2016 Father/Son American
San Jose 11, Capitol City Cardinals 4
‘Chambers, Yandle and Hibbard Stifle Capital City’
By Rodney Johnson, special to MSBL National
October 30, 2016, Tempe Diablo Stadium- Northern California took the spotlight for the Father/Son American Division Championship at the MSBL World Series in Tempe, Arizona. San Jose hosted the Capitol City Cardinals (Sacramento) at Diablo Stadium. The game proved to be a Chamber(s) of horrors for Capitol City befitting the Halloween eve contest. San Jose starter Chris Chambers threw five hitless innings as his team built a 7-0 lead. Meanwhile, Chris’s Uncle Don put together a 3-for-4 game at the plate with a run scored and an RBI.
San Jose manager Mike Denevi gave credit to his roster depth. “We had 25 guys and we got rest during the week,” said Denevi. “You’ve got to do that down here (Arizona). It’s six games in four days, and that was the difference. We had depth and they didn’t. They are a really good team but they only had about 15 guys and it just wasn’t their day.” Shortstop Nick Caravelli was named tournament MVP. Caravelli (2-for-3, BB and 3 R) was not only the cleanup hitter but also the anchor of the defense.
San Jose took advantage of a pair of Cardinal errors to score three unearned runs in the first two innings. They broke the game open with three consecutive two-out hits to score three runs in the fifth inning and take a commanding lead.
John Yandle followed Chambers to the mound in the sixth. Yandle was once a batting
practice pitcher for the San Francisco Giants and is said to have been Barry Bonds favorite BP pitcher. Yandle held the lead until the ninth and Houston Hibbard finished off the final inning.
Capitol City manager Derek Bulock acknowledged that his smaller roster might have been a factor in the loss. “We had a couple of guys come up lame, a couple of guys had to go home; we would have liked to have more guys here but we’re not going to cry about, that’s the way it is,” explained a philosophical Bullock. “We love playing ball together and we’ll be back next year. There is no better dugout than at the father and son tournament. We love every minute of it. It’s about making memories.”
Pool play saw San Jose fashioning a 3-1 record including back-to-back walk-off wins, both ending on bases loaded hit batters. The only loss came by a 15-14 score against the Paramount Pirates. San Jose exacted revenge when they beat the Pirates 4-2 in the playoffs to advance to the championship game.
Capitol City, after going 1-2-1 in pool play, knocked off the L.A. Athletics 14-4 in the playoffs. This was the 14th year the team has been playing together and coming to the MSBL World Series.
Unlike many father and son teams who get together once a year for a tournament, both of the teams are collections of local players. The oldest father for Capitol City (Sacramento) is Paul Gelhaus (63) and the youngest son is Trey Furrey (17). For San Jose, manager Mike Denevi(63) and pitcher/outfielder Jackson Yandle (16) formed the oldest/youngest pair. “There is nothing like getting out here and playing with your kids,” said Denevi. “It is the most special thing you can do at MSBL in my opinion. Playing with your kids… it is just wonderful. You get a feeling of love and togetherness that you can’t get with other teams.”
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Capitol City 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 2 4 7 5
San Jose 2 1 1 0 3 1 2 1 x 11 18 1
Pitching Line: (Capitol City) Anthony Ferrari, Derek Bulock (5), George Krause (8) ; (San Jose) Chris Chambers, John Yandle (6), Houston Hibbard (9) .
WP:Chambers LP: Ferrari HR: none
3B:none
2B:A. Robinson (CC)
Leading Hitters: Capitol City- Kevin Krause 2×2, R; Phil Gelhaus 1×1, 2R, BB, HBP. San Jose- Don Chambers 3×4, R, RBI; Nicky Caravewlli 2×3., 3R, BB, SB;
SAC:Phil Gelhaus (CC)
SF:Don Chambers (SJ)
SB: Chris Chambers (CC), Nicky Caravelli (CC), Mickey Denevi (CC) .
Team LOB:Capitol City 12; San Jose 13
Time of Game: 2:31