the improbable father-son showdown with 6-4 victory over the 2016 Red Sox.
With a few in attendance via Zoom, this unique finale did not disappoint.
Game 1: 2013 Tigers (Anibal Sanchez Axy) at 1913 Phillies (Pete Alexander Az)
Detroit wins 6-5 in 12 innings.
Game was scoreless through the first four innings. Philly got a Beals Becker homer in the bottom of the fifth for a 1-0 lead.
Detroit immediately answered in the top half of the 6th when Austin Jackson singled off of Anibal Sanchez’s leg for a bases loaded rbi. After Victor Martinez decided to attempt an unsuccessful steal of home, Prince Fielder hit a three run bomb for a 4-1 Tiger lead.
Down 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth, Philly’s first baseman Fred Luderus doubled and scored on a Gavvy Cravath two run shot to tie the game.
Score remained tied until the 12th. With two outs and runners at the corners, the 9 hitter, Andy Dirks, doubled home Omar Infante and Martinez for a 6-4 lead.
After a one out Otto Knabe single plated another, Drew Smyly managed to get the final two outs to preserve the Tiger victory.
WP – Joaquin Benoit
LP – Eppa Rixey
SV – Drew Smyly
Game 2: 1913 Phillies (Ad Brennan Az) at 2013 Tigers (Max Scherzer Axy)
Philadelphia wins 4-2
A Fred Luderus sac fly to leftfield brought home Hans Lobert in the top of the first inning.
In the bottom of the 4th, Jhonny Peralta and Miguel Cabrera both go deep for a 2-1 Tiger lead.
To start the 7th, a two base error by pitcher Max Scherzer proved costly as Sherry Magee singled home Luderus to tie the game.
In the 9th, Scherzer walked Luderus and Cravath to start the frame. Becker and Magee followed with rbi safeties for a 4-2 lead.
With one on and two outs, Ad Brennan finished his complete game effort with a strike out of Torii Hunter.
WP – Ad Brennan
LP – Max Scherzer
Game 3: 2013 Tigers (Doug Fister Bz) at 1913 Phillies (Tom Seaton A)
Philadelphia wins 2-1
Game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth when Sherry Magee, who hit .545 the series, went yard for a 1-0 lead.
An inning later, the Phillies struck again with a solo shot from Dode Paskert.
Tom Seaton was tossing a no-hitter until Hunter started the 8th with a lead off single. He took second on an Infante ground out and scored to end the shutout bid on a Brayan Pena base knock.
Ty used Jose Iglesias to pinch hit to start the ninth, and it worked as the tying run was on board with a lead off single. After Peralta struck out, Prince Fielder, a hero from game one, grounded into a series ending 4-6-3 (PRN 41) double play.
WP – Tom Seaton
LP – Doug Fister
Congrats to Rob Wyks in earning his second LBS championship in three years. The 1913 Philadelphia Phillies are now retired from future LBS tournaments, and Rob’s name will be inscribed a second time into the championship plaque. Of course, Rob earned another personal championship plaque to be bestowed at the 2021 LBS Memorial tournament. In addition to the post series hug he received from his dad, Ty will receive a 25 dollar gift certificate to use at the Apba Stadium Shop.
Ken and I would like to thank not only this year’s 44 online participants for their support but also those who were originally signed up for the face-face event but could not make this virtual one work out this time. ALL of you made this happen! With this year’s event, we hope that you learned something from the experience, both the positives and the challenges. The tabletop experiences and friendships will grow and improve as we continue our efforts to keep the games rolling along.
We are forever grateful and have already started to count the days to LBS VII. We pray that 2021 will find the Slippery Rock Township Building filled with all the new and familiar faces of our beloved community and the soothing sounds of Apba baseball.
Thanks for the great recap, Darren! You can see the full standings here. From my perspective, it was a close tournament with just a couple exceptions (cough… John Roels who was 8-1).
And of course, congrats to Rob Wyks on his second LBS championship as well as his brother Ty Wyks who has an incentive for coming back next year! Well done everyone!
