The Outlaws took advantage of some independent-league movement half a nation away earlier today. Because Desi Wilson, who took over as manager of the South Coast League's Anderson Joes after leaving the Outlaws in the offseason, activated himself as a player earlier this week, Chico was able to pick up pitcher Daniel Howard as a player-to-be-named in what turned into an intra-league transaction. As part of Wilson's release to manage the Joes, there was an agreement between both teams that Chico would receive a player if Desi did indeed decide to come off the bench to play.

Howard, a 6-foot-5 Tennessee native who joined the team in Long Beach earlier today and will likely see action at some point on this trip, is 2-1 with a 3.83 ERA in 10 appearances and 40 innings pitched. The right-hander made five starts and also had 41 strikeouts compared to 22 walks. At Lee College, Howard posted a 3.75 ERA and a 5-1 record in his senior season. The Chattanooga product also pitched in 16 games and had one save, had 49 strikeouts and walked 16 batters.

Jake McLintock is about to make his first professional start against the Long Beach Armada, the GBL's hottest team with seven straight wins. The right-handed reliever, probably the most even-keel member on an Outlaw roster full of them, is filling in for Nick Singleton, who injured the index finger on his (right) throwing hand in his last start. Manager Mark Parent isn't looking for lights-out stuff from McLintock, just an efficient enough start to kill about five or six innings and get the team to tomorrow's game without too much of an adventure involving the bullpen.

In 15 relief appearances this season, McLintock is 2-1 with a 4.26 earned-run average and two saves. He did face Long Beach in that forgettable 16-0 Friday the 13th loss in Chico earlier this month, mopping up that night with four innings of work that saw him give up six hits, three walks, three runs and a home run. McLintock's girlfriend (I would mention her name here if I knew it — I know, I'm slacking) is also a resident of nearby Huntington Beach, one of the reasons he always enjoys the Southern California trips.

Apologies for no live blogging last night. Enterprise-Record Web extraordinaire Ryan Olson and I were at Nettleton putting together a few interesting future projects.

I also won't be at the park tonight or tomorrow, but I can promise a strong return next week.

Capping a three-game series that began with Mark Parent telling reporters umpire Steve Graves was the “worst umpire I’ve ever seen” after Tuesday’s loss, the third-year Chico manager, also a former 17-year major league veteran, was ejected by Graves tonight in the second inning. Graves appeared to react to something Chico’s head man said from the Outlaws dugout when making the gesture and strolled around as the 6-foot-7 Parent hunched over his side for a colorful conversation before exiting the field.

Parent’s description of how he earned the ejection: “I told him maybe he oughta carry some more baseballs in his pouch so he could quit wearing out the kids who were running back-and-forth from our dugout to give him new ones and he told me, ‘I don’t give a (expletive) about the kids.’ I asked him to say that again and he did, and I told him in my own way I didn’t appreciate him saying that.”

It's worth noting that one of those batboys helping usher in new balls was Parent's 12-year-old son Jake.

Photo credit: Jason Halley/Enterprise-Record

This was probably worth reporting before tonight's loss, since that's when I actually found out, but Jesse Kovacs was crowned the winner of the team's "dirty moustache" contest. Kovacs, Chico's third-year starting shortstop, won despite admitting he used performance-enhancing methods — his moustache, clearly the darkest and dirtiest, was colored in by a black marker.

"I get blonde facial hair; I had to find a way just to actually get in on the competition," Kovacs said.

Tough to describe with no photos, but Kovacs actually pulled off the look pretty well for a realistic appearance. My personal choice would have been pitcher Nick Singleton, who for the record also had blondish-red facial hair AND didn't need the use of a Sharpie to mount a threat. Outfielder and fill-in DH Jake Ferris was another stong contender who could justifiably say Kovacs robbed him of a title.

Here's Kovacs tonight, post-pregame shower deleting the victorious effort:

A handful of Outlaws players stared lacadazically out from their dugout onto the empty field as I talked to Dickert about his mastery of Chico tonight.

The Outlaws are indeed the Golden Baseball League's first-half champions, but they haven't won a series since topping Reno 2-1 in a three-game set from July 4 to July 6. In this 2-1 loss to Orange County, they were outscored 18-8 and outhit 31-18.

So Steve Boggs finally broke up the no-hitter by Dickert in the eighth inning (apologies for the delay), but...

For the second time this season, a legitimate no-hitter is in the works at the moment by Outlaw opponent at Nettleton Stadium. Reed Dickert has been phenomenal for the Flyers through seven innings, striking out 14 and walking just four. And yes, no hits, either.

It was July 14 that Long Beach's Jeff Heaverlo took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and ended up losing 1-0 on a home run to Jason Matteucci.

By the way, guess who's set to lead off the eighth for the Outlaws against Dickert? One Jason Matteucci. Be keeping you posted...

I gave credit to Jesse Kovacs last night for doing a Michael Jordan impersonation he apparently didn't perform in his game-saving ninth-inning effort at shortstop.

I was told this was already discussed on national sports talk radio Wednesday morning and it will probably surface in a few other prominent media hubs in the next few days. The GBL stands to benefit from the attention, though the cost of credibility to me seems rather expensive. More on that opinion to follow as this "story" in Long Beach unfolds.

Todd Gelatka picked up his league-leading 13th save after blowing an opportunity for the first time this year in his last appearance Friday. Half-credit for No. 13 should be given to shortstop Jesse Kovacs. On a lined shot by Mark Okano with one on and one out, Kovacs pretty much milked every last centimeter out of his vertical leap to knock down what certainly would have been a single and maybe even run-tying double.

Gelatka, the former Flyer, wouldn't buckle afterward. He struck out reigning GBL MVP Peanut Williams and Johnny Coit to end a come-from-behind win over the Flyers — the fifth in six games for Chico at home against Orange County.

The Outlaws, seemingly deflated since Templeton's big blast, just came alive in the seventh inning to put a six-spot on the board in an 11-batter frame for their first lead of the night.

Holguin walked Jason Van Meetren to open the frame and then gave up a single to Todd Gossage and induced Brock Ungricht into an infield flyout. Jason Matteucci ended Holguin's night with an RBI single and Eric Pringle drove in another run on a sacrifice flyout against reliever Jason Howerton. Steve Boggs cut the deficit to 4-3 on an RBI single, Jesse Kovacs drew a walk and a Mark Okano throwing error from third base on a would-be Scott Dragicevich groundout brought in the go-ahead runs.

In the Outlaws' game against the Flyers tonight, both teams were scoreless until Garry Templeton II’s grand slam in the sixth inning that stunned the home crowd about 10 minutes ago. If it were any other hitter in the Flyer lineup, it wouldn't quite as pulsating for Orange County — Templeton, after all, was homerless coming in, was 0-for-8 with the bases loaded this season and hitting .241 with runners in scoring position.

Until the surprise blast, Jake McKinley had dodged damage during a fine pitcher's duel despite putting five runners on base while OC's Nate Holguin simply overcame Daniel Nava. Nava singled to lead off the second inning and doubled with two outs in the third — the Outlaws’ only two real hits at that point considering Steve Boggs was gunned down at second base trying to extend a single in Chico’s first at-bat.

Nava in right field also was a major player in the defensive duel, robbing Johnny Coit of a potential two-out, bases-loaded triple in the first inning by leaping to catch a fly at full extension against the wall before later on sliding to snag an Aaron Davis line-drive with a runner at second base and one out.

The Yuma Scorpions, who started the first half of the Golden League season 6-0 and went on to 11-1 before taking a nosedive, are now 6-0 in second-half play after last night's 9-8 win over Reno.

No live blogging tonight as I will not be present at the game, which shall be covered by the Enterprise-Record's very own Leland Gordon.

When you have your bad day for the week, just think about St. George Roadrunners manager Cory Snyder. His team has 27 losses in 34 games. His Golden Baseball League season-maximum of 16 roster moves are all but gone and there are 25 games left.

One of those roster moves burned early in the season was to let go of outfielder Johnny Coit. So what does Coit, who was recently acquired by the Orange County Flyers, do to the Roadrunners when he plays them last Saturday? Hits for the cycle (4-for-5 for the game), drives in seven runs and lifts the Flyers to a 14-3 stomp on home St. George — the fifth straight loss for the Roadrunners since their "What the...?" 10-1 win over Yuma.

Before Mark Parent could get to his happy thoughts for the 9-6 win the Outlaws recorded last night, he couldn't help but bemoan the fact his team had just played the Reno Silver Sox a fifth straight game...with a sixth today on the horizon. Remember, the two teams also played six straight open the season.

"It was the same game as the last four," Parent said in reference to Sunday's victory. "It's ridiculous. What kind of schedule is this? It's the same story, you just change the names. The same thing out there. We're sick of playing them and they're sick of playing us. We just have to get through it one more day. It will be nice when it's over because we don't see them again until August 18."

Pearson wasn't majestic on the mound tonight, but he was perfect in regards to keeping the Outlaws in the game after they shot ahead 8-3. Reno went scoreless for five innings after going up 3-2 on a two-run home run from Mike Done in the second inning.

“I thought it was exciting to watch Tyler out there,” Outlaw manager Mark Parent said. “He was going slider, slider, fastball, slider, fastball, just really mixing it up well. The hitters couldn’t catch on.”

Outlaw fans have fallen in love this summer with their team’s affinity for falling behind early in games before dramatically coming back to steal victories from death’s doorstep.

The players themselves aren’t quite as fond of that method.

With Jason Matteucci in need of rest to nurse a sore groin, Pierson as a fellow left-handed batter with an affinity for hitting well at Nettleton Stadium was a natural choice to get the start against Reno righty Matt Parris on the mound.

Pierson exited stage right a few minutes ago, but now Parent is holding an involved conversation with pitching coach Alex Carbajal and closer Todd Gelatka at first base. Gelatka blew his first save in 13 opportunities last night but remains the GBL leader with 12 ahead of Long Beach's Dane de la Rosa, who has nine.

It's two hours before the first pitch of tonight's game and it looks like Parent gave the team off batting practice. Though some players are beginning to filter out onto the field for various individual pregame workouts, about 15 minutes ago Parent, his 17-year-old son Nick and middle infielder David Pierson took the field, where the Outlaw manager proceeded to hit flyballs to Pierson in center.

What looks like a possible position switch makes sense for Pierson. The 5-foot-7 speedster has had a tough time cracking the lineup this year with second baseman Eric Pringle showing the defensive prowess Parent brought him onto the team for and Jesse Kovacs maintaining his role as the everyday shortstop for a third straight season. Pierson is hitting .275 with 14 hits in 51 at-bats — at home in Nettleton Stadium, that average is a team-high .450 with nine hits in 20 appearances at the plate.

AND THIS JUST IN: It has been announced in the press box Pierson is starting in center. I'll follow up on this development in a bit...

Eric Pringle has long professed his enthusiasm for being in Chico with the Outlaws since being acquired from the Yuma Scorpions in the offseason.

On Saturday night, it was finally visible at Nettleton Stadium for all the team’s fans to see.

GBL saves leader Todd Gelatka was called into the fray earlier than normal tonight, entering the game with two outs in the eighth inning and the Outlaws up 6-5. He had no trouble getting the third to preserve the one-run lead going into the ninth, which is when he unraveled amid the setting he has thrived in all year.

A live update for those seeking one: 6-5 Outlaws in the top of the eighth after Chico blew a 5-2 lead but went back ahead when Eric Pringle scored on a Jesse Kovacs groundout in the seventh.

You have to expect the unexpected any time you head to a professional baseball game, but there was something tangible behind the fact that Outlaw leadoff hitter Steve Boggs hit his first two home runs of the season last night and Reno leadoff man Maurice Cole did the same in a 14-11 win for the Silver Sox at Peccole Park in Nevada last night.

Several Outlaws members talked before the game how the wind was blowing out in the direction of third base and carried fly balls further than usual. That's often the case in Reno, but last night seemed to be another extreme. Daniel Nava's game-tying shot in the eighth inning was a shot to the right-centerfield gap that ended up clearing the fence in dead center.

"It hooked like a golf shot," Nava said. "I knew I hit it hard enough to maybe leave in right field and it jumped over to center."

And never mind that his first home run of the season Friday was also wind aided, struggling Outlaw catcher Ricky Bambino admitted he will take production however he can get it these days.

“I hit it good, but it got a little carry under it” he said. “It felt good to get my first one. I think it just felt good, period, because I’ve been needing something to get me going.”

Derrick Loop's eight-inning win last night moved his record to 6-2 and confidence to a similarly high place, I'm sure. Loop, even after some of those previous wins, had been lamenting not being able to go deeper into games (his cutoff point came more often that not around the fifth and sixth innings.) So he came out, went eight strong and allowed closer Todd Gelatka to slam the first-half door with his GBL-leading 12th save.

The Outlaws have just kicked off their second-half campaign at Peccole Park, where reliever John Jefferson will come out of the bullpen for his first start of the season. Kind of funny, because it reminds me of a conversation John and I had in the Goodwin Field visitors clubhouse in June the day after he threw five innings of impressive relief against the St. George Roadrunners.

I asked him how he felt about moving into the starting rotation — an area the team had been struggling at that point — and he showed no desire whatsover to leave his bullpen role. I do recall him saying that about the same time starters Phil Springman and Nick Singleton were in earshot, but Jefferson has proven to be a middle-relief horse more than anything.

Kane Simmons, who along with Juan Senreiso accounts for two reasons the Reno Silver Sox are going to be a tough horse to move off the track in the race for the second-half championship, was honored as one of the GBL's two players of the week. The other is a name Outlaw fans might have heard ringing in their heads still had the Long Beach Armada been able to successfully pull away for the first-half championship...

Mark Parent gave days off to regulars Scott Dragicevich and Jesse Kovacs last night and may again rest some of the more warrior players of the past few weeks for tonight's game since the first-half title is all locked up and the second half starts tomorrow.

Nevertheless, there is still an accomplishment to be earned with a victory. Should the Outlaws (24-13) pull it out, they will have a 25th win to top the organization's previous high for a half — 24, set when the team went 24-16 in last season's second half.

Along with the thrill for young pitchers who possess an accurate fastball with speeds well into the 90-mph zone comes the inevitability of giving up home runs of embarassing distances to sluggers with quick bats. Outlaw right-hander Tyler Pearson, who to his credit doesn't seem to be taking too seriously the blasts he's giving up because of his rampant velocity, has found that out often this season.

The home run he gave up to Scott Goodman to right field in the third game of the Orange County Flyers' first series at Nettleton in June was an absolute monster, probably by quite a few yards the longest at the stadium so far this GBL season. Last night, the Reno Silver Sox in their 11-4 win hit three more off Pearson that weren't mistaken for lazy fly balls happening to drift out of Peccole Park with a pick-up in the breeze.

What would have happened had Long Beach closed the half strong with two victories over the Flyers while the Outlaws faltered with a pair of losses against Reno? We might never know for sure, but there seemed to be two underlying versions of the system the GBL would have used had the Outlaws and Armada both finished 24-14 and, because they were 2-2 against each other in head-to-head action, forced a second tie-breaker.

The one I was hearing about most would be run differential or runs scored from the four games the two teams played, and it wouldn't have mattered which one was implemented for the Outlaws, who would have lost outright either way. Friday's 16-0 spanking by the Armada sealed the deal on both fronts. In run differential, Long Beach held an edge of 17 after combining to outscore Chico 24-7 (6-3, 16-0, 0-1, 2-3). And then, yeah, as you see there, 24-7 runs scored also would gave closed the issue.

The other mandate I heard, and apparently this is one prevalent in some other independent minor leagues, would have the next meeting between the Outlaws and Armada on July 30 at Blair Field be the decider to break the deadlocked 2-2 season series. All parties would have to be appeased because the Armada would then finally receive something in return for getting its only four shots at the Outlaws in the first half in Chico. So the winner of that game would be the first-half champ, albeit nearly three weeks later. I'd still vote for this being the way to decide if I had a say.

The moral of the story, of course, is that the Outlaws treated themselves mighty fine by allowing themselves to be to clinch on their own.

As newly-crowned first-half champions, the Outlaws can relish the thought of beginning the GBL Championship series with the first two games at Nettleton Stadium.

Long Beach's Jeff Heaverlo had hands down the best performance of an opposing Outlaw pitcher when he allowed just a single hit Saturday night at Nettleton Stadium — it just happened to be Jason Matteucci's would-be game-winning homer in the 1-0 loss — in eight innings of mostly flawless execution. While spending some time in the Amrada clubhouse before yesterday's game, I was told Heaverlo thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing Sunday afternoon at Bidwell Park in a getaway from the team's quarters downtown.

There might be no need to wait. The Outlaws may become the Golden Baseball League’s first-half champions on their evening off tonight.

If the second-place Armada (22-14) lose to the Orange County Flyers in Fullerton tonight, the Outlaws (24-12) will have a place in the GBL’s version of the World Series in September. The team in the best-of-five series with the better overall record coming in receives home-field advantage.

Should Long Beach win tonight and tomorrow, the pressure on the Outlaws remains to win either tomorrow night's game in Reno or Wednesday's to take the title. I don't know that Outlaw fans should worry at this point about the Reno Silver Sox taking their club out of the postseason last year by taking six of the last eight games — handing the second-half title to the Flyers — but Peccole Park hasn't always been the easiest of road stadiums for Chico to win at. Mark Parent, of course, will tell you how much he genuinely loves playing there. If he does, check to see where he is crossing his fingers.

Last night's dramatic comeback earned some rave reviews from Outlaw manager Mark Parent...

Blogging gets a late start tonight (my bad on that one) but it's worth announcing this crucial final game of the Outlaw-Armada series is shaping up to be warm-collar affair. It's 2-1 Long Beach in the bottom of the seventh. For a third straight, the Outlaws have struggled to get momentum at the plate.

It's a shame for Nick Singleton, who, despite not being nearly as automatic as Jake McKinley was last night, has pitched plenty well enough to win. He's retired 10 straight batters going into the eighth inning after giving up five hits. Four of them came in Long Beach's two-run effort in the second. He's also thrown 120 pitches, so we'll see how long he can take it.

So what's at stake here? If Long Beach wins, they will enter into another tie for first place with the Outlaws and have a 3-1 edge in the overall series between both teams this season. Should the two teams finish out the first half (which ends Wednesday) tied for first, the overall series is the next tiebreaker. Hence, this game here could decide it.

Several other clutch efforts through a nine-inning battle with the Heaverlo and the Armada made the spectacular moment possible.

A night after the Outlaws endured a 16-0 embarrassment at the hands of Long Beach, McKinley mowed down Armada hitters in a staunch seven-inning start. Third baseman Scott Dragicevich, who McKinley referred to as “my MVP,” made two potential run-saving plays in the early innings. Reliever Jesse Oster delivered a hard-fought scoreless eighth to hold the scoreless tie in place for Matteucci’s difference-maker.

Mattuecci said his big blast came from a fraction-of-a-second adjustment off Heaverlo's 1-1 pitch. He figured the right-hander would go outside on him, so a poke to left-centerfield would be necessary. Instead, shortening his swing on a letter-high fastball, he rollicked the decisive hit over the right-field fence.

I got a quick barrel on a surprise fastball,” he said afterward.

“Considering I’ve only been playing professionally two years now, I would say yeah, that’s the best hit of my career.”

No-hitter — and possibly win for Long Beach — undone. Jason Matteucci struck a 1-1 pitch from Heaverlo that hooked inward toward the right-field foul pole and landed well over the fence for a 1-0 Chico lead.

Heaverlo hit Scott Dragicevich with his first pitch in the seventh inning before retiring Todd Gossage (strikeout), Brock Ungricht (groundout to shortstop) and Jake Ferris (groundout to pitcher) to keep his no-hitter intact. I don't like getting excited about a no-hitter until it gets through seven innings and Heaverlo hit the watermark (well, mine at least).

Btw, McKinley has been replaced by Jesse Oster. Huge outing for Jake, who allowed just three hits, two walks and had a hit batsmen. Oster recorded an out before walking Chris Klemm and Jorge Martinez on eight straight pitches. He just ended a streak of 10 straight balls with a 2-0 strike to Chris Wakeland. Count just went full, but Oster gets Wakeland to fly out to left field. 0-0 it remains.

Cleanup hitter Daniel Nava — the Outlaws' leader in hits (39), RBIs (27), runs (33), home runs (6) and the reigning Golden Baseball League player of the month starting yesterday — is not in the lineup for the first time this season because of a commitment to be in a friend's wedding that he had prearranged with manager Mark Parent before he was even admitted officially on the 22-man roster.

He's always been considered a huge catalyst for Chico offensive outbursts and whether it's a coincidence or not, Long Beach pitcher Jeff Heaverlo has no-hitter in the sixth inning, though he has just walked Eric Pringle with one out and Jesse Kovacs with two to set the stage for Jason Van Meetren to break open this 0-0 affair.

It's 0-0 in the top of the sixth right now and Jake McKinley is downright lights out, having the night Phil Springman wish he had Friday before things unraveled and a 16-0 Outlaw loss crashed down from the sky. There was little question Springman was physically bogged down and affected by an internal circumstance.

He looked like a flu victim sitting at his locker stall with a towel over his head, mouth open and dazed look on his face. He looked much more full of like when we talked before tonight's game and he let on that dehydration had dogged him in three-inning start that was the shortest of his two-year professional career.

“It was dehydration,” Springman said. “My delivery was wobbly. I wasn’t following through swiftly with my pitches.

“It didn’t feel that hot when I first went out there. I don’t know how I could have prevented it. I’ll do whatever I can not to let it happen again, that’s all I know.”

Not that starting pitcher Phil Springman would have enjoyed his three-inning outing that resulted in five runs, eight hits and the lighting of the Long Beach wildfire anyway, but it didn't help that he felt physically disgusted all night. At his stool in the clubhouse with a towel on his head draped over dazed eyes afterward, Springman seemed overwhelmed by nausea.

“I’ve had a concussion before and it kind of felt like that,” said Springman, who dropped to 2-1 on the year. “I didn’t feel good out there at all. I don’t what it is. I just wish it didn’t happen and I didn’t pitch this way in a game like this.

"I felt real dizzy, real weak. With the heat and everything else, I was totally uncomfortable out there. I never reached any kind of groove."

Manager Mark Parent couldn't pinpoint what might have been affecting Springman and is anxious to hear what team trainer April Ross can maybe find out about the potential ailment.

"We'll have April look at him," Parent said. "It's hard to tell. He had some dizziness."

Does anything more need to be said, especially for Chicoans? Tonight's loss to Long Beach was a doozie for the Outlaws and one that will either a.) be the symbolic nail in the coffin if the team ends up flailing in its quest to wrap up this first-half championship or b.) provide the sniffing salt for a quick turnaround that members will ultimately point to as the ultimate triumph over adversity.

The Armada locker room might have been the most happening place in Chico about an hour ago — not bad considering the Thursday night competition in a college town. One player kept calling for music (probably sarcastically) and couldn't get it since it was the visitor's locker room, but the noise level only seemed to rise as more and more players fed off eachother's energy.

"This has been real fun," Long Beach left fielder Chris Wakeland said above the din after his 2-for-4, two-RBI effort. "We've been able to do all the little things to keep ourselves in this race. Just a lot of the small details like icing down after games to stay healthy for the long haul, getting extra batting practice in here or there.

"Tonight was great, we got it done on the road against a team like Chico, in their home park, and with the Chicken out there getting everybody fired up. We fought through the distractions."

The Armada have won nine of its last ten games despite the recent losses of catcher Corey Myers, slugger Jeff LaRue and leading pitcher Rik Currier, who were all signed to contracts in major league systems over the past two weeks.

“We weren’t going to look at eachother and say, ‘What do we do now?’” said Wakeland. “We just had to tighten up in certain areas. We’re right how we want to be right now.”

After last night's win over the St. George Roadrunners, Outlaw manager Mark Parent complained of a migraine-like headache during his postgame news conference in the clubhouse. Tonight his team endured a crucial 6-3 setback to the Long Beach Armada in the crucial series opener between the two teams and he seemed much more at peace.

Parent isn't about to panic, even if the Armada are on the verge of securing a tie atop the GBL standings (Long Beach can do so by winning again tonight.)

“Our MO this season (pitching) has been our ability to make adjustments,” Parent said. “The staff will have to take a look at what happened tonight and go at them accordingly.”

Derrick Loop was just replaced by reliever John Jefferson for Long Beach's at-bat in the top of the seventh. With the Outlaws trailing 3-2, that means Loop won't add a win to his GBL-leading total of five (his record is 5-1). His six-inning effort could be called steady, he did strike out six, but we'll see how the three runs and six hits he allowed come out in the wash.

Oh yeah, the Chicken is here tonight. I'd attach a link to the story about this shindig that ran in today's Enterprise-Record, but it isn't available for reasons that will be looked into.

Whatever the case, the thousands in attendance at Nettleton tonight have been very receptive toward his presence. Check back here tomorrow for photos of what his first-ever visit to Chico.

And FYI: In this battle of the GBL's top two teams, Long Beach is up 3-2 in the top of the seventh,

There was a time the Long Beach Armada was mired in the bottom half of the Golden Baseball League standings not showing too many signs of breaking out. Yet it has been over the past two weeks — when ace pitcher Rik Currier and top hitters Corey Myers and Jeff LaRue were all signed away to major league contracts — that the Armada have actually made the biggest charge.

Long Beach comes to Chico for this weekend's four-game title tilt 7-2 in July after a 13-10 June. The Outlaws, for those curious, are 6-4 in July after a 16-6 tear through June.

The Outlaw clubhouse is usually a haven for good hip-hop music following victories, but after tonight's 4-1 win, only the voice of Chico play-by-play man Rory Miller could be heard over the loudspeakers. When one player called for center fielder Jason Matteucci to hit the music switch during Miller's postgame show, Matteucci had a terse response.

"Let's see how Long Beach did," he said.

Catcher Ricky Bambino and relief pitcher John Segovia were both suspended three games by the Golden Baseball League on Tuesday in response to last week's bench-clearing brawl with the Reno Silver Sox at Nettleton Stadium.

Pitcher Nick Singleton was battered around for five runs in the first three innings of tonight's loss, surrendering two home runs in the first two. They were the seventh and eighth homers he has given up this season.

“I didn’t hit my spots and they took advantage,” said Singleton (2-3), who gave up eight hits and four runs amid nine strikeouts in a seven-inning start that was his first since trimming his long-tailing, curly blonde hair fans often identify him with.

Jason Van Meetren is known for working hard and Tuesday he got quite the load:

The St. George Roadrunners are 1-16 at their home park, Bruce Hirst Field in Utah. Something about Chico — and my educated guess is it isn't the litany of lively bars downtown — feels like home back in St. George to them. With tonight's 6-3 victory over the Outlaws, they have now won three straight at Nettleton Stadium and have a 3-1 record there this season.

Hats off to 2000 Corning High grad and Yuma Scorpion pitcher Evan White for notching a GBL Pitcher of the Week honor. White's sterling eight-inning, homecoming performance against the Outlaws was documented pretty thoroughly on this site two weeks back after he was pulled in the ninth of a blown save.

Sounds like he bounced back nicely...

Let's not forget, the Golden Baseball League's first half cuts off July 18, which is a week from Wednesday. That makes this week's six-game homestand for the Outlaws their last of the half. Taking care of business at -- something the team did to perfection during that 7-0 spurt over the Yuma Scorpions and Orange County Flyers two weeks back -- may deliver the first-half championship much sooner than the 18th.

St. George comes to town with its 5-24 record in hand. I hate to hype it too much by calling it a proverbial "trap series" for Chico, but the two-game series will have to be considered disappointing if the Outlaws don't come away with a pair of victories.

The Long Beach Armada (18-12), coming into the day three games behind the league-leading Outlaws (21-9), come to town for four contests at Nettleton after St. George and would like nothing more than to be within at least two games of striking distance. If Long Beach remains at three, there is the lingering possibility Chico can end it all by the end of the weekend.

Jason Matteucci accounted for today's lone run with a solo homer in the seventh inning. It was just the third home run of his pro career and first since last July, when Matteucci hit one out in his very first at-bat and proceeded to do it again the next day.

FYI, because leadoff man Steve Boggs' 18-game hitting streak ended today (it collapses in Fullerton after beginning there on June 19), Matteucci would have taken over with the longest hitting string (nine games) had he not gone 0-for-4 in Saturday's win.

Alex McRobbie's complete-game gem (nine innings, nine strikeouts, seven hits, two walks) in today's 4-1 win for Orange County limited the Outlaws to under two runs — the first time Chico has been held to a single run since a 3-1 loss to the Flyers on June 18.

Here's my Golden Baseball League column from the Enterprise-Record today on the general woes of pitchers throughout the league at the moment:

http://www.chicoer.com/sports/ci_6325400

Btw, always feel free to email me at pkinmartin@chicoer.com, or just post by clicking on the wonderful little "comments" option below.

A solo home run by Jake Ferris in the third inning of the 8-3 win last night that came on the heels of a three-run shot by Jason Van Meetren (more on that later) was his second as an Outlaw and came in the same Goodwin Field stadium where he used two impressive batting practice sessions (sprinkled with a few homers, I might add) to allure Mark Parent into signing him on in June. Ferris, a Whittier native, is the latest product from the Cal State Los Angeles-pitching coach Alex Carbajal pipeline.

Van Meetren now has two home runs, both on the road and for seven RBIs (his last was a grand slam in St. George). He is hitting .154 on the road with two of his six hits being the two bombs in 39 total at-bats. At home, Van Meetren has a .208 average with 11 hits in 53 at-bats.

So Springman did manage to get the quality start last night the team was seeking (seven innings pitched, seven hits, three runs, no walks, six strikeouts). He now has a 2-0 record in six starts with a 6.00 earned-run average starting to dip back and if he's on to something here the Outlaws would love to have him as the top gun in the rotation as he came to be down the stretch last year.

Loop's 5 2/3-innings effort last night wasn't bad by any stretch, but you get the feeling the Outlaws still haven't come close to excorcising the demons haunting their starting pitching. In fact, Phil Springman's eight-inning performance back on June 27 in which he limited the Yuma Scorpions to three hits and an earned run remains the last true quality start by an Outlaw pitcher.

Springman, remember, was shelled when he took the mound again last Monday in Reno. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave the same number of home runs as batters he struck out (four). He was also picked apart for 10 hits and need we even mention that he gave up eight runs in the fourth inning alone at this point?

The reigning GBL Rookie Pitcher of the Year takes the mound again today in Fullerton for his GBL homecoming — he's an Orange County boy by way of San Clemente — and can be "that guy" in the pitching staff by knuckling down to pitch deep into a game and not force manager Mark Parent to keep prodding that bullpen for all kinds of help.

By knocking off Reno last night, this year’s Outlaw group became the quickest in the organization’s young history to reach the 20-win mark. In 2005, they didn’t reach that point until July 14 and last season they hit it on July 9.

Hard to guage (no pun intended) how much weather affects the course of a baseball game since both teams are playing under the same conditions, but the Outlaws many times over the last three days of 100-degree heat in the north valley looked a step slower than usual.

They're in Fullerton at the moment, readying for a quick two-game series with Orange County beginning tonight, and it's 82 degrees. It may, if anything, border on 90 through the course of the day, but, unlike Chico, the Southern California heat generally isn't at its most powerful in the evening hours.

The Golden Baseball League mirrors college baseball in many ways with its affinity for producing plenty of good hitting at the sacrifice of solid pitching. That being said, the difference between winning consistently and struggling to remain around .500 can easily be a solid bullpen.

The first-place Outlaws, by a mile, have the best one in the GBL at the moment and it was on display again last night. Derrick Loop left the game in the sixth inning with Chico leading 4-2 and — after John Jefferson, Jesse Oster and Jake Mclintock allowed just a single hit and a walk the rest of the way — the Outlaws ended up prevailing easily 8-2 thanks largely to the work of tidy relief.

Current Outlaw relievers Jefferson, Oster, Mclintock, Todd Gelatka and John Segovia have a combined earned-run average of 2.08 and 8-1 record in 78 innings pitched. They are also allowing an average of less than a hit per inning (0.79) and have walked just 28.

Let's hear it for the St. George Roadrunners, who tied their season-high win streak last night with a second consecutive victory. OK, maybe Outlaw fans are slow to applaud. The Utah-based club last won two straight in its lone visit to Nettleton Stadium for a three-game series in June.

On the season, the Roadrunners are 5-21 and have already been mathematically eliminated from contending for the GBL's first-half championship.

Batting practice is done, the infield dirt is being dragged and the 100-degree temperatures aren't just a HOT topic of conversation — it is the only topic of conversation among players and stadium workers alike. So the stage is set for the rubber match of this three-game series tonight that will break the 1-1 tie between the Outlaws and Silver Sox.

As good as their GBL-best 19-8 record looks, the Outlaws are a less flashy 4-3-1 in series play. Losing to the Silver Sox tonight would drop them to 1-2-1 in the teams' four series matchups even though Chico has won 8 of the 12 matchups this year.

It wasn't so much that the Reno Silver Sox pinned down the Outlaws early tonight in a 7-2 win, it was the fact that they were able to keep the boisterous boys of Chico from doing their thing late in the game that was clutch. The victory was the first in six games this season for Reno at Nettleton Stadium and what I believe to be one of those huge barriers overcome by a team that has been on the verge of a few would-be wins in Chico this season before collapses, though apparently manager Les Lancaster disagrees.

Until suspensions are handed out by the GBL, this will be the last mention here of Wednesday's fight. As much as the fans love it, the reality is the players are over it and the rest of the season will remain largely unaffected — unless the league takes some serious action unexpectedly.

In my story written about it in today's Enterprise-Record (http://www.chicoer.com/sports/ci_6302087), Bambino probably got the short end of the stick more than he should have. I could see some of you interpeting it that he was manhandled by Bergman. More accurately, as the photos posted this afternoon indicate (look under "Fight Scene" to take a peek), he did deliver most of the opening contact when the two first collided.

Whatever the case, kind of funny how two of the biggest bodies on that field were the ones brought together forcefully by circumstance. I'll say this, though: Had it been 5-foot-7 Outlaw speedster David Pierson getting hit by the pitch, don't think for a second he wouldn't have come after Bergman just as hard, if not harder.

Did get a chance to talk with Dusty Bergman, who had this to say about his involvement in propelling last night's events:

Special thanks goes to former Enterprise-Record sports editor Skip Reager for these photos from last night's action. You could be Grantland Rice and still struggle mightily to do justice to a baseball brawl with written words, so fortunately with photos like these from Skip, you get a better idea of how it all went down:

Ricky Bambino charges Dusty Bergman

Bambino and Bergman lock horns

This was kind of the calm in the middle of the battle — things looked like they may temporarily halt before getting nice and busy again

The pile progressed toward home plate and produced some small side pockets along the way — in the foreground there's a tussle between Silver Sox catcher Jose Rodriguez (32) and what looks like Outlaw reliever Jesse Oster, with Chico hitting coach John Macalutas readying to intervene

First, it was the Yuma Scorpions, and the Outlaws dusted them aside with a three-game sweep. Then, it was the Orange County Flyers, who gave it an admirable go but were also victims of an Outlaw onslaught.

The latest to threaten GBL leader Chico: the Long Beach Armada, which have crept up to three games behind the Outlaws (19-7) in the standings. The Armada (16-10) have won six straight going into tonight and have six games before coming to Chico for its first visit to Nettleton Stadium.

So Chico ends up winning 6-4 on a fairly nice outing from Singleton, everyone loved the fireworks and the night is done. That would have been the story if not for the big Bergman-Bambino bopper that went down in the fifth.

Other notables from Wednesday, however: Jason Mattuecci's three-stolen base, two-run effort, Brock Ungricht's solid 2-for-2, three-RBI go in replacing Bambino and closer Todd Gelatka notching his league-leading eighth save.

Nothing too juicy yet, I'm sure tomorrow might produce slightly more sizzling soundbytes when both teams have a chance to absorb perspective on the melee, but here's how the Outlaws viewed it (tomorrow I'm definitely all about getting a Reno point of view also):

Naturally, talk around the press box — and most likely Nettleton Stadium — is swirling around the events of the fifth inning. One point of view talked about how manager Mark Parent warned Rory Miller, Chico's play-by-play radio man, during the pregame show about "fireworks taking place in between the lines tonight."

Parent and Reno manager Les Lancaster talked at length before the game in a conversation that looked anything but contentious. Outlaw pitcher Phil Springman and Reno first baseman Ryan Brown also had a friendly looking chat. It was almost as if, once the game started, it was time to get mad at eachother again over Tuesday night's events.

Not even a moment before I could mention that Singleton put the tension back into this ballgame when he hit Joe Melton with a pitch in the fifth inning, responded to some trash talk from the Reno dugout to get both teams riled up in a contentious verbal exchange and caused Richins to warn Bergman going into the sixth inning, Bergman nailed Ricky Bambino with his first pitch.

Bambino went right toward Bergman, asked him how his dinner tasted and then went straight for his Reno counterpart to set off the brawl brewing this past hour between both teams.

Singleton's performance may be the prime item to watch tonight. Outlaw starting pitching has been abysmal over the past week. Their 6.91 earned-run average in the past six games stems from the 38 earned runs they have been tagged with in 29.2 innings of work — an uncomforting average of four innings per start. They also have allowed 47 hits.

Pitching coach Alex Carbajal called a meeting hours before today's game in wake of the struggles. Phil Springman said Carbajal warned of possible changes being made if the inconsistency continued, though most players took the threat more as a healthy catalyst to turn things around.

“It’s a new start for us," Springman said. "We’re looking at it as a clean slate to work off of, and I really think it’s just going to take one or two quality starts in a row before it snowballs and we’re back on track.”

Reno pitcher Dusty Bergman's first pitch to Jason Van Meetren in the first inning plunked Van Meetren square in the back. A violent collision at home plate between Van Meetren and Silver Sox catcher Masashi Chikazawa late in Tuesday night’s win for the Outlaws left Chikazawa unconscious and in need of serious medical attention at Peccole Park.

Oh, by the way, happy 231st United States of America — it has just been learned that tonight's Fourth of July festivities at Nettleton will be watched by a sold-out crowd. A more specific figure will be made available later on.

If the thermometer installed by the good folks at Saturn inside their 2003 edition of the Ion is the weather guage to end all weather guages, it's 101 degrees at Nettleon Stadium right now. Team officials were fearful last weekend of temperatures in the 108s that had been forecasted would be settling in about now.

Mark it 4:08 p.m. that the first water balloon was tossed, with Jake Parent, the 12-year-old son of the Outlaw manager, narrowly dodging a laser thrown by catcher Ricky Bambino. David Pierson and Eric Pringle have already gone for outfield jogs before retreating back to (we're assuming) a well air-conditioned clubhouse and Derrick Loop has found a shaded area on the right-field warning track to do some soft toss with the wall.

The Outlaws come into tonight's contest with another of their patented oh-no-you-don't victories over the Reno Silver Sox last night. The 13-9 win marked the sixth straight game the team has scored at least six runs.

Scott Dragicevich and Todd Gelatka were the GBL's two players of the week for their contributions to the 11-win streak.

Springman's tough go in the fourth inning last night — eight runs, nine hits, three home runs — underscores a problem brewing higher a little less quietly every night. Springman, the 2006 Golden League Rookie Pitcher of the Year, and Nick Singleton, probably the 2006 Outlaw Pitcher of the Year if there was such an award, have both struggled mightily to be consistently effective.

Either of the two was considered to be the "ace" among the starting pitching staff going into this season. There's no rule saying you have to have one, but most other things seem to fall into place nicely when you have a stud arm to build around. At the moment, that role in the Outlaw staff is completely up for grabs because no one else has had the type consistency needed for it.

For those who who might have overslept this morning like me but also missed last night's action, all you need to know is the Outlaws' colorful 11-game win streak ended in a 10-9 loss to the Reno Silver Sox last night. Nevertheless, the effects of the four-game sweep of the Orange County Flyers talked about a lot here might still be helping Chico's cause — OC, after all, was shelled 10-1 upon its return to Southern California against its regional rival, the Long Beach Armada.

By sweeping the Flyers, the Outlaws have a 3 1/2-game lead in the Golden League standings. It had to be earned: Chico amassed 36 runs, 48 hits, four innings in which they scored at least four runs, six innings in which they scored at least three and played 13 hours, six minutes of baseball to beat Orange County by a combined total of just seven runs in four games.

The Outlaws have downplayed the big offensive turnaround in a week's time, but I think it's more a case of baseball players jaded a bit by the grinding clock they are forced to abide by.

Going into the ninth, Dragicevich was already 3-for-5 with a double and four RBIs in the game to continue a scorching tear in the series ignited by his game-winning hit in Friday’s comeback. Surely enough, he delivered the big one once more — on a broken bat right up the middle to set off a celebration on the field.

“Because of the way this series has gone with all the offense, I had been lucky enough to face (Flyers reliever Steve Coggin) a few times already,” he said. “He’s a real tough pitcher, but I felt like I knew him well enough to drive something up the middle the way I was able to there.”

A 12-11 sweep-inducing win over the Orange County Flyers tonight marked the Outlaws' fifth straight come-from-behind victory. Seemingly battle-worn from recording pulsating win after pulsating win leading into Sunday’s contest, the Outlaws fell behind 11-6 through 6 1/2 innings.

The Orange County Flyers are up 10-5 in the sixth inning as we speak and it's not a coincidence the Outlaws — between starter Derrick Loop and Jake Mclintock — have walked nine batters in the process of falling behind. With one more, they will break the club record. Flyers starter Mike Natale hasn't been too much more saintly with his two walks and three hit batters.

A lot of the buzz surrounding tonight's series finale between the Outlaws and the Flyers surrounded Chico starter Derrick Loop's vaunted pickoff move, which earned him the Cal State Los Angeles record for runners gunned down in a season (13), was a spring training hit and has given him the Golden Baseball League lead with six so far this season.

The Flyers even had a special session during batting practice this afternoon on how to read Loop and avoid being caught leading off around the first-base area. Well, all Loop's move seemed to accomplish tonight was getting Outlaw manager Mark Parent ejected. The move has been always been considered somewhat of a balk waiting to happen, and when home plate umpire Billy Haze tagged Loop with one in the second inning to bring in OC's Buddy Morales to run the Outlaw deficit to 3-0, Parent shot out of the dugout, argued vehemently and was ejected.

One might think the Orange County Flyers' swagger has been slowed significantly by the three losses to the Outlaws at Nettleton Stadium this weekend going into tonight's game.

Peanut Williams — their first baseman, star player and charismatic unofficial spokesman — doesn't seem too worried about the string of losses dashing his team's confidence as they chase the Outlaws pulling away in pursuit of the Golden Baseball League title.