San Jose Raiders from the beginning

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:46 AM

I am going to run a league where I follow a team through its history day by day giving write ups when anything happens to that team. Hopefully it will be fun to get to know the team and its staff and players as they grow. I will not be managing the team but just following along for the ride.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:47 AM

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The Professional Baseball League is a new league that has been formed with 32 franchises split into 2 conferences of 4 divisions each with 4 teams. We here in San Jose got the news that the city had been awarded one of the last franchises to be given out. The new owner of the San Jose Raiders, as the team has been called, is 53 year old Brad Walker. Mr Walker hails from the San Jose area and is looking to take the team as far as he can even though it is in one of the smaller markets in the league.

Mr Walker was busy early on fleshing out the front office staff before the inaugural draft took place but struggled to find experienced staff to take the team forward.

Front Office

The new GM is 40 year old Bryan Grant. Grant has 7 years of sports franchise management experience and has a controlling attitude to his management style.

The new head coach of the San Jose Raiders is 34 year old Mike Moore. Moore has absolutely no baseball management experience. He will have to lean heavily on his coaching staff in his first few months to get up to speed and produce a winning team.

His coaching staff consists of the following

Bench Coach Danny Brewer who has 21 years experience and has an average reputation in the game.
Pitching Coach Justin Cook who has 12 years experience and has a fair reputation in baseball coaching circles.
The Hitting Coach could be a worry as Tabrik Elcibery is in this job with no experience at all.
1B coach Matt Langlais is another that has no experience of coaching in baseball.
3B coach Sam Kesler has 9 years experience but has not made much of a name for himself yet.

The team trainer is Ignacio Estrada who is in his first job in baseball after spending a few years at a teaching hospital.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:50 AM

In the inaugural draft GM Bryan Grant and his staff were forced to go for a younger set of talent due to the fact that the draft budget was on the lower side of the scale.

This meant that some of their picks were not what would be called championship winning calibre talent.

On the pitching front there were 2 strong selections followed by 3 questionable ones which has left the rotation a little thin.

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Ron McDonald was selected in the 3rd round of the draft.

He has a velocity that can range from 96-98 mph but he is more used to throwing curves, change ups and cutters than the out and out fast ball.

The 4th round of the draft saw Matt Evans selected

Matt is your quintessential speed merchant with a fast ball that touches 100mph when needed. He also has a decent sinker and slider to back that up as he fills a spot at the top end of the rotation.

Chris Willis is being slated at 3rd in the rotation after being selected in round 17 of the draft. He is not the fastest of pitchers at only 90-92 mph and will rely on his repertoire of sinker, cutter and change up to go along with his fast ball to get people out.

Mexican Efrain Ramirez looks like he will be slotting into the 4th position on the rotation after being drafted in round 18. He has a solid speed at 92-94mph. Along with his fast ball he will be using his sinker, cutter and change up to get the opposing batters to strike out.

The back end of the rotation sees Bobby Montes looking to stake his claim. He was drafted in round 27 and has strong speed at 95-97mph. He has a solid fastball that is backed up by a cutter and a change up.

The bull pen also looks a little weak after the draft as youth was again selected over experience.

Closer Seth Fiebelkorn looks like the pick of the bunch as he teams a 100mph fastball with a wicked slider that will hopefully pick up quite few saves.

Juan Flores will hopefully be able to set up those saves as he uses his 98mph sinker and slider to good effect on tiring batters.

One interesting selection by Bryan Grant and the front office was to take 19 year old John Johnston in round 9 of the draft. He was listed as a starting pitcher but is currently slated to start in the bullpen. His is a very raw talent that is projected to have a 4 pitch repertoire that could make him a high end starter later in his career if he develops as the team hope.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:52 AM

Where the draft was thin on talent in the pitching department the hitting department was a different matter.

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The teams 1st selection in the draft was third baseman Mark Sofka. Sofka at 25 years of age is expected to be the teams main man for the next few years as he has strong contact ability along with the skills to hit the long ball as well.

Venezuelan short stop Enrique Huerta is expected to team with Sofka nicely as they bring the middle of the order together around them. Huerta has lots of speed as well as a strong bat and the ability to hit the long ball.

Centre Fielder Willie Fontanez is expected to be the teams lead off hitter as he comes into the team with speed to burn and the ability to steal a base in his sleep.

The team is leant some experience in the batting line up by Manny Huerta. Huerta, the brother of Enrique, gives the team 10 years of professional baseball experience as well as bringing that family feel to the team for its first year. He is currently slated to be the designated hitter but will also fill in at second base.

25 year old Right Fielder Alex Robinson rounds out the top 5 in the order with his solid hitting and long ball ability.

30 year old Hugo Arias from the Domincan Republic looks like a solid first baseman that could give the team some much needed depth in both batting and long ball production.

28 year old Left Fielder Mark Tice is another that has solid ability at the plate to help give the batting line up solidity.

27 year old catcher Scott Ha was selected as much on his catching ability as his hitting ability and will figure to be at the bottom end of the batting line up.

25 year old Second Baseman Tony Patton will start the year in the San Jose line up but there are already rumblings coming from the owners office that the team is looking to upgrade at this position if they can.

There is not much depth or potential behind the main line up and the team will need to look for prospects in trades and the draft if they want to build a strong batting farm system.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:54 AM

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San Jose raiders second baseman Tony Patton found himself in hot water yesterday, literally, after scalding his right arm at home. He accidentally knocked over a pot of water he was boiling onto his arm and caused himself some painful burns. Patton shouldn’t miss any pre season work because of this with the healing time listed as only a week.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:54 AM

Today the San Jose Raiders made an attempt to try and improve their future prospects right on the eve of the season starting. They traded experienced second baseman Manny Huerta to the Raleigh Beavers in exchange for right field prospect 20 year old Willie Calderon. This means we will not be getting to see the Huerta brother together in the Raiders line up. The team has updated its depth chart which sees Hugo Arias move to the designated hitter spot and Mexican Manny Jaime move into the first baseman slot. Jaime is a solid hitter who can get a few hits in the middle to lower order of the line up.

What this does do is remove the problem of having to try and find somewhere in the region of $15,000,000 to pay Manny Huerta at the end of the season as a free agent.

amead17 · 02-19-2023, 03:56 AM

Opening day has arrived and the fans of the San Jose Raiders are extremely excited to see where their team can go. The team itself does not have a game on opening day with their first game scheduled for tomorrow but the fans have been poring over the preseason predictions to try and see how the team will fair.

The main predictions from the OSA sees the San Jose Raiders predicted to be the best team in baseball. They are expected to pick up 94 wins this season and top the Pacific Division of the Wolf Conference.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 02:08 AM

The San Jose Raiders first game in the new Professional Baseball League was at home against the Milwaukee Bucks at Raiders Field in front of a capacity crowd of 48308 fans.

The starting line up for the Raiders was as follows

SP Matt Evans

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
DH Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
1B Manny Jaime
2B Tony Patton

The game started badly for the Raiders as Matt Evans gave up a home run to Jose Huitron in the top of the first to give the Bucks the lead. The top of the 3rd saw the Bucks double their lead as a couple of singles saw Kevin Fenderson score. The bottom of the 3rd saw the Raiders finally get on the board as a double from Manny Jaime and a single from Willie Fontanez saw Jaime score.

That was the end of the scoring as the Raiders went down 2-1 in the home opener to start the year with a loss.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 02:10 AM

The Raiders were in action again against the Milwaukee Bucks as they continued their 3 game home series against them. Raiders field saw only 25689 fans turn up as the Raiders tried to bounce back from the opening day defeat.

Raiders starting line up

SP Ron McDonald

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
DH Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
1B Manny Jaime
2B Tony Patton

In contrast to the opening day the Raiders came into this game firing on all cylinders. The bottom of the first saw them score 3 runs. Willie Fontanez hit a lead off triple before coming home on a fly out from Enrique Huerta. Alex Robinson, Mark Sofka and Hugo Arias all then made base either by hitting a single or being given a walk to load the bases. After a Mark Tice strike out Scott Ha then came to the plate and struck a solid single to left field that saw both Alex Robinson and Mark Sofka home.

The Milwaukee Bucks came bouncing back in the top of the 3rd as Ron McDonald gave up a 2 run homer to Jose Huitron.

The Raiders then managed to keep the rest of the game clean as they went on to win 3-2.

Ron McDonald was player of the game for the win and Seth Fiebelkorn picked up save number 1 for the year.

The San Jose Raiders are now 1-1 for the year.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 02:12 AM

The Raiders played their final game in the 3 game home series against the Milwaukee Bucks today. They had 26122 fans come into Raiders Field to watch the game.

Raiders starting line up

SP Efrain Ramirez

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
DH Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
1B Manny Jaime
2B Tony Patton

The 3rd game of the series did not go well for the Raiders as they fell to 1-2 on the year.

The Bucks took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 2nd after Jon Rangel, Pablo Vazguez and Gabe Young all scored from solid single and double hitting by the Bucks.

The Raiders managed to get 1 back in the bottom of the 4th as a double from Alex Robinson and a single from Hugo Arias bought Robinson home.

The Raiders then threw the game away in the top of the 7th as they fell apart to give the Bucks 4 runs. Gabe Young and Kevin Fenderson both got doubles to score Young. Another double, this time by Nick Evans then proceeded to score Fenderson and Cory Reed after they were put in position by a Tony Cobos walk. Tony Cobos then came home on a single from Mario Gomez.

The Raiders got a second run in the bottom of the 9th but the game was over before then. Mark Tice scored as both he and Scott Ha picked up doubles.

The Raiders lost the game 7-2.

Next up the Raiders are at home to the 2-1 Charlotte Hornets.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 01:46 PM

Today saw the San Jose Raiders at home to the Charlotte Hornets in front of a 25466 fans at Raiders Field.

Raiders starting line up

SP Chris Willis

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
3B Mark Sofka
LF Mark Tice
RF Alex Robinson
1B Manny Jaime
DH Hugo Arias
2B Tony Patton
C Scott Ha

After a slow start the Raiders to the lead in the bottom of the 4th thanks to Willie Fontanez and his base stealing ability. Fontanez singled to first then stole second and moved to third on a Mark Sofka single. He then came home thanks to a fielders choice out from Mark Tice.

Chris Willis started to struggle on the mound in the 5th as he gave up 2 runs to the Hornets. Chris Myers and Leandro Demasco both made base after hitting a single and a double before a double from Jordan Guistiniani bought them both home.

The Raiders tied the game at 2 apiece in the bottom of the 5th with a Tony Patton triple and Scott Ha single.

A home run by the Hornets Dana Morris first batter up in the top of the 6th saw Willis pulled and the Raiders go to their bullpen. This didn’t help as they gave up a second run after Jason Franklin walked and then flowed round the bases on a Balk, a single and a ground out. This put the Hornets 4-2 ahead.

Mark Sofka hit a triple in the bottom of the 6th and then came home after a throwing error by the Hornets after an Alex Robinson flyout to cut the Hornets lead back to 1.

The Raiders then fashioned a loss in the top of the 9th as the relief pitching gave up 2 more runs to the Hornets on a 2 run homer hit by Pablo Medel.

The Raiders lost the game 6-3 to fall to 3-1 over the year so far.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 01:46 PM

Game 2 of the 3 game series against the Charlotte Hornets saw the Raiders try and bounce back to winning ways.

There were 29071 fans at Raiders Field for the game.

Raiders starting line up

SP Bobby Montes

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
DH Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
1B Manny Jaime
2B Tony Patton

The game turned out to be high scoring as both the bottom of the rotation pitchers struggled to contain things.

The Raiders jumped out to an early lead after Enrique Huerta singled and then scored from a Alex Robinson single, beating the throw to home plate by a whisker.

The Charlotte Hornets got back into the game in the top of the 3rd as a 2 run home run by Dana Morris saw them take the lead.

The bottom of the third was a huge inning for the Raiders as they managed to score 4 runs. Enrique Huerta, Alex Robinson and Mark Sofka all made base to put pressure on the pitcher with a loaded diamond. Hugo Arias was next up and he got one he liked first ball up and smacked it over the fence for a Grand Slam homer. This forced the Hornets into a pitching change but the it didn’t matter as the Raiders were 5-2 up in the game.

In the top of the 5th the Hornets cut into the Raiders 3 run lead as Jordan Guistiniani hit a solo home run to make the score 5-3 in the Raiders favour.

The bottom of the 5th saw Mark Sofka lead off with his second walk of the day before Mark Tice smacked the ball over the fence for a 2 run homer. The raiders led 7-3 at this point.

In the top of the 7th Bobby Montes gave up a double to Jordan Guistiniani who then scored after a James Nowinski single.

The top of the 8th saw the Raiders go to their bullpen and Isaiah Kelly proceeded to give up 1 run after hitting Min-Chae Seol with a pitch and a double from Pablo Medel.

Alex Robinson scored a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to make the game 8-5 in the Raiders favour which they maintained to the end with Seth Fiebelkorn getting save number 2 of the year.

This win moved the Raiders to 2-3 for the year.

amead17 · 02-20-2023, 01:47 PM

The final game of the 3 game series against the Charlotte Hornets saw 31024 Raiders fans at Raiders Field

SP Matt Evans

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
3B Mark Sofka
LF Mark Tice
RF Alex Robinson
1B Manny Jaime
DH Hugo Arias
2B Tony Patton
C Scott Ha

Matt Evans got his second start of the year but things did not go well at the beginning. The top of the 1st saw Phil Baird score for the Hornets after he doubles and then moved round the bases on a walk and a reached on error.

The Hornets doubled their lead in the second after singles and mistakes in the Raiders outfield saw Jordan Guistiniani score.

The bottom of the 3rd saw the Raiders bats get back into the game as Willie Fontanez singled and then raced for home on a Mark Sofka triple. Sofka then scored after a Mark Tice single.

San Jose had to wait until the bottom of the 8th to break the stalemate. Enrique Huerta got a walk before Mark Sofka hit his second triple of the game to bring him home. Sofka then scored after Mark Tice reached on an error. Alex Robinson made base on a fielders choice and then scored after a single by Manny Jaime and a Tony Patton double.

Seth Fiebelkorn then pitched the top of the 9th for save number 3 to give the Raiders their 3rd win of the year.

amead17 · 02-21-2023, 02:15 PM

After 2 tough home series the San Jose Raiders moved onto the road as they took a long overnight trip to Indiana to face the 1-5 Indianapolis Ironmen in a 3 game series.

SP Ron McDonald

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
3B Mark Sofka
LF Mark Tice
RF Alex Robinson
DH Min-Kyu Yoo
1B Hugo Arias
2B Tony Patton
C Scott Ha

Manager Mike Moore made a change to the line up for this game. He bought Min-Kyu Yoo in as the designated hitter and moved Hugo Arias to first base. This meant that Manny Jaime dropped to the bench.

The game turned into something the San Jose Raiders could do without as it remained scoreless through the first 10 innings.

It took until the 11th for either team to get onto the board and it was the Raiders that finally cracked it. Hugo Arias picked up a single before a single by Willie Fontanez and then a failed pick off attempt of Fontanez with a throwing error by the pitcher saw Arias scamper home to score the first run. Enrique Huerta then hit a single to bring Fontanez home from second base.

This put the raiser 2-0 up and they immediately bought in set up man Jerome Montoya who pitched a solid bottom of the 11th to pick up the save and take the Raiders to 4-3 for the year.

amead17 · 02-21-2023, 02:16 PM

The Raiders faced the second game of their road trip in Indianapolis against the Ironmen with a fairly tired squad. This prompted the manager to make further changes to the line up.

Catcher Scott Ha was replaced with George Tizzard and Min-Kyu Yoo was dropped in favour of Cole Pascoe. Hugo Arias remained at first base in place of Manny Jaime.

SP Efrain Ramirez

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
3B Mark Sofka
LF Mark Tice
RF Alex Robinson
DH Cole Pascoe
1B Hugo Arias
2B Tony Patton
C George Tizzard

The Raiders and Ironmen fought a close run affair in game 2 as they tried to get another win.

The Raiders took the lead in the top of the 5th as singles by Hugo Arias and Tony Patton put men on base. Hugo then moved to third when Willie Fontanez hit into a fielders choice that saw Patton out and Fontanez make first. The Indianapolis pitcher, Brandon Harris, then threw a wild pitch at Enrique Huerta that went by the catcher allowing Arias to scamper home for the first run.

The Raiders doubled their lead in the second as as Mark Sofka scored. He hit a single then moved to second base on a walk of Mark Tice. Sofka then stole third on a ball to Alex Robinson allowing Tice to second. Cole Pascoe then hit a long flyout to deep right that allowed Sofka to tag up and then run for home beating the throw from right field.

The top of the 7th saw the Raiders add another run to their lead as Tony Patton scored. He singled to get on based then made second and then took a cheeky third on a Willie Fontanez single. An Enrique Huerta single then saw him scamper home.

The bottom of the 8th saw the Raiders bullpen give up the runs that would make the game close. Steve gardener of the Ironmen scored after making base on a single and then coming home after another single by Jon Cox and an error in the outfield by the Raiders on a Roberto Garcia single. Jon Cox then made it a 1 run game as he scored on a Johnny Sauceda ground out.

The Bottom of the 9th saw the Raiders send in closer Seth Fiebelkorn who mopped up the game with 3 easy outs to give the Raiders a 3-2 win and giving himself save number 4 of the year.

The Raiders moved to 5-3 on the year.

amead17 · 02-21-2023, 02:16 PM

With fatigue still affecting the San Jose Raiders team the manager Mike Moore again made changes to the line up for the final game of the trip to Indianapolis.

Mark Sofka was rested along with bringing both Scott Ha and Min-Kyu Yoo back in replacing George Tizzard and Tony Patton.

SP Chris Willis

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
1B Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
DH Min-Kyu Yoo
C Scott Ha
2B Cole Pascoe
3B Modesto Souza

The Indianapolis Ironmen took an early lead in the game as a solo home run from Johnny Sauceda put them on the board in the bottom of the 2nd.

They doubled their lead in the bottom of the 4th as another solo home run, this one from Joe Tworkowski, made the score 2-0.

The Raiders got 1 back in the top of the 5th as Min-Kyu Yoo hit his own solo home run effort over the fence.

The Ironmen did not allow the Raiders to stay close for long as the bottom of the 5th saw them get 2 more runs. Salvador Carrillo hit a single then came home from a Jon Cox double beating the throw from left field. Cox then scored after singles from Matthew Rohling and Johnny Sauceda. This made the score 4-1 to Indianapolis

The Raiders cut the deficit to 2 when Enrique Huerta crossed home plate thanks to some poor pitching in the 6th. He hit a single and then moved round the bases as both Alex Robinson and Hugo Arias were walked. Huerta came home when Mark Tice put up a flyout and he tagged 3rd to then run home beating the throw from Centre Field.

The top of the 7th saw the Raiders come right back into the game and take the lead as they added 4 runs to the board. Cole Pascoe singled then Modesto Souza walked. This caused a pitching change by the Ironmen. Willie Fontanez then singled before a triple by Enrique Huerta saw Pascoe, Souza and Fontanez come home. Huerta then came home himself after Alex Robinson offered up another flyout to centre field with exactly the same results as last time. The raiders lead 6-4 at this point

The bottom of the 8th proved the pivotal point in the game as the Indianapolis Ironmen made use of the Raiders bullpen to take back the lead. Salvador Carrillo walked and Jon Cox hit a double to get in scoring position. The Raiders bought in Jonathan Laughlin to the mound and his first pitch was hit over the fence for a 3 run homer as Roberto Garcia smashed it over the left centre fence.

This put the Ironmen up by 7 runs to 6 and this is how it stayed as the Ironmen took the win and the Raiders dropped a game to move to 5-4 for the year.

amead17 · 02-21-2023, 02:17 PM

After 9 games in 9 days the San Jose Raiders got a well earned day off today as they travelled to Denver ready to face division rivals the Mustangs in a 3 game road series.

amead17 · 02-22-2023, 01:43 PM

After a rest day that consisted of travelling to Denver the San Jose Raiders were fresh ready to face the Mustangs.

Manager Mike Moore went back to what he thought was his strongest line up which meant Mark Sofka and Tony Patton returning.

SP Bobby Montes

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
1B Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
DH Min-Kyu Yoo
2B Tony Patton

The San Jose Raiders got off to a fast start as Willie Fontanez lead off with a solo home run in the top of the 1st.

The Raiders then added 2 more in the top of the 3rd. Fontanez got a walk and then Enrique Huerta smacked one over the fence for a 2 run homer.

The Denver Mustangs clawed 2 back in the bottom of the 3rd as they had Edwin Reyes and Firmino Bonita both score thanks to some solid single hitting.

The Bottom of the 4th saw the Denver Mustangs take the lead. Firstly Bobby Montes gave up a run to Jose Villanueva after he singled and Edwin Reyes doubled. Moore was then pulled and in place of him came Jonathan Laughlin. Laughlin proceeded to give up a 2 run homer to Alex Licata that put the Mustangs up by 5 runs to 3.

The Mustangs then managed to close the game out and take the win 5-3.

This dropped the Raiders back to .500 at 5-5 for the year.

amead17 · 02-22-2023, 01:44 PM

Mike Moore went with the same line up for the second game in Denver as they faced the Mustangs again.

SP Matt Evans

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
1B Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
DH Min-Kyu Yoo
2B Tony Patton

The game turned out to be one of attrition for both batting line ups as the pitching and fielding of both sides came to the fore.

The scoreless game was not broken until the 9th inning where the San Jose Raiders managed to scratch out a run against the excellent pitching of Mustangs starter Shi-Fa Yang. Willie Fontanez lead the 9th inning off with a double. This was followed by a single from Enrique Huerta that allowed Fontanez sprint for home to make the score 1-0 to the Raiders.

The Raiders were quick to go to Seth Fiebelkorn for the bottom of the 9th and he duly delivered save number 5 of the year to give the Raiders the win.

The Raiders got back above .500 with the win to go to 6-5 for the year.

amead17 · 02-22-2023, 01:44 PM

For the 3rd game in a row Mike Moore went with the same line up to try and take the series over the Mustangs

SP Ron McDonald

CF Willie Fontanez
SS Enrique Huerta
RF Alex Robinson
3B Mark Sofka
1B Hugo Arias
LF Mark Tice
C Scott Ha
DH Min-Kyu Yoo
2B Tony Patton

The first 5 innings remained scoreless as the Denver fans thought they were going to see another tight game play out.

Inning 6 finally saw the tie broken as the Mustangs put themselves up in the game. Jose Villanueva hit a double to make base and Alex Licata was then intentionally walked. This bought Ruben Martinez to the plate and he took the count to 1-2 before putting a long ball over the fence for a 3 run home run to give the Mustangs the lead.

The Raiders finally got on track in the top of the 8th Tony Patton hit a single then moved to second on a wild pitch to Willie Fontanez. Fontanez then hit a grounder that was fumbled by the short stop. This put him on second and bought Tony Patton home to score. Enrique Huerta then came in and struck a single that saw Fontanez move round to third and then sprint for home beating the throw from centre field. This made the score 3-2 in the Mustangs favour.

The Mustangs then closed up shop from the mound to finish the game out with a 3-2 victory.

The Raiders fell back to 6-6 for the year.

02-19-2023, 03:46 AM	#1
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	San Jose Raiders from the beginning I am going to run a league where I follow a team through its history day by day giving write ups when anything happens to that team. Hopefully it will be fun to get to know the team and its staff and players as they grow. I will not be managing the team but just following along for the ride.

02-19-2023, 03:47 AM	#2
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	January 1st 2022 Meeting the team part 1 The Front Office The Professional Baseball League is a new league that has been formed with 32 franchises split into 2 conferences of 4 divisions each with 4 teams. We here in San Jose got the news that the city had been awarded one of the last franchises to be given out. The new owner of the San Jose Raiders, as the team has been called, is 53 year old Brad Walker. Mr Walker hails from the San Jose area and is looking to take the team as far as he can even though it is in one of the smaller markets in the league. Mr Walker was busy early on fleshing out the front office staff before the inaugural draft took place but struggled to find experienced staff to take the team forward. Front Office The new GM is 40 year old Bryan Grant. Grant has 7 years of sports franchise management experience and has a controlling attitude to his management style. The new head coach of the San Jose Raiders is 34 year old Mike Moore. Moore has absolutely no baseball management experience. He will have to lean heavily on his coaching staff in his first few months to get up to speed and produce a winning team. His coaching staff consists of the following Bench Coach Danny Brewer who has 21 years experience and has an average reputation in the game. Pitching Coach Justin Cook who has 12 years experience and has a fair reputation in baseball coaching circles. The Hitting Coach could be a worry as Tabrik Elcibery is in this job with no experience at all. 1B coach Matt Langlais is another that has no experience of coaching in baseball. 3B coach Sam Kesler has 9 years experience but has not made much of a name for himself yet. The team trainer is Ignacio Estrada who is in his first job in baseball after spending a few years at a teaching hospital. Last edited by amead17; 02-19-2023 at 03:50 AM.

02-19-2023, 03:50 AM	#3
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	January 1st 2022 Meeting the team part 2 Pitching In the inaugural draft GM Bryan Grant and his staff were forced to go for a younger set of talent due to the fact that the draft budget was on the lower side of the scale. This meant that some of their picks were not what would be called championship winning calibre talent. On the pitching front there were 2 strong selections followed by 3 questionable ones which has left the rotation a little thin. Ron McDonald was selected in the 3rd round of the draft. He has a velocity that can range from 96-98 mph but he is more used to throwing curves, change ups and cutters than the out and out fast ball. The 4th round of the draft saw Matt Evans selected Matt is your quintessential speed merchant with a fast ball that touches 100mph when needed. He also has a decent sinker and slider to back that up as he fills a spot at the top end of the rotation. Chris Willis is being slated at 3rd in the rotation after being selected in round 17 of the draft. He is not the fastest of pitchers at only 90-92 mph and will rely on his repertoire of sinker, cutter and change up to go along with his fast ball to get people out. Mexican Efrain Ramirez looks like he will be slotting into the 4th position on the rotation after being drafted in round 18. He has a solid speed at 92-94mph. Along with his fast ball he will be using his sinker, cutter and change up to get the opposing batters to strike out. The back end of the rotation sees Bobby Montes looking to stake his claim. He was drafted in round 27 and has strong speed at 95-97mph. He has a solid fastball that is backed up by a cutter and a change up. The bull pen also looks a little weak after the draft as youth was again selected over experience. Closer Seth Fiebelkorn looks like the pick of the bunch as he teams a 100mph fastball with a wicked slider that will hopefully pick up quite few saves. Juan Flores will hopefully be able to set up those saves as he uses his 98mph sinker and slider to good effect on tiring batters. One interesting selection by Bryan Grant and the front office was to take 19 year old John Johnston in round 9 of the draft. He was listed as a starting pitcher but is currently slated to start in the bullpen. His is a very raw talent that is projected to have a 4 pitch repertoire that could make him a high end starter later in his career if he develops as the team hope.

02-19-2023, 03:52 AM	#4
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	January 1st 2022 Meeting the Team part 3 Hitting Where the draft was thin on talent in the pitching department the hitting department was a different matter. The teams 1st selection in the draft was third baseman Mark Sofka. Sofka at 25 years of age is expected to be the teams main man for the next few years as he has strong contact ability along with the skills to hit the long ball as well. Venezuelan short stop Enrique Huerta is expected to team with Sofka nicely as they bring the middle of the order together around them. Huerta has lots of speed as well as a strong bat and the ability to hit the long ball. Centre Fielder Willie Fontanez is expected to be the teams lead off hitter as he comes into the team with speed to burn and the ability to steal a base in his sleep. The team is leant some experience in the batting line up by Manny Huerta. Huerta, the brother of Enrique, gives the team 10 years of professional baseball experience as well as bringing that family feel to the team for its first year. He is currently slated to be the designated hitter but will also fill in at second base. 25 year old Right Fielder Alex Robinson rounds out the top 5 in the order with his solid hitting and long ball ability. 30 year old Hugo Arias from the Domincan Republic looks like a solid first baseman that could give the team some much needed depth in both batting and long ball production. 28 year old Left Fielder Mark Tice is another that has solid ability at the plate to help give the batting line up solidity. 27 year old catcher Scott Ha was selected as much on his catching ability as his hitting ability and will figure to be at the bottom end of the batting line up. 25 year old Second Baseman Tony Patton will start the year in the San Jose line up but there are already rumblings coming from the owners office that the team is looking to upgrade at this position if they can. There is not much depth or potential behind the main line up and the team will need to look for prospects in trades and the draft if they want to build a strong batting farm system.

02-19-2023, 03:54 AM	#5
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	January 5th 2022 San Jose raiders second baseman Tony Patton found himself in hot water yesterday, literally, after scalding his right arm at home. He accidentally knocked over a pot of water he was boiling onto his arm and caused himself some painful burns. Patton shouldn’t miss any pre season work because of this with the healing time listed as only a week.

02-19-2023, 03:54 AM	#6
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 3rd 2022 Today the San Jose Raiders made an attempt to try and improve their future prospects right on the eve of the season starting. They traded experienced second baseman Manny Huerta to the Raleigh Beavers in exchange for right field prospect 20 year old Willie Calderon. This means we will not be getting to see the Huerta brother together in the Raiders line up. The team has updated its depth chart which sees Hugo Arias move to the designated hitter spot and Mexican Manny Jaime move into the first baseman slot. Jaime is a solid hitter who can get a few hits in the middle to lower order of the line up. What this does do is remove the problem of having to try and find somewhere in the region of $15,000,000 to pay Manny Huerta at the end of the season as a free agent.

02-19-2023, 03:56 AM	#7
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 4th 2022 Opening day has arrived and the fans of the San Jose Raiders are extremely excited to see where their team can go. The team itself does not have a game on opening day with their first game scheduled for tomorrow but the fans have been poring over the preseason predictions to try and see how the team will fair. The main predictions from the OSA sees the San Jose Raiders predicted to be the best team in baseball. They are expected to pick up 94 wins this season and top the Pacific Division of the Wolf Conference.

02-20-2023, 02:08 AM	#8
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 5th 2022 The San Jose Raiders first game in the new Professional Baseball League was at home against the Milwaukee Bucks at Raiders Field in front of a capacity crowd of 48308 fans. The starting line up for the Raiders was as follows SP Matt Evans CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka DH Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha 1B Manny Jaime 2B Tony Patton The game started badly for the Raiders as Matt Evans gave up a home run to Jose Huitron in the top of the first to give the Bucks the lead. The top of the 3rd saw the Bucks double their lead as a couple of singles saw Kevin Fenderson score. The bottom of the 3rd saw the Raiders finally get on the board as a double from Manny Jaime and a single from Willie Fontanez saw Jaime score. That was the end of the scoring as the Raiders went down 2-1 in the home opener to start the year with a loss.

02-20-2023, 02:10 AM	#9
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 6th 2022 The Raiders were in action again against the Milwaukee Bucks as they continued their 3 game home series against them. Raiders field saw only 25689 fans turn up as the Raiders tried to bounce back from the opening day defeat. Raiders starting line up SP Ron McDonald CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka DH Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha 1B Manny Jaime 2B Tony Patton In contrast to the opening day the Raiders came into this game firing on all cylinders. The bottom of the first saw them score 3 runs. Willie Fontanez hit a lead off triple before coming home on a fly out from Enrique Huerta. Alex Robinson, Mark Sofka and Hugo Arias all then made base either by hitting a single or being given a walk to load the bases. After a Mark Tice strike out Scott Ha then came to the plate and struck a solid single to left field that saw both Alex Robinson and Mark Sofka home. The Milwaukee Bucks came bouncing back in the top of the 3rd as Ron McDonald gave up a 2 run homer to Jose Huitron. The Raiders then managed to keep the rest of the game clean as they went on to win 3-2. Ron McDonald was player of the game for the win and Seth Fiebelkorn picked up save number 1 for the year. The San Jose Raiders are now 1-1 for the year.

02-20-2023, 02:12 AM	#10
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 7th 2022 The Raiders played their final game in the 3 game home series against the Milwaukee Bucks today. They had 26122 fans come into Raiders Field to watch the game. Raiders starting line up SP Efrain Ramirez CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka DH Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha 1B Manny Jaime 2B Tony Patton The 3rd game of the series did not go well for the Raiders as they fell to 1-2 on the year. The Bucks took an early 3-0 lead in the top of the 2nd after Jon Rangel, Pablo Vazguez and Gabe Young all scored from solid single and double hitting by the Bucks. The Raiders managed to get 1 back in the bottom of the 4th as a double from Alex Robinson and a single from Hugo Arias bought Robinson home. The Raiders then threw the game away in the top of the 7th as they fell apart to give the Bucks 4 runs. Gabe Young and Kevin Fenderson both got doubles to score Young. Another double, this time by Nick Evans then proceeded to score Fenderson and Cory Reed after they were put in position by a Tony Cobos walk. Tony Cobos then came home on a single from Mario Gomez. The Raiders got a second run in the bottom of the 9th but the game was over before then. Mark Tice scored as both he and Scott Ha picked up doubles. The Raiders lost the game 7-2. Next up the Raiders are at home to the 2-1 Charlotte Hornets.

02-20-2023, 01:46 PM	#11
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 8th 2022 Today saw the San Jose Raiders at home to the Charlotte Hornets in front of a 25466 fans at Raiders Field. Raiders starting line up SP Chris Willis CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta 3B Mark Sofka LF Mark Tice RF Alex Robinson 1B Manny Jaime DH Hugo Arias 2B Tony Patton C Scott Ha After a slow start the Raiders to the lead in the bottom of the 4th thanks to Willie Fontanez and his base stealing ability. Fontanez singled to first then stole second and moved to third on a Mark Sofka single. He then came home thanks to a fielders choice out from Mark Tice. Chris Willis started to struggle on the mound in the 5th as he gave up 2 runs to the Hornets. Chris Myers and Leandro Demasco both made base after hitting a single and a double before a double from Jordan Guistiniani bought them both home. The Raiders tied the game at 2 apiece in the bottom of the 5th with a Tony Patton triple and Scott Ha single. A home run by the Hornets Dana Morris first batter up in the top of the 6th saw Willis pulled and the Raiders go to their bullpen. This didn’t help as they gave up a second run after Jason Franklin walked and then flowed round the bases on a Balk, a single and a ground out. This put the Hornets 4-2 ahead. Mark Sofka hit a triple in the bottom of the 6th and then came home after a throwing error by the Hornets after an Alex Robinson flyout to cut the Hornets lead back to 1. The Raiders then fashioned a loss in the top of the 9th as the relief pitching gave up 2 more runs to the Hornets on a 2 run homer hit by Pablo Medel. The Raiders lost the game 6-3 to fall to 3-1 over the year so far.

02-20-2023, 01:46 PM	#12
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 9th 2022 Game 2 of the 3 game series against the Charlotte Hornets saw the Raiders try and bounce back to winning ways. There were 29071 fans at Raiders Field for the game. Raiders starting line up SP Bobby Montes CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka DH Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha 1B Manny Jaime 2B Tony Patton The game turned out to be high scoring as both the bottom of the rotation pitchers struggled to contain things. The Raiders jumped out to an early lead after Enrique Huerta singled and then scored from a Alex Robinson single, beating the throw to home plate by a whisker. The Charlotte Hornets got back into the game in the top of the 3rd as a 2 run home run by Dana Morris saw them take the lead. The bottom of the third was a huge inning for the Raiders as they managed to score 4 runs. Enrique Huerta, Alex Robinson and Mark Sofka all made base to put pressure on the pitcher with a loaded diamond. Hugo Arias was next up and he got one he liked first ball up and smacked it over the fence for a Grand Slam homer. This forced the Hornets into a pitching change but the it didn’t matter as the Raiders were 5-2 up in the game. In the top of the 5th the Hornets cut into the Raiders 3 run lead as Jordan Guistiniani hit a solo home run to make the score 5-3 in the Raiders favour. The bottom of the 5th saw Mark Sofka lead off with his second walk of the day before Mark Tice smacked the ball over the fence for a 2 run homer. The raiders led 7-3 at this point. In the top of the 7th Bobby Montes gave up a double to Jordan Guistiniani who then scored after a James Nowinski single. The top of the 8th saw the Raiders go to their bullpen and Isaiah Kelly proceeded to give up 1 run after hitting Min-Chae Seol with a pitch and a double from Pablo Medel. Alex Robinson scored a solo home run in the bottom of the 8th to make the game 8-5 in the Raiders favour which they maintained to the end with Seth Fiebelkorn getting save number 2 of the year. This win moved the Raiders to 2-3 for the year.

02-20-2023, 01:47 PM	#13
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 10th 2022 The final game of the 3 game series against the Charlotte Hornets saw 31024 Raiders fans at Raiders Field SP Matt Evans CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta 3B Mark Sofka LF Mark Tice RF Alex Robinson 1B Manny Jaime DH Hugo Arias 2B Tony Patton C Scott Ha Matt Evans got his second start of the year but things did not go well at the beginning. The top of the 1st saw Phil Baird score for the Hornets after he doubles and then moved round the bases on a walk and a reached on error. The Hornets doubled their lead in the second after singles and mistakes in the Raiders outfield saw Jordan Guistiniani score. The bottom of the 3rd saw the Raiders bats get back into the game as Willie Fontanez singled and then raced for home on a Mark Sofka triple. Sofka then scored after a Mark Tice single. San Jose had to wait until the bottom of the 8th to break the stalemate. Enrique Huerta got a walk before Mark Sofka hit his second triple of the game to bring him home. Sofka then scored after Mark Tice reached on an error. Alex Robinson made base on a fielders choice and then scored after a single by Manny Jaime and a Tony Patton double. Seth Fiebelkorn then pitched the top of the 9th for save number 3 to give the Raiders their 3rd win of the year.

02-21-2023, 02:15 PM	#14
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 11th 2022 After 2 tough home series the San Jose Raiders moved onto the road as they took a long overnight trip to Indiana to face the 1-5 Indianapolis Ironmen in a 3 game series. SP Ron McDonald CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta 3B Mark Sofka LF Mark Tice RF Alex Robinson DH Min-Kyu Yoo 1B Hugo Arias 2B Tony Patton C Scott Ha Manager Mike Moore made a change to the line up for this game. He bought Min-Kyu Yoo in as the designated hitter and moved Hugo Arias to first base. This meant that Manny Jaime dropped to the bench. The game turned into something the San Jose Raiders could do without as it remained scoreless through the first 10 innings. It took until the 11th for either team to get onto the board and it was the Raiders that finally cracked it. Hugo Arias picked up a single before a single by Willie Fontanez and then a failed pick off attempt of Fontanez with a throwing error by the pitcher saw Arias scamper home to score the first run. Enrique Huerta then hit a single to bring Fontanez home from second base. This put the raiser 2-0 up and they immediately bought in set up man Jerome Montoya who pitched a solid bottom of the 11th to pick up the save and take the Raiders to 4-3 for the year.

02-21-2023, 02:16 PM	#15
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 12th 2022 The Raiders faced the second game of their road trip in Indianapolis against the Ironmen with a fairly tired squad. This prompted the manager to make further changes to the line up. Catcher Scott Ha was replaced with George Tizzard and Min-Kyu Yoo was dropped in favour of Cole Pascoe. Hugo Arias remained at first base in place of Manny Jaime. SP Efrain Ramirez CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta 3B Mark Sofka LF Mark Tice RF Alex Robinson DH Cole Pascoe 1B Hugo Arias 2B Tony Patton C George Tizzard The Raiders and Ironmen fought a close run affair in game 2 as they tried to get another win. The Raiders took the lead in the top of the 5th as singles by Hugo Arias and Tony Patton put men on base. Hugo then moved to third when Willie Fontanez hit into a fielders choice that saw Patton out and Fontanez make first. The Indianapolis pitcher, Brandon Harris, then threw a wild pitch at Enrique Huerta that went by the catcher allowing Arias to scamper home for the first run. The Raiders doubled their lead in the second as as Mark Sofka scored. He hit a single then moved to second base on a walk of Mark Tice. Sofka then stole third on a ball to Alex Robinson allowing Tice to second. Cole Pascoe then hit a long flyout to deep right that allowed Sofka to tag up and then run for home beating the throw from right field. The top of the 7th saw the Raiders add another run to their lead as Tony Patton scored. He singled to get on based then made second and then took a cheeky third on a Willie Fontanez single. An Enrique Huerta single then saw him scamper home. The bottom of the 8th saw the Raiders bullpen give up the runs that would make the game close. Steve gardener of the Ironmen scored after making base on a single and then coming home after another single by Jon Cox and an error in the outfield by the Raiders on a Roberto Garcia single. Jon Cox then made it a 1 run game as he scored on a Johnny Sauceda ground out. The Bottom of the 9th saw the Raiders send in closer Seth Fiebelkorn who mopped up the game with 3 easy outs to give the Raiders a 3-2 win and giving himself save number 4 of the year. The Raiders moved to 5-3 on the year.

02-21-2023, 02:16 PM	#16
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 13th 2022 With fatigue still affecting the San Jose Raiders team the manager Mike Moore again made changes to the line up for the final game of the trip to Indianapolis. Mark Sofka was rested along with bringing both Scott Ha and Min-Kyu Yoo back in replacing George Tizzard and Tony Patton. SP Chris Willis CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 1B Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice DH Min-Kyu Yoo C Scott Ha 2B Cole Pascoe 3B Modesto Souza The Indianapolis Ironmen took an early lead in the game as a solo home run from Johnny Sauceda put them on the board in the bottom of the 2nd. They doubled their lead in the bottom of the 4th as another solo home run, this one from Joe Tworkowski, made the score 2-0. The Raiders got 1 back in the top of the 5th as Min-Kyu Yoo hit his own solo home run effort over the fence. The Ironmen did not allow the Raiders to stay close for long as the bottom of the 5th saw them get 2 more runs. Salvador Carrillo hit a single then came home from a Jon Cox double beating the throw from left field. Cox then scored after singles from Matthew Rohling and Johnny Sauceda. This made the score 4-1 to Indianapolis The Raiders cut the deficit to 2 when Enrique Huerta crossed home plate thanks to some poor pitching in the 6th. He hit a single and then moved round the bases as both Alex Robinson and Hugo Arias were walked. Huerta came home when Mark Tice put up a flyout and he tagged 3rd to then run home beating the throw from Centre Field. The top of the 7th saw the Raiders come right back into the game and take the lead as they added 4 runs to the board. Cole Pascoe singled then Modesto Souza walked. This caused a pitching change by the Ironmen. Willie Fontanez then singled before a triple by Enrique Huerta saw Pascoe, Souza and Fontanez come home. Huerta then came home himself after Alex Robinson offered up another flyout to centre field with exactly the same results as last time. The raiders lead 6-4 at this point The bottom of the 8th proved the pivotal point in the game as the Indianapolis Ironmen made use of the Raiders bullpen to take back the lead. Salvador Carrillo walked and Jon Cox hit a double to get in scoring position. The Raiders bought in Jonathan Laughlin to the mound and his first pitch was hit over the fence for a 3 run homer as Roberto Garcia smashed it over the left centre fence. This put the Ironmen up by 7 runs to 6 and this is how it stayed as the Ironmen took the win and the Raiders dropped a game to move to 5-4 for the year.

02-21-2023, 02:17 PM	#17
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 14th 2022 After 9 games in 9 days the San Jose Raiders got a well earned day off today as they travelled to Denver ready to face division rivals the Mustangs in a 3 game road series.

02-22-2023, 01:43 PM	#18
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 15th 2022 After a rest day that consisted of travelling to Denver the San Jose Raiders were fresh ready to face the Mustangs. Manager Mike Moore went back to what he thought was his strongest line up which meant Mark Sofka and Tony Patton returning. SP Bobby Montes CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka 1B Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha DH Min-Kyu Yoo 2B Tony Patton The San Jose Raiders got off to a fast start as Willie Fontanez lead off with a solo home run in the top of the 1st. The Raiders then added 2 more in the top of the 3rd. Fontanez got a walk and then Enrique Huerta smacked one over the fence for a 2 run homer. The Denver Mustangs clawed 2 back in the bottom of the 3rd as they had Edwin Reyes and Firmino Bonita both score thanks to some solid single hitting. The Bottom of the 4th saw the Denver Mustangs take the lead. Firstly Bobby Montes gave up a run to Jose Villanueva after he singled and Edwin Reyes doubled. Moore was then pulled and in place of him came Jonathan Laughlin. Laughlin proceeded to give up a 2 run homer to Alex Licata that put the Mustangs up by 5 runs to 3. The Mustangs then managed to close the game out and take the win 5-3. This dropped the Raiders back to .500 at 5-5 for the year.

02-22-2023, 01:44 PM	#19
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 16th 2022 Mike Moore went with the same line up for the second game in Denver as they faced the Mustangs again. SP Matt Evans CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka 1B Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha DH Min-Kyu Yoo 2B Tony Patton The game turned out to be one of attrition for both batting line ups as the pitching and fielding of both sides came to the fore. The scoreless game was not broken until the 9th inning where the San Jose Raiders managed to scratch out a run against the excellent pitching of Mustangs starter Shi-Fa Yang. Willie Fontanez lead the 9th inning off with a double. This was followed by a single from Enrique Huerta that allowed Fontanez sprint for home to make the score 1-0 to the Raiders. The Raiders were quick to go to Seth Fiebelkorn for the bottom of the 9th and he duly delivered save number 5 of the year to give the Raiders the win. The Raiders got back above .500 with the win to go to 6-5 for the year.

02-22-2023, 01:44 PM	#20
amead17 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 8,854	April 17th 2022 For the 3rd game in a row Mike Moore went with the same line up to try and take the series over the Mustangs SP Ron McDonald CF Willie Fontanez SS Enrique Huerta RF Alex Robinson 3B Mark Sofka 1B Hugo Arias LF Mark Tice C Scott Ha DH Min-Kyu Yoo 2B Tony Patton The first 5 innings remained scoreless as the Denver fans thought they were going to see another tight game play out. Inning 6 finally saw the tie broken as the Mustangs put themselves up in the game. Jose Villanueva hit a double to make base and Alex Licata was then intentionally walked. This bought Ruben Martinez to the plate and he took the count to 1-2 before putting a long ball over the fence for a 3 run home run to give the Mustangs the lead. The Raiders finally got on track in the top of the 8th Tony Patton hit a single then moved to second on a wild pitch to Willie Fontanez. Fontanez then hit a grounder that was fumbled by the short stop. This put him on second and bought Tony Patton home to score. Enrique Huerta then came in and struck a single that saw Fontanez move round to third and then sprint for home beating the throw from centre field. This made the score 3-2 in the Mustangs favour. The Mustangs then closed up shop from the mound to finish the game out with a 3-2 victory. The Raiders fell back to 6-6 for the year.