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2025 5/5/25: Old dogs and new tricks. The 50th season of Fossil softball is full of change with a new league, 11 new opponents, two new game locations and, for the first time in half a century, a new night - Monday. Can the old guys adapt? First up for the Fossils was King of Grace Lutheran which, in a fitting twist of fate, just happened to be the team the Fossils beat for their first ever win on 5/27/76. The old men got out of the gate quickly, using six hits to drive in three in the top of the first. KoG responded with two of their own in the bottom half of the inning, setting the stage for a tight game. Gabe Gartner's monster homerun to deep center opened the scoring in the third, but each team got two and it remained a one run game. In the fourth, the youngsters finally inched ahead to take a 6-5 lead, but the codgers grabbed it back in the top of the sixth, piling on Jake Erickson's leadoff triple to score four runs. KoG's response in the bottom of the sixth was cut short when Tom Madsen gunned down a greedy baserunner at the plate to end the inning, and the geezers held on to win 9-7. The elderly offense was explosive for an opening night, led by Jake Erickson with a double and two triples and Rich Benson with 3 RBI. The bats were also beguiled by the KoG pitcher's ability to keep low pitches airborne just long enough to cross the plate, resulting in five strikeouts, three of which were called. The maroon defense looked solid, committing only one error but gave up five of the seven runs with two outs. With the victory, the Fossils are 1-0 on the season with Grace Green up next on 5/12. Box Score 5/12/25: Missed opportunities. After opening the season with a win, the Fossils found themselves in survival mode in week two with pitcher Jim Monner and shortstop Jake Erickson both unavailable. Tim Sass said he'd give it a go on the mound and ended up throwing a very solid game to make it a normal night for the codgers. The youthful visitors went in order in the top of the first without the ball even touching the ground, and the old men got to work with the bats, getting six hits from the first seven batters, including a two run honer from Zach Gartner and an inside-the-park grand slam from Chris Stewart to jump out to a 6 run lead. After holding the kids scoreless once again, the geezers loaded the bases and ran out of steam to leave them loaded in the bottom of the second. After a scoreless top of the third, the codgers pushed a couple across but left the bases loaded once again. In the top of the fourth, the visitors finally pushed a run across on a sac fly to get on the board, and the Fossils had no answer, leaving the game at 8-1. Then, in the fifth, everything went wrong for the maroon defense, as the youngsters piled up four hits, an error and three consecutive walks to pull the game even at 8. Flustered, the old men had no answer. When Grace added two to take the lead in the sixth, they were answered by the bottom of the Fossil order, turning two walks and two hits into two runs to tie it up. Both teams managed to put a runner on base in the seventh, but neither could bring him around and the game ended tied at 10. The elderly offense had what looked like a dominant start, but just couldn't get the timely hits as the game progressed to score any of the twelve runners left on base. The maroon defense looked sharp early, but as the sun got low the throws to first vanished into it, breaking up several normally routine plays. For the second game in a row, the old men got off to a fast start and looked to be on the way to an easy win, only to slip out of gear and lose momentum as the game went on. With the tie, the Fossils move to 1-0-1 on the season with Grace Red up next in a late game on May 19th. Box Score 5/19/25: Rained Out. 6/2/25: Rained Out. 6/9/25: Not perfect enough. After waiting four long weeks since their last game due to bad weather and the holiday, the Fossils finally got back onto the field for their third game of the season against Grove Church. The old men looked sharp early, and it took the visiting youngsters three innings to cycle through their order the first time, scoring just one run. The Fossils, meanwhile, were already halfway into their second trip through the order and had five runs, including homeruns by Gabe and Zach Gartner. Then, in the top of the fourth, Grove put together six hits and a Fossil error to complete a second trip through their order and score five more, taking a 6-5 lead. The codgers briefly retook the lead 8-7 in the bottom of the fifth, but the elderly offense was done for the night and the Grove offense was just hitting its stride on the way to a 13-8 final. Offensively, the old men were a tale of two batting orders, with the first five hitters in the lineup going 11-16, scoring five and driving in all eight runs while the remaining seven hitters went just 4-20. The rather sparse scoring was punctuated in the bottom of the third by Gabe Gartner chasing Ted Rausch around the bases and realizing when he got within ten feet of home plate (and seven feet of Ted) that there was a rather close play on Ted right in front of him. Fortunately the throw pulled the Grove catcher a couple of steps off the plate and with all his focus on Ted he didn't notice Gabe paused in the baseline several feet behind him. After half a second that lasted forever, Gabe moved first and won the race to the plate. Two batters later, Zach Gartner decided to avoid the possibility of being waved around into a close play by the aggressive third base coach (his father) and hit a towering blast over the fence in left center. The maroon defense started out very solid, but then let a couple of errors and a couple more misplays sneak in just as the Grove bats were heating up, putting the old men in a hole they just couldn't get out of. The codgers needed either a flawless defensive game or a lot more offense to beat the youngsters and could muster neither. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-1-1 on the season with longtime rival First Lutheran/Elim up next on June 16th. Box Score 6/16/25: Rained Out. 6/23/25: Close on paper. After another week off due to rain, the Fossils got back on the field for only their fourth game of the season against Edinbrook Church. For the first time in quite a while, it was a perfect night for softball. The old men threatened but didn't score in the top of the first, and then immediately found themselves on their heels in the bottom of the first as the youngsters from Edinbrook piled together three hits, an error and three walks, including a liner off of Fossil hurler Jim Monner's leg. For all the carnage, however, the old men got off the field just four runs down. The barrage had awakened the codgers, and in the top of the second they sent eleven batters to the plate and scored six, including two on a clutch two out single from Ted Rausch, to jump into the lead. They clung to the slim lead until the bottom of the fourth, when a pile of hits and a series of mishaps turned a long inning into six runs for Edinbrook, and they pulled back ahead 10-6. The fogeys scratched together two runs on a clutch double by Jake Erickson in the top of the fifth to cut the margin in half, but the youngsters opened up for four more in the bottom of the fifth to put the game out of reach. The Fossils scored two more in the top of the sixth, as time expired, but went down in defeat 14-10. While it felt like Edinbrook had dominated offensively, both teams actually had the same number of hits and walks and the Fossils had more extra base hits. The difference came in the timing of the hits and the three additional errors committed by the maroon defense that kept two big innings alive. Zach Gartner led the way offensively, going 3-3 with a double and a triple. He also had a good night on the basepaths, taking an extra base when the defense left it unmanned and tagging up and scoring on a diving catch of a liner over second by the Edinbrooke shortstop. Defensively, the old men just couldn't make the play to get themselves off the field, with a couple of tough bounces in the infield and challenges with a blinding sun in right field. Everything defensively just seemed easier for Edinbrook, whose use of a short fielder completely erased the Fossils' bloop hit game. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-2-1 on the season with Nativity Grey up next on June 30th. Box Score 6/30/25: Something old and something new. For the first time since early May, the weather cooperated and allowed the Fossils to play two weeks in a row, pitting them against Nativity Grey. Fossil legend Gary Glass made his first appearance of the season in the elderly lineup, and after years of anticipation Steve Derner got his first chance to play alongside his grandson as Danny Franklin played his first game as a Fossil. Set against the additions, three of the first four hitters in the usual Fossil lineup were on vacation, so the old men had to switch gears and play some small ball. Nativity, the visitors, got a quick run in the first, but the Fossils immediately opened up on them, sending ten to the plate in the bottom of the first and scoring five. The old men added three more in the second, and things were going well until a nightmare of a third inning allowed Nativity to get back into the game. The game remained tight and was tied after five and after six until the maroon defense folded like a cheap suit in the top of the seventh, giving up six runs and ultimately falling 16-10. As has happened time and again this year, the maroon offense got off to a good start and then all but shut down, scoring just two runs in the last five innings. The Fossils outhit Nativity, but couldn't string the hits together. The elderly defense had a decent start but had two catastrophic innings where they committed a total of six errors and gave the visitors too many extra outs. The first defensive highlight of the game was provided by Danny Franklin in the first inning, when he slid in a puddle in right field but managed to haul in a fly ball on his way to the ground and hold on for the out. Another great catch was made in left by Tim Sass, coming in on a short fly ball, and Jake Erickson made a great diving stop at short and threw to second for a force. Despite the great plays, the six errors committed by the codgers made it too easy for Nativity to stack up big innings that the old men just couldn't match. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-3-1 at the midpoint of the season, with leage-leading Redeemer Lutheran up next on 7/7. Box Score 7/7/25: Done before it rained. With the weather threatening once more, the Fossils tried to break their three game losing streak against one of the hottest teams in the league, Redeemer Lutheran. For the first three and a half innings, the game was very tight. The maroon defense looked flawless, having surrendered only one run, and the offense was getting runners on but just couldn't get the last hit needed to bring them in. In each of the first four innings, the codgers stranded two runners, and down only one run they looked to be on the edge of breaking through. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, the youngsters from Redeemer started dropping bloop singles into short right center. They opened the inning with seven singles in a row, scoring five to take a 6-0 lead before the old men could shut them down. After going quietly in the top of the fifth, the Fossils were hoping to post another scoreless inning on defense to keep things from getting out of hand. What they got instead was hitter after hitter crushing the ball and ten men reaching safely before the first out was recorded. The next batter singled in the ninth run of the inning, taking the score to 15-0 and mercifully triggering the run rule to end the game. For the first time in a long time, the game ended before the old men could get fully through the order twice. The shutout loss was the first for the Fossils since 2018 and just their second in 22 years. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-4-1 on the season with a double header up next on 7/14. Box Score 7/14/25: Should have given us the shade. After more than two months without a win, the Fossils were looking for inspiration against the Church of St. Paul Saints in the first of two games on a hot, sunny evening. Fortunately, they didn't need to wait long. As they were settling into the shaded dugout on the third base line, the Saints' manager appeared and insisted that the old men move to the other dugout. As they gathered up their stuff and moved out into the sun, the irritated codgers decided that the appropriate response was a thorough thrashing of the younger team, and they set out to make it happen. When the visiting youngsters threatened in the top of the first, the old men slammed the door with an inning-ending double play. When the Saints' outfield crept in on Jake Erickson in the bottom of the first, he immediately made them pay, crushing a ball over the left fielder's head for the first of three times in the game for a standup triple. Up 2-0 in the third, the Fossils put together a two out rally to score four more and open the game up. Inexplicably, despite constant repositioning of his players by the Saints' manager, neither the manager nor the left fielder seemed to remember Jake, who went over the top again to drive in the first two runs of the inning with another triple. Up 6-0 in the fifth, the old men brought the hammer down, using homeruns by Gabe Gartner and Jake (over the still-clueless left fielder) to double their lead to 12-0 and put the game away. In addition to Jake's huge 3-3, 4 RBI night, Rich Benson also went 3-3 hitting behind Jake and drove him in after both his triples. The maroon defense turned in an error free performance and somehow managed to make 15 of 18 putouts in the infield, while not allowing more than five batters in any inning. With the win, the Fossils improved to 2-4-1 on the season and had an hour to prepare for a nightcap against league-leading Grace Red. Box Score 7/14/25: Pushing the leaders. After taking out their frustrations against the overmatched Saints, the Fossils faced a far taller task against undefeated Grace Red. The old men threatened in the top of the first but couldn't score, then went in order in the second and third while Grace got out to a 4-0 lead. The top of the Fossil order started the inning strong again in the fourth, finally breaking through to put a run on the board but leaving more runners on. After three innings of relative frustration, Grace finally opened up on the codgers in the fourth, batting around and scoring six to take a commanding 10-1 lead. The old men went quietly in order again in the fifth and things looked grim, but a fabulous diving catch in left center by Chris Stewart followed by a great throw to first for a double play stopped Grace in their tracks and kept the lead at 10-1 after five. Finally, in the sixth, the bottom of the Fossils order sparked a rally that was then aided by three consecutive errors by the Grace shortstop and cut the lead to 10-5. Alas, the codgers couldn't get any closer, but managed to force the league leaders to play the full seven innings and work a little harder than they'd anticipated to remain undefeated. Offensively, Gabe Gartner and Greg Erickson led the way, each going 3-3, but the rest of the lineup could only muster five hits. Defensively, tremendous outfield play kept the Fossils in the game and kept Grace frustrated. A perfectly executed rundown by Ted Rausch was also a highlight, putting an end to a big fourth inning for Grace. The game had several contentious plays, starting with a brutal collision between Gabe Gartner and the Grace third baseman that the latter would no doubt be feeling in the morning. While the old men were never in the driver's seat, they were able to hang around and make enough plays to keep Grace within striking range and on edge throughout the game. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 2-5-1 with Cross of Christ up next on July 21st. Box Score 7/21/25: Patience and wisdom. On yet another soggy Monday night, the Fossils took the field against Cross of Christ. Mud puddles in foul territory up each baseline from home plate made for some interesting moments, but considering the tremendous amount of rain that had fallen earlier in the day the field was surprisingly playable. The visiting old men started slow in the first, falling into a 2-0 deficit in the first before they were really able to get their bats going. In the second, the codgers used three walks and three hits to score four and end the inning up 4-3. They gave the lead back in the fourth, after being peppered with sharp hits out of the reach of the infielders. As they did in the top of the second, the bottom half of the elderly order set the table once again in the top of the fourth and a single and a triple from the top of the order drove in another four to put the Fossils up 9-6. Finally tired of the back-and-forth, the old men sent 15 batters to the plate in the fifth and scored ten runs to break the game open. They were aided by four more walks by Cross of Christ, part of ten coaxed by patient Fossil hitters in the game. The youngsters tried to rally back, but their perfect hit placement of the earlier game was gone and the elderly infield finished them off for a 19-10 victory. Nineteen runs was the most scored by either team in a Fossil game so far this season, and all eleven hitters in the order scored at least once. Defensively, the codgers avoided errors and made smart throws to minimize extra bases for their younger opponent. As a result, they kept a game that was largely played in the outfield from getting out of hand. Offensively, the lower half of the order did a lot of table-setting, giving Gabe Gartner the opportunity to drive in six runs and Tim Sass and Jake Erickson (right behind him at the top of the order) to drive in two each. Most importantly, there were no comical (but painful) falls in the mud. With the win, the Fossils improve to 3-5-1 on the season with only Holy Trinity Lutheran left on the regular season schedule. Box Score 7/28/25: There's no place like home. Menacing clouds and lightning in the distance greeted the Fossils and Holy Trinity as they took the field for the last game of the regular season. The visiting youngsters got on the board first, with two in the top of the first, but were immediately matched by the old men. After a scoreless second, the Fossils held Holy Trinity scoreless in the top of the third and then opened up a lead by scoring four in the bottom of the third, including three on a homerun by Jake Erickson. As the maroon defense took the field for the top of the fourth, the wind suddenly picked up and a very light sprinkle started to strengthen. Fossil hurler Jim Monner's pitches started being moved around, and a high fly ball hit to right center was suddenly blown way over the head of Ben Madsen, who was coming up to make the catch. Then things got really interesting. Pitches started being blown several feet off course, hats started being blown off heads and racing to the fence, papers from an upended trash can started flying by, and the rain began to start coming down in earnest. It quickly became obvious that the game could not be continued under the current conditions, and the umpire called it with one out in the top of the fourth, leaving the game two outs from becoming official. As the players went running for their cars and houses and livestock flew by, the 50th regular season of Fossil softball ended, somehow appropriately, with what felt like a cliffhanger. Had the old men been on the verge of routing the youngsters to take some momentum into the tournament, or were the youngsters just starting to rally back? Tune in on Friday, 8/1 and Saturday, 8/2 to see if the Fossils can find some of the old magic in the league tournament. **Update: The league director, after conferring with the umpire and with the gracious agreement of the Holy Trinity manager, has decided to count the game as final, bumping the Fossils' regular season record to 4-5-1. Fittingly, the rematch for this game will come immediately as the first round matchup in the league tournament on Friday, 8/1. Box Score 8/1/25: Out of sync. Four days after their first matchup dissolved into a mad dash for cover, The Fossils got a rematch with Holy Trinity in the first round of the League Tournament. Eager to pickup the momentum they had been gaining when mother nature took over in the first matchup, the old men jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second, the visiting youngsters tied the game in the top of the third. The codgers managed to load the bases in the bottom of the third, but couldn't score. After a scoreless fourth, Holy Trinity jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the top of the fifth, and the Fossils countered with three of their own but once again left the bases loaded. The youngsters added two more in the sixth, and once again the old men left the bases loaded, this time failing to score. By the bottom of the seventh, down 11-5, the codgers were done and went quietly in order to slide into the loser's bracket. Offensive highlights were provided by Greg Erickson, with the rare headfirst dive back into first, and Ben Madsen somehow managing to hold off on three consecutive pitches up around his eyes to earn a walk (with much applause from the bench). There were plenty of baserunners, but at critical moments Holy Trinity made great defensive plays and the Fossils couldn't bring the runners in. Conversely, the maroon defense struggled at critical moments and just couldn't get the big outs. Defensive highlights included a perfectly executed 3-1 putout to get off the field in the second inning and the extremely rare underhand throw from third to second on a fielder's choice. Entering the loser's brack, the Fossils play again on Saturday, 8/2, at 10:35. Box Score 8/2/25: Out with a fizzle. After struggling to score in their first round loss, a depleted Fossils squad looked to keep their season alive against Grove Church. The younger visitors struck first, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first. The old men countered with two, and then held Grove scoreless for the next two innings, but they also failed to score. In the fourth, Grove opened up the lead to 5-2. After five it was 6-3, after the codgers managed to find a way to push a run across. The maroon defense was playing a very solid game, holding the sharp-hitting youths to 7 runs in six innings, but then the lid came off in the seventh on the way to a 13-3 final. The offensive highlight for the old men was a triple by Chris Stewart that ultimately resulted in him being tagged out on a terrific diving play by the Grove catcher after trying to score on an overthrow. Defensively, Joe May made a terrific running catch on a popup near the line behind first and Ben Madsen made some plays and had a solid game in his maiden voyage at third base. After a year where they just couldn't push runs across, it was only fitting that the finale suffered the same fate. Thanks to all the players, fans and families who have made the first fifty seasons of Fossil softball special. May the next fifty be even better! Box Score 2024 5/2/24: What's old is new again. The 49th season of Fossil softball kicked off with a tectonic shift, as longtime Disciples hurler Jim Monner stepped in for a retiring Monte Bloom. After nearly a half century as the face of the franchise and not nearly long enough on the mound, Monte's eternal youth finally got the better of him, forcing an unplanned departure from the lineup. Another new face was that of Ben Madsen, making his Fossil debut behind the plate. After a little stretching and a lot of groaning, the visiting Fossils stepped up to the plate and opened the game with a bang by batting around and scoring seven runs, highlighted by a three run moonshot from Zach Gartner. After giving a couple runs back to GVLC/SOTG in the bottom of the first, the old men repeated their opening performance, turning the order over again and scoring seven more. In the third, they nearly batted around twice and tacked on another 14 runs, highlighted by an inside-the-park grand slam from Gabe Gartner, to blow the game wide open. However, in the midst of the offensive outburst, Zach suffered a nasty ankle injury and was lost for the game (and beyond). The lopsided contest sputtered on for two more innings, with the youthful home team dinking and dunking and chipping away at the huge lead, but time finally ran out on the 31-16 opening night rout. Zach led the way offensively, with a homerun and two doubles in three at-bats. Gabe contributed four hits from the leadoff spot, including the grand slam, and Jordan Altfillisch added five hits, including two triples. Defensively, the codgers played a clean game but showed some signs of their age, with just a couple more hits sneaking through or dropping in than might have in years past. With the win, the Fossils move to 1-0 on the season and prepare for their first matchup with FLCC/Elim next week. Box Score 5/9/24: Out of sync. After an unexpected hot start and big win in their first game, the Fossils faced FLCC/Elim in the first of three matchups this season. With several regulars on vacation, the old men recruited former Disciples Tim Jacobson and Tim Sass to help hold down the fort. The night got off to a good start with a scoreless first inning, but then FLCC turned on the offense, and with more than a little help batted around in the next two innings, scoring 15. As it turned out, that would be all they needed, as the Fossils struggled to string hits together and push runs across. Under the watchful eye of bench coach Austin Erickson, the geezers put together four scoreless innings on defense to close out the game, but it wasn't enough, and they succumbed to a 15-10 defeat in a game that looks much closer on paper than it felt in person. The aging offense actually produced more hits than FLCC, but only one went for extra bases. The maroon defense had some adventures in the field, with a blinding sun and gusting wind contributing (allegedly) to a number of catchable balls (and more than one player) hitting the ground. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-1 on the season with a matchup against Family of God up next on 5/16. Box Score 5/16/24: Hans'd off. After a rough outing against FLCC/Elim, the Fossils looked to right the ship against Family of God. The visiting codgers got on the board immediately, opening the game with back-to-back doubles by Gabe Gartner and Chris Stewart and ultimately putting two runs on the board. Family of God came out hotter, however, putting their first six batters on base and ending the inning up 5-2. After a fruitless second, the old men came back with six in the top of the third to tie the game 8-8 after three. They then took the lead in the fourth, stretched it out in the fifth and entered the bottom of the sixth and final inning up 12-9. After one quick out, the next five hitters reached to tie the game at 12. With runners on first and second and two out, long time member of the Blues Hans Raske slapped a walk-off single to bring a fitting end to a tight game. For the Fossil offense, it was a tale of two orders, with the first three hitters going 8-9 and the rest of the order going 8-24. Defensively, a couple key absences caused some shuffling, but the old men held their own, getting outs when they needed them right up to the end. With the loss, the Fossils drop to 1-2 on the season ahead of a rematch with GVLC/SOTG on 5/23. Box Score 5/23/24: A call to the pen. With ace Jim Monner absent, the Fossils handed the ball to long-time catcher Ted Rausch for their rematch against GVLC/SOTG. Most teammates weren't aware of Ted's pitching prowess, since he'd never previously pitched for the Fossils, but his experience was quickly evident as he got comfortable and settled into the groove. Tim Sass made his second appearance of the season, filling in at third base for an absent Gabe Gartner and Joe Madsen made his first appearance of the season, becoming the fourth Madsen in the lineup. The visiting youngsters got the game underway with two runs in the top of the first, to which the old men countered with four in the bottom of the inning. In the top of the second, GVLC added four more to take a slim lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the night. The codgers got as close as one, at 12-11 after five, but just couldn't get over the hump to reclaim the lead, despite outhitting the visitors and piling up more extra base hits. What looked like a promising last inning rally fizzled for the geezers and GVLC held on for a 15-12 win. The Fossil offense was sparked by homeruns from Jordan Altfillisch and Tim Sass, as well as two doubles and a triple from Chris Stewart in the leadoff spot, but they just couldn't string enough hits together, particularly in the bottom of the order, to keep rallies alive and create big innings. The maroon defense had few hiccups but was picked apart by strings of singles, as has been the case in multiple games this season. With the 15-12 defeat the Fossils fall to 1-3 on the season with a rematch against FLCC/Elim looming on 5/30. Box Score 5/30/24: AWOL. After struggling in close games in their last two outings, the Fossils tried a different approach to their second matchup of the season with old rivals FLCC/Elim. With a number of regulars absent due to graduation and other activities, Donovan Bradley graciously stepped in at the last minute to round out the lineup. Little did he know he was stepping into a massacre of epic proportions. The Fossil offense managed only one run on two hits, while the defense was completely powerless to slow down FLCC as they scored in buckets on the way to a 28-1 final. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-4 on the season with a rematch against Family of God upcoming on 6/6. Box Score 6/6/24: Boom Boom Boom. Ted Rausch once again took the mound in Jim Monner's absence as the Fossils got a chance at redemption in a rematch against Family of God. In an unusual twist, Tom Benson made his first appearance of the year behind the plate, catching for his long-time catcher. The youthful visitors were playing with just nine, but it didn't show in the top of the first as they sent 15 to the plate and scored nine. The old men responded with a barrage of their own, including homeruns from Jake Erickson, Chris Stewart and Joe May, to put six on the board. After escaping the top of the second with only one run in, Gabe Gartner led off with a homerun in the bottom of the second and the codgers were off and hobbling again, scoring another five to take an 11-10 lead. After the lead changed hands in each half of the third, the Fossils held an 18-17 lead with two out in the top of the fourth when Ted was drilled by a lined shot back up the middle. A play was made on the ricochet to end the inning, but Ted was unable to continue. In a game of unlikely occurrences, perhaps the strangest was Tom Benson coming out of the bullpen to close the game. He took the mound in the top of the fifth and final inning with a 21-17 lead and immediately launched into his best Ron "Boom-Boom" Davis impersonation, giving up solo homeruns to the first three hitters. After getting Hans Raske to foul out, an error put the next batter on first and the go-ahead run stepped to the plate. Tom served up a beautiful pitch, and the maroon defense did what they've done so many times over the years behind Tom, turning a sharp grounder to short into a double play to end the game. The elderly offense was led by Jake Erickson's huge night at the plate, going 4-4 with two homeruns, two doubles and six RBIs. The rest of the lineup added eight more extra base hits, including three homeruns, in a dramatic turnaround from their previous 2 hit effort. The defense wasn't clean, but did enough in crunch time to give Ted his first win and Tom a rare save. With the 21-20 win, the Fossils improve to 2-4 on the season with the rubber game against GVLC/SOTG up next on 6/13. Box Score 6/13/24: True to form. While waiting for the prior game to finish, a small group of team members discussed how it seems like the Fossils' M.O. this season is to spot their opponent ten runs right at the beginning and then spend the rest of the game frantically trying to catch up. Surely that pattern could be broken this week, as the old men faced GVLC/SOTG for the third time this season. Jim Monner returned to take the mound, and after surviving a scare in Jim's stead, Ted Rausch returned to his normal position behind the plate. The visiting Fossils got to work immediately, pushing their first run across with no outs and scoring four in the top of the first. Then things got ugly, when the youngsters used a hot start and two painful errors to send 15 batters to the plate and score ten runs. The codgers crawled back, getting within one run in the middle of the third before allowing six in the bottom of the inning, and then again in the middle of the fifth before allowing five more. They finally ran out of opportunities four runs short at 21-17, having never regained the lead after surrendering the ten run first inning. Along the way, the maroon defense delivered highlights in the even numbered innings, including a double play in the second following a hit where two greedy baserunners were gunned down in the blink of an eye to erase a scoring threat and end the inning. In the fourth, Jim Monnner showed his speed by covering first to record the second half of a 3-6-1 double play. In the sixth, Chris Stewart opened the inning with a diving catch of a low liner. The youngsters were held scoreless in all three of those innings. However, the odd numbered innings were cluttered with infield errors, totalling six in all, and contained all of GVLC's scoring. Offensively, Tim Sass led the way, going 4-4 with a homerun. Chris Stewart added a homerun of his own, plus circled the bases in his following at-bat on a miscue by the right fielder. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 2-5 on the season with a matchup against FLCC/Elim looming on June 20th. Box Score 6/20/24: Everything but the finish. After suffering their worst loss in recent history to FLCC/Elim three weeks back, the Fossils faced them again for the third and final time in the regular season. Fossil legend Gary Glass made the long trip to don the maroon for the first time this season and show the slumping old men how it's done. Right out of the gate, things looked all too familiar, as the visiting youngsters added two Fossil errors and a couple of walks to a handful of hits and scored four in the first. The geezers managed two of their own and assumed the trailing position they've made their norm this season. FLCC added to their lead in the second, third and fourth while the Fossils cycled quietly through the rest of the order until, down 15-2 in the middle of the fourth, the codgers finally got hot and batted around, scoring eight to get back in the game. From there on out, the young punks were allowed only three more runs and the Fossils slowly closed the gap, taking it from six to four and finally to one with the winning run at the plate. Sadly, they couldn't quite get the job done, as a double play ended the night in an 18-17 defeat. In start contrast to the debacle of three weeks ago, the elderly offense was in solid form, highlighted by an opposite field homerun by Gabe Gartner and five RBIs by Jim Monner. The weak spot was the defense, which committed six errors and dug too deep a hole early. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 2-6 on the season with the Fossil Hall of Fame Game up next on Sunday the 23rd, followed by the regular season finale against Family of God on 6/27. Box Score 6/27/24: A flat finish. The Fossils rounded out their regular season with a rubber match against Family of God. Both of the season's previous matchups were one run games, so this battle for third place seemed destined to come down to the wire. The game started out tight, tied at 1-1 after the first. The visiting codgers took the lead again in the top of the third, scoring three to go up 4-3. But it was all downhill after that, with Family of God scoring the last 11 runs of the game to end in a run rule walkoff. The Fossil offense was inconsistent, getting enough hits to compete but unable to string them together to produce runs. They left at least one runner on base in every inning, but only scored in two. The maroon defense looked less-than-sharp, recording five errors and giving the youngsters crucial extra outs. With the 14-4 loss, the Fossils finish the season in last place at 2-7, their worst record since 2002. After a week off, the Fossils will be back in action for the first round of the playoffs on July 11th at 6:20pm against FLCC/Elim. Box Score 7/11/24: Doinked to death. After a last place finish in the regular season, the Fossils opened up the playoffs against the top seed, FLCC/Elim. Zach Gartner re-entered the lineup for the first time since his injury in week one, giving the old men back their biggest power threat. The visiting fogeys wasted no time getting going, stringing together four two-out hits in the top of the first to put two runs on the board. Then they took the field on defense and FLCC did what they do. The first six batters reached, and before an infield double play ended the inning six runs had scored. The codgers had no answer in the top of the second and the youngsters were off to the races, using a collection of sharp grounders, bloop hits and Fossil errors to pile up 15 runs on the way to a 15-5 final. The Fossil offense just couldn't string hits together to push runners around, a common theme this season. Defensively, the old men turned two sharp double plays but also had several misplays in key spots that kept FLCC rallies alive. With the loss, the Fossils move into the consolation bracket to meet the other first round loser at 7:30 on July 18th. Box Score 7/18/24: Not quite dead yet. A week removed from a bad beat against FLCC/Elim, the Fossils got their fourth matchup of the year against Family of God in the seecond round of the playoffs. With only one decisive win this season, dating back to opening night, it was unclear whether the old men had the energy left to keep their season going. Clarity came quickly, as the visiting codgers strung together five hits to score four runs in the top of the first. After the youngsters came back with five of their own, the bottom of the lineup reignited the elderly offense and they nearly batted around, adding eight more to their total. At the game's critical moment, Family of God could only muster one run in response. They were done scoring for the night, but the Fossils were just getting going. The old men batted around in both the third and fourth, tacking on 19 more runs. The youngsters managed one more hit, and the maroon defense slammed the door, facing just ten batters in the final three innings to end the night early with a 31-6 stomping. The Fossil offense was on fire, going 31-43 and taking advantage of six walks and six errors. Unlike much of the season, hits were strung together and the order turned over, with the three batters at the bottom of the order and the three at the top going a combined 20-20 and driving in 21 runs. Gabe Gartner, Jake Erickson and Zach Gartner all homered, and Jake also had two doubles and a triple. Gabe drove in eight. The maroon defense delivered their first error-free game of the season, giving up just seven hits and stopping a potential rally in its tracks in the fifth with a 6-4-5 double play that nabbed a dawdling lead runner and erased the threat. With the win, the Fossils advance in the consolation bracket and will play again at 6:20 on August 1st. Box Score 8/1/24: Empty tank. After a week off, the Fossils took the field for the final night of the season, facing as many as three games in a row. First up was their fourth matchup of the season against GVLC/SOTG. The visiting codgers got going early, with Jake Erickson doubling in the game's first run as just the second batter. Off to an early 2-0 start, the maroon defense took the field and ran into a hot start from the youngsters, putting up three to go ahead. The second inning was scoreless, and the old men added one in the third to tie the game. The score remained agonizingly tied until the bottom of the sixth, when GVLC broke out for three more runs. The geezers could only muster one in their last gasp in the seventh, and the season ended in a 6-4 loss. The elderly defense played well enough to win, posting four scoreless innings and turning two infield double plays, but as has been the case too many times this season the offense had nothing to bring to the table. With the loss, the 49th edition of Fossil softball comes to an end. Be sure to join us next year as the Fossil family celebrates a half century of characters, laughs and memories. Box Score 2023 5/4/23: An inauspicious start. The 48th season of Fossil softball got underway on a picture perfect evening when a severely depleted lineup took the field against GVLC, a team who, in 16 tries since joining the league in 2016, has never beaten the old men. Fossil legends Tom Benson and Joe Gartner, who arrived intending only to serve as base coaches, dusted off their gloves and joined the seven regular roster members on hand to get the game underway with the Fossils still a man down. Things went wrong right from the start, with the much younger GVLC squad batting around and scoring six runs in the top of the first, taking advantage of several miscues from a maroon defense where almost everyone was playing out of their normal positions and a tenth fielder didn't arrive until the inning was well underway. When the codgers finally got off the field in the first, they struck back, sending nine batters to the plate and scoring five. Despite ongoing struggles on defense, the Fossils took the lead in the bottom of the second, and for a brief moment looked like they might find a way to get the situation under control. Then, just as quickly, another disasterous defensive inning sealed their fate and the youngsters went on to score the next 17 runs and bury the old men by a final score of 25-10 in a debacle that included 11 Fossil errors (almost certainly an undercount), a bad fall on defense, a mid-inning bathroom break, a crazy rundown that ended with a diving tag by Monte Bloom and an unanticipated record for the oldest Fossil lineup ever fielded, with no one under 40. Next up for the 0-1 Fossils is Family of God on May 11th. Box Score 5/11/23: Return of the bats. After an opener to forget, the Fossils rounded up more than enough bodies to fill out the lineup in their first of three matchups with the hard-hitting Family of God. Things didn't look great for the visiting Fossils as they went quietly in the top of the first, but Chris Stewart got the old men going in the top of the second with a solo homerun and the elderly offense kicked into gear. After nursing a 13-11 lead into the top of the sixth, the Fossils got a leadoff single from Joey Madsen and proceeded to send 18 more hitters to the plate, scoring 14 runs and putting the game out of reach. Chris Stewart, Rich Benson and Zach Gartner all had homeruns for the old men, and Gabe Gartner drove in five runs. The maroon defense was solid, allowing just 13 hits in six innings and slamming the door at the end of the game. With the win, the Fossils improve to 1-1 on the young season and get ready for their first matchup with First Lutheran/Elim on May 18th. Box Score 5/18/23: Slaughter in two acts. After two very different games to open the season, the Fossils took the field against First Lutheran/Elim for the first of three regular season matchups. With Jake Erickson in the lineup for the first time this year, things were looking up for the elderly visitors, but after going scoreless in the top of the first they got hit with a haymaker in the bottom of the inning, facing 12 batters, committing three errors and giving up seven runs in an inning that didn't want to end. When they finally got off the field, the Fossil bats threatened but could only score one. FLCC tacked on four more in the bottom of the second and the game was out of reach. After the game was mistakenly stopped in the fifth due to a misinterpretation of the run rule, the teams were summoned back onto the field and played out another inning before the run rule was correctly (and mercifully) applied. The maroon defense had its moments, with Jake Erickson making some great plays at short and Jordan Altfillisch making a great running catch in left, but trouble getting infield outs plagued the codgers and gave their youthful opponents too many extra outs. Offensively, Chris Stewart led the way with a homerun and a double, while Steve Derner went 2-2 to keep his batting average perfect on the season. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-2. A rematch with GVLC looms next, on May 25th. Box Score 5/25/23: Round two. After an inauspicious start to their 48th campaign, the Fossils entered the middle third of their schedule with a rematch against GVLC/SOTG, who had utterly destroyed them in the first game of the season. The old men couldn't have had a slower start, sending only three batters to the plate in the top of the first. After two innings the game was tied at 3, and things looked ok. From there on out, the Fossil offense was limited to two three run homers by Chris Stewart while their youthful opponents took advantage of a lackluster maroon defense to bat around in two of their remaining four innings and score 15. Aside from the great night at the plate by Chris, the only real highlight for the codgers was a defensive stand in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded, one out and the winning run on third. Despite the mishaps that led them to that point, they came up with two infield outs to get off the field without allowing a run and give themselves one more chance at bat...with which, unfortuntaely, they did nothing. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 1-3 on the season. A rematch against the only team they've beaten this year, Family of God, is up next on June 1st. Box Score 6/1/23: A dozen walks in the park. In desperate need of a win to get their season back on track, the Fossils took the field against Family of God in a bid to repeat their week two offensive dominance. The shorthanded codgers were joined by Derek Ivory and Arthur Gomez, both making their first appearance with the team. The visiting youngsters jumped out to a quick lead, scoring 2 runs in the top of the first. The old men started hot as well, but lost a runner trying to take an extra base and had to settle for one. Three Fossil errors led to three runs in the top of the second, but then the elderly bats awakened, and with the help of four walks the codgers sent 14 to the plate and scored nine to take a 10-5 lead. Batting around again in the bottom of the third stretched the lead to 17-7, and it was starting to look like a repeat of the blowout in week two. Then the old men suddenly ran out of steam and the youngsters started hitting, closing the lead to seven, then six, then five, and finally running out of luck with the tying run on third base. Each pitcher surrendered six walks, and the defenses combined for 11 errors, but in the end the two big early innings allowed the Fossils to hold on for a 19-18 win to improve to 2-3. Next up is a rematch with FLCC/Elim on June 8th. Box Score 6/8/23: Revenge is a dish best served old. After being pounded by First Lutheran in week three, the Fossils were looking for a better showing in the rematch tonight. Right out of the gate, it was clear that the maroon defense had come to play, setting down the visiting youngsters in order in the first and getting two quick outs in the second before a hit and three walks pushed the first run of the game across. First Lutheran scored one more in the third and three in the fourth to take a 5-0 lead. The Fossils had managed a handful of hits, but couldn't string them together. Then, after the visitors stretched their lead to five in the fourth the old men woke up and imposed a Fossil inning on their old rivals. The first nine hitters reached base in the bottom of the fourth on eight singles and a walk, and after two quick outs the old men strung together six more singles in a row before they were done. All told, 18 batters had delivered 14 singles, one walk and 13 runs, while a normally sound First Lutheran defense struggled to make plays that were normally automatic. After that, it was all over but the crying, with the old men mercifully ending the game on a two run Tom Madsen double in the bottom of the sixth for a 16-6 victory. The Fossil defense turned in its best performance of the season, allowing only 12 hits in six innings and committing no errors. Offensively, Jake Erickson had four hits and Tom Madsen and Rich Benson each drove in three runs. The old men only scored in two innings, but the parade of singles in the fourth more than made up for the beatdown suffered three weeks earlier. With the win, the Fossils improve to 3-3 on the season with a third matchup with GVLC/SOTG coming up on June 15th. Box Score 6/15/23: Speed kills. In the midst of an up and down season, the Fossils came out determined to give a better accounting of themselves in their third and final regular season meeting with GVLC/SOTG. Derek Ivory joined the old men for his second game of the season, this time filling in for Jake Erickson at short. Despite the best intentions of the codgers, the youthful visitors got started right out of the gate, batting around in each of the first two innings and jumping out to a 11-3 lead. A lineup full of speed took extra bases at will, and five errors by the maroon defense helped keep the parade going. Meanwhile, Fossil bats sputtered in clutch moments as the old men left runners on base in every inning. The old men also put their speed on display, with Monte Bloom demonstrating twice how getting a great jump as a baserunner can turn a sharply hit line drive into a double play. When the dust settled, instead of avenging an opening night beatdown the fogies had suffered an identical 25-10 stomping. Next up for the 3-4 Fossils is Family of God on June 22nd. Box Score 6/22/23: Naughty or nice?. After a disappointing dud last week, the Fossils geared up for their final matchup of the season with Family of God. Fossil legend Gary Glass made his first appearance of the season, sporting a beard straight out of the North Pole winter collection, and calmly stepped in at third base in place of Gabe Gartner. The codgers have been slow out of the gate in most games this year, scoring only nine total first inning runs in seven games. Tonight was no exception, with the top of the order scratching across a single run in the top of the first. Then things got messy, as Family of God opened up on a shaky maroon defense, batting around and putting seven runs on the board in an inning long and ugly enough to demoralize most teams. Instead of backing down, the old men woke up and scored seven of their own in the top of the second. They added six more in the top of the third, and after stopping a small rally in the bottom of the third clung to a slim 14-13 lead. Then Jake Erickson took over the game at short, making or assisting on eight of the final nine outs while allowing just one run. Fossil bats sealed the deal with another six for a 20-14 victory. The bottom half of the order, led by Gary Glass, sparked all the big innings for the old men, going 10-15 and taking five walks, while Jordan Altfillish drove in five in the leadoff slot. With the win, the Fossils are 4-4 on the season with the rubber match with FLCC/Elim up next in the regular season finale on 6/29. Box Score 6/29/23: Finishing with a fizzle. After pulling out a victory last week to bring them back to .500 on the season, the Fossils finished up the regular season with the rubber match against First Lutheran. Zach Gartner returned to the lineup, giving the old men their full complement of speed and power for only the second time this season. Right out of the gate, things looked good for the visiting codgers, with Zach driving in two runs with a double in the top of the first, but no sooner did that happen than the bats went cold...and stayed cold. The maroon defense turned in a decent performance, holding an explosive FLCC/Elim team to just eight runs, but the offense delivered only nine hits in seven innings, scoring only five runs. With the 8-5 loss, the Fossils fall to 4-5 and suffer their first losing regular season in 21 years. After a week off for the holiday, the tournament begins with an opportunity to avenge three blowout losses against GVLC/SOTG on July 13th. Box Score 7/13/23: Venting. Two weeks after a disappointing end to their regular season, the Fossils opened up the playoff against the only team they were unable to beat in the regular season, GVLC. After three brutal beatdowns, the old men were looking to start fresh in the playoff and deliver a little payback. After managing only nine hits in the regular season finale, the old men were also looking to stretch their legs a little on offense. Fortunately, both wishes came true almost immediately with the visiting Fossils unleashing a barrage of eight hits and six runs in the top of the first. The elderly offense delivered two more blows in the second and third, jumping out to an insurmountable 21-4 lead. GVLC tried to rally in the fourth, but it wasn't nearly enough, and the game mercifully ended after five innings with a final score of 26-10. The Fossils finished with 32 hits, including nine extra base hits. Tom Madsen, Rich Benson, Monte Bloom, Chris Stewart and Joe May all had perfect nights at the plate, going a combined 19-19 and driving in 19 runs. The maroon defense was solid, leaving little room for GVLC to get going. With the win, the Fossils advance in the winners' bracket to face Family of God in the second round on July 20th. Box Score 7/20/23: Championship games are for closers. After a long-awaited victory against GVLC in the first round of the tournament, the Fossils needed to beat Family of God for the fourth time this season to advance to the tournament championship game. The visiting codgers started luke warm, with two runs in the top of the first. The maroon defense was close to getting off the field unscathed in the bottom of the first, but with two outs seven consecutive batters reached safely, putting seven runs on the board. Again in the third, the Fossils had two outs with no runs in and allowed the next seven hitters to reach safely, bringing in nine runs and putting the game out of their reach. The elderly offense sputtered and ground to a halt on the way to a 21-12 final. The loss drops the Fossils into the losers bracket and gives them a hill to climb when play resumes on August 3rd. Box Score 8/3/23: Back to basics. A week off for Crystal Frolics gave the old men time to recharge and gear up for the fifth matchup of the season against GVLC in the third round of the end of season tournament. After losing a coin toss, the Fossils stepped to the plate first looking to set the tone for a three win evening. Five pitches and no hits later, the maroon defense took the field with the proper tone not yet set. After two quick outs, a string of five hits scored four runs and the old men were immediately in a hole. Things didn't look great when Tom Madsen led off the top of the second with an uncharacteristic popup to the pitcher, but they were looking much better (except for him) when he ended the inning with another popup to short. In between, eight runs scored and the Fossils were officially in the game. GVLC countered with three of their own in the bottom of the third to pull within 8-7, but the codgers had taken the lead for good. The maroon defense applied the clamps, holding a hot hitting team scoreless for the next three innings, and the old men held on for a 12-10 victory. Their reward was an immediate matchup with FLCC/Elim, with the winner getting a shot at Family of God for the tournament championship. Box Score 8/3/23: A no-doubter. After a tight win to advance in the tournament, the Fossils encountered FLCC/Elim for a fourth time this season, with the winner to face Family of God for the championship. Losing the toss once again, the old men got out of the gate fast, sending nine hitters to the plate and scoring four runs in the top of the first. They were in for a rude awakening, however, when the first eleven FLCC batters reached safely. When the long inning was finally over, the home team had put 13 runs on the board and the night was all but over for the Fossils. In a mercifully short game, the Fossils struggled to stop the bleeding while FLCC just poured it on en route to a 28-9 blowout. In a game where the old men got plenty of opportunity to play defense, two great plays stood out. Jake Erickson made a great throw and Ted Rausch made a great catch and tag to cut down a runner trying to stretch a triple into a home run and finally end the 16-batter bottom of the first. Two innings later Chris Stewart found an extra inch in his right arm to make a terrific over-the-shoulder fingertip catch in left center and put an end to an inning on the verge of getting out of hand. With the final loss, the Fossils turn out the lights on their 48th annual campaign. Thanks to all the players, base coaches, fans and practice attendees for another great year of this special tradition. On August 24th the season will be celebrated with a picnic and a Hall of Fame induction ceremony for Fossil legends Jake Erickson, Steve Knutson and Hank Jubert. Box Score 2022 5/5/22: Next man up. With six regulars missing from the lineup, the 47th edition of the Fossils kicked off their season against perrenial powerhouse FLCC/Elim on one of the first nice evenings of the year. Legendary hurler Tom Benson answered the frantic call from grizzled skipper Bob Madsen to take the mound and round out the thin lineup, with Monte Bloom sliding over to third and Gabe Gartner plugging a hole in the outfield. The visiting Fossils got down to business right away, with Jordan Altfillisch driving the first pitch of the game into the gap for a triple. Tom Madsen's single scored Jordan and the old men were instantly on the board. The home team was ready to hit also, and came back with two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Fossils scored two more to retake the lead in the top of the second and managed to hang on to a thin margin until the bottom of the fifth, when the home team sent eight men to the plate and scored four. The old men closed the gap to one on a two run, inside-the-park homerun by Jordan Altfillisch in the top of the sixth, but couldn't quite get over the hump and ended up on the wrong end of an 8-6 final score. Jordan led the way with a huge game on offense, going 4-4 with two extra base hits and four RBI. Defensively, the shuffled lineup played well, with no major miscues, but just couldn't catch a break to stop the fifth inning rally by the home team. Next up for the 0-1 Fossils is GVLC/SOTG on May 12th. Box Score 5/12/22: Short and sweet. Stiff winds, gathering storm clouds and another short lineup greeted the Fossils as they took the field against GVLC/SOTG. Tom Benson once again took the mound to test his skills in a brutal crosswind, while Jake Erickson and Rich Benson made their first appearances of the year to round out the lineup. The visiting Fossils started quickly, pushing two runs across in the top of the first, and then rolling out a smothering defense to keep the youngsters off the board. The old men added four more in the top of the third and another four in the top of the fourth, which then became the last inning as lightning began to get closer and more frequent. In their final at-bat, GVLC/SOTG finally broke onto the scoreboard with a little help from a couple of miscues by the elderly defense, but the rally came up short and ended in a double play. Greg Erickson led the way offensively for the codgers, driving in four runs, and Jake Erickson dominated on defense, making or assisting on eight of the game's twelve outs. With the 10-4 victory, the Fossils improve to 1-1 on the season and loook ahead to a double-header on 5/19. Box Score 5/19/22: Taking one back. A gorgeous evening awaited the Fossils for the front end of their first double-header of the year. Their opponent, longtime rival St. Joseph, had clearly reloaded with youth and offensive firepower this year, but were still winless coming into the matchup. Stefan Bloom and Joe May made their first appearances of the year in maroon, and the old men finally had enough players to let Tom Benson step down from the mound and return to retirement for the evening, though he promptly got drafted to catch for St. Joseph's. The visiting youngsters quickly put a run on the board in the top of the first, but the old men came storming back, sending nine to the plate and scoring five. The maroon defense then went into lockdown mode, making plays at the right times to hold the visitors scoreless until the top of the fifth, when they tightened the game to 7-4. The codgers responded with two in the bottom of the fifth, but immediately surrendered four in the sixth, and then gave up two more runs and the lead in the top of the seventh. With their backs against the wall and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Jake Erickson tagged up and scored from second on Stefan Bloom's sacrifice fly to tie the game. After a round of arguments and a failed appeal, Monte Bloom found a hole in the outfield for a double and Tom Madsen scored from first for the walkoff win. Offensively, the Blooms provided the spark for the old men, combining to go 7-7 and driving in both the tying and winning runs. Defensively, a great running catch by Joe May stalled the youngsters' rally in the top of the seventh and kept the damage from being much worse. With the 11-10 victory, the Fossils improve to 2-1 on the season with a nightcap against Family of God up next. Box Score 5/19/22: Not enough in the tank. After a thrilling walkoff win in the first game of their double-header, the Fossils got their first look at a strong Family of God team. As in the evening's first game, the younger visitors put one run on the board in the top of the first and were greeted with a swift rebuttal by the geezers, who sent ten to the plate and scored six. However, this time the youngsters came back strong, scoring five in the second and seven in the fourth to start pulling away. The fogies didn't throw in the towel, but the evening's earlier drama had clearly sapped some precious energy, and they just couldn't keep up. The drain was particularly evident in the field, where the maroon defense committed five errors in the last three innings, throwing the ball around uncharacteristically with disasterous (and somewhat comical) results. The elderly offense was powered by the 6-10 spots in the order, who combined to go 13-15 and drive in 10 of the codgers' 14 runs, but it just wasn't enough. With the 20-14 loss, the Fossils fall to 2-2 on the season, with a rematch against GVLC/SOTG up next on 5/26. Box Score 5/26/22: Early bird gets the W. For the second week in a row, the Fossils were faced with an early game, as they took on a winless GVLC/SOTG squad. The youthful visitors only had 8 to start, so legendary Fossil hurler Tom Benson offered his services behind the plate. He also offered his services at the plate, which were politely declined. The ninth youngster arrived and took the field as the first inning was coming to an end, but in that short window the old men had blanked the visitors in the top of the inning and then abused the undermanned outfield for eight runs to blow the game open. The maroon defense stumbled in the third, with two errors sprouting into a four run mini Fossil inning, and another run in the top of the fourth brought the visitors within 8-5, but the old men got the bats restarted and added some insurance runs on the way to a 14-5 final. The elderly offense was driven by six extra base hits, four of which were delivered by the first four hitters in the bottom of the first, as well as a 3-3 performance by Joe May, who also drove in four runs. Defensively, the fogies had an adventure or two, but in the end did more than enough to earn the win. With the victory, The Fossils improve to 3-2 on the season with rematches against Family of God occupying the next two weeks on the schedule. Box Score 6/2/22: Big numbers. Two weeks after running out of gas in the nightcap of a doubleheader and getting thumped by Family of God, the Fossils got their opportunity for revenge in the second of three meetings between the teams in four weeks. The visiting codgers came out swinging, sending nine men to the plate in the top of the first and scoring four with a little help from two errors by Family of God. Not to be outdone, the home team also batted nine, scoring five to take the early lead. Gearing up for a shootout, the old men again sent nine men to the plate in the second and scored four more runs. After that, however, the maroon defense dug in its heels and turned in the first of three consecutive scoreless frames. After batting around and scoring six more in the top of the third, the Fossils were off to the races, breaking open a game that would never get closer than six the rest of the way. Down fourteen in the bottom of the fifth, Family of God put together a rally that started with some infield dribblers, including one that was overthrown far further than it had traveled off the bat and culminated in the first nine hitters all reaching safely. Finally, the winded old men caught their breath and shut the door, ending the youngsters' best chance to get back in the game. The elderly offense continued to pile on the hits and runs, finally bring the game to a merciful end after six innings with a final count of 25-14. There were big offensive performances throughout the order for the Fossils, with nine hitters reaching base safely three or more times, but when the smoke cleared two numbers stood out from the rest. The first was six sacrifice flies for a team that had combined for just three so far this season. The second was a Fossil record nine RBIs by Tom Madsen, who unhitched the plow for three triples in a 4-4 performance that also included a sac fly. Defensively, the old men threw the ball around more than usual, with a couple comical results, but played well enough to keep the game out of reach against a strong offensive opponent. With the victory, the Fossils improve to 4-2 on the season with another matchup against Family of God coming up next on 6/9. Box Score 6/9/22: A final reckoning. Fossil Hall of Famers Gary and Ryan Glass made their first appearances of the season as the old men faced Family of God for the third time in four weeks, and the final time in the regular season. After giving up two runs in the top of the first on clutch hits by the youthful visitors, the old men started the night with a bang, sending eleven men to the plate and scoring six in the bottom of the first. Then the maroon defense took over, holding Family of God scoreless for two innings while the elderly bats racked up another four runs. When the visitors finally put together a rally to close the gap to 10-6 in the top of the fourth, the codgers responded with six more of their own, and then ended the game early on a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the fifth by Chris Stewart that drove the final score to 22-7. In addition to the closing fireworks from Chris, Jordan Altfillish had a big night, going 4-4 with a homerun of his own, and Ryan Glass went 3-3, driving in 5 runs. Family of God also did their part, committing seven errors to keep Fossil drives alive. Defensively, the old men looked sharper than they had in several weeks, committing only one error and coming up with big plays to shut down rallies in both of the final two innings. With the win, the Fossils improve to 5-2 on the season and take sole possession of second place, with a battle for first looming next week with First Lutheran. Box Score 6/16/22: An opportunity squandered. Under the watchful eyes of Fossil legends Don Hoseth and Russ O'Dell, the old men took the field against First Lutheran to try and avenge their opening night loss and sieze control of first place in the standings. Things started well enough for the elderly home team, holding the youthful visitors scoreless in two of the first three frames to take a 5-1 lead into the fourth. Then things went sideways for the maroon defense, with three painful errors in the next two innings contributing to an eleven run outburst from which they just couldn't recover. A five run rally in the bottom of the fifth looked like a sign of life for the geezers, but it was all they had left, and their hopes of grabbing the league lead were dashed with a 14-10 loss. Four solid defensive innings were overshadowed by some classic Fossil hijinks at key moments, with three of the codgers' five errors resulting in a total of five runs that shouldn't have scored. The highlight of the evening on the offensive side was Steve Derner being forced into more baserunning than he bargained for by an aggressive Gabe Gartner running behind him. Unsurprisingly, Steve made it work, but the momentary look of horror on his face was precious. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 5-3 on the season, with a matchup with GVLC/SOTG up next on 6/23. Box Score 6/23/22: A great night. With vacations, injuries and other commitments thinning the lineup, the call went out to the Fossils' AAA affiliate and Joey Madsen got the chance to play his first game with the big club, becoming the fourth third-generation Fossil in team history. Sensing he was needed, Zach Gartner also suited up for the first time this season, bringing back the threat of game-changing power that the old men have been without so far this year. The visiting Fossils got out of the gate quickly, with two singles and a double driving in two quick runs and leaving one runner on for Zach's first trip to the plate. Zach eyed up the first pitch he'd seen in a year and promptly crushed it over the left field fence to double the lead to 4-0. After the hot start, the old men cooled off and found themselves in a 5-5 tie after three innings. Then, in the top of the fourth, Rich Benson led off with a homerun and the codgers sent nine more hitters to the plate after him, putting five more runs on the board. Three innings of shutdown defense and five additional runs later, the old men took a 15-5 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Clinging to life with two outs, the home team finally found some momentum, rallying to cut the lead in half and bring the outcome back into question. Their luck ran out, however, as a fly ball to Rich Benson in right center put the finishing touch on one of the more fun nights this season. Gabe Gartner led the offense, going 4-4 including a leadoff homer in the third to keep pace with his brother. The maroon defense delivered four scoreless innings and saw Steve Derner make a great stab on a hard grounder at first, Joey Madsen stretch out to snatch a sharp liner out of the air at second and Rich Benson make a terrific running catch and throw to crush a rally in the sixth with an inning-ending double play. With the win, the Fossils improve to 6-3 on the season heading into the last regular season game against St. Joe's on 6/30. Box Score 6/30/22: Decisive. In the regular season finale, the Fossils faced St. Joseph in a rematch of the week 4 nailbiter that the old men narrowly escaped with a one run win. For the second week in a row, the Fossils were the visitors, and for the second week in a row they got out of the gate quickly, sending nine men to the plate and putting five runs on the board before St. Joseph even picked up a bat. After the youngsters were held scoreless in the bottom of the first and each team scored two in the second, the codgers blew the game apart in the top of the third, batting 21 and scoring 15. The stunned home team was finished, going quietly in the third and in the flip-flopped top of the fourth to mercifully end the game after only three and half innings with a final score of 22-2. The explosive offense was led by Gabe Gartner's 2 homerun night and Chris Stewart's 8 RBI performance that culminated in a grand slam on what ended up being the final scoring play of the evening. The maroon defense was flawless, holding St. Joseph to just eight hits. With the victory, the Fossils end the regular season at 7-3 and remain the #2 seed entering the tournament. Next up is a first round matchup with #3 Family of God on 7/14. Box Score 7/14/22: Ring the bell. After a week off for the holiday, the Fossils found themselves well-rested but short on manpower their first tournament game, a fourth matchup of the year against Family of God. After a hastily shuffled maroon defense took the field, the youthful visitors quickly drew first blood, pushing across the first run of the game. The old men countered with a run of their own in the bottom of the inning, and the second went by scoreless. Then, in the top of the third, Family of God opened up on the codgers, scoring seven runs in the next two innings. Finding themselves in a hole and floundering on offense, the Fossils finally woke up in the bottom of the fourth and batted around, scoring seven to tie the game. Then, in the top of the fifth, Jake Erickson made a fabulous sliding grab of a popup behind short and rifled the ball to first to double off the runner and slam the door on the youngsters' attempt to retake the lead. Having just seen the best defensive play of the year and feeling the huge momentum swing, the old men picked up where they'd left off in the fourth and nearly batted around again, delivering six runs, including four on back-to-back homeruns by Jordan Altfillisch and Jake Erickson, and a knockout punch. With the 14-9 victory, the Fossils move on to face either regular season champs FLCC/Elim or GVLC/SOTG in a second round matchup on 7/21. It also ensures that they'll play at least one game on 8/4. Box Score 7/21/22: Off night. Regular season champ First Lutheran stood in the way of the Fossils in the second round of the end-of-season tournament. After losing twice to the champs during the season, this was a chance for the old men to get a little revenge. After surrendering a run in the top of the first, the codgers put two on the board in the bottom of the inning to take an early lead. The thin lead held until the top of the fourth, until back-to-back Fossil errors opened the door for a big inning and four runs. A solo homerun by Zach Gartner in the bottom of the fourth started the fogies' response, but there was nothing behind it in that inning or in the rest of the game, with the old men mustering only one hit in the final three frames while surrendering another ten runs. With the 15-3 defeat, the Fossils fall into the losers' bracket and face a matchup against either Family of God or GVLC/SOTG on 8/4. Box Score 8/4/22: Free-for-all. After a week off for Crystal Frolics, the tournament resumed with a losers' bracket matchup with GVLC/SOTG. Though there have been several close games, the Fossils have never lost to GVLC/SOTG, so the old men took notice when the youngsters opened the game by scoring five runs in the top of the first. The geezers batted through their order and put up five of their own, and the race was on. The codgers stretched out the lead to 21-9 after a long third inning, and it looked like they might have created some breathing room, but GVLC came roaring back with five in the fourth and seven in the fifth. Facing a 28-21 deficit in the top of the seventh, the youngsters managed six before the maroon defense finally closed the door to hang on to a 28-27 win. The elderly offense piled up eight extra base hits, including homeruns by Jordan Altfillisch and Zach Gartner. They also took six walks, while ageless hurler Monte Bloom surrendered only two. The maroon defense had their hands full all game and played well, but ended up surrendering 37 hits in the narrow escape. Up next for the Fossils was the regular season champs, First Lutheran. Box Score 8/4/22: Sweetness. After figuring out how to win a game that was quite possibly the most exhausting in Fossil history, the old men had just moments to rest and regroup before a champion bracket matchup with First Lutheran. Having already lost three times this season to FLCC, and having lost their lone sub in the previous game, the old men faced a daunting task in an entirely different type of game than the one they'd just played. As is often the case in this matchup, the first inning was scoreless, and then the teams traded runs to make it 4-4 after four innings. Then, in the fifth, the Fossils scored three on a Rich Benson homerun and held the home team scoreless to open up the first real lead of the game. In the top of the sixth, the geezers scored five more, punctuated by a three-run double by Rich Benson, and the game was blown wide open on the way to an 18-6 final. Rich Benson led the offense with one of the all-time great offensive games, going 5-5 with 8 RBIs and hitting for the cycle. The maroon defense committed only one error, and went around the horn with a double play to kill a rally and keep FLCC from getting back into the game in the sixth. With the Fossil victory came an immediate rematch for the tournament championship. Box Score 8/4/22: End of the line. Fresh off a rousing stomping of the presumptive champs, the old men found themselves one more victory away from a tournament championship. With Jordan Altfillisch cramping up and Dan Madsen already lost for the night, Fossil legend Joe Gartner stepped from the bleachers onto the field to hold down the hot corner and round out the lineup. As delightful as the previous game had been, this final matchup was a different matter. The weary maroon defense opened the game with a dreaded Fossil inning, surrendering five hits but adding three errors that resulted in seven runs. Alas, the elderly offense was spent and could muster only ten hits and five runs in six innings, hobbling to a 15-5 defeat and a second place tournament finish. Despite the disappointing ending, the Fossils had put together a memorable night to close out their 47th season. Thanks to all the players, families and fans for another fabulous year of this great tradition. Box Score 2021 5/13/21: Mid-season form. The Fossils kicked off their 46th season on a perfect spring night under the lights against old foe St. Joseph. No sooner had the old men taken the field, than the St. Joe's leadoff hitter opened the scoring by crushing a ball over the outfielders and to the fence for a game-opening homerun. Four of the next six hitters added singles, and the old men finally got off the field with a three run deficit. The elderly offense, which often starts slow, had no such problem this time, stringing together five hits and a walk to respond with four runs. Then things took a sharp turn for the worse for St. Joe's, going down in order in the next two innings while the codgers ran wild and put 28 more runs on the board. When the smoke had cleared, the final score after 4 1/2 innings was 32-5, with the Fossils posting their largest offensive output in 28 years, since pasting Olivet Baptist Red 33-5 on 5/27/93, and the second largest in team history. The scoring was sparked by a monster three run homerun by Zach Gartner and an inside-the-park grand slam by Chris Stewart. The maroon defense was nearly flawless, highlighted by a diving grab in left field by Zach Gartner and great range by Jake Erickson, taking away multiple would-be bloop hits at short. Overall, there were no signs of off-season rust to be found on the old men, which certainly isn't always the case in a season opener. Next up for the 1-0 Fossils is GVLC/SOTG on May 20th. Box Score 5/20/21: Reality check. After a surprise blowout of St. Joe's in the season opener, the Fossils faced the always difficult GVLC/SOTG, who were themselves blown out in their opener. After a decent start in the top of the first, the visiting Fossils took the field and immediately got punched in the face by the younger offense. A combination of sharp hitting and sloppy defense by the codgers put the old men in an early hole, and the hole got deeper with more of the same in the second and third innings. Finally, in the fourth, the geezers retook the lead with a 12 hitter two-out rally that put ten runs on the board. The home team closed the gap to one run in the bottom of the inning, but the old men put two more on the board in the top of the fifth and held on as time ran out for an ugly 19-17 victory. The offense was highlighted by the Gartner brothers, with Zach hitting a solo homer in the third and Gabe legging out three-run homers in both the second and the fourth. The maroon defense was dreadful for much of the game, but managed to get the job done when it mattered most to secure an ugly win. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils is Family of God on 5/27. Box Score 5/27/21: Rained out. 6/3/21: Rough edges. After a week off due to rain, the old codgers creaked back into action for the first of three matchups with rival and perennial league leader First Lutheran. The visiting fogeys got on the board first, cobbling together a single run in the top of the first, but they gave that run back and three more in the bottom half of the inning when First Lutheran bats started hot and the maroon defense started cold. The same thing happened in the second inning, and the old men quickly found themselves down 8-2. The damage may have been worse, but the exuberant youngsters ran themselves into a bad out at the plate that killed their momentum and helped get the geezers off the field. Buoyed by the baserunning error, the Fossils opened the top of the third inning with five straight hits, and by the time they were done had closed the gap to 8-6. No one scored in the fourth, and in the fifth the old men evened the score at 8. With two innings left, it was anyone's game, and the grizzled veterans decided they wanted it more, scratching out a single run in the sixth and locking down the final two innings in the field to secure the 9-8 victory. Offensively, the old men played small ball compared to prior weeks, stringing together singles and taking advantage of several miscues by the younger team. It wasn't a great game for the maroon defense, committing five errors against a very strong offensive team, but two baserunning mistakes and the runners' healthy respect for the arms of the cutoff men allowed the Fossils to close the door and hold First Lutheran scoreless for the final five innings. With the victory, the Fossils remain unbeaten at 3-0 on the season. Next up is a double-header on 6/10 against St. Joseph's and GVLC/SOTG. Box Score 6/10/21: Short-handed and sluggish. The Fossils kicked off their first double-header of the year against a winless St. Joseph squad in sweltering heat, and under the watchful eye of Fossil legend Don Hoseth. Without Jake Erickson and Stefan Bloom in the lineup, the codgers looked that much older and slower against a team that seems to get younger every year. St. Joseph got into gear immediately, scoring three runs on three hits and two Fossil errors in the top of the first. The old men came back with two runs of the own in the bottom of the inning and settled into a trailing position for the next two innings. Finally, in the bottom of the fourth, the geezers broke loose and batted around, scoring seven. They tightened up the defense and added four more in the fifth on the way to a 16-11 win. Gabe Gartner led the way offensively with two doubles and a homerun and, not to be outdone, Zach Gartner added a homer of his own. The maroon defense was feeling the heat with four errors, but Monte Bloom made a great catch of a popup near the plate and scooped a come-backer in the final inning to put the game away. With the win, the Fossils improved to 4-0 on the season and had five minutes to catch their collective breath and rehydrate before the nightcap against GVLC/SOTG. Box Score 6/10/21: Continuing the pattern. The second game of the night was a rematch against a hard-hitting GVLC/SOTG team who is winless against the Fossils in ten matchups since joining the league in 2016. The old men continued to have trouble on defense, opening the game with an error and allowing the youngsters to score four runs before stopping the bleeding in the first. This time, however, the elderly offense was warned up and ready to go, sending thirteen hitters to the plate and scoring eight in the bottom of the first, including three on a bases-clearing triple by Chris Stewart. The youngsters weren't done, scoring in every remaining inning, but each time the fogeys matched or bested them in the home half of the inning to extend their unblemished record in the series with a 22-15 win. In addition to a five RBI performance from Chris Stewart, Zach Gartner tacked on a homerun and nearly had a second, driving the ball to within steps of the 325 sign in straightaway center. The defense was once again unremarkable but got the job done, shutting down a potential rally in the top of the fifth to secure the win as time ran out. With the victory, the Fossils stay undefeated at 5-0 on the season. They've won their last nine games, and 22 of their last 26, dating back to the last game of the 2018 season. Next up for the old men is a rematch with FLCC/Elim and an opportunity to take a commanding lead in the league. Box Score 6/17/21: Knockout. After surviving a double-header where they hadn't played particularly well, the old men brought a depleted lineup into a rematch with a First Lutheran team still smarting from a frustrating week 4 loss. Right out of the gate in the first inning the fogies were on the ropes, as the younger team pounded the ball all over the park, and it just never got any better. The elderly offense never made it out of the dugout, scoring just three runs and getting outhit 22-7 in a mercifully shortened game. Defensively, the codgers couldn't do much against the barrage of hard hit liners and well-placed bloop singles. The 4-0 deficit after the first inning turned out to be enough in a forgettable 17-3 drubbing. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 5-1 on the season with their first matchup with Family of God looming next week. Box Score 6/24/21: Restart. Coming off a complete dud of a game against First Lutheran, the Fossils finally got their first crack this season at Family of God. Jordan Altfillisch stepped in to bolster a shorthanded squad, with Jake Erickson, Stefan Bloom and Tom Madsen all unavailable for the evening. After an anemic start for the old men, the youngsters drew first blood, putting together four hits and scoring two runs in the bottom of the first. That shook the codgers awake, and they strung together six hits of their own in the second to put three runs on the board. Then the squeeze began, with the yougsters going scoreless for the next three innings while the fogeys piled on another ten runs. A scoreless top of the fifth gave Family of God hope, and they came alive with five runs to narrow the gap to 13-7, but the geezers immediately slammed the door with ten more runs in the sixth to run away with a 23-7 victory. When the dust cleared, the old men had outhit the youth 32-9 and had held them both scoreless and hitless in four of six innings. Everyone got in on the act offensively, with every hitter in the lineup scoring at least once. Gabe Gartner furthered the sibling homerun rivalry with a sprint around the bases to lead off the sixth and the team as a whole had eight extra base hits and a slugging percentage of .898 for the game. The maroon defense was as sharp as it's been in a while, with highlights provided by Monte Bloom, racing off the mound to make a basket catch of a popup in foul territory and Joe May, looking down to find a two-hop rocket securely in his glove at second base. Family of God outfielder and long-time member of the Holy Nativity Blues Hans Raske added a memorable moment to the game in the fourth inning, when he laid down his version of a drag bunt and was immediately called out by the umpire. With the win, the Fossils improve to 6-1 on the season heading into their third and final meeting with GVLC/SOTG on 7/1. Box Score 7/1/21: Beginning of a Fossil inning. Fresh from a solid win against Family of God, the Fossils faced a tough GVLC/SOTG team for the third and final matchup of the season. Legendary hurler Tom Benson ascended the mound in Monte Bloom's absence to lead the old men against a team to whom they've never lost. The elderly bats struck first, opening the game with a collection of three hits and three walks to put three runs on the board in the top of the first. The youths had no answer for the first three innings, as the maroon defense stood tall, finally pushing their first run across in the bottom of the fourth. The Fossils immediately stretched the lead to 8-1 in the top of the fifth, and the defense continued to hold the kids at bay until the first crack appeared with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, when a low throw gave the desperate youngsters an extra out and an unearned run. Then, after a scoreless top of the seventh, the wheels came off for the codgers, with three errors in the first four batters in the bottom of the seventh, followed by four singles in a row to load the bases with the winning run on first and all the momentum against the old men. With the game on the line, the leadoff hitter for GVLC/SOTG hit a routine grounder to second to end the threat and allow the geezers to escape with a nail-biting 8-6 victory. The Fossils offense had a quiet night, getting outhit 13-10 by the youngsters but taking ten walks from the struggling pitcher that kept the line moving and made all the difference. For his part, true to form, Tom Benson surrendered zero free passes. The maroon defense was flawless through five and two thirds, and then went off the rails at the end, doing just enough to get themselves off the field with a victory. With the win, the Fossils improve to 7-1 on the season heading into their final matchup of the year with St. Joseph on 7/8. Box Score 7/8/21: What, me worry? A severly depleted Fossil lineup got a boost from the first appearance of the year by Fossil legend Gary Glass and the second fill-in appearance by Jordan Altfillisch as they faced St. Joseph for the third and final time of the season. With both Blooms, both Gartners and Jake Erickson out of the lineup, legendary hurler Tom Benson once again ascended the mound and grizzled skipper Bob Madsen cobbled together a lineup without five of the first six batters in his normal batting order. The visiting codgers came out of the gate hot, sending ten batters to the plate in the top of the first, and with a little help from two St. Joseph errors scoring four runs. The thin maroon defense then took the field and delivered a quick, scoreless inning. The old men added two more in the second and kept the door closed on defense, holding the youngsters scoreless through three. Finally, in the fourth, the home team got on the board, piecing together three runs to get right back into the game. The elderly offense remained quiet for a third consecutive inning in the fifth, while St. Joe's added another run to close the gap to 6-4. Both teams added a run in the sixth, and with the chance to stretch out a slim two run lead in the top of the seventh the old men went down in order and left the outcome in the hands of the defense for the second week in a row. After a rare mishap on an infield popup and a subsequent single, the codgers found themselves facing the winning run at the plate with only one out and momentum clearly on the side of the home team. Unconcerned, Tom Benson coolly snapped up a come-backer and wheeled to start a 1-4-3 double play that ended the threat and the game. With the 7-5 victory, the Fossils improve to 8-1 on the season, with the key game in the battle for league supremacy looming in the final matchup with First Lutheran/Elim on 7/15. Box Score 7/15/21: One great inning. A fired-up Fossils team took the field for the third and final matchup with First Lutheran, with the league championship hanging in the balance. Monte Bloom and the Gartners were back from vacation, and Jordan Altfillisch joined the old men once again. After giving up three runs to the younger visitors in the top of the first, the codgers jumped out of the gate, batting around and putting seven runs on the board in the bottom of the inning to jump out to an early lead. Unfortunately, that was about all the elderly offense had in the tank, and the youngsters had plenty more. The maroon defense was unable to stop the constant barrage from First Lutheran, and the old men ultimately fell 16-8. The offensive highlight of the game was a long blast by Zach Gartner for his fifth homerun of the season. Defensively, the geezers were good but not great, and just couldn't do anything to stop the hit parade. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 8-2 on the season, with a rematch against Family of God in the nightcap of the double-header. Box Score 7/15/21: One terrible inning. After a deflating loss to First Lutheran, the Fossils' opponent in the second game of the double-header was Family of God. The visiting codgers opened the game with a bang in the first, sending 14 hitters to the plate and putting nine runs on the board before the youngsters even knew what hit them. The younger team responded with three runs, but were clearly hitting the ball much better than in previous matchups. Like the first game of the night, the elderly offense then went cold, scoring once in the second and not at all in the following three innings. Meanwhile, Family of God climbed back into the game, and the gap was closed to 10-7 when they stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth. Then all hell broke loose, as they opened the inning with twelve consecutive hits. The stunned old men made an almost unheard-of call to the bullpen, bringing in Tom Madsen to try and stop the bleeding. After throwing six pitches, all balls, and walking in a run Tom decided it was time to hand the game back to Monte. The next batter hit a short fly to left, and Zach Gartner made a great diving catch and came up throwing, doubling the runner off of second and almost allowing for a triple play, as the runner from third was nearly cut down at the plate. The next hitter hit a routine grounder to short to end the inning, but twelve runs were in and a narrow lead had turned into a 19-10 deficit. Worse yet, the long inning meant that the sixth would be the final inning of the game. Gabe Gartner led off with a triple, and the Fossils sent eight batters to the plate, but it wasn't nearly enough and they went down in defeat 19-13. With the second loss of the evening, the Fossils fall to 8-3 on the season, with a rematch against Family of God up next on 7/29. Box Score 7/29/21: Going out with a groan. After a disappointing double-header and a week off to think about it, the Fossils took the field for a rematch with Family of God in the final regular season game. The youngsters picked up right where they left off, turning two hits and four Fossil errors into five runs in the top of the first. The old men answered in the bottom of the second, closing the gap to 5-3. Both teams scored in the fourth, where two more maroon errors helped the visitors put up two runs, but the old men ultimately closed the gap to 7-6. Finally, facing an 8-6 deficit in their last at-bat, the old men strung together just enough to tie the score before running out of gas and out of time, leaving the season series with the youngsters deadlocked. Offensively, the codgers were less than impressive, with no runs scored by the first five hitters in the lineup and no runs driven in by the first eight. Chris Stewart and Joe May led the way, combining to go 6-6 and score half of the team's runs. The maroon defense played its worst game of the year, committing seven errors, including five in the infield, while only recording four ground ball outs (three of which were come-backers to the pitcher). With the tie, the Fossils finish the regular season solidly in second place at 8-3-1 and have a week to get it together before facing Family of God for a third straight time in the tournament on 8/5. Box Score 8/5/21: A little revenge. Coming off a disappointing end to the regular season, the Fossils entered a one night tournament with a third game in a row against Family of God. After a pummeling and a tenuous tie, the old men were finally ready for the youngsters, batting around to take a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the first and slowly stretching out the gap for a 17-9 victory. Offensive highlights included inside the park homeruns from Chris Stewart and Jordan Altfillisch, a moonshot from Zach Gartner and a three extra base night from Tom Madsen. The maroon defense finally showed up, holding the hard-hitting youths scoreless in three of six innings and committing only one error. With the win, the Fossils advanced to the tournament championship game against FLCC/Elim. Box Score 8/5/21: Enough. After getting by Family of God, the Fossils had to sit for an hour and watch the game that determined their opponent in the final game. By the time FLCC/Elim had finished pummeling GVLC/SOTG, the old men had lost all the momentum from their earlier victory and the sky was crackling with distant lightening. After grizzled skipper Bob Madsen won the coin toss and the maroon defense took the field in the top of the first, FLCC/Elim opened up on them, batting around and putting nine runs on the board with help from three Fossil errors and all-around weak defense. The old men countered with five of their own in the bottom of the first, but when the youngsters responded with seven more in the very long top of the second the route was on. Finally, as the Fossils were trying to mount an epic two out rally from ten down in the sixth, the sky opened up and settled the matter, sending players, spectators and umpire scrambling for cover. With the 22-12 loss and their 46th season in the books, all that's left for the Fossils is the picnic on 8/12 before they retreat into hibernation for the long, cold off-season and await the first day of practice in 2022. Box Score 2020 7/9/20: The friendly confines. After the longest and strangest offseason in team history, the Fossils creaked back into action for their 45th season on a brand new home field against an old foe, St. Joseph. A depleted infield roster for the first week forced grizzled skipper Bob Madsen to slide Monte Bloom over to third base and place a call to legendary hurler Tom Benson, asking him to dust off his glove and take the mound once again. A revamped St. Joe team got off to a hot start in the top of the first before the gift of a baserunning error allowed the Fossils to get out of the inning with only a two run deficit. The crusty maroon offense started with a cough in the first, but then took over the game, scoring six of ten batters in the second and piling on eight more in the following four innings. In classic Fossil fashion, the old men kept the line moving by stacking up singles and taking advantage of the younger team's misplays and one or two generous calls from the umpire. Despite a few key absences, the elderly defense made all the plays, holding a potent St. Joe offense down for most of the game and sealing a 14-8 victory. Next up for the 1-0 Fossils is Golden Valley Lutheran/Shepherd of the Grove on July 16th. Box Score 7/16/20: Not worried. Coming off a big win against St. Joseph, the Fossils faced GVLC/SOTG in a second straight late game. With Monte Bloom gone, legendary hurler Tom Benson took the mound for a second straight week, no doubt unlocking an incentive in his new contract. The old men got out of the gate quickly, with the potent top of the order putting two runs on the board in the top of the first. Aggressive baserunning got the youthful opponents one of those runs back in the bottom half of the inning, and then the bats went quiet on both sides. Jake Erickson finally broke through the silence in the top of the fourth with a slicing line drive that beat the right fielder badly and rolled to the fence, giving Jake plenty of time to circle the bases and record the first Fossil homerun of the season. The codgers rallied to put up two more runs in the fourth, grabbing a 5-2 lead that would last into the sixth. After starting the bottom of the sixth with two quick outs, including a great diving catch of a foul pop behind the plate by Ted Rausch, the top of the younger team's order finally got to the old men, putting up three runs to tie the game at five apiece. Both teams went quietly in the seventh, driving the game into extra innings. Fortunately for the Fossils, the top of the eighth featured the top of the order and the bottom of the inning featured the bottom of the opponent's order, and that made all the difference. The unrattled codgers came through in the clutch, winning the extra inning 4-1 and the game 9-6. Aside from Ted's great catch, defensive highlights were provided by Stefan Bloom, with a sliding grab to keep things from getting out of hand at a key moment, and an impressive display of wingspan by Gabe Gartner at third that, sadly, came up an inch short. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils is the first of three matchups against perrenial rival First Lutheran on July 23rd at 6:20. Box Score 7/23/20: Flatlined. Coming off of a great extra inning win, the Fossils faced rival First Lutheran for the first of three times this season. The old men drew first blood, putting a run on the board after only two batters in the top of the first and then adding four more in the top of the second. The youngsters managed a single run in the second but couldn't scratch out any more, and the Fossils looked to be in good shape. Then the bats went silent. Over the next five innings, the codgers managed only two more hits and no runs, putting the game in the hands of the maroon defense. First Lutheran went cold as well, but finally woke up with a rally to pull within one in the bottom of the fifth and then won the game on a two out two run single in the bottom of the seventh to hand the old men a 6-5 loss. Offensive highlights were few, and the defense was decent but not quite sharp enough to win with only five runs. The biggest defensive highlight of the night was the six foul ball strikeouts registered by hurler Monte Bloom. Next up for the 2-1 Fossils is Family of God on 7/30. Box Score 7/30/20: New life. After a disappointing loss, the Fossils looked to bounce back in their first matchup against Family of God, a new team to the league this year with some familiar faces. The visiting codgers got started quickly with a lead-off homerun by Gabe Gartner, along with a triple and two doubles by the top of the order, to take a four run lead. After giving up three in the bottom of the second, the old men broke the game open by batting around and scoring seven in the top of the third, and then added three runs in each of the following three innings to run away with the game. Along the way they got some help from the Family of God defense, who didn't have their best night. The maroon defense wasn't particularly sharp either, struggling to corral bad bounces in the outfield and keep throws on line in the infield, ultimately giving up 11 runs. The defensive highlight of the game was a throw that was perfectly on line from Jake Erickson to Ted Rausch to cut down a runner at the plate who let off the gas halfway home. Not so great, but equally memorable, was a throw into the middle of the back of a FOG hitter on his way to first after dribbling a ball in front of the plate. Offensively, the top half of the Fossil order dominated the game, hammering 11 extra base hits, including two inside-the-park homeruns by Gabe Gartner, and producing 17 of the old men's 20 runs. Zach Gartner, in his first appearance of the season, crushed the ball and drove in five of those runs himself. The offensive highlight of the night came on Gabe's second homerun, when he arrived at home in a close play to find Ted Rausch already sprawled out over the plate, post-slide. Gabe's quick footwork found an uncovered corner of the plate without stepping on Ted to complete the play. With the 20-11 win, the Fossils improve to 3-1 heading into the first double-header of the season against St. Joseph and GVLC/SOTG on 8/6. Box Score 8/6/20: Deja vu. Under the watchful eye of Fossil Emeritus Don Hoseth, the old men took the field against St. Joseph in the front end of their first double-header of the season. St. Joe's opened the game with a rare walk off of legendary hurler Tom Benson and scratched out a run in the top of the first, but then the elderly offense revealed the game plan for the evening, turning seven singles and a walk into five runs in the home half of the inning. The visitors managed four more in the second and by the middle of the third held a narrow 8-6 lead, but their offensive night was over and the Fossils were just warming up. The old men tacked on eight more runs while holding St. Joe's scoreless for the remainder of the game to roll to a 14-8 win. The maroon defense was solid, despite a shockingly uncharacteristic total of four walks by Tom Benson, three of which occurred after he was dinged up in a collision at home plate. Offensively, the middle of the order provided a much-needed spark, including 4 RBIs from Joe May. With the win, the Fossils improved to 4-1 and faced GVLC/SOTG in the second matchup of the evening. Box Score 8/6/20: Small ball. The second matchup of the evening was 2-3 GVLC/SOTG, a team that had taken the Fossils to extra innings in the second game of the season. The home team once again, the geezers opened the game with a sweet diving catch by Greg Erickson in right field, but then got a little sloppy with subsequent hitters and finally got back into the dugout down 4-0. In a stark contrast to the first game of the night, the top of the order fizzled in the home half of the first, hitting the ball hard but right at the GVLC outfielders. Fortunately for the old men, the defense settled in and took over, allowing just five hits and no runs in the remaining six innings, while turning three double plays. The defensive dominance came to a head in the fourth inning, when Jake Erickson salvaged a bobbled grounder with a behind-the-back flip to a bare-handed catch by Tom Madsen to casually force a runner at second. The next batter grounded into a smooth 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. Offensively, the Fossils got off to a slow start, but finally started piling up the singles to take control of the game in the fourth. Without an extra base hit, the fogeys kept the line moving as they had in the first game of the night, turning 19 singles and three walks into an 11-4 win. In the evening's two games, the old men overwhelmed their opponents with 40 singles, stringing together as many as eight in a single inning. With the victory, the Fossils improve to 5-1 on the year and look ahead to an 8/13 matchup with Family of God. Box Score 8/13/20: Running away. After winning both games of the first double-header of the season, the Fossils took the field for a rematch against league newcomer Family of God, who they had beaten 20-11 just two weeks earlier. The game got off to a shaky start, with a sluggish maroon defense giving up four runs to the upstarts in the top of the first to dig an early hole. The old men came roaring back, however, with six runs of their own in the bottom of the first. Then the fogey defense settled in and held the visitors scoreless for the next two innings while the elderly bats put up twelve more runs, turning it into a laugher. Jake Erickson turned in the defensive gem of the night at short with a fully extended diving catch of a hard liner to stop a rally in its tracks and leave the bases loaded in the third. He then delivered a nearly identical catch to end the fourth and strand two more runners. Offensive output was well-distributed throughout the lineup for the codgers, who piled on 21 runs in just four innings at the plate en route to a mercifully abbreviated 21-8 final. With the win, the Fossils improve to 6-1 on the year heading into a rematch with First Lutheran on 8/20. Box Score 8/20/20: Beat down. After blowing out Family of God, the Fossils settled in for a gritty rematch against undefeated First Lutheran, who had walked off the old men in week 3. Despite multiple hard-hit balls, neither team could overcome the opposing defense in the scoreless first. Then, in the top of the second, the codgers broke through, turning six hits into four runs to grab the early momentum. After surrendering a couple in the bottom of the second, the Fossils added three in the top of the third to take a 7-2 lead. Then the wheels came off, with First Lutheran taking comand of the game in the bottom of the third with six runs. The geezers hung tight, managing to pull even at nine in the top of the fifth, but First Lutheran was hitting too well and the maroon defense couldn't save the day, surrendering six runs in the bottom of the fifth on the way to a 15-9 final. The Fossil offense looked strong in flashes, but too many balls were hit right at outfielders. Conversely, it seemed like every hit by an opposing batter was in a gap, with old men chasing the ball and runners circling the bases. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 6-2 on the season and prepare for their final matchup with GVLC/SOTG on 8/27. Box Score 8/27/20: The Fossil and the hare. Fossil legend Don Hoseth looked on as his favorite team tried to shake off a bad loss and sweep the season series against GVLC/SOTG. The visiting Fossils opened the bidding with a single run in the top of the first, but then were met by an offensive onslaught from the home team, who opened the game with six straight hits and didn't stop until six runs were on the board. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen immediately started thinking about the previous matchup on 8/6, when the old men spotted the youngsters four runs in the first and then shut them down for the remainder of the game. His prediction, as the codgers shuffled off the field, that history would repeat itself was pure wishful thinking...or was it? Over the next five innings, the geezers slowly crawled back, finally taking the lead in the sixth on a Ryan Glass sacrifice fly. All the while, the maroon defense held the door closed, with crafty hurler Monte Bloom allowing just three more hits the rest of the way. With the thinnest of leads, the old men set down the side in order in the bottom of the seventh without letting the ball out of the infield to notch a 7-6 win. Highlights for the evening were provided by the Gartner brothers, with Gabe demonstrating the safest style of slide (none) when attempting to stretch a single into a double (unsuccessfully) in the first at-bat of the game, and Zach narrowly avoiding collision twice to make great plays in right field and at first base. Next up for the 7-2 Fossils is a final rematch with a struggling St. Joseph's on 9/3. Box Score 9/3/20: Fall ball. A cool wind greeted the Fossils as they took the field for the team's first ever game in the month of September. The opponent was once-powerful St. Joseph, who the old men were looking to beat for a third time this season. Unlike the first two matchups, the Fossils jumped out to an early lead, putting four runs on the board in the top of the first. St. Joseph responded with one in the home half of the first, but the fourth Fossil batter of the night had already scored the winning run, and it was all over but the crying. The codgers piled on 17 more runs in the following four innings en route to a 21-3 beatdown. The elderly offense was firing on all cylinders, outhitting St. Joe's 29-10 with the help of 4-4 nights from Ryan Glass and Tom Madsen and a 5 RBI night from Rich Benson. Defensively, the geezers were sharp enough to stay out of trouble, escaping twice with the bases loaded, including on a great catch by Chris Stewart in left center to end the fourth. With the victory, the Fossils improve to 8-2 on the season with only a 9/10 double-header remaining. Box Score 9/10/20: A hot start and a huge finish. With a chill in the air and the Godfather of St. James softball, Dean Holmes, in the stands, the Fossils took on Family of God in the first half of a season-ending double-header. The youngsters came out hot with two triples and three runs in the top of the first, but the old men came ready to hit, sending 14 batters to the plate and piling up ten runs in the home half of the inning. Exhausted, the fogies then took an offensive sabbatical for the next three innings while Family of God slowly crept back into the game. Nursing a slim three run lead in the middle of the fifth, the codgers finally reopened the tap and poured on seven more runs in two innings, culminating in a walk-off 2-run moonshot by Zach Gartner that, if not for a tree, may have landed on the other side of 47th Avenue. The maroon defense didn't play its best game by any stretch, but Monte Bloom dominated the youngsters from the mound, forcing six infield popups, two foulouts and one lazy comebacker that together comprised half of Family of God's outs. With the 17-7 win, the Fossils improve to 9-2, with a final rematch against league champ First Lutheran looming. Box Score 9/10/20: Karma. After finishing off the season sweep of Family of God, the Fossils watched First Lutheran file into the opposing dugout for one final rematch to end the season. Having beaten the old men twice in heartbreaking last-minute fashion, First Lutheran had already secured the league championship and was looking to put the finishing touches on an undefeated season. The Fossils, however, were still a little bitter and not so eager to let that happen. After a rather uneventful top half of the first, where the champs still managed to score a run, the codgers took advantage of a rare fielding error to start a five run rally and settle into the lead. As they'd done in the first game of the night, the geezers then flipped off the switch for four innings, allowing First Lutheran to close the gap and finally take a 6-5 lead in the fifth. When the lead grew to 8-5 in the middle of the sixth, it was time to get the bats restarted, and the top of the order was up to the task, pushing two runs across to pull to 8-7. The champs looked to push the game out of reach in the top of the seventh, but they left the bases loaded after scoring only one run, leaving the door open for the underdogs to turn the tables and spoil the perfect season. The bottom half of the Fossil order, which up to that point had produced only two hits and one RBI in twelve plate appearances, siezed the opportunity for some payback, and after three hits and two walks, Gabe Gartner came to the plate in a 9-9 game with the bases loaded and only one out. He promptly laced a walk-off single to hand First Lutheran their only defeat of the season and return the favor from week 3. With the 10-9 victory, the Fossils close out the season 10-2, having swept three of the other four teams in the league and avoided being swept themselves by the champs. In a strange and delayed season, the old men managed to mount a classic Fossil campaign, producing their 18th straight year of .500 or better softball and improving their winning percentage over that stretch to .700. Box Score 2019 5/2/19: A little bit of rust. The Fossils creaked out of hibernation to kick off their 44th season against GVLC/SOTG on what turned out to be a gorgeous spring evening. The old men started slow, taking some early season swings and hitting some lazy fly balls to keep the game scoreless through the first two innings. In the top of the third, the first signs of life in the form of a walk and two hits turned into the first run of the game and gave the Fossils the lead. Finally, in the fourth, the offense got loose, starting with a moonshot by Zach Gartner and closing with an inside-the-park homer by Rich Benson to give the Fossils a 5-0 lead. The maroon defense had a bit of an adventure in the bottom of the fourth, and the youthful opponent closed the gap to 5-3, but the codgers had another burst left in them, tacking on three more in the sixth, thanks in part to another blast by Zach Gartner. GVLC/SOTG closed the gap to one run in the bottom of the seventh, but the fogies managed to hold on for an 8-7 victory. Even though they weren't yet firing on all cylinders, it was clear that the elderly offense will be scoring some runs this season. Next up for the 1-0 Fossils are the Cornerstone Reds on May 9th. Box Score 5/9/19: A sloppy slugfest. The Fossils faced their first game of the year under the lights on a cold night, with the always challenging Cornerstone as the opponent. In a reversal of a long-standing tradition, legendary hurler Tom Benson ascended the mound to fill in for an absent Monte Bloom. The young visitors were undaunted and wasted no time in jumping out to a lead, batting around and putting 8 runs on the board before the Fossils even picked up a bat. The old men countered with 9 of their own in the bottom of the second, punctuated by a three run blast off the bat of Zach Gartner, and the game tightened up. Finally, in the bottom of the fourth, the old men switched to smallball, turning 8 hits, 2 walks and an error into 8 runs and breaking open the game. The maroon defense was uncharacteristically sloppy, committing 8 errors and suffering through some long innings, but in the end the codgers were able to bury their struggles under a pile of runs. When the smoke cleared, the old men had run away with a 26-17 victory. Gabe Gartner joined his brother in the offensive highlight reel with an inside-the-park homerun, and both Gartners, along with Jake Erickson and Chris Stewart, went 4-4, scoring 13 runs and driving in 12 between them. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils is fierce rival St. Joseph's Grey on 5/16. Box Score 5/16/19: Coming up empty. After an uneven start to the season, the Fossils faced their first big challenge of the season against St. Joseph Grey. Grey started out hot, sending nine batters to the plate in the top of the first and putting four runs on the board. The old men just couldn't find a response, scratching out a single run that scored on a double play ball, and that set the tone for the game. Grey hit very well, finding all the holes and pushing runners station to station. Most of the balls hit by the Fossils were right at fielders, who made the plays and kept the old men from ever really getting into the game. Rich Benson led the maroon offense, going 3-3 and driving in a scarce run. Defensively, the old men were ok, but didn't rise to the level necessary to shut down the perennial powerhouse. The play of the game came in the top of the first, when Chris Stewart threw out a greedy runner at the plate in what seemed like slow motion to put a sudden end to a devestating hit parade. In the end, Grey played their typical solid game and the Fossils just couldn't get anything started, falling by a score of 9-4. The 2-1 Fossils will face another challenge in First Lutheran on 5/23. Box Score 5/23/19: Lighting up the yard. After a disappointing outing against St. Joe Grey, the Fossils next opponent was undefeated First Lutheran in a late game. Showing no respect at all for the early season league leaders, the visiting fogies brought the lumber right out of the gate when the second batter of the game, Jake Erickson, hit a line drive solo shot over the fence to open the scoring. A triple by Monte Bloom scored another, and the Fossils took a 2-0 lead. The old men added another in the second and three more in the top of the third before First Lutheran got the bats going. Once they opened up, however, they made quick work of closing the gap, scoring six to tie the game after three. Suddenly faced with a new game, the Fossils went right back on the attack, batting all twelve and putting eight more runs on the board, including three on a Zach Gartner blast. The response knocked the wind out of First Lutheran, who sputtered and stalled. A surge in the bottom of the sixth was too little too late, and the clock ran out on First Lutheran with a 16-11 Fossil victory. The offensive charge for the old men was led by the core of the order, with the 2 through 5 hitters going a combined 14-16 with 10 runs and 10 RBI, including three homeruns, a triple and four doubles. Defensively, the codgers looked better they had so far this season, committing only one error and stopping rallies short in the last three innings before real damage could be done. With the win, the Fossils improve to 3-1 and move on to their first double-header of the season on 5/30. Box Score 6/6/19: Warming up. Coming off an unplanned bye week, the Fossils eagerly dove into the second half of the schedule with a rematch against GVLC/SOTG. The night started slow, with the maroon offense going quietly in the top of the first and the home team dinking and dunking their way to a three run lead. The second half of the lineup then got things going for the old men, tying the game in the second and then opening it up with four runs in the fourth and another four in the fifth on the way to a 14-8 victory. Highlights included Chris Stewart doing his best Russ O'Dell impression by engaging the entire infield in a rundown while a run scored behind them, and six runs scored with two outs. Defensively, Chris added a diving catch to end a threat in the fifth and Jake Erickson gunned down runners at the plate to end both the third and sixth innings. Monte Bloom dominated on the mound, delivering four strikeouts, including a caught-looking to end the game. Next up for the 4-1 Fossils is a rematch against Cornerstone on June 13th. Box Score 6/13/19: Keeping it together. To round out the first half of the season, the Fossils faced Cornerstone in a rematch of a messy week two bout. The old men got off to a better start than the first matchup, holding the visitors scoreless in the top of the first and opening the scoring with a leadoff homerun by Gabe Gartner. They added another in the bottom of the second when Cornerstone decided to throw the ball around, but then lost the momentum when the visitors took the lead on a three run homer in the top of the third and started to pull away, leaving the Fossils in a 6-3 hole after five and a half. Then, finally, the old men sprung into action, ignited by Zach Gartner's towering solo shot to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Nine more batters came to the plate and four more crossed it before the rally finally came to an end, leaving the Fossils with an 8-6 advantage. Then things started to get messy. In the top of the seventh, Cornerstone loaded the bases with just one out and the heart of the order coming to the plate, then closed the gap to one on a sacrifice fly that spawned a nasty collision at the plate. In perhaps the biggest moment of the season so far, the old men kept their cool and hurler Monte Bloom got the cleanup hitter to ground out to second to end the threat and the game. Ted Rausch provided the defensive highlight of the night, crashing into the backstop to snag a foul pop and shut down Cornerstone in the fourth. With the win, the Fossils improve to 5-1 at the halfway point of the season and face a rematch against the only team to beat them so far, St. Joseph Grey, on 6/20. Box Score 6/27/19: Fossilized. After an idle week due to rain, the Fossils headed into a rematch with an 8-1 First Lutheran team who was still smarting from their lone loss at the hands of the old men in week 4. The visiting fogies came out of the gate slow, going down in order in the first, and the youngsters promptly took a 2-0 lead. The middle of the Fossil order finally broke the ice in the second, turning six singles and a poor fielding choice by First Lutheran into three runs. The home team responded with a collection of dinks and dunks in the bottom of the inning that put four more runs on the board, but a towering grand slam by Zach Gartner in the top of the third retook the lead for the old men and a defensive stop in the bottom of the inning held it. The teams drew even at 9-9 after four, at which point the elderly offense abruptly stalled, going down in order in the next two innings while First Lutheran piled on five more runs to take a 14-9 lead into the final inning. With three outs left and no momentum whatsoever, it looked like they were done, but the Fossils have spent decades developing the perfect tool for just that situation...patience. The top of the seventh started with a walk, and the old men calmly proceded to pile up hits and use smart base running to tack on seven runs and retake the lead. First Lutheran tried to rally the troops, but the 12 batter grind they'd just endured had broken their spirits, and the maroon defense calmly put them away. With the 16-14 victory, the Fossils improve to 6-1 on the season and take over the top spot in the league. After a week off for the holiday, they're back in action in a double-header with St. Joseph's Blue and the Holy Nativity Disciples on July 11th. Box Score 7/11/19: Lockdown. After a week off for the holiday, the Fossils got their first shot at St. Joseph's Blue in the front end of their first double-header of the season. Fossil legend Gary Glass donned the maroon for the first time this season to show off the skills he keeps honed in the Florida senior leagues. The visiting Fossils got out of the gate quickly, batting eleven and scoring six runs in first, and they never looked back on the way to an uneventful 12-0 route. Monte Bloom and the smothering maroon defense allowed just three hits in the first shutout of the year. Box Score 7/11/19: Just short. After a great showing in the front end of the double-header, the Fossils took on the Holy Nativity Disciples in the first of two grudge matches of the season. The youngsters got off to a quick start, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first, but the grizzled veterans found three of their own to tie the game. In the fourth, the Disciples put two more on the board to take a brief lead, but the old men countered with four, including perhaps the lowest line drive ever hit out of a ballpark by Zach Gartner to lead off the inning. The Disciples retook the lead in the top of the sixth, and the Fossils found themselves facing a one run deficit in the bottom of the seventh. Back to back singles by Chris Stewart and Dan Madsen tied the game, and a single by Greg Erickson pushed the winning run into scoring position, but the old men couldn't close the deal on the walkoff and the game went into extra innings. Apparently tired of close calls, the youngsters opened up in the top of the eighth, putting five more runs on the board and blowing the Fossils away. The elderly offense was just a little less sharp in the nightcap, struggling to get key hits when they needed them and carelessly losing three runners on the basepaths. With the split, the Fossils go to 7-2 on the season and look ahead to a difficult matchup with St. Joseph's Grey on July 18th. Box Score 7/18/19: Smothered. After suffering a disappointing late loss to the Disciples on 7/11, the Fossils got their last shot at the only other team to beat them this year, perennial contender St. Joseph's Grey. With Monte Bloom unavailable, legendary hurler Tom Benson once again stepped out of retirement to take the hill. A reshuffled Fossil infield got off to a clunky start, opening the game with errors on the first two batters, but they quickly got it together and escaped after allowing only one run in the top of the first. The question of the night was which maroon offense would show up, and it immediately became obvious that the old men had brought their hitting shoes. Five singles in the bottom of the first netted three runs to take the lead. After a scoreless top half of the second, the codgers added three more, and after shutting the visitors down yet again in the third they piled on another two. The final blow came in the fourth, when a three run blast by Zach Gartner highlighted a four run inning and gave the Fossils a 12-2 lead that would become the final score. Zach's homerun was his eighth of the year, tying the all-time single season mark set by Eric Kohn back in 1995. Tom Benson led the maroon defense to a smothering performance, surrendering only six hits to one of the league's best offenses and personally taking away the middle of the field. With the win, the Fossils improve to 8-2 and keep their league championship hopes alive heading into a season-ending double-header on July 25th. Box Score 7/25/19: Nearly perfect. The Fossils took the field against St. Joseph's Blue in the first game of a season-ending double-header, with the league championship on the line. After shutting Blue out two weeks earlier, the old men hoped to pick up where they'd left off. After a scoreless first inning, the aging visitors got their bats started in the top of the second with five run and kept pouring it on, racking up 19 runs against a bewildered Blue defense. The offense produced 25 hits, including Zach Gartner's record-breaking ninth homerun of the season and 3-3 performances by Monte Bloom, Rich Benson and Chris Stewart. Defensively, the codgers started solid, shutting out the younger team for almost four innings until a slow grounder snuck under the waiting glove of Gabe Gartner at third base, leading to a couple of forgettable moments that broke up the shutout. Still a route, the game ended early in a 19-4 victory for the Fossils, who were now 9-2 and one game away from sealing the deal on the league championship. Box Score 7/25/19: The cherry on top. After dispatching St. Joseph's Blue, the Fossils turned their attention to the rival Holy Nativity Disciples, who had snuck past them two weeks earlier and handed them just their second loss of the season. A win would seal the deal on the second 10 win season in Fossil history and a league championship. After holding their young rivals scoreless in the top of the first, the old men struck, sending thirteen to the plate and coming away with eight runs, including three on an inside-the-park homer by Stefan Bloom. The Disciples crept into the game on a three run blast in the top of the second, but Zach Gartner extended his single season home run record to ten with a three run blast of his own in the bottom of the inning, keeping the lead at eight. The Disciples tacked on another in the third and were threatening in the fourth when Rich Benson made a great diving catch in right center and the old men were able to end the threat. Down 13-4, the youngsters weren't done, but the old men kept the game safely out of reach and it rolled to an 18-9 finish. With the win, the Fossils finished the season at 10-2 and edged out First Lutheran for the league championship. The 44th edition of the Fossils may have been the best so far, with an unstoppable offense and a defense that gave them a 60 run advantage over the course of the season. Box Score 2018 5/17/18: Starting strong. After a first week bye, the Fossils opened up their 43rd season against Cornerstone. The old men started right in on the youngsters, sending twelve batters to the plate and scoring eight in the top of the first. The maroon defense then took the field in mid-season form, despite an uncharacteristic five walks from legendary hurler Tom Benson, and kept the game from ever being close. For good measure, the fogies piled on eight more in the top of the sixth to roll to a 19-4 victory. Next up for the 1-0 Fossils is St. Joseph's (Lutz) on May 24th. Box Score 5/24/18: Patience. Coming off a resounding win against Cornerstone, the Fossils faced a new St. Joseph's Lutz team in week 2. The visiting codgers showed none of the prior week's early explosiveness, going in order in the first two innings, while surrendering a single run to the youngsters in the bottom of the first. Finally, in the top of the third, the old men got their first hit, and then exploded for eight runs on eight hits, including back to back homeruns by Chris Stewart and Gabe Gartner. What had looked like a decent start by the younger team's offense turned out to be all they had. The maroon defense was as stout as ever, giving up only the one run on just six hits. The fogies' bats fell silent again after the third, until a six run burst in the top of the sixth piled on enough runs to end the game early with a 14-1 final score. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils is the first of two grudge matches this season against the Holy Nativity Disciples for church bragging rights on May 31st. Box Score 5/31/18: Man down. Under the watchful eye of Fossil legend Don Hoseth, the old men took on their upstart rivals, the Holy Nativity Disciples, for the first of two battles for church bragging rights this season. The Fossil offense sputtered early, allowing the kids a 1-0 start and a 3-3 tie after four. Then the codgers woke up and got to work, outscoring the Disciples 9-4 in the final three frames to pull away. Jake Erickson led the way, delivering three hits including a double and a triple. The maroon defense looked good early, but got a little sloppy down the stretch, committing four errors in the final two innings to keep the young punks' hopes alive. Despite the 12-7 victory, the old men suffered a major loss when Joe Gartner had to be helped from the field and taken away in an ambulance after going into third awkwardly and injuring his knee in the top of the seventh. Get better soon, Joe! Next up for the 3-0 Fossils is the first of two matchups with their toughest opponent, St. Joseph's Grey, on June 7th. Box Score 6/7/18: Big fly. Hall of Famer Zach Gartner thrilled the crowd with his first appearance in four years, standing in for his injured father as the Fossils took on perrenial powerhouse St. Joseph Grey for the first of two season matchups. Joe May also stepped in to bolster an undermanned roster for the old men. The stage was set for a showdown between the two 3-0 teams, and the game did not disappoint. After stopping the youngsters in their tracks in the top of the first, the Fossils pushed around a run in the bottom of the first to take an early lead, but missed a bigger opportunity by leaving the bases loaded. They left the bases loaded in the second and third as well, coming up empty in the second but tacking on two more in the third. In the fourth, St. Joseph finally drew blood, scoring three to tie the game, but were shut down with a double play to keep the damage from being worse. After an inning deadlocked, Tom Madsen broke the tight game open with a three run blast in the bottom of the fifth to give the old men a 6-3 lead. The teams scored three more apiece in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, but the final difference was the one big swing. Defensively, both teams were terrific all game long. The maroon defense made all the routine plays and several exceptional ones, led by a diving catch in right center by Joe May at a pivotal moment late in the game and several key plays by Jake Erickson and Tom Madsen in the middle infield to shut the door on St. Joseph rallies. There was no room for error, and both teams rose to the challenge in an evenly matched and truly great game. With the hard-fought 9-6 victory, the Fossils improve to 4-0 on the season and move ahead to a matchup with undefeated First Lutheran on June 14th. Box Score 6/14/18: Breakout. The Maytag Man of Fossil pitching, Monte Bloom, took the mound for a battle of unbeatens with First Lutheran. Fossil legends Don Hoseth and Russ O'Dell, along with a mending Joe Gartner, looked on as the old men got their one shot this season at the toughest team in the league. After a scoreless inning and a half, the Fossils drew first blood in the bottom of the second, stringing together a handful of hits, two walks and a two crucial errors by the younger squad to put five runs on the board. The maroon defense managed another scoreless inning in the third, and were nearly there in the fourth before the youthful offense got loose and put up five runs of their own. After surrendering that initial burst to tie the game, the Fossils just couldn't manage to regain control and the game slid downhill toward a 15-9 final score. Next up for the 4-1 Fossils is the first of two matchups against Golden Valley Lutheran on June 21st. Box Score 6/21/18: Non-starter. The first of two matchups against Golden Valley Lutheran was over before it started when GVL was unable to field a full team and had to forfeit. The ensuing scrimmage featured strong offense and a creative collection of defensive configurations by the old men, along with one of the least decisive umpiring performances in recent memory. Ahead for the 5-1 Fossils is a bye on June 28th, a week off for the holiday on July 5th and then a rematch against Golden Valley Lutheran on July 12th. 7/19/18: Return to form. After four weeks off and five weeks since their last game that wasn't a scrimmage, the Fossils opened their only scheduled double-header of the season with a rematch against St. Joseph's Lutz. Fossil legend Gary Glass made his first appearance of the season in the maroon, and the old men stacked the dugout with 15 bodies. After spotting the youngsters a run in the top of the first, the codgers shook off the dust and started hot, putting four on the board in their half of the first. After the initial outburst, however, both offenses stalled until the Fossils finally recycled their order and put another five runs on the board in the fourth. After surrendering one in the fifth and six more in a messy sixth, the old men added four more in the bottom of the sixth and slammed the door in the seventh to close out a 13-8 win. The maroon defense committed a season high six errors but never really paid the price, as legendary hurler Tom Benson worked out of jams in several innings to preserve the lead. The Fossil offense hit the ball well, collecting six extra base hits and overwhelming the youthful defense. With the win, the 6-1 Fossils turned to the nightcap against St. Joseph's Grey. Box Score 7/19/18: Late night gem. Fresh off a strong win against the Lutz team, the Fossils faced a team that always gives them fits in St. Joseph's Grey. The earlier matchup in week four was the tightest game of the season so far, and it quickly became obvious that the rematch wouldn't disappoint. After hitting his pitch count limit in the first game of the double-header, legendary hurler Tom Benson was lifted for Monte Bloom. As expected, the game started extremely tight, with both offenses struggling to find a crack in the armor of the terrific defenses. After five innings, Grey held a 3-1 lead and the two teams had a mere seven hits between them. Finally, in the top of the sixth, the old men strung together eight hits to put six runs on the board and break the game open. They added three more in the seventh and shut down the youngsters to claim a strong 10-3 victory. The maroon defense was in top form, making all the plays to hold an excellent team to just ten hits. With the win, the Fossils go to 7-1 on the season and start gearing up for a rematch with the Holy Nativity Disciples on August 2nd. Box Score 8/2/18: Holding serve. After yet another idle week, the fifth of the season, the Fossils squared off once more against their cross-pew rivals, the Holy Nativity Disciples. Having beaten the youngsters earlier in the season but lost Joe Gartner to injury in the process, the old men were eager to take care of business and escape in one piece with the league tourament only two days away. The night got off to a bit of a bumpy start when the second batter of the game hit a fly ball to left and Zach Gartner took a path to the ball straight out of a Family Circus cartoon, then gracefully spun and took a seat as the runner coasted into third. After the chuckles subsided, the maroon defense stiffened, and managed to escape unscathed. Then the offense kicked in, batting around and putting six runs on the board to get things going in the bottom of the first. The old men stretched the lead over the next four innings to a 15-4 deficit, forcing the Disciples to come up with at least two runs in the top of the sixth to keep the game alive. In classic Fossil fashion, a series of defensive hiccups suddenly turned into six runs and the game was close again. Alas, the young punks' last ditch rally consumed the last of the allotted game time, and when the rally ended so did the game. Despite the shaky inning at the end, the Fossils looked good in the 15-10 win. With the win, the old men improve to 8-1 on the season and go into the weekend league tournament as the second seed. After the August 4th tournament, one regular season makeup game remains against Golden Valley Lutheran on August 9th. Box Score 8/9/18: A great finish. After a disappointing tournament performance, the Fossils had one last chance to close out a great season with a rescheduled rematch against Golden Valley Lutheran. Third generation Fossil Jon Knutson joined the old men for the first time this year, and Steve Knutson and Joe Gartner were on hand to watch the codgers try and match the best season record in the history of the team. Excitement was hard to come by right out of the gate, however, as the Fossils appeared to have a hangover from a lousy tournament performance and couldn't get the bats going. GV Lutheran held a 1-0 lead after two innings when the old men finally got on the board, tying the game on a Jon Knutson single. Defense was tight on both sides, with Jake Erickson highlighting a great infield game for the Fossils and the younger team's shortstop making every play that came his way as well. A 3-1 Fossil lead in the middle of the fifth slowly dissolved, and the geezers found themselves needing a clean bottom half of the seventh to force extra innings. Finally, in the top of the eighth, Jon Knutson led an awakening of the elderly bats and the old men opened up a 6-3 lead that would become the final score. Jon finished with a 3-3 night, and Jake Erickson went 3-4 with two extra base hits, including an eighth inning double that drove in the go-ahead run. Defensively, the Fossil outfield had the night off, recording only two put-outs all game. Legendary hurler Tom Benson added a strikeout, and the maroon infield recorded the remaining 21 outs in the game, committing only one error along the way. With the win, the Fossils close out a terrific 43rd season with a 9-1 record, matching a mark set in 1998 and good enough for second place in the league standings. Box Score 2017 5/4/17: Nothing doing. The Fossils kicked off their 42nd season with a matchup against perrenial powerhouse First Lutheran under the lights on an absolutely perfect evening. Hank Jubert rejoined the old men after several years away, and Stefan Bloom returned from a leg injury that brought an early end to his 2016 season. Unlike last year's season-opening romp, the codgers couldn't quite get their act together in the field or at the plate. Eager to get the old men back on course, Hank Jubert staged a clinic on executing a rundown that won't soon be forgotten, but it wasn't enough to right the ship. First Lutheran had trouble taking advantage of the miscues initially, but finally broke free in the bottom of the sixth and buried the geezers with a 13-4 final. Next up for the Fossils is St. Joseph Grey on May 11th. Box Score 5/11/17: Still nothing. The Fossils followed up their sluggish season opener with another anemic performance against St. Joseph Grey. Once again, the old men weren't sharp in the field, making five errors, and couldn't muster much at the plate to make up for it. The game was in reach throughout, but the codgers never found a spark and suffered their second loss of the season by a final score of 13-6. Next up for the Fossils is league newcomer Mosaic Church on May 18th. Box Score 5/18/17: Turning the tables. After a sluggish start to the season, the Fossils faced Mosaic Church, a new team to the league this year. Legendary hurler Tom Benson returned to the mound after a week away, and at the same time the maroon defense returned from a long offseason to deliver an error-free performance. Fossil bats also awakened, after two weak outings, and the old men outhit the younger team by a margin of 19-9. Stefan and Monte Bloom each delivered key hits to clear loaded bases, and Rich Benson delivered three hits and three more RBI to propel the Fossils to a 13-5 win. Shortstop Jake Erickson provided the defensive highlight of the night with a diving stop on the outfield grass and a long throw to first to nab the surprised hitter. With their first win of the season under their belts, the 1-2 Fossils take on Elim Lutheran on May 25th. Box Score 5/25/17: Back to square one. The Fossils returned to early season form against Elim Lutheran, leaving their bats at home in an 11-6 drubbing. The old men mustered only one hit in the first three innings, and then showed some promise with five runs in the fourth, three of which came on a bases-loaded triple by Jake Erickson. That promise, however, turned out to be everything the codgers had, and the bats fell silent once again. Defensively, the Fossils played a decent game, with a couple of great plays by Jake at short, but it wasn't nearly enough to keep Elim from an easy win. Next up for the struggling Fossils is the annual grudge match against the Holy Nativity Disciples on June 1st. Box Score 6/1/17: Mayhem. The Fossils entered the annual grudge match against the Holy Nativity Disciples reeling, having scored only 29 runs in 26 innings so far this season. Right out of the gate, the younger Disciples jumped on the old men, scoring seven in the bottom of the first and stretching their lead to 11-3 after three innings, with help from seven Fossil errors. The maroon defense was terrible and the bats were weak, leading the game toward a route. Then, in the top of the fourth, the codgers suddenly opened up on the youngsters, outscoring them 22-4 in the final two innings to coast to a 25-15 victory. Just about everything that could go wrong did in this game, with the two teams combining for 19 errors in just five innings. Jake Erickson, Tom Madsen and Gabe Gartner led the way offensively for the Fossils, going a combined 9-10 and driving in 14 runs. Gabe blew the game open in the fifth, legging out an inside-the-park grand slam, and Tom closed the scoring for the old men a few batters later, unhitching the plow for a two run inside-the-parker of his own. Defensively, the few highlights that could be squeezed in between the Fossils' ten errors included Steve Derner catching a ball in the sternum (and holding on) in right field and a successful rundown between third and home that ended the third inning and marked a turning point in the game. Next up for the 2-3 Fossils is Cornerstone on June 8th. Box Score 6/8/17: Walkoff under the lights. After their wild outing against the Disciples, the Fossils looked for an encore against always-difficult Cornerstone. Right out of the gate, the younger visitors tore up the old men, putting up five runs in the top of the first and adding three more in the second to jump out to an 8-0 lead. Then, in the bottom of the second, the game suddenly turned, as a leadoff double by Ryan Glass opened up a string of eight straight hits, quickly followed up by back to back homeruns by Jake Erickson and Tom Madsen. In all, the old men sent 17 batters to the plate, scoring 13 runs and breaking the younger team's spirit. If that wasn't enough, the maroon defense then took hold, keeping Cornerstone off the board for the next three innings and surrendering just two runs the rest of the game. Offensively, Jake Erickson led the way with another huge night, hitting for the cycle and driving in six runs. It was Ted Rausch, however, who delivered the highlight of the night, drilling a walkoff double over the left fielder's head that scored Hank Jubert from first and closed out the 20-10 victory in the bottom of the sixth. Next up for the 3-3 Fossils is Golden Valley Lutheran on June 15th. Box Score 6/15/17: Back to basics. Coming off two weeks in which they scored a total of 45 runs, the Fossils settled in against Golden Valley Lutheran and played a much more typical game. Paul Schiller took the mound in the absence of both Tom Benson and Monte Bloom, and Jon Knutson joined the squad for the first time this year. The maroon defense looked a little shaky at the start, surrendering six runs on a few errors in the first two innings, but the bats kept the old men in the game until they could settle down in the field. In the end, the Fossils used twenty singles, four walks and not one extra base hit to grind out a 14-12 win and push their record above .500 for the first time this season. Next up for the 4-3 Fossils is a rematch against Cornerstone on June 22nd. Box Score 6/29/17: A little old magic. Fifteen creaky old men packed the dugout for the first round of the league playoff against Cornerstone. Among them was Fossil legend Gary Glass, making the pilgrimage from Florida to don the maroon for his 40th regular season with the team. Despite the many hundreds of years of experience compiled by the elderly home team, they couldn't make a play when they needed one in the top of the first, committing four errors and coughing up eight runs. Cornerstone added two more in the top of the second to take a 10-0 lead, on their way to what appeared to be turning into a route. Then, in the bottom of the second, the Fossils went back to doing what they do best, stringing together seven hits from the middle of the order to put four runs on the board. The visitors tacked on one more in the top of the third, but the maroon defense had settled in and it was the last run of the night for the youngsters. The grizzled horde, however, kept grinding away, turning eight hits into six runs in the fourth and then tying the game in the bottom of the sixth on a Rich Benson single. After locking down another zero in the top of the seventh, the codgers made two quick outs before some of the old Fossil magic kicked in. Joe Gartner, left on first after a fielder's choice, was pushed over to second by a Greg Erickson single, leaving the game in the hands of Gary Glass. After looping a foul ball down the right field line, Gary caught the right center fielder cheating up and drilled the ball over his head to score Joe from second and give the old men their fourth straight win. After a rough start, the stifling Fossil defense allowed just one run on four hits in the final five innings of the game. Tom Benson and Ted Rausch provided highlights, each making a difficult catch on a popup in front of home plate as Cornerstone wilted under the onslaught. The offensive highlight was mob rule, with the old men piling up singles in waves to come roaring back for a 12-11 victory. Next up for the Fossils, after a week off for the holiday, is the winner of a first round matchup between league leading First Lutheran and the Holy Nativity Disciples. Box Score 7/13/17: The swing of the year. After edging out Cornerstone in the first round of the league playoff, the Fossils earned a rematch with First Lutheran, who had run over the old men in the first game of the season. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen won the all-important coin toss to determine home team and the maroon defense took the field. Unlike earlier games this season, the defense was sharp right out of the gate, allowing a single run in the first and another in the fifth, but posting five scoreless innings. The Fossil offense struggled to take advantage, going scoreless until the two run fourth. After shutting the visitors down in the top of the seventh, the old men managed to load the bases with two outs but couldn't drive in a run to break the 2-2 deadlock, sending the game to extra innings. After seven hard fought innings, First Lutheran opened up the top of the eighth with a long home run and added a second run on a couple of singles to take a 4-2 lead. It looked like the Fossils' run was over, after two quick fly balls left them down to their last out with a runner on first. But crafty veteran Steve Derner kept hope alive by drawing a walk to bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Chris Stewart. Chris then delivered the moment of the year by driving the ball over the left-center field fence for a walk-off three run blast and a stunning 5-4 Fossil victory. The old men have now won five games in a row, and will face St. Joseph Grey in the regular season championship game on July 20th. Box Score 7/20/17: The icing on the cake. After a miracle finish against First Lutheran to wiggle their way into the regular season championship game, the Fossils finally had their rematch with St. Joseph Grey, who had rolled over them in the second game of the season. The teams were evenly matched and playing defense, locked in a 2-2 tie after three innings. Then, in the top of the fourth, St. Joeseph exploded with seven runs on eight hits to take a commanding 9-2 lead. The fogeys weren't done, though, and as they had in so many game this season they came back with five runs in the bottom of the inning, then tacked on four more in the sixth and held on for an 11-10 victory and a regular season championship. The middle of the order carried the water for the codgers, driving in nine of the eleven runs, including all four in the sixth inning. The maroon defense made all the plays it needed to down the stretch, and got the benefit of some conservative baserunning by the visitors. With the victory, the Fossils close the book on a 7-3 regular season and head into the league tournament riding a six game winning streak. Box Score 2016 5/12/16: A warm welcome. After an opening week bye, the Fossils kicked off their fifth decade by giving Brooklyn Park Lutheran a warm welcome to the league. The newcomers jumped out to a 4-0 lead after one, but in the top of the second the old men got loose, bringing 18 batters to the plate and collecting six extra base hits and 14 runs. Brooklyn Park finally put an end to their own version of a Fossil inning, and the lead seemed far from safe, but the geezers fired up the leather and closed the door on the home team, keeping them off the board for the rest of the game. The Fossils, however, weren't ready to put the offense to bed. They batted around again in the top of the fourth, scoring six more runs to bring the final total to 20-4. Tom Madsen provided the defensive highlights, snapping a ball between his legs to force a runner at second and gunning down two baserunners who should have stayed at third. On the offensive side, everyone got into the act, with a total of 11 extra base hits in just four innings of play. Next up for the Fossils is St. Joe's Gold on May 19th. Box Score 5/19/16: A fogey foot race. Having barely caught their breath after an unexpected opening week romp, the Fossils set their sights on grinding out a victory against St. Joe's Gold. Third generation Fossil Jon Knutson and Fossil-in-law Andrew Chapman donned the maroon for their first regular season appearances since 2012 and 2011, respectively, and Fossil legend Gary Glass made the trip up from a warmer climate to take the reins of the aging infield. The game started slow, with both teams threatening but only able to muster a 1-1 tie after three innings. In the top of the fourth, St. Joe's pushed another run across and loaded the bases with two outs before a runner was called out for leaving his base early, ending the inning at a crucial moment. The old men siezed the momentum, sending nine batters to the plate in the bottom of the inning and putting four runs on the board. The last of those runs was driven in by Gary Glass, whose sharp grounder was mishandled by the first baseman at the edge of the outfield grass, resulting in a mad scramble by both hitter and fielder to the vacant bag. Gary gritted his teeth, shifted his new knee into another gear and narrowly won the race, allowing the run to score and keeping the inning alive. Not to be outdone, the young catholics struck back in the top of the fifth with a long homerun and a couple of singles to retake the lead at 6-5. The fogeys looked like they might be out of gas, going quietly in the fifth and surrendering another run in the top of the sixth. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen met his aging team at the entrance to the dugout, demanding that they take back the game immediately in the bottom of the sixth, and the troops responded, turning seven hits into six runs and breaking the spirit of the younger opponent. Gold mustered one more run in the top of the seventh, but the codgers closed the door on an 11-8 win to improve to 2-0 on the season. Joe Gartner led the charge on offense, driving in four runs and scampering for his first triple of the year. Defensively, the infield shouldered the load, recording all but four outs in the game. Next up for the Fossils is a tough St. Joe's Grey team on May 26th. Box Score 5/26/16: A whole lot of nothing. Sixteen old men filled the dugout to overflowing as the Fossils tried to extend their strong start against one of the toughest opponents of the season - St. Joseph Grey. Despite more than 300 years of experience, the codgers could only muster 11 hits and fell short of batting through the order twice. Grey, however, seemed able to hit the ball anywhere they wanted and played great defense on their way to a 15-4 case of elder abuse that felt like it was over before it even got going. Next up for the 2-1 Fossils is the annual Holy Nativity showdown, a late night matchup with the Disciples on June 2nd. Box Score 6/2/16: The grudge match. Making a quick recovery from their thrashing at the hands of St. Joseph Grey, the Fossils faced off against the Holy Nativity Disciples with church bragging rights on the line. The old men struck first, turning five singles into three runs in the top of the first. When the lead stretched to 5-1 in the middle of the third, the youngsters finally came to life, sending nine batters to the plate and putting five runs on the board to take a 6-5 lead. The maroon bats were too much, however, scoring 13 runs in the last four innings to run away with an 18-7 victory. Jake Erickson led the charge, going 4-4 with two doubles. Chris Stewart added three doubles of his own, and Joe Gartner drove in five runs. Defensively, the codgers had some momentary lapses, but the lineup on the field was more than capable of shutting down any team in the league. Next up for the 3-1 Fossils is their first ever meeting with Golden Valley Lutheran on June 9th. Box Score 6/9/16: Piling on. Fifteen Fossils piled into the dugout to welcome Golden Valley Lutheran to the league on a perfect night for softball. Right out of the gate, the newcomers used the shortest single of the night to put a first inning run on the board. The old men sent ten batters to the plate in the bottom of the first, coming away with four runs but leaving the bases loaded. After two innings, the score was tied up at 5-5. By the middle of the third, the codgers were down 8-5 and playing uncharacteristically lousy defense. In the bottom of the third, however, Jake Erickson sparked the Fossils offense to a 13 run inning, nine of which were scored with two outs, which blew the game wide open. Exhausted on one bench and demoralized on the other, both teams limped to a mercifully shortened 20-9 finish. The high point of the game came mid-rally in the third when Ted Rausch decided to force the action by taking an extra base that was already occupied, spurring Gabe Gartner and Steve Knutson into a crazy (but successful) scramble to keep the inning alive. The low point came just one batter later, when Ted raced in to score and skidded when he stepped on home plate, twisting both his knee and his ankle. Sprains and strains aside, the Fossils improve to 4-1 on the season and look ahead to a matchup with Elim Lutheran on June 16th. Box Score 6/16/16: Wakeup call. Fresh off a blowout win against Golden Valley Lutheran, the Fossils came face to face with a winless Elim Lutheran team. As is often the case, however, the team with the poor record came out hot and the 4-1 Fossils couldn't seem to do anything right. The old men were dominated for the first four innings, with Elim piling up an 11-2 lead. Then, in the top of the fifth, Tom Madsen threw out a runner at third base to bring an abrupt end to the inning, and the momentum turned. Ryan Glass led off with a hit, the first of 13 in the inning, and the geezers piled up 11 runs to dig themselves out of the hole and take the lead. Elim wasn't done, and tied the game in the top of the sixth, but the early confidence was gone. The old men managed one run in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead, and then shut down the younger team in the seventh to escape withtheir fifth come-from-behind win of the season. The Fossils improve to 5-1 and look ahead to a matchup with Cornerstone. Box Score 6/23/16: Fireworks. Riding a three game winning streak, the Fossils stepped in against a Cornerstone team that has often given them trouble. The old men came out swinging, however, putting seven runs on the board on thirteen hits in the first three innings. Then the fun really started. In the final two innings, the geezers piled on 14 more runs in electric fashion to claim a run-rule shortened 21-8 victory. Jake Erickson had one of the better offensive nights in Fossil history, going 4-4 with two homeruns. His fourth inning grand slam was the first ball to leave the yard for the Fossils in three years at Becker Park, and he followed it up with an opposite field inside-the-park three run homer in the fifth. Jake's eight RBI night ties a Fossil single game record set by Rich Kohn in 1978 and equalled by Gary Glass in 1982. The driving force in loading the bases for Jake was the bottom of the codgers' order, with the last five hitters all having fantastic nights. The combined performance of the final five hitters plus Jake in the leadoff spot was 17-18, scoring 15 of the 21 runs and driving in 17. Defensively, the old men weren't sharp, committing six errors, but Cornerstone couldn't do enough to keep up and the Fossils rolled to 6-1 on the season. Next up is a showdown with league-leading First Lutheran. Box Score 6/30/16: So sweet. First Lutheran was on a roll. They were 7-0, averaging more than 18 runs per game, and were one team short of a clean sweep of the league. Unfortunately for them, that one team was the Fossils. In one of the more epic defensive battles in Fossil history, the old men locked down the perrenial powerhouse for six and two-thirds, allowing only a single run on a two out double in the bottom of the seventh. With the wind gusting in, legendary hurler Tom Benson threw an unthinkable three hit masterpiece, backed by the spectacular play of Jake Erickson at short and the cleanest game the maroon infield has delivered in recent memory. For their part, First Lutheran brought the leather as well, holding the codgers scoreless for the final six innings of the game. But two infield errors and a lack of concern about overly aggressive baserunning in the top of the first had already sealed their fate. The geezers squeezed three runs out of five hits from the first six batters of the game, and then clamped down and held on for a 3-1 victory to improve to 7-1 and grab at least a share of the league lead. The Fossils have demoralized a lot of good teams over the years, but this one was an instant classic. Box Score 7/14/16: All wet. A cool, rainy night and a rematch with Cornerstone were in store for the 7-1 Fossils, coming off a great win against a strong First Lutheran squad. At first, it looked as if the old men were picking up right where they had left off against First Lutheran, completely shutting down Cornerstone for the first two innings and putting a couple of runs on the board. Then, in the bottom of the third, the younger team suddenly opened up on offense and the codgers were in trouble. Shaky defense led to a number of Cornerstone runs, and the old men slipped into a hole that they couldn't pull themselves out of. The low point of the game was an infield single squarely off the shin of legendary hurler Tom Benson that knocked him to the ground and quickly resulted in a large lump with bloody stitch marks. Tom popped up and managed to stay in the game, but even he couldn't look at his leg without shuddering. Offensively, Steve Derner led the way with a thrilling inside-the-park homerun, proving that he hasn't lost a step. Defensively, the play of the night was made by Ted Rausch, who beat the batter down the baseline to scoop up a mishandled popup and record a rare 3-2-4 force at first. The 10-6 loss drops the Fossils to 7-2 on the season leading up to a season ending rematch with St. Joe Grey, the only team the old men haven't beaten yet this year. Box Score 7/21/16: Epic collapse. After playing a dud against Cornerstone, the Fossils took the field for a rematch against St. Joe Grey in sweltering 95+ degree heat. Almost immediately, it became evident that the Fossil defense hadn't shown up. By the second inning, they had already committed four errors and given up five unearned runs. When all was said and done, the old men had committed 11 errors, given up 11 unearned runs, and earned an 11-1 stomping at the hands of a good Grey team. With the loss, the Fossils end the season at 7-3 and have a few weeks off before the league tournament and, for the first time ever, a fall season. Box Score 2015 5/14/15: Game rained out. 5/21/15: Pucker up. After an opening night rainout, the weather was perfect as the 40th season of Fossil softball finally got underway against St. Joseph Gold. The visiting Fossils got off to a sluggish start, going scoreless in the first two innings, while playing lackluster defense and letting five St. Joe's runs across. Then, in the third, a leadoff walk to legendary hurler Tom Benson came back to haunt the catholics, as the old men sputtered to life and pushed across three to get into the game. In the fifth, a classic burst of speed by Grandpa Derner turned a lined shot into the gap into a triple that highlighted a six run outburst and finally put the codgers ahead. After clinging to a small lead for three innings, the old men found themselves taking the field in the bottom of the eighth up two, needing only three outs to chalk up their first victory of the season. The home team, however, had other plans, and the geezers quickly found themselves in a tie game with one out and the bases loaded. The old men collectively tightened their hind quarters and came up with a force at the plate and a bouncer to the pitcher to escape into extra innings. Four hits plated two runs in the top of the ninth, and the maroon defense once again found themselves trying to close out a two run game. The home team opened up yet again with a hit, but the fully clenched codgers shut the inning down and hobbled away with a 13-11 victory. Next up for the 1-0 Fossils is the first of two meetings with the Holy Nativity Disciples. Box Score 5/28/15: Bleeding out. Fresh off a tough victory against St. Joe's Gold, the Fossils faced their new rival, the Holy Nativity Disciples in the first of two showdowns this season. With legendary hurler Tom Benson absent, Monte Bloom took the hill in his first appearance in maroon this season. After two solid thumpings of the youngsters last year, the old men were eager to get this year's installment of the rivalry off on the right foot, and jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. The Disciples, however, would not go away, and the gap closed and stayed tight until the bottom of the sixth, when the codgers opened up a three run lead. They took that lead into the top of the eighth, and looked to be in good shape until the Disciples unleashed a barrage of singles, putting four runs on the board to take the lead. Alas, the old men had nothing left and went down in order in the bottom of the eighth to give the visitors a 10-9 victory. Monte Bloom and Tom Madsen provided great catches to highlight the maroon defense, and Pete Eckberg lit up the offense with a long triple to right, but in the end, offensive inconsistency doomed the fogeys, with the bottom half of the order producing just 4 of the 17 total hits and scoring just one run. Next up for the 1-1 Fossils is a double header, starting with an always-tough First Lutheran team and ending with a rematch against the Disciples. Box Score 6/4/15: Gasp. First Lutheran, a perrenial powerhouse from the now defunct Monday night league, was the opponent in the first half of a double header under the lights. The Fossils have had few opportunities to play First Lutheran over the years, but they were the memorable final opponent on one of the great days in Fossil history. On this night, the younger team jumped out to an early lead, posting four runs on five first inning hits. The old men responded with two runs on five hits of their own, and the struggle was on. Tight defense took over for both teams, freezing the margin at two until the fifth inning, when the geezers took advantage of a critical fielding error to cut the gap in half. Doubles from Greg Erickson and Chris Stewart helped the Fossils grab a one run lead in the sixth, and the squeeze was on to keep the younger team from getting away. It was all but over for First Lutheran in the top of the eighth, but a routine fly ball to left center found its way out of a glove and into the grass, allowing the tying run to score, and the game went into the bottom of the eighth knotted at nine. For the third game in a row, the old men had been unable to close the door and had given up a lead in the eighth inning. This time, however, the geezers we not to be denied, opening the bottom of the eighth with three singles and ending the game on a sacrifice fly by Stefan Bloom that scored Joe May. After nearly snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, the 10-9 victory moved the Fossils to 2-1 on the season, heading into a rematch with the Holy Nativity Disciples. Box Score 6/4/15: Vengeance. Still out of breath from their walk-off win, the Fossils were faced with a rematch with the Holy Nativity Disciples in the last game of the evening. Just a week earlier, the youthful Disciples had squeezed out a one-run win, and the old men had saved just enough energy for a rebuttal. They exploded out of the gate, batting around and putting seven runs on the board in the top of the first. The stunned Disciples had no answer for the codgers, who piled on nine more runs before the youngsters finally got on the board in the bottom of the fourth. Alas, there was no comeback in the cards for the home team, and the tired old men coasted to a mercifully shortened 16-6 slaughter. The maroon offense was once again in low gear, with 24 singles and a double pushing runners around the diamond. Monte Bloom had four hits, with Ryan Glass, Chris Stewart and Joe May each adding three. The defense looked sharp, blanking the Disciples rather uneventfully in four of six innings. So great was the desire to preserve the early shutout that in the third inning shortstop Tom Madsen fired a throw home on the third base coach coming in to hit. With their first strong victory of the season, the Fossils improve to 3-1 and regain some of their lost pride in the bitter Holy Nativity rivalry. Box Score 6/11/15: Deja Vu. Coming off their strongest win of the season, the Fossils ran into a much-improved Elim Lutheran team on a perfect night for softball. The offense that had driven the old men past their last opponent was no where to be found, as the game opened with three scoreless innings. In the fourth, the visiting Fossils mustered a single run to get on the board, and then surrendered six to the home team, in what ended up being the final lead change of the night. Elim tacked on four more in the sixth, and the geezers found themselves down 10-4 in the top of the eighth. The maroon bats finally came to life, but it was too little too late, with five runs scoring and the tying run dying on second base. Defensively, the codgers had a mediocre night, with a couple of painful miscues and no real highlights. Monte Bloom and Ryan Glass continued to lead the offense, with four hits apiece. The disappointing loss, in the third 10-9 game of the season, drops the Fossils to 3-2. Box Score 6/18/15: Slipping away. After two anemic losses and two more close calls, the Fossils hoped to turn it around against a tricky Cornerstone team. After a sluggish first inning, a base-clearing double by Gary Glass spurred a four run outburst in the bottom of the second and gave the old men the lead and what looked like a little momentum. After that, however, the Fossil offense sputtered and died, failing to score again until the bottom of the seventh to grasp a slim 6-5 lead. The eighth inning started with two quick outs, and the geezers were one play away from surviving another close call when an inside the park homerun tied the game. The younger team then put two more hits and an error together for a second run to take the lead. The codgers looked to be in decent shape in the bottom of the eighth, trailing by only one run with the top of the order up, but the they just couldn't put a rally together, and the tying run was stranded on third base when the Cornerstone shortstop snagged a hard-hit line drive that was headed into left center and ended the game. Gary Glass was the bright spot in the offense, driving in five of the Fossils six runs. Defensively, the old men had yet another mediocre night, with a couple of miscues and no real highlights. In the end, the geezers really didn't do much more than provide the opportunity for the younger team to stage an exciting comeback win. The disappointing loss drops the Fossils to 3-3 on the season. Box Score 6/25/15: Nothing. The reeling Fossils picked a perfect night to try and right the ship against St. Joe's Grey in their first of two matchups this season. The results, however, were all too familiar. The old men used an error by Grey to keep the top of the first alive and pile five runs on the younger team for an early lead. The defense started strong, holding a crafty Grey team to just two runs in the first five innings, but the maroon bats had retired for the night, and the elderly defense alone had no chance. The Fossils went scoreless for the last seven innings of the game and surrendered seven more runs near the end, suffering a 9-5 loss that looked closer than it really was. In the end, a clean pick by the Grey shortstop on a routine grounder in the first inning would have kept the old men off the board entirely. With the loss, the lackluster Fossils drop to 3-4 on the season and have a week off for the holiday before a rematch with St. Joe's Gold. Box Score 7/9/15: The blowout that could have been. After a week off to think about what they'd done, the Fossils were at it again in a rematch against St. Joe's Gold. Having squeaked by the younger team in extra innings on opening night, the old men were looking to return to form and post a more convincing win to sweep the season series. The start was promising for the fogies, as they put two runs on the board in the top of the first, but they weren't able to fully capatilize, leaving the bases loaded. Leaving runners on base quickly became a pattern, as they left two on in a scoreless second. Fortunately, the maroon defense came to play, holding Gold scoreless for the first four innings and surrendering only one in the first seven innings. As the fogies slowly added to their lead, they continued to strand runners, finally reaching 18 for the game, an average of more than two per inning. Down 9-1 in the bottom of the eighth, the younger team tried to mount a rally, but after scoring three they ran out of steam and fell to the codgers by a final score of 9-4. With the wasteful win, the Fossils improve to 4-4 on the season and gear up for a challenging rematch against Cornerstone. Box Score 7/16/15: Game rained out. 7/30/15: Meltdown. After three weeks away, the Fossils had to shake off some cobwebs as they took the field in a rain makeup game again St. Joe Grey. Steve Knutson made his second appearance of the season with the codgers, and the Disciples' Andrew Kubly once again helped shore up a depleted outfield. After a scoreless first, the younger visitors came out swinging in the second, stringing together singles to put four runs on the board. The old men responded with seven straight hits of their own, including a bases-clearing double by Gary Glass, to take a 5-4 lead. The geezers clung to a thin lead for the next several innings, aided by Steve Derner's defensive hightlight of the evening - a great shoestring catch in right field and a quick throw to first to double off the runner. In the seventh, St. Joe put together another rally, scoring four runs to take a 12-10 lead and setting the old men down in order. The Fossils responded by setting the youngsters down in order in the top of the eighth, cobbling together two runs in the bottom of the inning to tie the game and pushing the would-be winning run to third base before running out of steam and forcing an extra inning. Unfortunately, what looked like a sign of life for the old men was quickly extinguished, when a disasterous defensive effort in the top of the ninth left them seven runs down and completely out of momentum. There was no rally left for the Fossils, and they suffered a 19-12 defeat, dropping them to 4-5 on the season. Next up is the final makeup game of the season against Cornerstone. Box Score 8/6/15: Game rained out. 8/13/15: Win by forfeit. 2014 5/8/14: Game rained out. 5/15/14: [Game recap redacted by the Center for Standards and Decency.] Box Score 5/22/14: Homecoming. After a forgettable start to their 39th season, the old men held a homecoming of sorts, packing the dugout and lighting up the scoreboard against Cornerstone in the first ever Fossil game under the lights. Stefan Bloom, Monte Bloom, Gary Glass Joe Gartner and Dylan Erickson made their first appearances of the year, and early favorite for Rookie of the Year, Pete Eckberg, played his second game as a codger and finally got to see what it's like to be on the winning end of a Fossil stomping. The old men took control early, scoring six runs on seven hits, including four doubles, in the first. Cornerstone couldn't respond, and the route was on. Joe Gartner led the way offensively for the geezers, going 3-3 with a triple and sneaking in from third on an infield grounder to score the game's final run. Ted Rausch turned in the defensive play of the game behind the plate, scooping up a throw in the dirt while a runner barreled down on him for the first half of an inning ending double play in the first. While the final outcome was never in doubt, legendary hurler Tom Benson kept things interesting by floating a throw over to first base and allowing a runner to reach on what could have been the final out of the game in the top of the sixth. The next two batters singled and Cornerstone put another run on the board to force the fogies to bat again. With the 12-2 win, the Fossils improve to 1-1 on the season and look ahead to their next matchup, against Elim Lutheran. Box Score 5/29/14: Slow start, quick finish. Fresh off their first well-played game of the season, the Fossils squared off against Elim Lutheran. The maroon defense got off to a shaky start, surrendering five runs in the first two innings, but solid offense kept them in the game and when the defense kicked in and shut the youngsters down the game changed completely. The elderly defense delivered four scoreless innings, surrendering only four more hits and no more errors. After a scoreless third and fourth, the aging offense opened the floodgates, and Chris Stewart's walk-off single in the sixth scored Ryan Glass from second for the codgers' 15th run of the game and an early end to the evening. With the 15-5 victory, the Fossils advance to 2-1 on the season and move on to their next matchup against St. Joseph Blue. Box Score 6/5/14: Up the middle. The Fossils were reinvigorated by the presence of dreaded leadoff hitter Stefan Bloom, as they took on St. Joseph Blue on a beautiful night for softball. Stefan also got the blood pumping early for St. Joseph's pitcher, blasting the first pitch squarely off the pitcher's arm and leaving him with a fist-sized lump right above the elbow. The pitcher stayed in the game, but kept most of his pitches well clear of the strike zone for the remainder of the night. A slightly unsettled first inning left the old men clinging to a 3-2 lead, but the maroon defense came alive and clamped down on the youngsters, denying them for the next six innings and conceding only six hits and one run for the remainder of the game. For their part, the Blue defense held their own, allowing the Fossils to add only one in the third and two in the fifth, but the damage had already been done and the geezers held on for a 6-3 victory. After starting the night with a bang, Stefan Bloom led the way for the offense, going 3-3 with a triple and maintaining his perfect batting average on the season. Defensively, Ted Rausch put the exclamation point on the win for the codgers by slapping the tag on an elusive but overzealous Blue runner at the plate to complete a game ending double play. With the win, the Fossils improve to 3-1 on the season and finally come face to face with their new rivals, the Holy Nativity Disciples, for the first time in the regular season. Box Score 6/12/14: Off on the right foot. The Fossils started a new chapter in Holy Nativity rivalries tonight with their first regular season matchup against the Disciples. As an introduction, the old men put 17 runs on the board in the first two innings and blew the game wide open on the youngsters. Former Blues shortstop John Ernst made his first regular season appearance in maroon, and proved that he's definitely Fossil material. Gary Glass, Rich Benson and Tom Madsen all had great nights at the plate, going a combined 10-11 with five extra base hits and driving in half of the geezers' run total. All was not lost for the Disciples, however, as they battled back from a 17-4 deficit to lose by a much more respectable final of 20-10. Next up for the 4-1 Fossils is the one team that's beaten them this season, St. Joseph Grey. Box Score 6/19/14: Game rained out. 6/26/14: Out of character. After a week off for rain, the Fossils were back at it against Cornerstone for their second meeting of the regular season. The old men got on the board quickly with help from some early miscues by Cornerstone, but that's where the fun ended and things got ugly. The maroon defense had a grim night, piling up six errors and finding no answer for the younger hitters as the game wore on. The elderly offense sputtered too, hitting into four double plays and losing baserunners in bad situations. With the 18-9 loss, the Fossils fall to 4-2 on the season and look to regroup against Elim Lutheran next week. Box Score 7/10/14: A family affair. After a week off for the holiday, the Fossils took the field to face Elim Lutheran for the second time this season. Jake Erickson made his first appearance with the old men since 2010 and turned in a performance at short that was sorely needed in a tight game. The Fossil offense was shut out in the first four innings, allowing Elim to get out to a four run lead, and things looked bleak for the codgers, but a fifth run rally sparked by Greg and Dylan Erickson got the old men on the board. With the game deadlocked at 6-6 after seven innings, Greg and Dylan once again led the charge in the top of the eighth, scoring the first two of six runs that buried Elim. The pivotal moment came when Rich Benson's sharp liner down the right field line sliced back into fair territory and past the right fielder for the first Fossil home run of the year. When the smoke cleared, Jake had contributed defensively to 16 of the game's 24 outs, and Greg and Dylan had gone a combined 7-8, scoring five runs. With the 12-7 victory, the Fossils improve to 5-2 on the season and prepare for their second matchup of the season with St. Joseph Blue next week. Box Score 7/17/14: Less than a gem. Back in the saddle after a hard-won contest with Elim, the Fossils met St. Joseph Blue in their second matchup of the season. The visiting codgers got off to a quick start with a little help from a sluggish Blue defense, putting three runs on the board in the top of the first. The bottom of the inning, however, featured three Fossil errors, as the maroon defense showed their gameplan for the evening. The younger team was miraculously held to two runs through five innings, while the old men committed eight errors on the way to 12 for the whole game. While shaky, the geezers' defensive efforts were not without flair, which reached its peak early in the game with a modern dance performance by Rich Benson in right center. Despite the miscues, the Fossils went into the bottom of the sixth with a 12-2 lead and were two outs away from an early finish to the game. At the last minute, the youngsters turned on the offense, batted around and put six runs on the board to make a once comfortable game close. It was even tighter after the seventh, with the old men clinging to a 12-10 lead, but a last inning outburst started by a Rich Benson double and capped with a Steve Derner homerun put five badly needed runs on the board and put the game back out of reach. With the 17-12 victory, the Fossils improve to 6-2 on the season and have a week off before facing the Disciples and St. Joseph Grey in back-to-back weeks to close out the season. Box Score 7/31/14: As it should be. After a week to recuperate, the Fossils were ready for the rematch for Holy Nativity bragging rights against the Disciples. With the old men shorthanded, the oldest man, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen, dusted off his glove and made his first appearance in the lineup this season. On hand to spur the codgers on and wave them around third was recently retired fearsome first baseman Steve Knutson. Inspired by Bob and Steve, the Fossils delivered a defensive gem, a staple of the last decade but a rarity in this inconsistent season. The younger team was held to just six hits and one run in six innings, while the geezers had their way with the Disciple defense on the way to a quick 12-1 victory. Even legendary hurler Tom Benson got into the act, driving in four runs and legging out his first double in eight years. With the win, the Fossils improve to 7-2 on the season and keep their hopes alive of capturing a share of the league championship by beating St. Joseph Grey in the season finale. Box Score 8/7/14: Ending with a thud. With a share of the regular season title on the line, the final game of the Fossils' 39th regular season was a rematch against St. Joseph Grey. The younger team won in a route in the first game of the season, and the old men were thinking revenge. After picking up a couple of runs in the first, the geezers looked like they might be on their way, but then the youngsters stepped up to the plate and the fun ended. St. Joseph was lights-out on offense, and the Fossil defense played like the lights really were out, mishandling balls and giving the younger team numerous extra bases. When the game ended early with a walkoff hit (and a bobble) in the bottom of the fifth, the codgers had had enough and any question about which team was the league's best this year had been answered. The 19-4 blowout was a disappointing end to a 7-3 season, but the upcoming league tournament leaves an opportunity to go out on a higher note. Box Score 2013 5/9/13: ...and your little dog too! The 38th chapter of the Fossil saga opened up against Elim Lutheran with temperatures in the mid-40s and what could only be described as gale force winds. The Fossil faithful huddled under blankets as the rivals of more than three decades traded opening salvos and quickly settled into a tight game. All bets were off for outfielders on both teams, as the brutal winds held up and redirected everything hit in the air. Against the odds, Zach Gartner closed out both the fourth and fifth innings with spectacular catches in left, sparking the elderly offense to come to life and take a 10-5 lead. Elim closed the gap when the codgers were unable to corral any of three foul pops in the top of the seventh. With their lead cut to three, the frazzled fogeys turned to the bats and opened the seventh with nine straight hits, ending in a two-run single by Ryan Glass that ended the game at 20-10. Rich Benson led the way for the potent offense, which posted nine extra base hits and a slugging percentage of .930. With the win, the Fossils start 1-0 and look ahead to a matchup with St. Joseph Blue on May 16th. Box Score 5/16/13: A stomping. Fresh off a opening night victory, the Fossils set out to prove it was no fluke against St. Joseph Blue. The geezers' gloves were in good form, allowing just two runs on eight hits, while the elderly offense piled on 15 runs on 25 hits in a mercifully short contest. Stephan Bloom led the way with the Fossils' first homerun of the season, and the rest of the offense supplied eight more extra base hits to complete the route. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils are the Cornerstone Reds on May 23rd. Box Score 5/23/13: Running for his life. The red hot 2-0 Fossils ran head-on into the always difficult Cornerstone Reds for their only meeting of the regular season. After surrendering the first run of the game to the visitors, the Fossils turned on the offense and, with the help of some sloppy play by the Reds and an opposite field homer by veteran shortstop Gary Glass, opened up an 11-3 lead after four innings. The Reds tried to mount a comeback, but the geezers kept pace on their way to a 17-11 victory and a 3-0 record. An old Fossil classic punctuated the win in the bottom of the seventh when Stefan Bloom beat the Reds' outfield and circled the bases, chasing down Greg Erickson, who started on first. With Stefan closing on him, Greg ran for his life and both runners arrived at the plate at almost exactly the same time, along with the ball, the catcher and the pitcher. When the smoke cleared, both runners were safe and Stefan had hit the second big homerun of the game. The maroon defense wasn't at its best, struggling to defend against a series of dribblers and bloop singles, but in the end it held off the Reds' charge and kept the old men undefeated on the season. Next up for the Fossils is St. Joseph Grey on May 30th. Box Score 6/6/13: Wide open. After being rained out and forced to scrimmage on May 30th, the Fossils met Oak Grove in a bid to keep their three game win streak alive. It quickly became evident that both teams had brought their bats, and that a low scoring affair was out of the question. After warming up with one run in the first, the old men burst out of the gate with ten runs in the second. Oak Grove responded with six of their own in the next two innings to close the gap, but then the geezers piled on 12 more, including a nine run fifth, to blow the game open once more. Again, Oak Grove responded, but it wasn't enough and the contest ended after only six innings with a 23-13 Fossil win. With both teams hitting the ball well, defense was critical, and the experienced maroon defense was far more effective at containing the damage and getting out of innings. Conversely, aggressive Fossil baserunners ran wild on the sluggish Oak Grove defense. The highlight of the evening was a foot race to a vacant third base that featured Monte Bloom and the younger team's pitcher (with the ball). Monte had misjudged the relative distances, and the young pitcher was closer to the base, but the crafty veteran put his head down and won the race anyway, finishing in a headfirst dive. With the win, the Fossils improve to 4-0 on the season and extend their regular season win streak to nine games. Next up for the old men is a doubleheader against two of their fiercest rivals, St. Joseph Grey and the Holy Nativity Blues on 6/13. Box Score 6/13/13: Imperfect but effective. A beautiful evening and a well-groomed field greeted the Fossils for their first of two double-headers this season. The first team in their path was St. Joseph Grey, last year's regular season champs. The maroon defense started out a little shaky, with the younger visitors putting two runs on the board in the top of the first. To make matters worse, Fossil bats were silent, providing only four hits and no runs in the first three innings. Fortunately, the elderly defense shook off the early jitters and began shutting the visitors down. Finally, in the fourth, the old men broke out with four runs on six hits to take a lead that they would not relinquish. While the game never felt safely out of reach, St. Joseph struggled to do much of anything against the Fossil defense after the first inning, and the game ended in a 10-4 victory for the codgers to push them to 5-0 on the season. Box Score 6/13/13: Let's play two. The second game of the night was pure grudge match, with the Holy Nativity Blues in the other dugout and pride on the line. Already warm, the Fossils picked up where they had left off in the first game, holding the potent Blues' offense scoreless through the first four innings. The maroon offense, meanwhile, pieced together singles and aggressive baserunning to build a 6-0 lead. In the fifth, the game changed as the Blues batted around and strung together singles to put six runs on the board and pull even. The old men refused to surrender the lead, adding a run in the bottom of the fifth and two more on a clutch single by Chris Stewart in the sixth to push the game to 9-6. They would need every run, as the Blues made a run in their final at bat and, with the help of some defensive miscues by the fogies, put two more runs on the board. Finally, with the tying run on second base, Zach Gartner grabbed the final fly ball to put the game away. With the 9-8 victory, the Fossils stay perfect on the season at 6-0 and extend their regular season win streak to eleven games. Next up is a rematch against Elim Lutheran, who the Fossils thumped 20-10 in the season opener. Box Score 6/20/13: Holding it together. Ninety degree heat greeted the Fossils in their second meeting of the season with Elim Lutheran. With Tom Madsen and the Glasses absent, Monte Bloom stepped into the void at shortstop to lead a maroon infield with only one player under the age of fifty. From the beginning, it was evident that this would not be the old men's masterpiece of the season, as two first inning errors let Elim out of the gate with two runs. The old men countered with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first on four singles and a walk. Then the bats went silent while the gloves continued to struggle, leading to a 4-4 tie at the end of four. Finally, in the fifth, the geezers showed some life with a two-run triple over the right fielder's head by Joe Gartner. As it turned out, Joe's big hit had been the game winner, as the elderly defense managed four straight shutout innings to hang on to an 8-4 win. With the win, the Fossils improve to 7-0 on the season and extend their regular season win streak to 12 games. In addition, they extend their win streak over Elim to 15 games, dating back to 1999. The old men will have a chance to extend both streaks next week, as they face Elim for the third and final time this season. Box Score 6/27/13: Shock and awe. For the second week in a row and the third time this season, Elim Lutheran stood in the Fossils' way. After squeaking out an 8-4 win the week before, the question was whether the old men would come back strong or the younger team would finally break through. As the visitors, the geezers made a statement right out of the gate, scoring five runs on seven hits in the top of the first. Elim countered with three runs of their own, and it looked like a shootout might be in store, but the codgers poured on eight more in the second and the route was on. Fossil hitters stacked up the hits and took extra bases while Elim struggled in the field and was quickly overwhelmed. The younger team was gracious, but clearly outmatched in this contest. When the mercy rule was finally invoked, the old men had batted just four times in a 24-6 victory. Offensive numbers were staggering across the board for the fogies, but the highlight of the evening was Greg Erickson's leadoff homerun in the fourth inning, the first of his illustrious Fossil career. Zach Gartner also hit a home run as part of an eight run final inning for the maroon. The other memorable moment occurred in the third, when Ted Rausch aggressively took second on a well placed hit and then attempted, unsuccessfully, to retake it on a Tom Benson single. With the win, the Fossils stay perfect at 8-0 on the year, extending their regular season win streak to 13 games and their dominance over Elim to 16 straight games. After a week off for the 4th of July holiday, the old men face Holy Nativity Blue and St. Joseph Blue in a double-header with the opportunity to lock up the regular season title. Box Score 7/11/13: End of the line. rivalry n. The state or condition of competition or antagonism. For a rivalry to be truly great, the competition between rivals needs to be close, with either side capable of snatching victory from the other at the last moment. Such has been the case between the Fossils and the Holy Nativity Blues for 27 regular season meetings over 19 years in the NACSL, and this one would be no different. With the Blues threatening to hang up their cleats for good and the Fossils making a run for an undefeated season, someone was sure to leave with a sour taste in their mouth. The old men got things going first, opening the evening with three straight extra base hits and putting three runs ont he board in the first. The Blues were slow to respond, but the Fossils bats had gone silent and they couldn't take advantage. Finally, in the fifth inning, the geezers added four more and clung to a 7-2 lead. Then things started to unravel, with the youngsters stacking up singles and pulling within two runs after seven. The codgers could muster only one run in the top of the eighth, and took the field with an uncomfortable lead. Two errors and two doubles later, the Fossils needed a throw to the plate from Zach Gartner in left to nip the winning run and force an extra inning. With the pressure on, the old men couldn't break the tie in the ninth, leaving the door open for the Blues. With two outs and a runner on second, Brian Lien singled to left center. Stefan Bloom scooped up the ball and fired it home, but a second put-out at the plate was not to be, and the Fossils went down to defeat for the first time in 14 regular season games. Ironically, the winning streak started with a 7-6 victory over the Blues on June 21st of last year. If this was truly the last matchup between the Fossils and the Blues, the series will have ended with four of the final five games coming down to the wire and hinging on a single run. Despite the loss, the Fossils have secured their fourth league championship and a trip to the state tournament. Box Score 7/11/13: Real ugly. Immediately after having their winning streak snapped, the Fossils had to deal with a St. Joseph Blue team ready to take advantage of the letdown. Despite a quick start with three runs in the top of the first, things got messy quickly for the old men as they took the field and delivered a true Fossil Inning. Clearly embarrassed, the fogies lined up at the bat rack and, over the course of the next four innings, ran the younger team off the field. Neither team looked good defensively, but the geezers were able to inflict more damage for each miscue and walked away with a 20-10 victory. With the win the Fossils improve to 9-1 going into the last week of the regular season. Box Score 7/18/13: Sweatin' to the oldies. With temperatures in the 90s and the air thick with humidity, the Fossils took the field against St. Joseph Grey to make up the rained-out 5/30 game and close out the regular season. With the Thursday night title already locked up, the old men were looking for a solid showing to right the ship after a bumpy doubleheader the week before. With legendary hurler Tom Benson resting his arm for the post season, Monte Bloom took the mound for his second start of the season, and grizzled skipper Bob Madsen even got into the act by putting himself in the batting order for the first time as a septuagenarian. The old man got his first chance quickly, as the Fossils batted ten and scored four in the first. In the third, weeks of batting practice paid off as the geezer drilled an RBI single. The younger opponents never stood a chance, as the maroon defense took over and delivered their second error-free performance of the season. Monte Bloom's shutout bid was broken up with two outs in the bottom of the last inning, when St. Joseph finally got on the board with their only run of the contest. The next batter flew out to end the game, and the Fossils closed out a dominant 38th regular season with an 11-1 victory to bring their final record to 10-1. Next up for the codgers is the NACSL Tournament, where they'll get a first round bye and an 8/1 matchup against either Cornerstone or St. Joseph Red. Box Score 8/1/13: No show. After a first round bye in the NACSL tournament, the Fossils jumped into the second round with a matchup against Cornerstone Red. The old men found themselves unexpectedly shorthanded, pressing grizzled skipper Bob Madsen into duty behind the plate. It looked like the geezers might be off to a good start when their first two hitters of the game singled and came around to score, but those two quick runs were the end of the Fossil scoring for the night, and they fizzled completely. The 7-2 fizzle was by far the worst of the season, with the only bright spot being provided by Ryan Glass, who had a great game at third. With the loss, the Fossils enter the Losers Bracket and have to get up early for an 8:00am game on Saturday against St. Joseph Blue. If they win, they'll play again at 9:05am for the consolation championship. Box Score 8/3/13: Gutting one out. Fresh off a disappointing fizzle in the tournament opener, the Fossils entered the Losers Bracket for an 8:00am game. At game time, there were only nine old men with maroon shirts, including the oldest of them all, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen. Nevertheless, the codgers took the field against St. Joseph Blue and delivered as good a defensive game as they have all year, locking down the younger catholics and grinding out a 5-2 victory. The highlight of the game was a terrific catch by Steve Derner in right field to deny an extra base hit in the fifth. Offensively, a solo homer by Chris Stewart in the second ended a seven inning scoring drought and got the geezers on the board. With the win, the Fossils advanced to the Consolation Championship game against St. Joseph Grey. Box Score 8/3/13: Finishing strong. Just as soon as the Fossils had finished with St. Joseph Blue, St. Joseph Grey was ready to go for the Consolation Championship game. The maroon offense started slow, scoring only one run in the first three innings. The defense answered the call, however, turning three double plays and keeping a lid on the youngsters all game long. The turning point came in the fourth, when a friendly call gave the geezers new life and led to a seven run outburst. St. Joseph made a final push in the bottom of the seventh, stringing together a handful of hits to pull the game within two runs before the ugliest play of the season ended the game. A throw by Dan Madsen from his back was scooped by Tom Madsen at second to force a Grey runner (with a little help from the umpire) and seal the deal. The Fossils have a week to recuperate and get their game back together before taking on much stronger competition at the State Tournament on 8/10. Box Score 8/10/13: Learning our place. After arguably the best season in Fossil history, the old men rolled into Champlin for the State Tournament. With only ten teams in the tournament, there was no separation by class or division, and the codgers quickly found themselves in trouble. After a first round massacre, the second round brought a much better matchup. The Fossils played a decent game but were unable to pull out a win and went home early. Box Score 1 Box Score 2 2012 5/10/12: The Fossil ballet. The Fossils ambled into their 37th season with the first of three rivalry games against Holy Nativity Blue. The elderly visitors got the game off to a quick start with a leadoff homerun from Stefan Bloom, his first of two on the night. Veteran southpaw Bruce Granos took the hill for the codgers, in the absence of both Tom Benson and Monte Bloom, and the long-dormant maroon defense behind him looked sharp in the bottom of the first. That sharpness, however, would not last. A total of seven Fossil errors, including not one but two spectacular outfield collisions, kept the Blues rolling and ultimately sank the old men. A last inning rally ended with the tying run on second, and the geezers fell to their rivals 10-9. Next up for the codgers is the first of two meetings with Faith Baptist on May 17th. Box Score 5/17/12: Defensive disaster. Fresh off a disappointing loss in the season opener, the Fossils were looking for redemption against Faith Baptist. Instead, they picked up where they had left off in the opener and got trounced. Fossil bats were productive at times, putting nine runs on the board, but when it mattered the most the old men went down quietly. The maroon defense played another stinker, posting nine total errors and letting the game get away by the fourth. The only excitement defensively came on the last play of the game when a Faith runner, strolling home from third with the winning run, was very nearly gunned down at the plate by Zach Gartner in left. In the end, the codgers showed their age in a 19-9 beatdown that dropped them to 0-2 on the season. Next up for the geezers is Elim Lutheran on May 24th. Box Score 5/31/12: Fresh blood. After a slow start to the season, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen placed a call to the farm club looking for a spark and Dylan Erickson made his first appearance in Fossil maroon. St. Joseph Grey was the first opponent in a rare double-header, and the first victim of the revitalized old men. St. Joseph drew first blood in the third and came out hot in the fourth, but an inning-ending baserunning mishap cut the inning short and swung the momentum to the Fossils. The codgers took advantage in the top of the fifth, as Gary Glass led a twelve batter, seven run charge that broke the game open. St. Joseph tried to muster a rally in the bottom of the eighth, but the geezers had left themselves plenty of breathing room and held on for a 14-9 victory. In addition to finally finding their bats, the Fossils put together eight solid defensive innings and looked like they may be on the road back to mid-season form. Box Score 5/31/12: The big MO. The Cornerstone Reds were the second opponent of the night for a Fossil team on a roll. Despite getting off to a first inning lead, the usually overpowering Reds couldn't slow the momentum of the old men and quickly found themselves on the wrong end of a blowout. By the time a walk-off single ended the 17-7 game in the seventh, the Fossils had piled on 24 hits, including six for extra bases. In another strong defensive effort, legendary hurler Tom Benson stole the show in the fourth with his version of a classic Charlie Brown moment. When a blistering liner from the Reds' cleanup hitter took his glove right off his hand, a shocked Tom spun around, surveyed the damage, located the ball and threw out the batter. The heart of the maroon order led the charge offensively, going a combined 20-23 and driving in sixteen of the seventeen runs scored. Next up for the 2-2 Fossils is St. Joseph Blue on June 7th. Box Score 6/7/12: Collapse. Riding high after two wins last week, the Fossils started hot against St. Joseph Blue. In the middle of the fifth, the codgers held a firm 7-2 lead and everything was going well. And then...not so much. In their next three at-bats, Blue put up 16 runs to the Fossils' 2 to win going away. The old men politely pitched in, contributing several errors to the cause. The elderly offense was led by Monte Bloom and Jon Knutson, making his first appearance of the year with the geezers. Defensive highlights were provided by Sir Isaac Newton. Up next for the 2-3 Fossils is a rematch with Faith Baptist on 6/14. Box Score 6/21/12: The grind. After sitting out a week due to rain, the Fossils were ready for a rematch against Holy Nativity Blue. The Blues scored first, but the elderly offense answered with a leadoff double from Stephan Bloom, who proptly scored on his father's single. The Blues posted another run in the second, but then both defenses set in for a prolonged siege. Finally, in the fifth, both teams broke through and the game drew even at 3-3. The old men, however, weren't finished, and they tacked on four runs in the next two innings to take a 7-4 lead into the top of the eighth. With two outs and a runner on first, the geezers suddenly found themselves teetering on the brink of a Fossil Inning, giving up two singles and throwing a ball away. Some unconventional footwork on a routine play by Joe Gartner at first threatened to extend the inning into a full blown adventure, but he found the bag to get the final out and preserve a 7-6 win. In this tight, low scoring affair Ryan Glass led the way offensively, driving in two runs and Chris Stewart drove in the eventual winning run with a clutch single in the bottom of the seventh. The 3-3 Fossils will rest up for the rubber game with the Blues on 7/28. Box Score 6/28/12: The payoff. One short week after a nail-biting win over their nemesis, the Fossils were looking to put an exclamation mark on the three game season series with Holy Nativity Blue. After giving up a quick run in the top of the first, The old men got going with another leadoff homerun from Stefan Bloom and took a 2-1 lead that they would cling to until the bottom of the fourth. The Fossil defense was finally in mid-season form, shutting down numerous rally attempts by the younger team, and avoiding any of the shakiness that was apparent early in the season. In the bottom of the fourth, the old men strung together five hits, including a back-breaking three run double by Chris Stewart, to take a 6-1 lead. The Blues didn't go away, putting three runs on the board in the top of the fifth, including an incredibly rare run walked in by legendary hurler Tom Benson, but the codgers' eight run sixth ended the game in a 14-4 route. The Blues' defense was far from their best, and maroon baserunners took advantage throughout the game. The elderly offense was led by Chris Stewart and Dan Madsen, who each went three for three with four RBIs. With the decisive rubber game victory, the Fossils advanced to 4-3 on the season and recaptured bragging rights heading into the holiday off week. Box Score 7/12/12: Piling on. After a week off, the Fossils were ready to roll against the Cornerstone Reds, and it showed right away. The visiting geezers put up eight runs on nine hits in the first inning to grab control of the game. The maroon defense was dominant, holding the home team to a single run through the first five innings, and surrendering only nine hits in the game. The elderly offense, on the other hand, posted 27 hits, culminating in a last inning explosion to put the game out of reach. Gabe Gartner, playing in his first Fossil game in nearly four years, sparked the outburst with a three run bomb to right field. The rest of the old men piled on, putting another five runs on the board and icing an 18-5 victory. With the win, the Fossils improve to 5-3 heading into a Saturday morning double-header that will conclude the regular season. Box Score 7/14/12: Unstoppable. Fresh off a stomping of Cornerstone, the Fossils brought the pain to Elim Lutheran in the first game of a morning double-header. The old men got out of the gate early with two in each of the first two innings, and then dropped the bomb with 12 in the fourth on the way to a five inning 21-6 blowout. A day and a half after notching his first homerun as a Fossil, Gabe Gartner added his second, a three run shot in the fourth. Tom Benson added a three run triple (yes, you read that right) to stun the Fossil faithful and make the route official. The maroon defense played a gem, shutting down every attempt Elim made to stay in the game. With only half their work done for the day, the 6-3 Fossils had a ton of momentum and suddenly an outside shot at the regular season championship. Box Score 7/14/12: Sweetness. Fifteen minutes after unloading on Elim, the Fossils got a much awaited rematch against Faith Baptist, who thrashed the old men in the second week of the season. The bats were still hot and the defense was still on lockdown, as the geezers jumped out to a 6-0 lead after two innings. Faith crept into the game in the third with two runs, but the old men were already off to the races on the way to a 12-6 finish. The highlight of the game by far was a solo blast over right field by Rich Benson in the sixth, his first Fossil homerun and the culmination of a terrific season at the plate. The defense played their second gem of the day, shutting Faith down at every turn and stranding 14 runners. The victory is the codgers' fifth in a row, and a strong finish to a 7-3 season. The victory also gave the old men a shot at backing into a regular season title with a St. Joseph Grey loss, but the youngsters survived and left the Fossils in second place. Next up for the geezers is another shot at Elim Lutheran in the first round of the NACSL tournament. Box Score 2011 5/19/11: Finally on the field. After a two week wait, the Fossils opened up their 36th season against St. Joseph Grey tonight. An off-season leg injury relegated 35 year leadoff hitter Monte Bloom to the bottom of the lineup and pulled him in from the outfield to third base, where he had a fantastic game. Legendary hurler Tom Benson used his one alotted walk for the year early, but struck out four and gave up only 11 hits on the way to grinding out a 9-4 opening win. The defensive effort was highlighted by a great twisting catch on a popup by ageless shortstop Gary Glass and punctuated with seven plays to retire opposing hitters by Monte Bloom. Steve Derner led the offensive charge with a five hit, three run performance, and career doubles and triples leaders, Tom Madsen and Gary Glass respectively, both added to their records in an early offensive burst by the old men. With the victory, the codgers extend their regular season win streak to seven games, dating back to June 10th of last year, and look ahead to a matchup with St. Joseph Blue on May 27th. Box Score 5/26/11: Late risers. Still winded after a win in the opener, the Fossils shuffled onto the field to face St. Joseph Blue on a gorgeous night for softball. The younger visitors opened up strong with two runs on four hits, but the early deficit wasn't enough to shake the old men awake. St. Joseph added one in the second and another in the third before the dazed codgers finally came to. Third generation Fossil Stefan Bloom finally rang the wake-up bell in the bottom of the third with a leadoff single, and the next eight elderly hitters piled on, racking up five runs before running out of steam. Momentarily stunned, the Blues recovered and retook the lead, but in the bottom of the sixth Joe Gartner sparked another nine batter rally that put four more runs on the board for the Fossils. This second burst from the old men proved to be too much for the kids, and the Fossils won their eighth straight regular season game by a score of 9-7. Zach Gartner provided the only fireworks in a game of well hit lineouts with a monstrous triple that just may have landed in the street. Defensively, the codgers were less than sharp, but still managed to throw out two greedy runners and contain a sharp hitting opponent. Next up for the 2-0 Fossils are the Oak Grove Blue Sox on 6/2. Box Score 6/2/11: So ugly. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen stretched out the old bones and creaked into action behind the plate as the Fossils took on the Oak Grove Blue Sox. Things started well for the old men when the second batter of the game, Tom Madsen, crushed a home run into the parking lot. After that, however, the situation turned ugly as Fossil bats fell silent and the usually reliable maroon defense came completely apart. The meltdown started in the bottom of the second, when second baseman Dan Madsen botched a rundown, and quickly disintegrated into a full fledged Fossil Inning. After finally stopping the bleeding, the geezers limped on until the bottom of the sixth, when Oak Grove opened up with a barrage of hits to take an 11-3 lead. They extended their lead to 12-3 in the seventh, leaving the old men clinging to one final at-bat. Unwilling to go quietly, the Fossils mounted a rally in the top of the eighth, scoring six runs before an out was recorded, including three on a huge home run by Stefan Bloom. The momentum started to slow, and the codgers were down to their final out when Zach Gartner bounced a triple into the parking lot behind left field to score the seventh run of the inning and bring the tying run to the plate. Alas, it was too little too late, and the youngsters held on for a 12-10 victory. For the Fossils, it was the first regular season loss since 6/3/10, in a game similarly marred with defensive hijinks. Next up for the 2-1 Fossils are the always difficult Cornerstone Reds on 6/9. Box Score 6/9/11: #%@#!!. The Fossils' three homerun performance, including a first inning grand slam by Steve Knutson, was buried by 13 Fossil errors (yes, you read that right) as the game faded to black with two outs in the top of the eighth. Those of you who weren't there don't want to know, and those of us that were don't want to remember. Up next for the reeling fogies is the annual grudge match against the Holy Nativity Blues on June 16th. Box Score 6/16/11: DOA. The Fossils' slide continued as the old men were run over by the Holy Nativity Blues. The anemic offense could muster only nine hits, including just one by the bottom half of the order. Jon Knutson made his first appearance of the year for the Fossils and provided the defensive highlight of the game with a diving catch in right center, but it wasn't enough to spur the codgers into action. The 12-4 loss is the third in a row for the Fossils after starting the season on a positive note. In other news, the Fossil farm system today announced the signing of a third generation Benson prospect to a long term contract. Grandpa Tom dodged the subject, and proud father Rich was unavailable for comment, but scouts in the organization reported an immediate propensity for an underhand pitching motion. Box Score 6/23/11: Getting well. The frustrated Fossils came out of the gate swinging and piled 17 runs on a bewildered (but well dressed) Elim squad. The old men were efficient, using only 20 hits to do their damage, including four from leadoff hitter Stefan Bloom whose three run homer put the game out of reach in the sixth inning. With classic Bloom gentility, he quickly closed the distance to the runners ahead of him so he could exhort them in a polite indoor voice to keep going. The Fossil leather was also in fine form, recording the first error-free game of the season. Rich Benson topped the highlight reel, losing his footing but not the ball in an unplanned landing in the mushy outfield. Next up for the 3-3 Fossils is the first of two matchups with a 3-3 Faith Baptist squad in a rivalry that dates back to 1977, when rookie outfielder Tom Benson played for the Boys in the season-ending Men vs. Boys game. Box Score 6/30/11: Hanging on. The thermometer topped out in the mid 90's as the Fossils shuffled onto the field to take on Faith Baptist for the first of two late season meetings tonight. After getting out to a 4-1 lead after three innings, the old men stopped hitting altogether and were forced to turn to their defense to stave off the youngsters. In the top of the eighth, they broke a 4-4 tie when Zach Gartner scored on a short sacrifice fly, diving headfirst into home. Several minutes later, with the tying run on first base, he made a fantastic catch on a similar dive in left field to record the critical first out of the bottom half of the inning. Tom Madsen followed with a great catch of a popup behind second base, and the codgers managed to hold onto a 5-4 win. Next up for the 4-3 Fossils is a rematch against Elim Lutheran on July 7th. Box Score 7/7/11: Stingy. Prevention was the name of the game as the Fossils got their second shot at Elim Lutheran in a two week span. A strong Fossil defense stranded five Elim runners on base in the first two innings and allowed only six hits and one run in the game. The codgers' offensive malaise continued, as they scored only three runs through six innings before finally breaking out with an eight run seventh inning, capped by Steve Knutson's walk-off triple. With the 11-1 win, the Fossils improve to 5-3 heading into a rematch with St. Joseph Grey on July 14th. Box Score 7/14/11: Unresolved. Riding a shaky three game win streak, the Fossils were searching for some consistent offense in a rematch of the season opener against St. Joseph Grey. They found themselves chasing the younger team through a low scoring battle. The elderly defense held up well, highlighted by a barehand grab at first by Steve Knutson to cap an innovative piece of performance art by Joe Gartner at second base. As the game drew to a close, the old men came roaring into the picture to tie the game and force an extra inning, but several opportunities to win slipped through their fingers and the game ended knotted at 9. This was only the second tie in Fossil history, and the first since the codgers deadlocked against Elim Lutheran in another 9-9 affair in 1987. The Fossils will close out the regular season on 7/21 with a rematch against Faith Baptist. Box Score 7/21/11: Chasing. The short-handed Fossils welcomed Chris Stewart and Andrew Chapman to old age and Monte Bloom to the mound as they took the field in the final game of the regular season against Faith Baptist. The old men opened up on their younger opponent right out of the gate, putting eight runs on the board in the bottom of the first with the help of several defensive miscues. After that, however, the hits dried up and Faith began to climb back into the game. The Fossil defense played well, but the tide turned in the top of the fifth with a monsterous grand slam by Faith. The final three innings were a scramble that ended with the tying run on third and the winning run on second for the old men. After a strange season that included only the second tie in the 36 year history of the team, the Fossils will open up the NACSL Tournament on Thursday, 7/28, against St. Joseph Gold from the Monday night division. Box Score 2010 5/6/10: Outhit. Old joints creaked in the damp cold as the Fossils opened their 35th season against a very good Faith Baptist team. Monte Bloom got things off on the right foot with a leadoff opposite field homerun in the bottom of the first, and the old men quickly jumped out to a lead. After the initial burst, however, the bats went quiet and the Fossils clung to a slim lead. Finally, in the top of the sixth, Faith opened the floodgates, pouring on 14 runs in the final three innings to roll to a 17-7 victory. Offensively, inconsistency was the name of the game for the codgers. The top of the order went 11-20 and delivered six extra base hits, including two homers and a double by Monte Bloom, while the bottom half of the order went just 1-16, driving in a single run. Tom Madsen highlighted the defensive effort, absorbing a wicked hop on a rocketed grounder to start a much-needed double play in the top of the eighth. The Fossils will continue their slow crawl to glory next week, when they take on St. Joseph Grey. Box Score 5/20/10: Fossilized. A perfect evening greeted a crowd of Fossil faithful as their favorite old men took the field to defend their ragged pride against the Holy Nativity Blues in the annual grudge match. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen celebrated yet another birthday, and Fossil emeritus Don Hoseth was on hand with his camera. Zach Gartner, Greg Erickson, Rich Benson made their first appearances of the young season for the codgers, as did legendary shortstop Gary Glass, and the Rausch family perpetuated an age old Fossil tradition when Ted's son Trevor joined the ranks of the old men in his first game as a Fossil, splitting time behind the plate with his father. Welcome to old age, Trevor! The festivities got under way slowly, with both teams going down quietly in the first, but the Blues drew first blood in the top of the second, putting four runs on the board with a handful of hits and benefitting from a couple of Fossil miscues. The old men struck back in the bottom of the inning with three runs of their own, due in large part to a triple from Gary Glass. The Blues pushed across another in the top of the third, but Monte Bloom and Zach Gartner got loose on the basepaths on the home half and the Fossils evened the score at five. As the fourth inning opened, the geezers were looking to make a stand and turn the tide of the game. Former Fossil Russ O'Dell was robbed of a bloop hit, and the maroon defense closed the door to get off the field unscathed. Sensing an opportunity to take control, the elderly offense poured it on, sending twelve codgers to the plate and scoring seven of them in the bottom of the fourth to break the game wide open. Proud papa Ted Rausch led the way with a line shot over a leaping left fielder for a two run double. The youngsters never recovered, piecing together five runs in the last four innings on their way to another Fossilization. The energized Fossil offense was led by a perfect 3-3 night at the plate by Rich Benson and a 3-4 performance with two doubles by Zach Gartner. Despite committing six errors, the aging defense found a way to get off the field at the crucial moments and preserve a 17-10 birthday present for the skipper. Next up for the 1-1 Fossils are the Oak Grove Reds, as the 35th season of mediocrity continues on May 27th. Box Score 5/27/10: Rare form. Spurred by the rousing victory over the arch-rival Blues, the Fossils flattened the overmatched Oak Grove Reds tonight. Stefan Bloom and Jon Knutson made their first appearances of the year with the old men and looked to be in mid-season form. The Fossils got off to a quick start with a five run first inning, which was more than enough to seal the deal. They would add six more and hold the younger team scoreless on the way to their second win of the season. Legendary hurler Tom Benson, fresh from a milestone birthday celebration, faced just 24 batters in six innings and gave up just seven hits in recording his first shutout of the year. The maroon defense was flawless, recording two double plays and allowing only two opposing runners to advance beyond first base. Next up for the 2-1 Fossils are the always troublesome Cornerstone Reds on June 3rd. Box Score 6/3/10: Oh, for a Fossil Inning. After a flawless defensive performance against Oak Grove, the Fossils paid homage to the traditional Fossil Inning against the Cornerstone Reds. Several times. The old men contributed seven infield errors to a strong Reds offensive effort, resulting in a mercifully shortened 20-9 thumping. The festivities started right away, with errors on the first two hit balls of the game, leading to a five run first for the Reds. The elderly offense got out of the blocks slowly and had trouble stringing together hits. One bright spot in the evening was Trevor Soulier's first hit as an old man. Another was Jake Erickson's season debut in maroon, going two for three and driving in three runs. Next up for the 2-2 Fossils is St. Joseph Blue on June 10th. Box Score 6/10/10: Ugly but close. Coming off a disasterous outing, the Fossils were searching for mid-season form against St. Joseph Blue, but it was not to be. After setting the visitors down in order in the first, the maroon defense hit a bit of a rough patch, committing errors in each of the next three innings. St. Joseph shared the old men's defensive struggles, but neither offense could capitalize on the miscues to pull away. No more than a run separated the teams throughout, and the Fossils finally found themselves down to their last at-bat and trailing by one. A leadoff single by Tom Benson got the geezers rolling, and four batters later Joe Gartner sealed the deal by dropping a fly ball through the younger defense for a walk-off single. Jake Erickson, Tom Madsen and Steve Derner had big nights at the plate for the old men, who improve to 3-2 on the season. After a bye on June 17th, the Fossils will plunge into the second half of the season against the Oak Grove Blues on June 24th. Box Score 6/24/10: The value of experience. After spending the bye week resting their arthritic frames, the Fossils opened the second half of the season against the far less seasoned Oak Grove Blues. The younger team looked unsettled, committing six errors and hitting very sporadically in the early going. The old men, however, got the bats going early with two runs in the top of the first and then broke the game open in the third with seven runs on eight hits. Oak Grove finally awakened a promising young offense, but it was too little too late and the geezers hobbled away with a 17-8 victory. Long time fireman Monte Bloom took the mound in the third, ending legendary hurler Tom Benson's night after two scoreless innings. Monte also turned in the defensive play of the game, coming out of nowhere to cover third for an inning-ending force in the fourth. Next up for the 4-2 Fossils is a much improved Elim Lutheran squad on July 1st. Box Score 7/1/10: A quick start and a crazy finish. Fresh from last week's romp, the Fossils turned their attention to keeping a streak alive against an old adversary, Elim Lutheran. Prior to tonight's game, the geezers had taken nine straight from Elim dating back to 1999, outscoring them 131-42 along the way. After giving up a run in the top of the first, the old men picked up right where they'd left off with five runs on six hits. After escaping unscathed from a bases loaded, no out situation in the top of the second, they added five more on eight hits to break the game open. Elim persisted, slowly crawling back to within 6, but the old men opened the bottom of the seventh with five straight hits and Stefan Bloom upheld the family name by escaping from a rundown to score and end the game. Rich Benson and Ted Rausch led the way offensively, going 4-4 and 3-3, respectively, and Gary Glass drove in six runs. Defensively, Jake Erickson and Steve Knutson made great catches at key moments, and the aging infield turned two timely double plays to keep Elim hitters at bay. With the 16-6 victory, the old men improve to 5-2 and extend their win streak over Elim to ten games. The Fossils are idle on July 8th and face Faith Baptist in a rematch of opening night on July 15th. Box Score 7/15/10: A late season tune-up. Eager to avenge their opening night loss at the hands of Faith Baptist, the Fossils found themselves waiting for enough opposing players to arrive to get the game under way. Faith managed to field only eight, leaving the old men looking at huge gaps in both the infield and outfield. Enthusiasm was in short supply for the younger team as well, and the codgers immediately took advantage, scoring in each of the first three innings to build a 10-1 lead. The maroon defense was particularly sharp, with Monte Bloom making a rare infield appearance to demonstrate that an aggressive third baseman eliminates the need for a shortstop. Jake Erickson was on top of his game as well, delivering two perfect throws, to second and home, from left center. Fossil bats were hot as well, racking up 21 hits to Faith's 7, including triples into the parking lot by Zach Gartner and Steve Knutson. Mercifully for Faith, the end came quickly with Tom Benson's walk-off single in the sixth, sealing the deal on a 12-2 victory. The 6-2 Fossils will finish the regular season with games against St. Joseph Grey on July 17th and 22nd. Box Score 7/17/10: The Fossil constrictor. Plenty of heat greeted the Fossils as they began the first of two consecutive matchups with St. Joseph Grey. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen grabbed a bat and joined the lineup as the old men sought to extend their win streak to five games. St. Joseph was playing in the second of three consecutive games in the midday sun, but it didn't show early as the younger team jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first. The geezers got on the board with two in the second, and proceeded to squeeze the life out of the younger team, gradually adding to their total while tightening their defensive grip. After surrendering a lone run in the fourth, the maroon defense gave up just one hit in the final four innings. The Fossil offense, led by Zach Gartner who went 5-5 with 3 doubles, 4 runs scored and 3 RBI, scored in six of the final seven innings on the way to a 15-4 victory. The 7-2 Fossils will face St. Joseph Grey once again in the final regular season game on July 22nd. Box Score 7/22/10: Instant replay. After an impressive victory against a tired St. Joseph Grey team in a rare Saturday game, the Fossils faced the task of repeating the performance five days later against a rested opponent. This time, the old men jumped in early, opening the game with four runs on four hits in the top of the first. St. Joseph struck back, scoring three of their own in the home half of the first, just as they had five days earlier. Unfortunately for the younger team, the similarities didn't end there. After surrendering four hits and mishandling two terrific throws on Grey baserunners in the first, the maroon defense took charge and put an end to the kids' fun. St. Joseph finished the night with only six hits, and failed to score again. Fossil bats were up to the task, however, cranking out 22 hits and a total of 16 runs to complete the rout. The Ericksons led the way, with Greg going 3-3 and Jake going 3-4 to secure his first batting crown. With the 16-3 final, the Fossils wrap up a fantastic 35th season with a record of 8-2 and a second place finish in the Thursday night division. They will begin NACSL tournament play on July 29th. Box Score 2009 5/7/09: Ugly but effective. The Fossils shook off some rust to defend their league championship in their 34th season opener against St. Joseph Green. The geezers looked to be off to a quick start with a two run homer from Tom Madsen in the top of the first, but solid hitting by the Greens and less-than-solid Fossil defense kept the game close through six innings. In the top of the seventh the codgers broke the game open, batting around and scoring seven runs on eight hits. The Greens scored three runs in the last two innings, but it wasn't enough to close the gap and the old men held on to win 17-10. Leading the offensive drive for the geriatrics were Monte Bloom, Tom Madsen and Tom Benson, who went a combined 11 for 14 with 9 RBI. A recently refurbished Gary Glass anchored the maroon infield and added 3 RBI. With the victory, the Fossils have now won 21 of their last 23 games against league opponents. Box Score 5/14/09: Blown away. Fresh off an ugly opening night victory, the Fossils looked to keep their hot streak alive against Faith Baptist. Faith, however, had other ideas and opened the game with ten singles, a triple and a home run in an 11 run first inning. Stunned, the geezers tried to pick up their dentures and climb off the mat, but the fight was already over. In the latter stages of the brief debacle, a hobbled Monte Bloom was replaced in the outfield by Jon Knutson, a third generation Fossil making his maroon debut. Congratulations, Jon, and welcome to old age. Next up for the Fossils is the annual grudge match against the Holy Nativity Blues. Box Score 5/21/09: Just not enough. The annual Holy Nativity showdown gave the Fossils a chance to snap out of an ugly start to the season, but once again the old men were slow out of the gate. The Blues opened the scoring with three runs on five hits in the bottom of the first. The geezers responded, scraping together four runs to take the lead after two and a half, but the Blues added three more in the bottom of the third to take the lead back for good. The Fossils kept the game close through six innings, but surrendered six runs in the bottom of the seventh to seal the deal. Jake Erickson, Rich Benson and Hank Jubert all made their first appearances of the season in maroon and comprised much of the Fossil offense, going a combined 7-9 with 3 RBI. Jon Knutson recorded his first Fossil hit, leading off the top of the sixth with a single. After the 13-7 defeat, the old men will look to find their bats against Elim Lutheran, a team they've beaten in the last seven regular season meetings. Box Score 5/28/09: Picture perfect. It was a beautiful evening for softball as the struggling Fossils took the field against Elim Lutheran, and the old men took the opportunity to play their best game of the season. With Monte Bloom lurking mere feet from the mound, legendary hurler Tom Benson pitched a masterful 4-hit shutout, getting help from a great diving catch by Ryan Glass in right center and terrific plays at third by Hank Jubert that had the opposing bench humming the SportsCenter theme. The geezers had their way at the plate as well, jumping out to a five run lead in the first inning and finishing with 13 runs on 20 hits in the mercifully short affair. The Elim defense helped the old men's cause, giving up several extra bases and generally looking out of sync. When the dust settled, the old men had found both their gloves and their bats, and produced their first gem of the season. Box Score 6/4/09: Bombarded. After a near perfect game against Elim, the Fossils looked to continue their roll against the Cornerstone Crush. The old men got off to a shaky but survivable start, dodging several bullets and facing a 5-4 deficit after two innings. The top of the third, however, was a complete disaster for the fogies. The Crush sent 15 batters to the plate and brought 10 of them around on nine singles, two errors and a towering homerun. The dazed codgers weren't quite finished, however, as they rallied for seven runs in the bottom of the fifth to climb back to within three. Poised to make a run at stealing the game, the geezers needed to shut down the youngsters in the top of the sixth. Alas, the geriatric defense wheezed and sputtered once more, surrendering five more runs and putting the game out of reach. When the dust cleared, the old men had fallen once again to defeat by a score of 21-16. Jake Erickson, Ryan Glass and Hank Jubert led a productive Fossil offense with three hits apiece, and Stefan Bloom made his first appearance of the season in the rustic maroon. Next up for the Fossils is St. Joseph Blue. Box Score 6/11/09: A gaggle of geezers. Crowd control was the name of the game for grizzled skipper Bob Madsen, as 15 seasoned geezers turned out for the matchup against St. Joseph Blue. In a scene oddly reminiscent of commencement, the bearded baldy read the seemingly endless list of names in the batting order as the crowd milled around, muttering and bumping into each other. To continue the festivities, the first three Fossil hitters stepped to the plate when their names were called, marched down the first base line, and quickly returned to their seats. St. Joseph, on the other hand, came out swinging and jumped into the early lead with a three run homer in the first. The old men came creaking back in the top of the second, putting five runs on the board, including two on the first of two triples by Gary Glass, before ending the inning with a Hank Jubert baserunning clinic. St. Joseph would keep the game close the rest of the way, but the Fossils held the lead and widened the margin with homeruns by Stefan Bloom and Zach Gartner. In a rare move, Monte Bloom came out of the bullpen in the fourth to give legendary hurler Tom Benson the rest of the night off. The rest of the maroon defense, fresh from constant rotation, put on a solid performance to sustain the 12-7 victory, highlighted by Steve Knutson's classic display of Fossil mobility at first base. Next up for the 3-3 old men is Oak Grove. Box Score 6/18/09: Taking care of business. With perrenial challenge Oak Grove lying in wait, the Fossils braved the humid heat to see if they could string two wins together for the first time this season. As always, the game was a struggle from the first pitch, with the younger team jumping out to a 3-0 lead and the old men slowly reeling them in. Finally, in the bottom of the sixth, the geezers broke open a 4-4 deadlock with seven runs on eight hits to pull away for good. The maroon defense was the key to the game, surrendering only two runs in the final seven innings. The Fossil offense was sparked by Greg Erickson's blast over the left fielder in the third and Monte Bloom's aggressive base coaching in the decisive seventh. With the 11-5 victory, the Fossils look toward next week's matchup against St. Joseph Grey and the opportunity to complete the sweep of St. Joseph teams for the year. Box Score 6/25/09: Not their finest hour. Heat and humidity greeted the Fossils as they took the field against St. Joseph Grey, the last of three St. Joseph teams on the schedule. In an attempt to spur his team's struggling offense, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen dropped himself into the lineup for the first time this season. The strategy worked, as the old men got off to a quick start with three runs in the first, and the offense looked to be on track. In the second, however, the ancient offense sputtered and stalled, scoring only one and leaving the bases loaded. The old men would not score for the rest of the game. Defensively, the Fossils started out sharp, but soon fell prey to a variety of mishaps. In the midst of the meelee, legendary hurler Tom Benson turned in a standout defensive performance, including recovering and throwing out the hitter after a sharp grounder tore the glove right off his hand. Despite the miscues, the old men managed to hold the lead until the sixth, and were never out of striking range. With the 8-4 loss, the Fossils drop to 4-4 on the season. Box Score 7/9/09: All popped out. A full house of fourteen weathered faces lined the bench as the Fossils took on their age-old nemesis, New Hope. After starting ice cold at the plate and enduring an early rally by the youngsters, the old men grabbed a 3-2 lead in the second on the strength of a triple by Steve Derner and a long home run off the bat of Gary Glass. The elderly defense was in solid form, clamping down on New Hope scoring with four inning-ending double plays. However, after the early burst of power the maroon bats fell silent and the geezers struggled to score, shooting themselves in the foot with eight infield popups. The younger team struggled as well, going three scoreless innings before finally breaking out with sixs runs in the fifth, including a grand slam that broke the old, frail back of the Fossils. Despite holding New Hope to two innings of scoring and only eight total runs, the codgers could only muster six and went down in defeat yet again to their old rivals by a final score of 8-6. Box Score 7/16/09: Grinding it out. A much younger Cornerstone No Hit Wonders team awaited the Fossils as the old men took the field in the final contest of the regular season. After setting down the youngsters in order in the top of the first, the geezers got underway immediately with a leadoff triple by Ryan Glass. While the ancient offensive machine continued to plod along, the Wonders finally turned on the power in the third and pulled into a 4-4 tie after four innings. Just when it looked like the Fossils were about to stall and suffer the same fate as in the previous two games, the old men strung together a collection of hits to put five runs on the board in the bottom of the fifth and create some breathing room. The youngsters responded with three in the top of the sixth, but the codgers held them off and closed out an inconsistent regular season with a 13-9 victory. Ryan Glass led the maroon offense, going 3-4 to run away with the 2009 batting title. The Fossil defense was solid once again, managing to contain a surprisingly powerful opponent. After finishing the regular season 5-5, the old men will have a week off to collect their feeble strength for a run at a third straight league tournament championship. Box Score 7/27/09: Break out the sticks. A deceptively youthful Fossils squad squared off tonight against the Oak Grove Monday night team in the first round of the NACSL tournament. The look of the baby-faced outfield, composed entirely of second and third generation Fossils, belied their 31 seasons of combined experience in maroon. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen, neither deceptive nor youthful, won the coin toss and the Fossil defense took the field. After a bumpy start with gusting crosswinds forcing an uncharacteristic walk from legendary hurler Tom Benson, and shortstop Tom Madsen drilling an opposing baserunner with a throw, the boys of summers past escaped after surrendering only one run. Then the Fossil bats, which had been quiet all season, came to life as the old men batted around and put five runs on the board. Oak Grove crept back, thanks in part to loose defensive play by the maroon, and after three innings the Fossils clung to a 6-4 lead. The visitors manufactured another run to inch closer in the top of the fourth, but the old men had had enough and opened the floodgates on the way to an abbreviated 16-6 victory. The first seven hitters in the Fossil lineup combined to hit .720 and drive in 15 runs, propelling the geezers to their second highest run total of the season. The defense, for its part, bent but wouldn't break, posting a whopping six errors. The defensive highlight was once again supplied by Hank Jubert, scrambling out from behind the plate to scoop up a short popup and firing down to second for a force. In true Fossil fashion, however, on the very next play Tom Benson's soft toss from the mound to first to record the final out of the game was unceremoniously dropped upon arrival, bringing one final Oak Grove hitter to the plate and ensuring that Fossil fans got their money's worth. With the first round win, the Fossils will advance to Winners Bracket play on Saturday, 8/1, where they will meet St. Joseph Green. Box Score 2008 5/8/08: Nothing but net. The Fossils hobbled into their 33rd season with an opening night matchup against a young St. Joseph Green team that they had not yet beaten. After a scoreless first inning, the younger team opened up the second with a two run burst to take the early lead. The old men wasted no time in responding, however, as Steve Knutson led off the home half of the second with an absolute rocket into the netting above the left field fence for a home run. Two batters later, Steve Derner hit a two run blast into the net to give the geezers a lead they would not relinquish. A five hit rally with two outs in the third stretched the lead to five, and after surrendering three to the youngsters in the fourth, an eight of nine stretch in the fifth pushed the lead to seven. Finally, in the sixth, the wheezing warriors closed out the game with a two run bomb that caught the top of the left field net by Tom Madsen, a triple by Joe Gartner, and a throwing error by the Green pitcher after intentionally walking the bases full. For the first time in memory, the Fossils had hit their limit of ruled home runs on field #1 and had actually avoided hitting a ball over the net for a ground rule out. Joe Gartner finished with a pair of triples, and Steve Knutson added a third inning laser shot off of the fence post in deep left center to his earlier home run. In a nod to an age-old Fossil tradition recently thought to be lost, legendary hurler Tom Benson allowed Hank Jubert to warm up his pitching arm and grizzled skipper Bob Madsen to double his blood pressure before arriving just in time to step onto the field and throw the first pitch of the game. In an ingenious new twist on the old routine, Rich Benson arrived separately in plenty of time to assure Bob that Tom was on his way...but might be late. All that was missing was Monte Bloom, eagerly warming up for his chance to finally unseat the legend. Bravo, Tom, for reminding us that Fossil softball is all about tradition. Box Score 5/22/08: Hijacking the hill. With the season opening victory all but faded from their weakened memories, the Fossils took the field against the second St. Joseph opponent of three this season, the Grey team. With a couple of hits and help from an error, the old men scratched out a run in the top of the first, but gave it back on two errors of their own in the bottom of the second. In the bottom of the third, two more Fossil errors gave St. Joseph a second run to take the lead. Finally, the codgers showed signs of life in the top of the fourth, sending 11 batters to the plate and bringing 7 back around to take an 8-2 lead. It was at this point that Monte Bloom, on his way from the bench to the outfield, stopped at the mound to wistfully toss a single pitch to catcher Ted Rausch before legendary hurler Tom Benson took the field. When Tom arrived on the mound, he was informed by the umpire that he would not be allowed to pitch to the first batter of the inning, since another pitcher had already thrown a warm-up pitch. After years of scheming, Monte had finally stumbled upon a way to take the ball out of Tom's hand and force his way onto the mound. Despite his convincing look of surprise and apologies to Tom, suspicion on the bench was that the move was actually retribution for being stranded in the on-deck circle by Tom moments earlier. Regardless, Monte pitched a scoreless fifth and Tom returned to throw a scoreless sixth. In the top of the seventh, with the score still stuck at 8-2, Tom made his way to the plate with the bases loaded and two out and slapped his first hit of the game. This clutch single opened a seven run barrage that was dotted with a three run blast into the parking lot by Tom Madsen. A solo shot in the bottom half of the inning was far too little, too late, and St. Joseph succumbed to a 15-3 thumping. Despite an uncharacteristically shaky defensive performance, including six infield errors, and five cold innings at the plate, the Fossils had managed to take control of the game and then put it out of reach. The first major milestone of the season awaits, however, as the Fossils attempt next week to break a 27 year regular season drought against their age-old rivals, New Hope (formerly Crystal Free). Box Score 5/29/08: One gamebreaking swing. Light rain greeted the hobbling horde as the Fossils took the field against New Hope looking to break a 27 year regular season winless streak. Tight defense and thin offense was the order of the day, with New Hope putting up a lone run in the first and the Fossils scoring single runs in both the second and third. After a scoreless fourth, New Hope tied the game in the fifth and went scoreless in the top of the sixth. The bottom of the sixth looked to be going quietly as well when the Fossils, with two on and two out, got a single from Tom Benson to load the bases. In the make or break moment of the game, Jake Erickson drove a ball into the gap in right center. The ball skipped off the damp grass, instantly getting beyond the New Hope outfielders, and the race was on. As all Fossil fans know, a footrace against Jake is a losing proposition, even with Tom Benson running in front of him, and the bases were cleared to break the deadlock wide open. Not to be outdone, Zach Gartner followed with a double and Tom Madsen drove him in with a triple off the wall in left, scoring on Joe Gartner's single. The old men had brought a six run burst to a tight defensive battle and the damage was done. New Hope added two more in the top of the eighth, but Jake's homer had broken the curse that began before he was born and the Fossils advanced to 3-0 on the season. Box Score 6/12/08: Stingy old men. After a week off on account of rain, the Fossils wandered out onto the field against a resurgent Elim team. Gabe Gartner made his first appearance of the year in the maroon, barely recognizable after dropping ten pounds in the barber chair. The delicately choreographed ballet that is Fossil defense began with the first swing of the game, as Hank Jubert made a great backpeddling, reaching catch in right center and proceeded to fall and injure his shoulder. Despite the graceful start, the old men surrendered two runs in the first. It would be Elim's biggest inning of the game. The geezers finally got things going in the home half of the second, and tied the game at two on a string of singles and an Elim error. After a scoreless third, the Fossils opened up the game in the fourth, stringing together four singles, two doubles and a walk for five runs. With the aging leather in top form, the single offensive outburst proved to be more than enough to win. The codgers added four more in the next three innings, highlighted by a two run blast into the net by Tom Madsen, and surrendered only two more to secure the 11-4 victory. Gary Glass led the offensive attack, going 3-3 with 4 RBI, and Ryan Glass spurred the defense with a terrific catch in left center to secure a scoreless second inning. With the win, the Fossils improve to 4-0 on the season and extend their NACSL winning streak to 12 games. Box Score 6/19/08: The buzzsaw. Riding a 12 game NACSL win streak, the Fossils welcomed grizzled skipper Bob Madsen back to the lineup as they took on St. Joseph Blue. The visiting codgers got off to a quick start with a leadoff single from Jake Erickson and a two run moonshot from Zach Gartner. Tom Madsen continued the display with a triple into the parking lot, scoring on a Steve Derner single. With a three run lead, the maroon defense walked onto the field and into a nightmare. Nineteen batters and fourteen run later, the exhausted geezers finally retired to the bench. After the devestating first inning, the Fossils continued to hit but couldn't close the gap, finally succumbing to a 22-12 thumping after only six innings. In addition to losing their first league game in a year, the old men had given up their biggest inning to an opposing offense in almost a decade. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 4-1 on the season. Box Score 6/26/08: Slugfest. Fresh off their first loss of the season, the Fossils stepped into the ring against a shorthanded Faith Baptist team. The old men opened the game with fielding foibles, allowing 3 runs on 2 errors in the first, and setting the stage for a lackluster defensive game. In an early hole, the codgers grabbed their bats and released their frustration on the visiting team. The first eight batters reached safely, and a total of 16 stepped to the plate, pushing across 11 runs. Little did they know they'd need another 10 to hold off Faith and salvage the win. The damage was done when the visitors batted around in both the fourth and fifth innings, adding 11 runs to their total and closing the gap to 18-16. The third hitter in the younger team's lineup led the charge, going 6-6 with two homeruns. The maroon defense did their part, committing six errors in seven innings of work. In the end, however, it was the old timers' bats that put them over the top. Tom Madsen led the charge, going 3-4 with a homerun, two doubles and a long out over the left field net. Surviving a bad night with the leather, the Fossils held on to salvage a 21-18 victory. With the win, they advance to 5-1 on the season. Box Score 7/3/08: Short and ugly. A depleted Fossil team hoped to carry the offensive momentum of a 21 run game into tonight's makeup game against Oak Grove. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen was once again pressed into action behind the plate, as the holiday weekend took its toll on attendence. With the order thinned, the game quickly turned into a defensive struggle. Legendary hurler Tom Benson set the pace in the bottom of the first, snaring a sharp liner and catching the younger team's leadoff hitter off first base for the first of three Fossil double plays. The geezers' bats, however, were apprently not notified of the schedule change. After four scoreless innings, Bob Madsen spurred the offense with his first extra base hit in nine years. Zach Gartner responded with a single, and Tom Madsen closed the Fossils' scoring for the evening with a three run shot into the left field net to give the codgers a 3-2 lead. The maroon defense surrendered that lead in the home half of the inning, however, and the game stayed deadlocked at 3-3 into the bottom of the eighth when Oak Grove scratched out a run to end it. The elderly defense was solid, with only a couple of miscues, but each miscue led to a run. With the loss, the sluggish old men fall to 5-2 on the season and look to right the ship in the biggest game of the year against the Holy Nativity Blues next week. Box Score 7/10/08: Breaking the chain. Still smarting from last week's offensive impotence, and missing both the offensive and defensive leaders of the team, the Fossils took the field against the Holy Nativity Blues in the biggest game of the year. Gary Glass returned to anchor the grizzled infield and Monte Bloom's weekly wish was granted when he got the start in legendary hurler Tom Benson's absence. The visiting geezers got the game off to the traditional running start, piecing together two runs in the top of the first. The Blues, however, broke with tradition and went down in order in the first with two strikeouts. The old men were unable to capitalize, and the younger team clawed back to a 2-2 tie after three innings. Joe Gartner led off the fourth with a double for the wrinkled warriors, and the offense suddenly sprung to life, putting 8 runs on the board in two innings and breaking the game open. Three more runs in the seventh gave the Fossils a 13-4 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth. The maroon defense had been stellar, led by near flawless outfield play. Then the leather hit a speed bump. The first five Blues reached in the bottom of the eighth, aided by two infield errors, and two more errors led to a total of four runs before the old men stopped the bleeding and ended the game, still in command at 13-8. With the exception of some last inning foibles, the old men had brought their gloves to the park, and the young men had left their bats at home. The traditional nail biter was not to be, and the Fossils claimed Holy Nativity bragging rights and climbed over the Blues to 6-2 on the season. Box Score 7/17/08: Runaway train. Veteran ace Tom Benson returned to the mound to lead the Fossils down the home stretch against the Hitless Wonders from Cornerstone. The old men needed a win to stay in the hunt for the league lead, and Tom obliged with a three hit shutout, facing only 18 opposing hitters in five innings of work. The fogies' defensive performance ran hot and cold with great plays by Jake Erickson, Steve Knutson and Gabe Gartner erasing mishaps in the ancient infield and keeping the younger team off the board. The Hitless Wonders had their trials in the field as well, and the Fossils poured on the offense with 17 runs in four innings at the plate. Eleven of the thirteen elderly hitters scored, and nine had at least one RBI. After sucking all the oxygen out of the midsummer night sky, the Fossils turned their attention to next week's matchup with the Cornerstone Crush and the chance to grab their third league title. Box Score 7/24/08: Clutch, thy name is Gartner. A fired up Fossil team stepped in against the Cornerstone Crush tonight, looking to secure their eighth win of the season and their third league championship. The old men got things going quickly, opening the game with five consecutive hits and putting four runs on the board in the first. The Crush, however, came right back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning and the struggle was underway. For the next five innings, the geezers fought to maintain and extend their lead, finally pushing it to 10-7. In the bottom of the seventh, however, the Crush came roaring back with four runs to take their first lead of the game and put the Fossils' championship hopes in jeopardy. Needing at least one run to give themselves a chance, the codgers opened up the top of the eighth ominously with an infield popup. Two outs away from disaster, the old men needed a spark and Zach Gartner delivered by crushing a triple into the left field parking lot. Tom Madsen followed with a single to tie the game, and Joe Gartner delivered the knockout punch with a triple over the right fielder's head to score Tom. Steve Knutson brought Joe home with a single, and the Fossils took the field for the bottom of the eighth, clinging to a two run lead. Cornerstone, however, was out of steam and went down in order, handing the Fossils their third league championship and another trip to the State Tournament. Box Score 8/2/08: Slow and steady. Having already secured a State Tournament bid, defense of last year's NACSL tournament title was the single goal as the Fossils began their tournament on Saturday morning against Beautiful Savior, a Monday night team they had never faced. The visitors got off to a quick start, putting three runs on the board in the first. The Fossils responded with two and proceeded to take control of the game, locking the younger team down and surrendering only one more run in the subsequent six innings. The maroon offense took advantage, piling up six more runs over five innings to secure the 8-4 victory. Home runs by Zach Gartner and Stefan Bloom and four strikeouts by Tom Benson added punctuation to a solid game that turned out to be the first chapter of a day-long defensive masterpiece. Box Score 8/2/08: Rallying the troops. After winning the morning game, the Fossils had nearly a seven hour break in their tournament run, spurring several of the old men to break off and attend to other matters. After a brief scramble, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen secured Todd Weisjahn and Andy O'Brien to make their Fossil debuts, and the ten man squad was set for the remainder of the day. The next opponent in the codgers' way was St. Joseph Grey, a team that they had beaten handily in the second game of the season. The younger team matched the Fossils' single run in the first, but after that the old men slammed the door, allowing only six hits and no runs while playing error free in the remaining six innings. The maroon offense was quiet but effective, pushing across seven more runs on a collection of singles to secure an 8-1 victory in a game that lasted less than half an hour and sent St. Joseph packing. Box Score 8/2/08: Firing on all cylinders. Immediately after locking down St. Joseph Grey, the Fossils changed fields and faced one of only two teams that had beaten them since June of last year. Oak Grove had outlasted the old men in a defensive battle on July 3rd, and the geezers weren't about to let it happen again. Five strikeouts by Monte Bloom set the pace in a three hit shutout where no Oak Grove runner advanced beyond second base. With the maroon defense in control, Fossil bats poured on 12 runs in six innings to end the game early and carry the codgers into the championship game. Box Score 8/2/08: The title defense. After three solid victories, only one team stood between the Fossils and a repeat of last year's tournament sweep. That team, however, was perrenial powerhouse First Lutheran. The game got off to a quick start, with each team scoring three runs in the first, but it quickly became obvious that the Fossils' defensive masterpiece would have a fourth chapter. The maroon offense broke the tight game open in the fourth inning with four runs and the old men never looked back. Down seven runs with one out, the final First Lutheran hitter grounded into a double play to complete the Fossils' perfect day. In four games, the geezers had surrendered a total of 11 runs. Pervasive throughout the day was the feeling of defensive control, regardless of the score at the time. The old men never made the game changing mistake, or allowed the opponent's offense to gather momentum. The Fossils have now won 20 of their last 22 league games, collecting two tournament championships and a regular season title along the way. Box Score 2007 5/3/07: Almost, but not quite. The creaks and groans were deafening as the Fossils opened up their 32nd season with a rare doubleheader. Waiting for them in the first game were their arch-rivals, the Holy Nativity Blues. After a crushing defeat at the hands of the younger team in last year's tournament, the codgers were looking to re-establish their recent regular season dominance. Two first inning extra base hits got the old men on the board early, much to the delight of the hoardes of Fossil fans, but the Blues came back with three in the bottom of the first including a long home run and started to pull away. Down 13-8 after six innings, the old men awakened the ghosts of past meetings by stringing together five hits, a walk and a sacrifice fly to tie up the game. The Blues, however, escaped the heartbreak that has become tradition by putting six runs on the board in the bottom of the seventh and running away with a 19-13 win. The Fossils' offense was led by the bottom of the order, going a combined 7 for 10 while scoring 6 runs and driving in 5. In his first appearance with the geezers, Bruce Granos went 3 for 3 with a triple and 3 RBI and prowled the right side of the outfield like a leopard. Congratulations on your Fossilization, Bruce. The return of Rich Benson after a year away was also a welcome sight for the maroon faithful. In addition to his offensive and defensive prowess, the youthful Mr. Benson also brings with him the promise of many, many, many more years of service on the hill from the not-so-youthful Mr. Benson. Box Score 5/3/07: Quite. The disappointment of a season-opening loss to the Blues was quickly lost in the shuffle and St. Joseph Blue stepped in as the Fossils second opponent of the evening. In the only prior matchup of the two teams, the old men had exploded for 20 runs on 13 extra base hits on their way to a 20-14 win in a shootout. Rookie Bruce Granos took the hill for the codgers, as veteran hurler Tom Benson slithered off to a bowling banquet. St. Joseph drew first blood, putting up 5 runs in the first inning. The geezers responded with 6 runs on 8 hits in the bottom of the inning and the race was on. Unfortunately for the younger team, they couldn't match the offensive pace of the old men and the Fossils started to pull away. The last gasp for St. Joseph came in the top of the fourth when their rally was cut short by the great sliding catch of Hank Jubert in right center. The umpire saw things differently, however, and after a moment of confusion the Fossils realized that the ball had been ruled trapped and forced both the runner who had retreated to first and the batter who had taken a seat on the bench for an inning ending double play. The geezers piled on six more runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 20-9 lead that turned out to be the final score. After being shown the way by the bottom of the order in the first game of the evening, the core of the order took over in this one, going a combined 20 for 22 while scoring 14 runs and driving in 16 on the strength of 5 doubles. Game highlights included a near collision between Hank Jubert and Steve Derner resulting in a sno-cone catch by Hank, and a scientific experiment proving once and for all that Steve Knutson and an opposing first baseman can not occupy the same space at the same time. Box Score 5/10/07: Ouch! Clad in his traditional socks, Gary Glass brought his Hall of Fame glove to shortstop for the first time this year as the Fossils faced the Olivet Tigers tonight. As always seems to happen, the Tigers got the early jump on the maroon marauders when the leadoff hitter rolled a triple into the left field parking lot on the way to a three run inning. In classic Fossil fashion, the codgers strung together five hits to tie the score in the bottom of the first. In the bottom of the second, the old men put another run on the board to take a 4-3 lead, but it would be their last of the game. The Tigers retook the lead in the third and never looked back. The crushing blow was dealt in the fourth, when Fossil hurler Tom Benson was drilled with a line drive that hit him just below the knee and dropped him to the dirt. Known for his toughness, Tom refused to leave the game, but the difficulty of continuing will no doubt pale in comparison to the challenge of determining which lump is his knee in the morning. Despite the deficit, the geezers stayed in striking range throughout the game and threatened a couple of times, but in the end couldn't mount a comeback and lost 11-7. The loss drops the Fossils to 1-2, with an always-difficult Olivet Reds squad waiting for them next week. Box Score 5/17/07: Those pesky old men. Already off to a slow start, the Fossils faced a team tonight that consistently gives them fits...the dreaded Olivet Reds. Coming into the game, the Fossils had just one regular season win against the Reds in eight attempts, including a 19-0 introductory stomping in 2000. Not satisfied with regular season dominance, the Reds tacked on a 22-2 whupping in the first round of the 2004 league tournament. So it was with dispair that the Fossils watched two balls bounce into the parking lot for triples to spark a four run first inning for the visiting Reds. The pattern continued in the second and third innings, and the beleaguered seniors were quickly facing a 14-2 deficit. Then, in the top of the fourth, the Reds seemed to tire of running the bases and the Fossils infield took over. In the final five innings of the game, the maroon outfield would record only one out. After a scoreless top of the fourth, where all four Reds batters hit the ball to shortstop Tom Madsen, the old men decided it was time to do some hitting. Three singles and a walk brought in a run and set the table for a Zach Gartner grand slam that instantly turned the tide of the game. After narrowing the gap to seven, the geezers held the door closed in the top of the fifth with the first of four double plays that would shut down the game for Olivet. Smelling blood in the water, the fogies batted around in the fifth, using triples from Steve Derner and Zach Gartner and six singles to tie the game at 14. The Reds managed one run each in the sixth and seventh innings, but the Fossils doubled that en route to a thrilling 18-16 win. Making their first appearances of the season were Fossil stalwarts Russ O'Dell and Greg Erickson. Both looking to be in mid-season form, though Mr. O'Dell's eyesight was called into question when he failed to swing at the high inside offering that every veteran pitcher in the league has developed just for him. All in all, it was a great comeback and a much-needed victory to pull the Fossils to 2-2 on the season. Next week's game features a rivalry dating back 27 years to a time when Rich Kohn roamed the infield, Gary Glass patrolled the outfield, and the fledgling St. James Fossils took a 21-6 beating...at the hands of Crystal Free. Box Score 5/31/07: Is tonight the night? Unable to pass up an opportunity to pitch, Monte Bloom made his first first appearance of the year tonight and took the hill to lead the Fossils against their age-old nemesis, Crystal Free. Gabe Gartner also made his season debut, sporting more hair than the rest of the team combined. The game opened rather slowly, with each team pushing one run across in the first inning, and then locked down completely until Crystal Free added two in the top of the fourth. Unable to string more than two hits together, the fogies had no answer. In the top of the sixth, Crystal Free bats unloaded on the Fossils' #2 starter for a three run rally and things began to look grim for the geezers. With time running short and offense hard to find, Tom Madsen led off the home half of the sixth with a double, sparking a four hit outburst that produced three runs and narrowed the margin to two once again. After the maroon defense made quick work of the top of the seventh, the bottom of the Fossils' order showed their aggression on the base paths and produced another run to close the gap to one. Crystal Free answered by stringing together five hits for three runs in the top of the eighth, pushing the lead once again to a relatively comfortable four run margin. The fogies weren't content to let another game slip out of their grasp, however, and led of the last of the eighth with a triple by Joe Gartner and a double by Steve Knutson. Dan Madsen, Monte Bloom and Gabe Gartner added singles to load the bases with one out and two runs already in. As the rally reached the boiling point, Rich Benson's game winning hit was turned into a sacrifice fly by a great defensive play in right center, and a popout sealed the latest chapter in the age-old tale of Fossil futility against Crystal Free. With a 9-8 loss, the Fossils fall to 2-3 on the season and the drought against Crystal Free extends to 26 years. Box Score 6/7/07: Just like old times. With Monte Bloom leading off and devouring fly balls, Gary Glass swinging a hot bat, and Elim Lutheran on the other bench it looked like a page out of the Fossil history book tonight as the geezers took the field looking to improve their 2-3 record. The fireworks started early for the fogies, as Tom Madsen's solo homerun got them on the board in the first. Two more homeruns, three triples, a double and fourteen runs followed in the next four innings to bury Elim under a 15-2 deficit after five. After surrendering four runs in the top of the sixth and being forced to bat again, the old men added a fitting ending in the form of a walk-off triple, hit into the parking lot by Gary Glass. Offensively, Gary led the charge with a 4-4 night, followed by Steve Derner who went 3-4 with a double and a triple, and Zach Gartner who drove in five runs. As a team, the Fossils managed 38 total bases in 36 at-bats, which might explain the winded looks on many of the wrinkled faces as the game went on. Defensively, Monte Bloom put on a clinic which started with a sliding catch to rob the third hitter of the game and went on to dash Elim's every hope of finding a gap in the outfield. Not to be outdone, Tom Benson added flair on the mound by playing matador to several sharp liners and adding to his newly re-established streak of catastrophes averted. With the win, the Fossils hobble back to .500 and look ahead to next week's matchup with Faith Baptist. Box Score 6/14/07: A slow night in the dust. Coming off a strong night at the plate against Elim, the Fossils set out to extend their five game winning streak against Faith Baptist tonight. After a scoreless first inning for the visiting Baptists, Monte Bloom led off with a triple and scored on Zach Gartner's sacrifice fly. Just when things appeared to be going in the right direction for the old men, the offense dried up completely. The next runners to score for the geezers hobbled home on a bases-loaded triple by Zach in the seventh, and they would be the last. The maroon defense played well, holding Faith scoreless in four innings and allowing only single runs in three, but a three run blast in the third inning did the damage and kept the game just out of reach. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 3-4 on the season with a difficult matchup against a strong St. Joseph Green team coming up next week. Box Score 6/21/07: Cough. Gasp. Wheez. The Fossils came out strong against a much younger St. Joseph Green team tonight, intent on pulling their record back to .500 and building some momentum for the home stretch of the season. Monte Bloom led off with an opposite field homerun to get the old men on the board in the top of the first. St. Joseph came back with a run of their own in the bottom of the first, then opened a 5-3 lead after two. In the top of the third, Zach Gartner led off with a towering blast over the fence and safety net in left field, which went to waste as he became a victim of the league's harshest ground rule. Tom Madsen stepped in next and hit a shot to left center that was somehow reeled in by the St. Joseph fielder just before reaching the street. With two huge opportunities lost, the old men settled in and kept pace with the youngsters through the middle innings, leaving the score tied at 7 at the end of the sixth. Finally, in the top of the seventh, the geezers made their move, putting up five runs on a triple by Zach Gartner and a three run homer by Dan Madsen. It looked like the game was finally in hand, as the wrinkled ones shut down the younger team in the seventh and took the five run lead into the last of the eighth. It was then that the wheels came off. The elderly defense could manage only one out to break up a game-winning burst of eight singles by St. Joseph hitters. With the loss, the Fossils fall to 3-5 on the season and set their sights on Oak Grove next week. Box Score 6/28/07: Waiting for the floodgates to open. After letting three of their last four games slip away by a total of four runs, the Fossil defense was invigorated by the return of Greg and Jake Erickson to outfield against Oak Grove. The maroon curtain dropped immediately, holding Oak Grove scoreless into the fourth and allowing only one run on five hits through seven innings. After taking the lead with three runs in the third, the old men clung nervously to their slim advantage as the innings went by, waiting to see which team would finally break through and take control. In the bottom of the seventh, the geezers finally opened up with six runs on seven hits to take a commanding 9-1 lead. And then the curtain was raised and the circus began. After seven merciless innings, the codgers' defense had a meltdown verging on a Fossil Inning. Amidst a flurry of errors, the visitors scratched out three runs and had two more runners on base when a second strike foul finally brought the show to a close. The 9-4 victory edges the Fossils to 4-5 heading into the bye week, with two games against winless opponents remaining on the schedule. Box Score 7/12/07: A midsummer sideshow. A team and a half of Fossils turned out to take on a winless Plymouth Bible team tonight, supported by twice their number in cheering Fossil Faithful. The old men welcomed back Ryan Glass, who made his first appearance of the season in maroon. In sharp contrast to the youth of the opponent, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen's batting order was seasoned with 224 seasons of Fossil experience, an average of 15 seasons per player. As has happened so many times before, the kids never had a chance. The geezers opened up with six runs in a first inning that featured doubles by Tom Madsen and Steve Knutson and a homerun by Joe Gartner. The lead stretched out as the game wore on and in the bottom of the fourth, with a 21-6 lead, the Fossils went to the bullpen. Steve Knutson, Russ O'Dell, Steve Derner and Gary Glass took turns on the hill to close out the remaining three innings in true Fossil form. Behind the unlikely relievers, the maroon defense played musical chairs, with everyone getting a chance to audition for a new position and no shortage of laughs. Offensively, the codgers were led by Monte Bloom, who held up at second in his final at bat of the night to hit for the cycle with six RBI. Steve Knutson set the bar for aggressive baserunning by advancing from first to third on a fly out, and Russ O'Dell once again proved that despite his bizarre baserunning antics, he's nearly impossible to throw out. With the 23-12 win, the Fossils pull even for the season at 5-5, with one game remaining against Elim Lutheran. Box Score 7/19/07: A classic ending. Stefan and Cody Bloom made their first appearances of the year as the Fossils closed out their 32nd season in a rare 11th game rematch with Elim Lutheran. With the added boost of youth and speed, the Fossils got on the board with two runs in the first. Elim answered with three and took the early lead. The geezers battled back in the top of the second, adding five more, but Elim answered in the bottom of the third to tie the game at seven. After two deadlocked innings, the Fossils slowly pulled away with three in the fifth, two in the seventh, and two in the eighth to close out the season with a 14-7 win. Jake Erickson led the way offensively, going 3-4 with 3 RBI. The uncharacteristically young maroon defense, led by Monte Bloom on the mound, was solid throughout, surrendering only one extra base hit in eight innings. With the win, the Fossils put the wraps on a 6-5 regular season and take a three game winning streak into the first round of the NACSL Tournament. Box Score 7/23/07: Two disasters. The Fossils opened up the 2007 NACSL Tournament tonight, venturing into a steamy evening to take on Crystal Free's Monday night team. With a full crew on hand, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen was anticipating a good, solid game out of his veteran team. What he got was two games, each a nightmare. The first game got underway immediately, with the Fossil defense committing an error on the game's first play. After three and a half innings, the old men were in a 8-1 hole after committing nine errors, including six in the top of the third, which will go into the books as one of the most painful Fossil Innings of all time. At its peak, an opposing hitter came around to score after multiple mishandlings of the bloop single he dropped in behind second base. In the bottom of the fourth, however, the geezers started to stir offensively when Tom Madsen dropped a homerun into the parking lot. The first of the two disasters was over and the second was only beginning. Over the next four innings, the Fossils committed only one error and outscored Crystal Free 12-5 to escape with an unlikely win. The height of Crystal Free's nightmare came at the end of the sixth when veteran hurler Tom Benson's bases-loaded triple put an exclamation point on an eight run inning. Both the second baseman and the right-center fielder were in perfect position to prevent the classic Benson hit, but Tom found a tiny patch of grass between them and got the perfect bounce, allowing him to put on a display of footspeed. When it was all over, the Fossils had salvaged a 15-13 win in thrilling fashion. They head into second round action on Saturday, 7/28, at 1:30pm on Olivet #1. Box Score 2006 5/4/06: A cold wind and a hard ball. A cold wind howled through the sea of wrinkles, drowning out the usual creaking of bones as the Fossils opened up the 2006 season tonight against the Olivet Tigers. Early season contract holdouts left the geezers without a dozen roster players, so reinforcements from the Disciples played a crucial role in getting the new season off on the right foot. Die-hard Lady Fossils, huddled in blankets, were soon rewarded for their suffering with a display of power by Tom Madsen and Steve Knutson and a seminar on infield hit placement by Hank Jubert. Tom started the display in the bottom of the third with a blast over both fence and safety net into the street beyond left field, and was ruled out by the league’s harshest ground rule. Never one to give up, Tom used his next at bat, in the fifth, to launch a ball into the street beyond left center field, to the side of the net and around the ground rule, for a home run. Steve Knutson then took over with a triple and a double in his next two at bats. Defensively, the old men were up to the task despite a few early jitters, and Olivet hitters pitched in by hitting seven popups and striking out twice. All in all, the Tigers couldn't muster the offense to keep pace with the grizzled veterans, and the season opener went to the Fossils by a score of 11-5. Although they clearly did enough to win tonight, it was obvious that the defending league champions were saving something for next week’s showdown against their arch rivals, the Holy Nativity Blues. Box Score 5/11/06: Is the curse real? When does a collection of coincidences become a trend? Several recent meetings between the Fossils and the Holy Nativity Blues have been incredibly close, with wild finishes. In 2004, two extra-inning contests ended in improbable walk-off victories for the Fossils. The question tonight was whether the old guys had another unlikely finish left in their bag of tricks. The codgers welcomed back Hall of Famer Gary Glass for his annual appearance in the maroon, and immediately slid him into the leadoff spot in the batting order. Despite another cold night, both teams started strong, with the visiting Fossils leading 4-3 after the first inning. Then the Blues took control of the game and ran the score to 11-4 after five innings. With the game slipping away, the Fossils mixed a couple of hits with four walks in the 6th to score 4 runs and start their comeback. The inning ended with the Blues leading 13-8. After seven the lead was cut to 14-12. In the 8th, the Fossils took a one run lead only so see it evaporate on a solo home run in the final half inning of regulation. Somehow, yet another meeting between these two teams had been dragged into extra innings. Then things got interesting. Unable to score in the top of the 9th, the Fossils gave up a single and a double in the bottom half of the inning and were quickly looking at two runners in scoring position with only one out. With first base open, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen called for the intentional walk of the Blues' cleanup hitter. However, rather than watching the wide pitches and taking his base, the hitter suddenly stepped across home plate and swung, lifting what would have been the game winning fly ball to center field. Instead, he was called out for stepping out of the batter's box and the runners were unable to advance. The next batter grounded out and the Fossils added another unlikelyhood to the growing pile. In the 10th, a single off the bat of Steve Derner drove in two runs, to give Steve a game high 6 RBIs. Incredibly, the same Blues batter who had tied the game in the 8th responded with a two run home run in the bottom of the 10th to send the game to yet another inning. In the top of the 11th, the geezers caught a break when a double play ball was thrown wide at first, moving Ryan Glass into scoring position. With the game dragging on past most Fossils' bedtimes, Blues' nemesis Russ O'Dell decided to take matters into his own shaky hands. Russ' single scored Ryan and the game went to the bottom of the 11th with the Fossils up 18-17. But Russ wasn't finished yet. He made nice catches in right field to retire the first two Blues hitters, and came within an inch of snagging a shallow fly off the bat of the third hitter to close out the inning. Instead, the following hitter flew out to left-center and the Fossils escaped with an 18-17 victory. A quick glance at the scorebook shows both teams with 28 hits. A closer look shows that the Blues had three doubles, two triples, three home runs and one batter who hit for the cycle, while the Fossils had only two extra-base hits (both doubles). Was it coincidence that the geezers were able to string together a collection of singles to pull out the victory after being so thoroughly outhit? Was it coincidence that Russ was once again involved in closing out the game? No one believes in curses...do they? Box Score 5/18/06: Another Fossil tradition. The Fossils took to the field tonight looking to extend their seven game regular season winning streak and break another streak almost as old as the team itself. In 1981 a slightly younger group of Fossils with much more hair and many fewer wrinkles beat a team from Crystal Free twice on their way to a 6-4 season. In the subsequent quarter century, these same players have watched as their children grew up and joined the team. They have become grandfathers, lost a step, contemplated retirement several times, and even won two league championships...but they have not found a way to win another regular season game against Crystal Free. The game started quickly, with Crystal Free jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one inning, but the geezers soon steadied themselves and started to close the gap. A two run blast into the parking lot beyond left field by Tom Madsen in the fifth cut a 7-3 deficit in half. A second, longer two run blast in his next at-bat in the seventh led a six run rally and the fogies took a slim lead for the first time in the game. Another run in the top of the eighth gave the Fossils a 12-10 lead, with only three outs between them and the end of a 25 year drought. For those familiar with the richness of Fossil traditions, no more need be said. For those unfamiliar, it will suffice to say that the boys in maroon are still looking for that first out. Box Score 5/25/06: A slow start with a strong finish. The Fossils have always struggled against teams playing shorthanded, and it was no different tonight as the geezers hosted Elim Lutheran. Elim started the game with only eight players, leaving gaping holes in the defense, but overly eager Fossil hitters couldn't capitalize and the first inning ended with no score. In the top of the second, Elim exploded offensively, sending ten hitters to the plate and scoring five of them to take a solid lead. But the Fossils answered the bell, opening the bottom of the second with a double by Hank Jubert and adding runs with back to back triples by Zach Gartner and Dan Madsen to tie the game at five. After pulling even, the old farts never looked back, finishing the game with eleven unanswered runs on the strength of a huge game by Zach Gartner. After grounding out to open the game, Zach tripled in each of his remaining four at-bats to set a new Fossil single game record, in addition to scoring four runs and driving in another six. Despite getting roughed up in the second inning, the maroon defense solidified, allowing only four hits in the remaining four innings and erasing two of them with double plays. The 16-5 win gives the Fossils their third win of the season and their 16th in the last 19 regular season games. Box Score 6/1/06: The one that got away. The Fossils took the field against Olivet Red tonight, facing a shorthanded opponent for the second week in a row. While they never capatalized on the huge gaps in the outfield, the old men took an early 3-0 lead on the strength of solid defensive play and Steve Derner's forceful separation of Olivet's catcher from the ball. After four, the lead had stretched to 6-1 and it looked like the Fossils were going to grind out a victory. In the top of the fifth, however, Olivet batted around, putting five runs on the board to tie the game. The Fossil bats couldn't provide an answer to the scoring, and remained silent as Olivet scored two runs in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Finally, in their last at bat, the geezers awakened with a snort and put together one last surge to try and take the game back. Four singles and a walk combined to bring home three runs, but in the end the Fossils couldn't advance the two remaining runners to take back the game, and went down in defeat 10-9. Box Score 6/8/06: Another tight finish. Fossil Emeritus Don Hoseth was on hand to lead a cheering section of die-hard fans as the Fossils got their first look at a new team in several years. The geezers' initial impression of St. Joseph's Eclectic quickly soured as the visitors lit up the aging defene for four runs in the top of the first, providing a quick introduction to nearly the entire batting order. The fogies fought back, though, scoring five of their own in the bottom of the first. That set the stage for seven more innings of tight struggle, with no lead larger than three runs. The Fossils held the edge for the first four innings, but surrendered four runs and the lead in the fifth. Down two in the bottom of the last inning, the old men made it interesting by scoring one run on a Ted Rausch double, but the visiting pitcher single-handedly shut down the rally, fielding three grounders and stranding the tying run on second base. The Fossils fall to 3-3 on the season, suffering all three losses by one run margins. In fact, the maroon offense has outscored opponents by a total of 15 runs so far this year, but has only managed to win one of four one-run games. Box Score 6/15/06: A little help. After two tough losses, grizzled skipper Bob Madsen enlisted a Fossil version of the rally monkey to help turn the tide against Oak Grove tonight. The old men got off to a quick start with three runs on four hits in the top of the first. Oak Grove countered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first, but the geezers had the lead for good. After three innings the Fossils held a modest 8-4 lead and the monkey had a new friend, but in the top of the fourth the wrinkled ones exploded with nine runs, blowing the game wide open. Maroon bats were aided by gusting winds which confounded Oak Grove's defense and allowed several fly balls to find grass in the middle of a crowd. For their part, the Fossils played a solid defensive game, preventing Oak Grove from picking up any momentum and closing the door on a 19-7 victory. Box Score 6/22/06: A shootout. Monte and Stefan Bloom made their first appearances of the season tonight as the Fossils met St. Joseph's Blue for the first time. St. Joseph's got off to a quick start with two runs on four hits in the top of the first inning. Not to be outdone, Fossil leadoff hitter Zach Gartner launched a shot to left field that rolled into the parking lot for a triple. Zach's blast was only the beginning of an offensive onslaught that produced 13 extra-base hits and 20 runs. Joe Gartner led the way, hitting for the cycle including a grand slam in the fifth, and driving in six runs. Greg Erickson added a 4-4 performance with two doubles, and three other Fossils had three hit games to help the cause. Defensively, the old men got the job done with help from a spectacular diving catch by shortstop Jake Erickson, and yet another solid game by the old man in the middle, Tom Benson. For the first time this season, Fossil fans had the pleasure of watching the left side of the outfield shrink to a fraction of its former size, as Zach Gartner and Monte Bloom covered every square inch of grass and held conferences under fly balls to determine who would make the catch. When the dust cleared, the Fossils had piled up enough runs to beat a very dangerous St. Joseph's team 20-14. With the win, the geezers improve to 5-3 on the season and look to finish strong against Faith Baptist and the Holy Nativity Blues. Box Score 6/29/06: Grand Central Station. Sixteen maroon shirts packed the bench area as the Fossils took on Faith Baptist tonight. As the game got underway, all the hustle and bustle seemed to distract the old men and Faith jumped out to an early lead, scoring five in the first and four in the second. Finding themselves in a 9-2 hole after two innings, the codgers finally slammed the door defensively and held Faith scoreless for the final five innings of the game. At the same time, Fossil bats slowly started to come around. After four innings Faith still led 9-4, but the momentum had turned on a bad call that cut short Faith's scoring threat and ended the inning. Wrinkled hands seized the opportunity and a swarming maroon offense poured on 16 more runs in the next three innings to bury the opposition. The change was so dramatic that Steve Derner, batting in the sixth slot in the order, had one at-bat in the first four innings and one at bat in each of the final three innings. With the victory, the Fossils improve to 6-3 on the season. After a week off for the Fourth of July holiday, the fogies will gear up for the final showdown of the regular season against the Holy Nativity Blues. Box Score 7/13/06: A great finale. Three of the last four matchups between the Fossils and the Holy Nativity Blues were decided by a single run. The most recent meeting lasted 11 innings with a total of 35 runs scored. All four games were won by the Fossils. With second place and bragging rights on the line, there was no way that tonight's regular season finale would be a dull affair. The visiting Fossils came out swinging with 4 runs in each of the first two innings, jumping out to an 8-5 lead, but the Blues slowly closed the gap and finally took a 9-8 lead at the end of the fifth. With hopes of extending their streak fading, the lower half of the codgers' order pieced together six singles for four runs in the top of the sixth to regain the lead. This time, the old farts refused to let go, adding four more runs in their final two at-bats and withstanding a last inning rally by the Blues to close out a hard-fought 16-12 victory. The old men were led by the hot bats of Ted Rausch who went 4-4 and Zach Gartner who went 4-5 with a double. Monte Bloom added a three run homer, but was forced to leave the game in the fifth after injuring a finger making a spectacular catch. The winning run in tonight's game, scored in the seventh by Zach Gartner, drove the geezers' season total to 148 runs, passing the previous team record of 147 set in 1993. After scoring three more in the eighth, the new mark has been set at 151. With the victory, the Fossils improve to 7-3, extend their winning streak against the Blues to 5, and end the regular season in second place behind the Olivet Reds. Next up for the Fossils is the NACSL tournament, held 7/27-7/29. Box Score 7/27/06: Off to a solid start. The Fossils got their NACSL Tournament off on the right foot tonight with a 14-6 victory over Praise Christian Center. The game was tight early, but the geezers opened up a lead with eight runs in the bottom half of the third on nine hits, a walk and two sacrifice flies. Zach Gartner added a final nail in the coffin with a towering two run homer in the fifth, and the Fossils never looked back. Next up for the codgers is a second round matchup against their chief rivals, the Holy Nativity Blues, on Saturday morning. Box Score 7/29/06: Justice is served. The Holy Nativity Blues stood in the way of the Fossils' advance Saturday morning, looking to break a five game losing streak to the elder statesmen. In the absence of both Tom Benson and Monte Bloom, Ryan Glass took the mound in the sweltering heat to make his first start for the geezers. After three innings, the fogies clung to a 1-0 lead, but in the bottom of the fourth the Blues turned nine hits, five walks and an error into 13 runs and the game was all but over. Ryan was relieved in the fifth by Joe Gartner, who surrendered two singles and four walks without getting an out. Joe, in turn, was relieved by the Fossils' closer, Greg Erickson, who faced two batters and ended the inning. Steve Knutson led a struggling Fossil offense with a double and triple in two at-bats. Defensively, the old men played well but just couldn't overcome the combination of well-placed hits and free passes. When the dust cleared, Blue had crushed Maroon by a final score of 17-3. After stomping on the Fossils, the Blues continued their run all the way to the championship game, finally losing to the Olivet Reds. Box Score 7/29/06: An ugly comeback. After suffering a beating at the hands of the Blues, the Fossils were immediately faced with the Holy Nativity Disciples. Fortunately, the old men were able to recruit Pete Eckberg from the blues to handle the pitching duties. Still shell-shocked, the Fossil bats were silent and the defense was shaky. After two and a half, the visiting Disciples held a 10-0 lead and the Fossils looked cooked. But in the bottom of the third, the geezers' bats came alive, turning four singles and a double into two runs to get on the board. In the fourth, the old men batted around, adding seven more, and in the fifth the scoring continued with five to take the lead for good. The first four hitters in the fogies' order led the charge, going a combined 11-15 with 11 RBI. The defense never really looked good, but in the end the gloves held and the Fossils won 16-13 to advance to the fourth round. Box Score 7/29/06: Not quite enough. The fourth round brought the Fossils face to face with St. Joseph Grey. After resting for a couple of hours and recruiting Jim Monner from the Disciples, the old men were once again ready to compete and got off to a quick 2-0 start in the first inning with aggressive baserunning. St. Joseph came back in the top of the third with three runs to take the lead, and the Fossils proceeded to play catch-up for the rest of the game. In their final at-bats, the old men faced a 8-6 deficit but were able to scratch out two runs on three singles and a sacrifice fly to send the game to extra innings. In the top of the eighth, St. Joseph put another run on the board to break the tie. In the bottom half of the inning, the Fossils answered with a run to tie it up but left the bases loaded, missing a golden opportunity. In the top of the ninth, St. Joseph scored two runs that the geezers couldn't match and the day was over. The final score was 11-9. Box Score 2005 5/5/05: A new Fossil Inning. The 30th edition of Fossil softball got underway on Thursday with a new face and a new definition for an old term. Second generation Fossil Jake Erickson made his debut as the geezers met their arch-rivals, the Holy Nativity Blues. After two extra-inning meetings a year ago, a close game seemed to be in order, but it was not to be. The Blues opened the scoring immediately with a run in the top of the first, and added three more in the second after retiring the Fossils in order. Then things got out of hand. Fifteen batters, nine singles, two doubles and a home run later, the Blues finally put a lid on the bottom half of the second inning. The damage was twelve runs, which proved to be more than the Fossils needed to put the game away. The charge was led by Steve Knutson, who had a double and a three run homer in two second-inning at-bats. After the fogies' offensive outburst was extinguished, the Maroon Curtain closed on the Blues, allowing only one more run in the remaining five innings. Fossil bats added a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to close out a 15-5 victory. While the old men have a rich history of being on the receiving end of agonizingly long innings (see 6/3/04), tonight's performance was a reminder that the Fossils are very capable of delivering the occasional knockout punch. Not lost in the fray was a terrific performance by Jake Erickson in his first game as an old man. In a clear opening argument for Rookie of the Year honors, he went 3 for 3 at the plate and made a strong showing defensively. When all was said and done, the Fossils had found yet another unlikely way to beat a good Blues team and retain the bragging rights at Holy Nativity. Box Score 5/12/05: Game rained out. 5/19/05: A heavyweight slugfest. In the post-Kohn era, the Fossils have often had trouble staying in games with offense alone. Tonight was a different story, as the old men went toe-to-toe with a high-powered Oak Grove offense and came out on top. Hank Jubert made his first appearance of the year in the outfield for the maroon, and Bob Madsen settled in behind the plate for his 2005 debut, one day before his 62nd birthday. The Fossils scored first, but found themselves in a 9-3 hole after three and a half innings as a result of explosive hitting by the Oak Grove lineup. The game was starting to get away from the codgers when Zach Gartner turned the tide with a huge grand slam over the left field fence in the home half of the fourth. Over their next three at-bats, the wrinkled ones delivered the knockout punch with 12 runs on 19 hits to overpower the visitors by a final score of 19-13. In addition to supplying much of the power behind the geezers' offensive punch, Zach Gartner and Steve Knutson paid homage to Fossil tradition with their baserunning antics. When the smoke had cleared and the laughter had subsided, the Fossils had outslugged a very powerful opponent and claimed their second victory of the season and their seventh straight in regular season play. Box Score 5/26/05: The Fossils' wild ride. The Fossils' third game of the season began under the threatening advance of storm clouds and ended with wet smiles and disbelief. The opponent, Olivet Green, had never lost to the geezers, but things started well for the ancient ones with runs in each of the first six innings. During the fifth inning, the menacing clouds opened up on the game, blowing rain across the field and into the eyes of players and fans alike. As the rain began to let up in the bottom of the sixth, the Fossils, enjoying a 10-2 lead, were faced with their second plague of the evening...the dreaded Fossil Inning (see 6/3/04). Nine runs and a couple of errors later, the geezers hobbled off the field having lost the lead and all of their momentum. They were unable to score in the seventh, and unable to prevent Olivet from adding another in the bottom half of the inning to edge their lead to 12-10. Then, with the game on the line and the top of the order at the plate, the Fossils rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth to retake control. Olivet mustered a double in the final half inning, but a terrific play on a sharp grounder by Joe Gartner at first base ended the game and gave the Fossils their third win of the season. The victory extended the geezers' regular season winning streak to eight games. Monte Bloom, Greg Erickson and Gabe Gartner all made their 2005 debut tonight, providing steady gloves on the left side of the defense and adding extra horsepower to the Fossils' offensive attack. Monte also added a steady head to the defense when a long fly ball hit the top of the left field fence and ricocheted off his head before landing in the field of play. Not to be outdone, pitcher Tom Benson and catcher Ted Rausch delivered a flawless rendition of an old Fossil classic...the "I got it! You take it!" ballet. The first batter of the evening for Olivet popped the ball up several feet down the first base line, and while both Tom and Ted initially called for the ball, there was no leather in the vicinity when the ball landed and rolled to a stop. While such a performance is customary (and in some cases compulsory) in the Fossils' infield and outfield, it's quite a coup to be delivered by the battery. In the end, the codgers added many elements of the Fossil touch to a great comeback victory. Box Score 6/2/05: Not quite enough. The Fossils came up short tonight against the Olivet Reds, losing their first regular season game since June 10th of last year. The elderly offense got off to a good start, putting up two runs in the first, but then the bats went quiet. Solid defense kept the game close, and the lead changed hands several times, but in the end the Fossils just couldn't score and the Reds won 6-5. Ryan Glass led the defensive effort with two spectacular catches in left center, and doubled in the third inning for the only Fossil extra base hit of the game. Jeff Stewart made his regular season Fossil debut in the outfield after playing with the team in tournaments in previous years. Welcome to old age, Jeff. Box Score 6/9/05: A return to Fossildom. The Fossils looked a little more like the Fossils of old against longtime rival Crystal Free tonight. For one thing, Larry "Grandpa" Bloom made his season debut in the maroon. As both a member of the first Fossil team in 1976 and the father of an original member, Larry marked his 27th season with the team and the 25th in which both he and Monte have played. With the Fossil faithful bolstered by the entire Bloom family and the ever-rowdy Duane Fenske, the geezers got off to an early lead and took a 4-1 advantage into the top of the fourth inning. Then things started to come apart. Crystal Free scored four runs in the fourth and never looked back on the way to a 9-5 victory. Monte Bloom and Steve Knutson led the sluggish Fossil offense with three hits apiece in the losing cause, and Tom Madsen added the only extra base hit, a two-run triple. The highlights of the game for the codgers were worthy of any other team's blooper reel. A throw to the plate that cleared both the catcher and the backstop and a base hit that travelled all of 8 feet entertained players and fans alike in true Fossil fashion. In the end, the wrinkles ones were unable to either stop or answer Crystal Free's offensive attack and dropped the eighth straight regular season meeting of the two teams, dating back to 1981. Box Score 6/16/05: What just happened? The Fossils came into tonight's game against Praise Christian Center trying to stop a two game skid and jump-start a sluggish offense. Huge spectator turnouts for both teams cranked up the energy level on a gorgeous evening for softball. Things looked great when the geezers answered Praise's first inning run with 3 runs on home runs by Tom Madsen and Joe Gartner in the bottom of the first. Then the bats went silent again and the codgers looked to their gloves to keep them in the game. Behind outstanding defense by hurler Tom Benson and third baseman Hank Jubert, the Fossils managed to hold the scoring to a trickle. Praise took the lead in the fourth, and added runs in the fifth and seventh. The Fossils finally woke up and added another in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 7-4. The maroon defense then shut down Praise in the top of the eighth and headed in for one last shot at salvaging the game. After a leadoff ground-out, Praise began to unravel and the next three Fossils got singles to load the bases and bring the winning run to the plate in the form of Hank Jubert. Hank came through with a one-run single, leaving the same situation for Russ "Clutch" O'Dell. Russ drove the ball through the right side of the infield to score two and move the winning run to third, then rounded first and headed toward second. While Russ dazzled the Praise second baseman (who had the ball) with his best rodeo clown impression, Hank raced home to score the winning run without drawing even a look, much less a throw. A momentary loss of concentration by Praise and an award-winning "I'm lost" routine by Wile E. O'Dell had slammed the door on a shocked Praise team and handed the Fossils an unbelievable win, their fourth of the season. Behind the wild finish, buried in the stats, is the reason the wrinkled ones were able to stay within striking distance. The maroon defense improved on its superb 11 hit, seven inning performance in last year's game against Praise by surrendering only 8 hits in 8 innings. While Praise got some help from four Fossil errors, eight hits is almost never enough to pull away and close out a game. Box Score 6/23/05: Too hot to mess around. With dust swirling off the infield and the mercury inching toward 100, the Fossils delivered a brief and solid thumping to an understaffed Elim squad tonight. The geezers produced 20 hits and 12 runs in five and a half innings, while surrendering only four hits and no runs to Elim. Legendary hurler Tom Benson notched three strikeouts in his first shutout of the season, and got help from two double plays from the maroon infield. No Elim runners advanced beyond second base in a dominant all-around performance by the wrinkled ones. Third generation Fossil Cody Bloom made his season debut with two hits in as many at-bats, and joined the defensive mix on the left side of the infield. On this brutally hot evening, the geezers took care of business in a hurry to advance to 5-2 on the season, then hobbled back to the comfort of their air conditioned homes. Box Score 7/21/05: Back in the groove. After a month without a game, the Fossils took the field against Faith Baptist tonight and picked up right where they had left off. Third generation Fossil Stefan Bloom made his debut in maroon, becoming the fifth member of the Bloom family to play on the team. After a seven run first inning, the geezers opened the second with eight straight hits on the way to six more runs and broke the game wide open. In the bottom half of the third, with a 14-4 lead, grizzled coach Bob Madsen went to the bullpen, giving Monte Bloom his first pitching appearance of the year. While starter Tom Benson was still settling onto the bench, Monte served up a two run homer to the first batter he faced, bringing laughter from both benches. Those runs, however, would be the last Faith would score, and the old men won handily by a final score of 20-6 in six innings. Congratulations, Stephan, on a great beginning to an agonizingly long career with the Fossils! Box Score 7/28/05: Scared away. The Fossils came to play for the first game of a season-ending doubleheader tonight, but Elim Lutheran had other plans. After the game was declared a forfeit, the geezers lent Joe Gartner, Dan Madsen and Steve Derner to Elim so a game could be played. Elim got off to a quick start with three runs in the first inning, but the Fossils caught up and the game was finally abandoned after nine innings with the score knotted at six apiece. The codgers' offense was led by Steve Knutson with two home runs, while hurler Tom Benson put on a fielding display to lead the defense. While it was certainly disappointing that Elim couldn't field a full team, the result was a free victory and a nine inning warm-up for the final game of the year. Box Score 7/28/05: A solid finish. After wrapping up against Elim, the Fossils took the field against Faith Baptist looking to close out the regular season with a victory. The old men came out swinging, putting four runs on the board in the first, thanks in large part to Steve Knutson's two-run triple. The maroon defense immediately took over, holding Faith scoreless for the first four innings while building a 6-0 lead. Tom Benson again led the defense with flawless play on the mound, and Jake Erickson made arguably the best catch of the season, tracking down and hauling in a would-be home run at the very edge of the outfield grass. After stretching their lead to 11-2, the geezers surrendered four runs in the bottom of the eighth but held on for the 11-6 victory. With a final record of 8 wins and 2 losses, the Fossils have notched the second best season in team history and their second league championship. For the second year in a row, the wrinkled ones have finished the regular season on a high note with a five game winning streak. They've won 13 of their last 15 regular season games, and they've had a great time along the way. Congratulations to all the Fossils and their fans on a terrific 30th season and a league championship! Box Score 2004 5/13/04: Something old, something new, something borrowed and something black & blue. Veteran hurler Tom Benson celebrated his 54th birthday in style on May 13th by breaking in Fossil Rookie of the Year candidate Ted Rausch behind the plate. Ted, in his first appearance with the team, has big shoes to fill...those of Fossil Emeritus Don Hoseth. The ancient ones led Faith Baptist 3-0 early, but found themselves down 9-3 after five innings. Then the Fossils opened up a can of offense, putting 12 runs on the board in their final three at-bats with a home run, three triples and a large helping of clutch singles. At one point, three consecutive Fossil hitters found the pavement beyond left field, causing one Faith outfielder to wonder aloud "Who are these guys?" The aged defense supported the late rally with three shutout innings to seal the deal at 15-9. Prior to the game, third baseman Ryan Glass borrowed a glove from Bob Madsen, and ended up sporting not only the borrowed but also the black and blue. In the end, it was a great win and the beginning of that long and arduous journey toward mediocrity for a new Fossil. Box Score 5/20/04: Back to Fossil Basics. Grizzled skipper Bob Madsen observed his 61st birthday on Thursday, and the team marked the event with a time-honored Fossil tradition...the nightmare game. Five outfield errors, including one on the first at-bat of the game, aided Oak Grove's already strong offense and led to a 9-2 lead after five and a half. Then the Fossils awakened offensively and went about trying to make it respectable. In true nightmare game style, Tom Madsen's 6th inning would-be grand slam was negated by the league's harshest ground rule, and the elders' effort fell short by a final of 10-6. Gabe Gartner and last year's batting champ Greg Erickson made their first appearances of the year in the losing effort, which felt like much more of a blowout than the final score would suggest. Box Score 5/27/04: A comedy of errors. The Fossils welcomed back Monte and Cody Bloom and Zach Gartner on Thursday as they tried to avenge last year's 16-0 stomping at the hands of Olivet Green. The mature men in maroon got off to a red-hot start with four runs in the top of the first on five hits, including three doubles. After that, offensive production slowed to a crawl and the game was turned over to the maroon defense. The Fossil leather, however, was not up to the challenge, committing seven errors and letting the game get away. In true Fossil fashion, inconsistency ruled the day and resulted in a 12-8 loss. For the second week in a row, Ted Rausch and Mountain Man Gabe Gartner combined to fill the cavernous shoes of Fossil Emeritus Don Hoseth behind the plate, showing the same cat-like agility that made Big Don a legend. Box Score 6/3/04: fossil inning fos' sil in' ning n. A period of excruciating length during which opposing players circle the bases at will, aided by timely hitting and disasterous defensive play. Often involves batting around and baserunner fatigue. See choke. The Fossils turned a close game into a blowout on Thursday, surrendering nine runs in the fourth inning en route to a 13-3 loss at the hands of Olivet Red. The maroon bats were quiet throughout much of the game, producing only ten hits in six innings of play and clearly stifled by Olivet's use of a short fielder in most situations. Two of those hits, however, were provided by Gary Glass to pull him within one of the current career record of 367, held by Rich Kohn. Gary already holds Fossil career records for At Bats (706), Triples (41) and Runs (242). One of few moments of excitement on offense was provided by the ruthless baserunning of Gabe Gartner as he took second base by force and against all odds on a throw that got away from the first baseman. Gabe's gusto kick-started a two run fifth inning which would have kept the game close had the maroon marauders not just been visited by their old nemesis...the Fossil Inning. See above. Box Score 6/10/04: The Fossils that we know and love. One week after posting only three runs in a loss to Olivet Red, the wheezing geezers came out fighting against Crystal Free tonight, scoring three runs on four hits in the first. Solid defense and timely hitting for both teams kept the game tight throughout. Highlights for the wizened ones included terrific defense on the mound by the venerable Tom Benson and a second consecutive outstanding game in left-center by Ryan Glass. Tom's flawless handling of three sharp grounders in the third averted disaster and kept Crystal Free off the board, and Ryan's long throw from his knees nabbed a greedy baserunner at second to quell the tide in the seventh. Unfortunately, the fogies' ninth-inning rally ran out of steam and they went down in defeat by a score of 10-7. For all you record watchers out there, Gary Glass collected another hit tonight to pull even with Rich Kohn for the all-time Fossil record. His ninth-inning attempt to surpass Rich was cut off on an excellent stab by Crystal Free's shortstop, who forced the runner at second. While unfortunate for the Fossils, it was strangely fitting that Gary be victimized by something he has produced so many times over the years at short...an outstanding play in a crucial late-game situation. Box Score 6/17/04:
A trip to the Fossil
woodshed. The
maroon marauders took the field tonight looking to snap a four game
skid against undefeated Praise Christian Center. What followed
was by
far the most commanding performance of the season by the Fossils,
resulting in a 13-3 spanking of the much younger team. Rich
Benson
made his first appearance of the year and contributed to the 21 hit
romp, which ended in a walk-off single by Zach Gartner with one out in
the seventh. As welcome as the overdue burst of offense was, the
real
gem in this game was the fogies' stifling defense. There was no
hope
to be had on the Praise bench, as the Fossil leather allowed only 11
hits in seven innings and managed two double plays to erase
baserunners. The game's only nervous moment came when veteran
hurler
Tom Benson was hit in the leg by a sharp shot up the middle.
After
initially wincing in pain, Tom caught sight of the circling vulture of
the Fossil pitching staff, Monte Bloom, drooling eagerly from the bench
and quickly announced that he was fine. In the end, the old guys
proved once more that they've still got the ability to dump a younger
team with a better record on any given Thursday.
6/24/04:
More of the same. The
Fossils continued their midseason surge Thursday with a sound thumping
of Elm Creek. Joe Gartner led the way with a home run and two
doubles,
and Monte Bloom added another two doubles in the 15-4 romp.
Fossil
patriarch Bob Madsen came off the bench for his first appearance of the
year and promptly collected three hits in as many at-bats. Once
again,
the elders' defense was sharp, allowing only 11 hits for the second
week in a row, and only one baserunner in the first three
innings.
After stringing together three very solid games, it would seem that the
old men are peaking just in time for the biggest game of the year...the
battle for Holy Nativity bragging rights.Box Score Box Score 7/1/04: A finish to die for. Every year or two, the Fossils play a game which could only be described as a thriller. The old men took the field tonight for the annual Holy Nativity showdown against the 6-1 Juniors hoping to find a way to continue a two game winning streak...or at least keep the humiliation to a minimum. What followed was by far the hardest-fought and best-played game of the season. In each of the first two innings, the Juniors put a run on the board, only to be matched by their elderly counterparts. The first Fossil run was scored by Gary Glass, who led off with a single and broke the Fossil record for career hits with 368. Congratulations Gary! In the fourth, the Juniors put up another run, only to relinquish three to the old men in the bottom half of the inning. Both teams scored two runs in the fifth and one run in the seventh to bring the count to 8-6 in favor of the Fossils as the Juniors stepped up to the plate in their final at-bat. After two quick outs, the game looked to be in hand for the geezers, but a string of four consecutive singles brought two runs home and the game moved into the bottom of the eigth all tied up at 8. Given another chance to close out the win, the Fossils could only manage one hit in their final at-bat of regulation, and the contest went to extra innings. The Juniors opened the top of the ninth with a pair of singles. A force at second moved the lead runner over to third with only one out and the top of the order up to bat. The situation looked grim for the boys in maroon, but a timely double play by Dan Madsen and Russ O'Dell ended the inning and the Juniors' threat. The Fossils opened up the bottom of the ninth with two quick outs, and the game looked destined to end in stalemate when Russ O'Dell laced a sharp hit down the right field line which rolled out of play for a ground rule double. That brought hurler Tom Benson to the plate with the opportunity to close out the pitchers' duel and win the game. Tom's only hit of the game scored Ryan Glass, running for Russ, from second and the game was over. The Fossils had hung on and prevailed by a final score of 9-8 on the strength of a 4 for 4 performance at the plate by Russ O'Dell and excellent defensive play by Gabe Gartner at third and Steve Derner in right field. When all was said and done, the Holy Nativity bragging rights for this year rested in the shaky, wrinkled hands of the aged ones. Box Score A message from those less fortunate... 7/15/04: The varicose vice-grip. The Fossils took the field tonight against Faith Baptist looking to extend their winning streak to four games, the longest run since 1998. After a tight start, the codgers opened up a 7-1 lead in the third by stringing together seven straight hits after opening the inning with two quick outs. Unfortunately, Fossil bats held only one more run for the evening, and Faith was starting to heat up. The lead was cut from six to five in the bottom of the third, then to one in the bottom of the seventh. The old men took the field in the last of the eigth having left the bases loaded in the scoreless top of the inning and clinging desperately to a one run lead. The first two baptist batters singled, then Russ O'Dell made a fabulous catch of a foul pop up against the first base fence. The next hitter scratched out an infield single, leaving the bases loaded with only one out. Things looked grim for the geezers, but Faith's next batter hit a bouncer to Tom Benson on the mound who threw home for the force. The game ended with a huge swing, a short popup, and a terrific scrambling catch down the first base line by catcher Ted Rausch. Two great catches on foul pops and a bouncer back to the pitcher had pulled the ancient fat out of the fire, and the Fossils hung on for an 8-7 victory. The defensive workhorse of the game was hurler Tom Benson, who racked up six assists while sucking up everything Faith could muster up the middle. Fossil hitters were led by Hammerin' Hank Jubert, who lit up the Faith defense with four hits in as many trips. Amidst the relief and unclenching in the aftermath of tonight's game, one very curious stat jumps off the page of the scorebook. The total number of Fossil hitters thrown out at first base was...zero. Box Score 7/22/04: Ugly but effective. The Fossils clung to a 7-6 lead for the final three innings tonight to turn away Elm Creek and finish the season on a five game winning streak. The ancients did the bulk of their damage in a five-run fourth inning with four consecutive singles and a huge two-run triple by Cody Bloom, his first extra base hit as a Fossil. Gabe Gartner provided an additional spark on offense, collecting three hits in three trips to the plate. The elderly defense, led by hurler Tom Benson, survived a couple of miscues and held fast when the game was on the line, delivering a third straight one-run victory and the first winning season since 2000. The Fossils enter the NACSL tournament riding a five game winning streak, including victories over the top two teams in the league, and during which time the defense surrendered a stingy average of only 5.6 runs per game. Box Score 7/29/04: Debacle extraordinaire. The Fossils' five game win streak came to a screeching halt tonight with a disastrous outing against the Olivet Reds in the first round of the NACSL tournament. The Olivet offense dominated the game from the first pitch, and an error-riddled defensive effort by the Fossils only served to worsen the stomping. At the same time, Fossil bats went cold. Finally, with two out in the bottom of the fifth and final inning, the fogeys got on the board with aggressive baserunning by Zach Gartner and a string of hits. The two run rally made the final score a much more respectable 22-2. 7/31/04: Game #1 - The shot heard round the world. Entering Saturday morning in the losers' bracket, the Fossils were thrilled to meet their biggest rivals, the Holy Nativity Juniors. The old men jumped out to an early lead with a four run first inning and then dug in on defense in an attempt to hold the Juniors off. The boys in blue slowly battled back, however, and regulation ended with the score knotted at four. Once again, the rivalry had gone to extra innings, and once again the Fossils had the final at-bats. The old men took the field hoping to shut down the Juniors and come up with another game-winning rally. The younger team had other plans, however, and put together a two run inning that looked like the final nail in the geezers' coffin. The Fossils responded slugglishly in their final trip to the plate, picking up one hit from the first three batters, and were suddenly face to face with the end of the season with a runner on first and two out. In pesky Fossil fashion, the next hitter got a base hit that moved the runner to third. With runners at the corners, Steve Knutson became the fogies' last chance to steal yet another game in the rivalry. After a weak foul pop into the parking lot, Steve got down to business and launched a missile over left-center field. Both runners scored and Steve barrelled in to the plate in a very close play. When the dust cleared, Steve had completed one of the greatest plays in Fossil history with a three run homer to win the game. The Fossils had escaped with their second extra-inning walkoff win of the year over the Juniors, and their tournament coutinued. The dejected Juniors' day was over despite playing a great game. Game #2 - The maroon curtain. Next up for the fired-up Fossils was the always-difficult Crystal Free. The old men, however, weren't having any of it. The first-game dramatics had unleashed the beast, and the maroon defense was determined to take the game out of Crystal Free's hands. What followed was arguably the best-fielded game in recent Fossil history, with the elderly defense truly dominating the opposition. Advice from the Crystal Free bench to the hitter took the form of, "Whatever you do, don't hit it to the shortstop or left fielder." Try as they might to avoid them, Tom Madsen gobbled up grounder after grounder at short and Zach Gartner kept reeling in fly balls in left. Tom and Zach also put the brakes on Crystal Free's baserunning by gunning down anyone who got greedy. Fossil bats answered the call, lighting up the defense for an early 7-0 lead. Crystal Free showed signs of life in a last-ditch rally in their final at-bat, but it was too little too late, and the Fossils won 9-5 to advance to the consolation championship game. Game #3 - The empty tank. Coming off an authoritative win, the Fossils found themselves face to face with Elm Creek for the consolation championship. The wrinkled ones had beaten Elm Creek in both prior meetings this year, and looked to close out the year with a victory for only the second time in recent history. Sadly, it was not to be. Elm Creek jumped out to a lead despite tough defense in the early innings and stretched the lead when the Fossils finally ran out of steam. The geezers had spent their allotment of hits and great defensive plays for the day, and their struggle fell short...way short. The 12-2 final score upheld the old adage that it's hard to beat a team three times in one year. Congratulations to Elm Creek on a terrific game and a bracket championship. That's all, folks. After a terrific second half of the season and a thrilling run through the tournament, the 2004 Fossils have closed the book on their 28th truly enjoyable year. There were certainly plenty of memorable moments, both dramatic and comedic. It only begs the question, "What can we do next year to top this one?" In closing, thanks to Jeff Alger for shouldering the burden of playing with the elderly and infirm for the tournament, and thanks to each and every one of the aforementioned infirm for a great season! Congratulations to Ted Rausch on his first year of old age, and kudos to the Juniors for another season at the top of the league. Good luck next weekend at the State Tournament, gentlemen! Win or lose, we'll be waiting for you next year. 2003 5/8/03: It's official! The 2003 edition of the Fossils kicked off another memorable season on Thursday, May 8th with a 15-4 mercy killing at the hands of Crystal Free. 5/15/03: Stop the presses! The marauders in maroon rose from the ashes of their season opener in classic style to meet their annual obligation of beating up on the other Holy Nativity team on May 15th. The final damage was 24-7. The only real "Fossil moment" in this one occurred when the opposing catcher remarked that Fossil batters were stepping up to the plate still out of breath from their last at-bat. 5/29/03: Another crushing victory! The Fossils welcomed back Rich Benson and Duane Fenske by laying waste to Elm Creek by a score of 17-0 on May 29th for their second straight victory. The older and wiser defense extended its streak of scoreless innings to 14 with great plays by Ryan Glass and Tom Madsen and the Fossil bats continued to sing, running up 41 runs in the last two games. When the dust finally settled, Tom Benson descended from the mound after his first shutout of the season carrying a stone emblazoned with a single commandment - "Thou Shalt Not Score". 6/12/03: A tale of two teams. A short-handed squad welcomed back legendary Fossil hurler Pete Lidberg for a cameo appearance at third base on June 12th, but was soundly beaten by a league-leading Olivet Green team. The final damage was 16-0. In a game that provided very little to discuss, the main question became: Was Pete truly just stopping by to watch his old team, as he claimed, or is he gearing up for a return to glory and a headlong run at the Hall? As is the case with most Fossil matters, only time will tell. Thanks, Pete, for stepping in and showing your true Fossil colors. 6/19/03: Fireworks in June! Coming off a disappointing shutout, the Fossils looked to legendary leadoff man Monte Bloom for a spark in his first appearance of the season against Olivet Red on June 19th. What resulted was more of an artillary barrage, with the boys in maroon pounding two Olivet pitchers for 26 runs in 6 innings. Offensive highlights included a huge blast over the left fielder's head by Don Hoseth and an honest-to-goodness double by seasoned slugger Tom Benson. Tom also held the game in check with his superb defensive play on the mound. One of the more memorable Fossil moments of the season took place in the final inning when a 17 run lead slipped to 10 amidst a string of humorous moments including an outfielders' etiquette workshop in short center field. Sometimes we all need a reminder that the true gentleman says "You take it." 6/26/03: Another thunderstorm. Fossil bats provided the soundtrack for some ominous storm clouds in a 23-12 thumping of a shorthanded Elim team on June 26th. Magnificent encore performances at the plate by Tom Benson and Don Hoseth led the charge and helped the maroon-clad ambassadors for Father Time maintain control despite a classic Fossil inning that threatened to let Elim back into the game. With six games in the books, the Fossils are averaging 15.7 runs per game (22.5 per win, 2 per loss). That's 4.27 miles travelled by scoring runners alone...a veritable Fossil marathon! Despite the barrage of offense and parade of baserunners, the great moment of the evening came at the end of the game when a long-time Elim player remarked, "It's always a pleasure to play you guys. You're always so much fun."7/10/03: Three generations of Fossil history. The Fossils broke new ground tonight by loading the bases with Blooms. While this feat has surely been accomplished before in the long and glorious history of the team, it has never before been done with three generations. With clutch two-out hits by Hank Jubert and Zach Gartner, all three members of the Fossil Royal Family scored and forced the game into another inning. Unfortunately, that next inning was only the sixth and proved to be the last as the Fossils were crushed by Faith Baptist 22-6. Tom Benson got the hook and was exiled to left field after four innings of decidedly non-shutout ball, and Monte Bloom got the call for his first pitching appearance of the year. While Tom and Monte could probably argue endlessly over who's the better pitcher, opposing batters couldn't seem to tell the difference in this blowout. 7/17/03: A defensive battle and a familiar face. With the threat of being swept in the season series looming large, the Fossils got serious about defense and held a very strong Crystal Free team to a mere 7 runs tonight. While such a stand almost always guarantees a victory in this league, the old men couldn't seal the deal at the plate and ended up losing a very well-played game 7-3. For the first time this season, the trailing team was within striking range throughout, and there was no comfortable lead in the game. In a thinly-veiled bid for the as-yet uncontested rookie-of-the-year honors, former James Gang great Steve Knutson made his inaugural appearance with the Fossils in street clothes with a borrowed glove. Despite the typical Fossil age jokes, Steve brought something back to the team that hasn't been seen since the Kohn era -- pitches being absolutely crushed by a hitter. Somebody get this man a uniform! 7/24/03: Just not enough. The Fossils showed brief signs of earlier offensive dominance, but in the end couldn't find a way to win in a rematch with Holy Nativity Blue. Both teams had moments of offensive explosion and defensive shakiness, but the Fossils ran out of steam in the late innings and the game ended in a 13-9 loss. Defensive highlights in large quantities were provided by Monte Bloom in his first pitching start of the year, including a sliding catch of a popup in front of the visitors' bench. The teams were very evenly matched throughout the game, but the desperate desire to avoid another loss at the wrinkled hands of the elderly was enough to push Holy Nativity over the top. With the season series split at one win apiece, the battle for bragging rights will have to wait for next year. 7/31/03: A game to forget with a finish to remember. The Fossils pulled out all the stops in their final regular season game tonight, and left Praise Christian Center soaking wet and wondering what had just happened. Fighting back from a 14-5 deficit in the middle of the 6th, the old timers scored the next 10 runs in thrilling fashion with rallies in the 6th and 7th innings and a walk-off single by Zach Gartner in the rain-delayed bottom of the 8th. Tom Madsen, Steve Knutson and a player from Faith all found themselves on the losing end of the harshest ground rule in the league when they were called out for launching balls over the fence in left field and out into the fair city of Crystal. From a defensive perspective, the Fossils turned in a performance which was arguably their worst in nearly three decades of humbling miscues and Fossil innings. The only saving grace of the evening, defensively, was the old men's ability to turn two, which they managed 4 times. After a fairly solid season in the field, this game served as an ugly reminder that the unthinkable is never more than one pitch away...in the Fossil Zone. 8/2-3/03: A taste of success at the State Tournament. After receiving an unexpected last minute State Tournament berth, the Fossils rolled into Burnsville on Saturday evening with nothing to lose. When they left on Sunday afternoon, they walked away with a 2-2 record against some of the best church teams in the state and in a 3-way tie for sixth place in the tournament. |