Surrey Indians 9 VS Burnaby Brewers 3 (Jul 13)

Indians down the Brew Crew

The Indians were back at work and once again there was a last minute scramble to field a team of 9. Thanks to new call-up Jordan Olar and a gutsy outage from Chris Ren to complete a 10 man roster.

C. Ren got it started against the Brew crew tossing 2 shut out innings while recording 5 out of the 6 outs via the strike out. Ren walked 3 and hit a batter. Ren was removed from the game in the 3rd inning with a runner on 2nd. E. Roblero would go on to pitch the next 4 innings. After surrendering a base hit in the 3rd, Roblero would go on to retire the next 9 hitters in order. Roblero allowed 1 unearned run while surrendering only one base hit and striking out 2.

The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the second inning. B. Tonogai walked and with one out, K. Neidert smacked a triple to the right field alley. S. Sibley followed with a run scoring single.

Two more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning gave the tribe a 4-1 edge. Tonogai once again got it all started by walking for his second consecutive at bat and consequently stealing second. Neidert singled with 2 outs to push Tonogai across the plate and went to second on the throw home. Sibley once again came through to score Neidert.

In the top of the 7th, the Brewers responded with 2 runs of their own. O. Matsubara tossed the 7th and 8th innings allowing 2 runs on 3 hits, 2 base on balls and 2 strike outs. A single sandwiched between two walks was the undoing for Matsubara. The next hitter would rip a two run single to the right field gap but was gunned down at second trying to stretch it into a double.

In the bottom of the 8th, the tribe sent 10 men to the plate. Thank goodness we were batting 10 or there would have been no space to keep score. The inning started with Mr. Tonogai collecting a single and K. Grace and K.Neidert dis exactly the same. Then two free passes were issued to Sibley and Roblero. J. Olar capped the 5 run inning with a run scoring single.

Neidert tossed the last half of the 9th surrendering a double with one out but the Brew crew could do mo more damage. On another note, Neidert went 4 for 4 in this game – combined with his previous 4 at bats, Neidert is now 8-8 in his last 8 at bats. Just another day at the office for Neidert.

Player of the game nominations:

Brayden Tonogai 2 for 2, 1B(2), 3RS, 2BB
Enrique Roblero 2 for 3, 1B(2), 1BB, 1RBI * 4IP, 1R 0ER, 1H, 2K, 0BB,
Kris Neidert 4 for 4, 1B(3), 3B, 3 RS, 3RBI , 1SB * 1IP, 0R , 1H
Scott Sibley 2 for 3, 1B(2), 2RBI

Surrey Indians 7 VS Aldergrove Giants 6 (Jul 6)

Indians come up with Giant win against Aldergrove

The Indians were back in business after an extended break from baseball. A forfeited game and Canada day festivities made up the past two weeks. Prior to Sunday’s game, the Aldergrove Giants owned the best record in the Mathers division; the Indians’ game plan was to inch a bit closer to the division leaders and try to secure a good spot heading into the playoffs.

We’re glad to report that we had a surplus of players this time around and the bats are showing signs of improvement. O. Matsubara started the affair against the Giants and lasted 5 innings while allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, 2 walks and 2 Ks.

The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when J. Karls crossed the plate on K. Neidert’s RBI single. The lead didn’t last long as the Giants responded with 2 in the top of the second. The Indian’s defense was a bit sloppy early in the game and would end up committing 5 errors in the ball game. Two costly errors in the top of the second allowed the Giants to take the lead.

The Giants again applied pressure in the top of the third inning when their lead off man singled and then placed runners on first and third with one out. Matsubara managed to get the second out on a flyball to the outfield but could not get out of the inning unharmed as the next hitter singled in a pair.

After 4 innings of play, the Indians had only collected two basehits and were down 4-1. That is until the bottom of the fifth when K. Grace and A. McBoyle connected with consecutive singles. E. Roblero then sent a comebacker up the middle to score Grace; McBoyle and Roblero moved up a base after the catcher couldn’t handle the relay throw. Up stepped B. Tonogai and he pushed McBoyle across the plate with a bouncer to short. Roblero moved to third on the put out. With C. Edger at the plate, the Giants catcher tried to catch Roblero sleeping at third base, and it almost worked, but his throw sailed high and into left field. Roblero darted towards home with the tying run. In the bottom of the sixth, the tribe would take a one run lead after the “natural” – K. Neidert – a.k.a hitting machine, sent a drive into left centre for a one out double. Then, on T. Jone’s grounder to short, Neidert took off for third and the Giants shortstop erroneously tried to nail him at third. Neidert was called safe and the Giants recorded no outs on the play. S. Sibley then sent a high fly ball into centre field allowing Neidert to score.

Once again, the lead was short lived when in the top of the seventh the Giants tied the score against Neidert and the tribe. Neidert ended up tossing 4 innings of 3 hit ball while allowing 2 runs, walking 2 and striking out 2. Neidert once again stepped up and gave the Indians a chance to win the ball game and eventually ended up with the victory.

This game was a see-saw affair through out its entirety and so in the bottom of the eighth Neidert led off with his fouth hit of the game. With runners on first and second and one out, Grace sent a solid single to the right side allowing Neidert to score the go ahead run. On the next play, McBoyle pushed Sibley across home to give the Indians a 2 run lead.

The 2 run lead came very handy in the top of the ninth when the Giants would not go down quietly. The Giant’s lead off man started the frame with a single but would only reach second base after the second out was recorded. However, down to their last hitter, in dramatic fashion, the ball was crushed to the left centre field gap for a double. With the score now 7-6, Neidert got the final hitter to fly out to centre.

Game bits:
In the bottom of the first inning, the line up card read “Chris R” due up in the number 3 spot. When “Chris R’s” turn to bat came up, Ratelle was nowhere to be found. Luckily, we had another “Chris R” in Chris Ren and he ended up taking the at bat. When asked of his whereabouts a few minutes later, Chris Ratelle responded “I was watching the game right behind home plate” in the stands. That was close…
We’re glad to report that B. Tonogai managed to complete the ball game without getting hit by a pitch, thus ending his streak of consecutive games with a bruise.

This week’s player of the game should be pretty obvious but I will also note two other nominations to recognize their contributions:

Enrique Roblero 2 for 3, 1B(2), 1RS, 1RBI
Kelly Grace 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RS, 1RBI
Kris Neidert 4 for 4, 1B(3), 2B, 1 RS, 1RBI , 3SB * 4IP, 2R 2ER, 3H, 2BB, 2K

Surrey Indians @ Vancouver Mounties

Indians hand Mounties a gift

We lost by forfeit. 'nough said. Thanks to all those players who made it out. Brayden Tonogai, Chris Ren, Clay Edger, Greg Nolan, Julio Ubeda and Enrique Roblero. Also thanks to Jerome for answering Julio's call to show up at the game.

Surrey Indians VS North Delta Fighting Irish (June 15)

Irish give Indians a fight

The much anticipated contest against the North Delta Fighting Irish could have ended in the biggest humiliation in the history of the tribe. The Irish led early in the ball game 2-0. We are talking about a team that was 0-8 coming into the game; yet somehow, our dormant bats and mediocre defense, allowed the Irish to think they were actually going to get a win out of us. This was supposed to be a game in which everyone's average was going to look a few hundred points better the next day; not so, instead, many of us added a few more K's under the SO column. The final score was 13-5 in favor of the tribe, but, considering many of those runs were unearned - and the result of a comedy of errors by the Irish defense, there is little to be content with in the Indians' clubhouse.

We are also suddenly facing a player count crisis. The injury bug has hit a couple of key members and head coach / player Scott Sibley has accepted a front office job with the Toronto Blue Jays. Some players were MIA on Sunday and were reportedly seen at gentlemen's clubs the night before. The Indians started the game with 8 players on the field, would have been 7 if it weren't for a last minute call to D. Jones who was able to make it out for his second game for of the season. O. Matsubara arrived in the bottom of the first inning to complete the squad of 9.

K. Neidert eager to face the Irish, got off to an uncharacteristic start by allowing a walk. The Irish took advantage of the walk and a miscue by the tribe's defense to score the game's first run. In the top of the second inning, the Irish led off with a single and a stolen base. The Irish took the 2-0 lead when the next hitter singled in the runner from second. Neidert would settle down and shut down the Irish for the next 2 innings.

The tribe got on the board in the bottom of the second. K. Grace started things off with a walk and went to third on a failed pick off attempt. E. Roblero then blooped a double to the right field line and went to 3rd on the errant throw to second base. After O. Matsubara walked, he stole second and went to third on the catcher's errant throw. The same error allowed Roblero to score. D. Jones singled to score Matsubara. C. Edger followed and reached base on a fielder’s choice but no out was recorded as the ball was once again booted around allowing D. Jones to score. C. Edger stole second, B. Tonogai reached base on an error by the first baseman allowing Edger to score. Neidert followed with a double and G. Nolan took a free pass to first. With the bases loaded, C. Ratelle ripped a single to score the Indian’s 6th run of the inning.

Roblero pitched the 6th and 7th innings allowing one run in each frame. While Matsubara completed the last 3 innings and allowed 1 run on 1 hit, 1 walk and 5 Ks.

The tribe would go on to score 2 runs in the 5th and 5 more in the 6th highlighted by a bases clearing double by D. Jones.

Please don’t forget to vote for this game's player of the game; The nominees for player of the game Indians VS Irish are:

Clay Edger 2 for 5 2(1B), 1BB, 1RBI, 2 RS, 1SB
Greg Nolan 2 for 4 2(1B), 1BB, 1RS
Kelly Grace 1 for 3, 2BB, 2BB, 1RBI, 3RS
Dane Jones 3 for 5 2(2B), 4RBI, 2RS

Surrey Indians VS Newton Royals

Indians go toe to toe against the Royals

What a ball game! The Newton Royals and Surrey Indians locked horns at Central Park in a classic pitcher’s duel. The game featured outstanding pitching from both sides and good defense as evidenced by the score of 1-0. In total, the Royals used 3 hurlers while the Indians used 2.

This game marked the return of key players in Ratelle and Sibley; we also spotted former Indian Rob and wife Sandra Aubertin in the stands, rooting in support of the tribe. They were accompanied by a 6 month old little one… perhaps…um, Robbie’s in training??? This game also marked the first time the Indians enjoyed home field advantage -- in a Montreal Expos--San Juanish -- sort of way. The Indians will finally play on their home turf on Sunday June 15th; a brand new playing field awaits.

The Indians could only knock 4 base hits in this game, one of them a double by T. Jones. It wasn’t really a lack of contact that contributed to our poor production; there were in fact, some very hard hit balls but they were hit almost perfectly at every defender on the field. The Royals’ shortstop never moved an inch on more than a few occasions.

In the bottom of the third inning, T.Jones reached base on an error by the Royals’ third baseman. B. Tonogai followed with a single. K. Neidert then laid down a beautiful sac bunt down the first base line. With one away, K. Grace chopped a high bouncer to third, Jones running on contact from third, was gunned down at the plate. It took a perfect throw to nail Jones at home. The threat ended with the Indians scoring no runs.

The tribe threatened again in the bottom of the sixth inning when Tonogai reached base on a free pass. Neidert followed with a single to centre. As the centre fielder bobbled the ball, Tonogai took off for third and made it safely. Neidert would get caught stealing second base one out later. After Sibley earned yet another walk, this threat ended with the same result as the previous one; no runs for the tribe.

In the bottom of the eighth, Jones led off with a double to left centre and Tonogai reached base by getting hit for the 3rd time in two games. We’ll have to get this kid a body armor soon. This again was developing into a very good threat until the next hitter K’d and the one after flied to centre. After Sibley walked to load the bases, the inning ended with a fly ball to right field. The tribe was 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position in this ball game.

O. Matsubara was outstanding in relief of K. Neidert who pitched the first five innings of the ball game. Matsubara tossed 4 innings of no-hit ball, allowed no walks, and struck out 7 batters while facing the minimum number of Royals. The only things in the way of perfection for this outing were a couple of miscues by the Indian defense but those base runners were quickly erased as the tribe turned two impressive double plays. At one point, Matsubara K’d 6 Royals consecutively.

Neidert held his own on the mound as he continues to give the Indians a chance to win ballgames every time he climbs the hill. Unfortunately for Neidert, he would end up taking the loss on this one, as the Royals managed to scratch out a run in the top of the third inning. Neidert allowed 6 hits, 2 walks, and K’d 3 while facing 20 Royals batters.
It was a very good ballgame all around and hopefully the tribe can cowboy up and come thru with clutch base hits in our next assignment. That will take place on Sunday June 15th at 5:30 in the newly revitalized Whalley Stadium.

Please don’t forget to vote for the player of the game, this game and the previous two games are open for voting.
The nominees for player of the game Indians VS Royals are:

Brayden Tonogai 1 for 1, 1BB, 1HBP
Kris Neidert 1 for 3, 1B, 1SAC * 5 IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 3K
Orien Matsubara 1 for 4, 1SB * 4 IP, 0H, 0BB, 7K
Tyler Jones 1 for 3, 2B

Surrey Indians 8 @ Langley Padres 5

Indians Alive in the Nick of Time

The Indians traveled to Langley City Ballpark to engage in battle with the Langley Padres, formerly known as the groovy Langley Playaz. If ya’ll remember former Indian B.J. Woelders, he is now a mentor and player for the Langley Padres.

Once again, the Indians did not have a complete squad and it seems to be starting to hinder the development of this club. For the second straight game the Indians were lethargic out of the gate. It’s like not having the entire baseball family at the park brings the energy level down a bushel.

And for the second consecutive game, the Indians could not mount a productive attack against some very hitable pitching during the first five frames of the game. The top of the third looked promising. E. Roblero walked to start the inning and C. Ren and B. Tonogai each followed with singles. At this point there were no outs; but would you believe it if I told you that somehow, we managed not to score a single run? C. Edger went down looking and J. Karls bounced into the inning ending 6-2-3 double play.

K. Neidert got the ball for this contest and once again proved why he’s the leading arm of the pitching staff. Although there was no much offensive help to back up his pitching, Neidert kept the ballgame within reach by maneuvering out of difficult situations and minimizing the damage caused by the Padres to just 4 runs in 5 innings of work. Neidert allowed 5 hits, walked 2 batters and K’d 3.

Every lucky bounce and every questionable call by the umpires seemed to be going the Padres’ way the entire ballgame. Then finally with one out, Edger singled and promptly, in road runner fashion, stole 2nd and 3rd on consecutive pitches. The Indians went on to once again load the bases on a Kalrs free pass and a K. Grace infield single. Neidert pushed across the first Indian run by grounding out to 1st. That was all the Indians would score as the offensive chaos continued.

O. Matsubara relieved Neidert in the 6th and contained the Padres to just 3 hits over 4 innings of work. Matsubara allowed just one run while walking 3 and striking out 1. This was probably Matsubara’s best pitching performance of the season and could be a sign of more great things to come.

With the score 5-1 in favor of the Padres, the Indians pressured in the top of the 7th. A. McBoyle and Matsubara started it off with consecutive walks. After seeing the pitcher struggle, Roblero swung at the first pitch he saw and nearly ripped off the pitcher’s spikes as the ball traveled right up the middle, but wait, the Padres’ 2nd baseman inexplicably well positioned right over the 2nd base bag quickly double off any hopes of an Indians big rally. This was the 3rd double play turned by the Padres in the ball game.

In the top of the eight, Tonogai reached base after taking one in the back. With one out, Karls sent a line drive into left centre field scoring Tonogai. After Grace reached base on a free pass, Neidert ripped a run scoring single to right to make the score 5-3 heading into the Indians’ last at bat.

For consecutives at bats, MCBoyle and Matsubara once again reached base on walks to start the ninth and deciding frame. And once again, Roblero, after witnessing two more walks, swung at the first pitch he saw and sent a grounder between short and 3rd; the shortstop forced Matsubara at 2nd to record the first out of the inning. However, the energy at the Indians’ bench was finally visible. As Ren grounded to the short stop, the throw to second base sailed into foul territory on the right side of the field. McBoyle plated the Indians’ 4th run and the few fans that made it out to Langley were going crazy. On the play, Roblero moved to 3rd to keep runners are 1st and 3rd and one out. Then Tonogai stepped up to the plate and quickly got nailed for the second time in a row. With the bases loaded, Edger hit an infield single to score Roblero and tie the game at 5. Karls put the Indians ahead by grounding to short and plating Tonogai. The Indians could not believe it, they had fought their way back from oblivion and now led by one run. Veteran Grace wanted to make sure that the elation continued, he made sure of that by ripping a run scoring single to right. With runners on the corners and two outs, Grace took off for second but the Padres’ hurler stepped off the mound and had Grace served on a platter; however, time and time again this season, we’ve seen Karls beat throws home when he’s starting from 3rd. It happened again, as the Padres chased Grace back and forth on the base path, Karls took off for home and beat the throw by merely inches. Another great scoring play by the speedy Karls. Grace would eventually be tagged out anyways but the Indians’ work was nearly complete.

Matsubara took care of the Padres in the ninth to complete the comeback and award the Indians their most exciting win of the year.
Way to go tribe, way to battle ‘till the end.

Next up for the tribe, a date with the Newton Royals at Central Park in Burnaby. Game time 1:30pm, be there or be squared.

Here are this week’s player of the game nominations:

Breydan Tonogai 1 for 2, 1B, 2RS
Clay Edger 2 for 5, 1B(2), 1RS, 1RBI , 2 SB
Josh Karls 1 for 4, 2B, 2RS, 2RBI, 1BB, 1SB (home)
Kelly Grace 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RBI
Kris Neidert 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RBI , 1SB * 5IP, 4R 3ER, 5H, 2BB, 3K
Orien Matsubara 1 for 2, 2BB * 4IP, 1R, 3H, 3BB, 1K

Surrey Indians 3 @ Delta Tigers 8

Indians dazed by Tigers (May 25)

As the Indians got back to work after a nice long weekend, it seemed as though their bats were still on an extended break. The tribe could only muster 3 measly runs off a depleted Tiger squad who seemed to lack the unhitable pitching they always carry.
Facing pitches that possibly would not top 50 Mph, the tribe seemed outmatched and mesmerized at the speed at which the ball was traveling. The team lacked energy and the mood was blah to say the least. By the end of the fifth inning, the tribe still had no runs on the board and only tallied 4 singles under the hits column. By now, the score was 4-0 in favor of the felines.

E. Roblero started on the mound for the Tribe and pitched well enough to keep the team in the game. It wasn’t until the bottom of the 3rd inning when Roblero walked the second batter of the inning to promptly give consecutive singles to allow the first Tiger to score. On the run scoring single, Roblero tried to gun down the runner going to second base but the ball traveled into centre field to allow another run to score and setup what would end up being the third run of the inning for the Tigers.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Tigers applied more pressure by leading off the inning with a single and a double. The Indians nearly escaped unscathed as Roblero got the next two hitters to ground out. However, after hitting a batter, a free pass was issued to walk-in a run before retiring the last batter on an infield fly to short. Roblero ended his day with 5IP, 9 hits allowed, 4 runs allowed (2 ER), a hit batter and 2 costly base on balls.

The Indians finally showed signs that they could actually hit the ball when K. Neidert led off with a single and stole second. G. Nolan moved him over to third with a ground out to short and would later score on a ground out RBI by T. Jones. The tribe again went to sleep and didn’t score until the top of the ninth. With one out, Roblero ripped a single to left and moved to third after a walk was issued to K. Grace and a wild pitch thrown by the Tiger hurler. A. McBoyle then ripped a single to centre to score Roblero and move Grace to third. Grace plated the last Indian run when C. Edger grounded out to short.

O. Matsubara took over the hill for the Indians in the bottom of the sixth and promptly saw himself in a heap of trouble after walking a batter and a few Indian physical and mental miscues. The Tigers would score two unearned runs in the process to add to their lead. Two more runs scored in the bottom of the eighth to mark the score at 8-3. Matsubara ended his day with 3IP, 5 hits allowed and 4 runs scored (1ER), and 1 base on balls.

Not a whole lot of highlights for the Indians in what can easily be described as the Indian’s worst performance of the season.

Following are your player of the game nominations:

Andrew McBoyle 2 for 2, 1B(2), 1RBI
Enrique Roblero 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RS, 5IP, 4R 2ER, 9H, 1HPB, 2BB,
Kelly Grace 1 for 3, 1B, 1RS, 1BB
Kris Neidert 3 for 4, 1B(3), 1RS