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OUT OF THE GATE: EN
FUEGO SOFTBALL CLUB INAUGURAL GAME
September
12, 1995
MISSION
VIEJO – FINAL: En Fuego 21, Ditto Heads 8
The
setting was Oso Viejo Field in Mission Viejo, California. The
combatants, the newly formed softball club En Fuego and the veteran
team Ditto Heads. The day and time was Tuesday, 8:30 PM, and
the game was the first ever for General Manager Vince Petruzzi’s
collection of former Soda Pops, Young Guns, and Rampage players.
En
Fuego Manager Jason Teague, former skipper of the Soda Pops, fielded
the following lineup: Chris Watkins at first, Greg Reynolds at
second, Matt Balsz at short, and Jason England at third. The
outfield consisted of Vince Petruzzi in left, Jason Teague in
left-center, Billy Schellenberg in right-center, and Craig Watkins
in right. Former Rampage pitcher Jason Rutherford was on the
mound and his battery mate was Mark Tamburelli.
In
the first inning, Vince Petruzzi led the game off with a double for
the first hit in En Fuego history. He would later come around
to score the first run in En Fuego history to give En Fuego a one
run lead. The Ditto Heads scored one run to tie the game in
the bottom of the first, but En Fuego took the lead for good with
two runs in the top of the second giving them a 3-1 lead.
En
Fuego put the game out of reach with four runs in each the third,
fourth, and fifth inning giving them a 15-4 lead at the end of five
innings. Petruzzi lead the onslaught with a hit in each of the
three innings as well as scoring in each of those innings. The
bottom of the order came through as well with Jason England and
Jason Rutherford each getting two hits during the breakout third,
fourth, and fifth innings.
Over
the last two innings En Fuego plated six more runs and the Ditto
Heads were held to four runs in the bottom of seventh inning for a
final score of 21-8. The expansion franchise was well on their
way to a successful inaugural season with the blowout win paced by Petruzzi and Rutherford’s five hits apiece. Billy
Schellenberg also added four hits including a home run and a triple.
Notes:
Petruzzi
would go on to win the Batting Crown with a .707 average and would
be named the team MVP for the season. En Fuego, with help from two late season acquisitions
Kevin Lorton and Jason
Santoro, would go on to
win nine games on the season finishing in first place after the
regular season. The team appeared in the championship game in
only its first season, but fell short
losing to the Penetrators to finish in second place.
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