1985: THE TURNING POINT

Brewers - 10, Snakes - 5

June 10th, 1985

"The Turning Point"

Brewers vs. FPS Snakes at Ryan

Coming into this Monday night game in 1985 the Brewers were not champions, and in fact still had much to prove. This was the second season of the DVFL merger, and the team was obviously improved over a 1984 group that had gone 6-12.

Back on May 16th the Brewers had won their first-ever game over a non-First Pennsylvania Bank team, dumping the Bad Loads in a 20-7 rout. The team won five of their first six, and the excitement had everyone talking title.

But reality set in when the FPS Snakes spanked the Brewers by a 16-5 count at 68th & Dicks on June 3rd. That was followed up with another loss just three days later to the Blue Jays at Ryan by an 8-6 count, leaving the Brewers in 3rd place with a 5-3 record.

Now just a week after the disheartening loss to the Snakes the two teams would meet again. The Snakes were riding high in first place. They had the DVFL's most potent offense, and another loss could be devastating to the Brew Crew's confidence.

Things didn't start well on this night. The Snakes offense started right where they left off a week earlier with a pair of runs in the top of the 1st inning against Brewers pitcher Ron Briggs. It could have been worse too, as the Snakes left the bases loaded. Some nice Brewers defense kept the damage to a minimum.

When the Brew Crew came to the plate in the bottom of the 1st inning they were already down 2-0 to the first place team, had lost two straight, and had been smoked just a week earlier by this same team. To say the Brewers were in definite need of a confidence boost was an understatement. They wouldn't have to wait long to get one.

The Brewers half of the 1st inning began with Tom Loiacono working a walk. Greg Nigro followed with a single, and the team had runners at the corners with nobody out and top hitter John Kelly coming to the plate.

Kelly had taken an 0-3 collar in the previous week's debacle, but was determined not to fail on this night. The lefty hitter drove a shot into the center field gap, circling the bases for a huge 3-run homer that put the team on top by a 3-2 score. The home run electrified the Brew Crew and their fans. It would prove to be the turning point for the entire season, and perhaps the entire Brewers history.

Briggs would settle down to shutout the Snakes in the 2nd & 3rd innings. Meanwhile, the Brewers tacked on another run in the bottom of the 2nd when Loiacono's 2-out single knocked in DH Charlie Penberth. The Brewers held a 4-2 lead heading to the 4th inning, which would prove to hold the key moments in this game.

In the top of the 4th, the Snakes led off with singles by Ron Herman and Ron Gibilovitz. But the Brewers defense held again, as Briggs used a fielder's choice and a pair of fly ball outs to get out of the jam unscathed.

Having dodged that bullet, the Brew Crew put the game out of reach with a huge five-run 4th inning. George Torres led off that bottom of the 4th with a walk. He then moved up to 2nd base on a single by player-coach Ken Grolsko.

George Rayzis followed with a single to score Torres and made it 5-2. Adrian Kosteleski then reached base on an error by Snakes second baseman Ginzano. That miscue allowed two runs to score, and the Brewers celebrated with a 7-2 lead. After a one-out walk by Nigro, Kelly and Frank Gleason each drilled RBI singles, and the Brewer lead was up to 9-2.

Briggs shut the Snakes down in the 5th, and when George Sweeney's lead-off single in the bottom of the 5th was followed by singles from Torres and Grolsko, the Brewers had blown out to a 10-2 lead.

The Snakes made a slight run in the 6th, using a pair of Brewer errors to spark a three-run inning, but the Brewers still took a 10-5 lead into the 7th.

The Snakes had the top of their lineup at bat in the final frame, but Briggs mowed through them allowing only a one-out walk. When Snakes' slugger Paul Frick grounded out to 3rd base, the Brewers had a pivotal 10-5 win. They would not lose again in the entire 1985 season.

The Brewers were now 6-3 on the season. Three days later they would meet the new first place team, the Cardinals, who were 7-2. The Brew Crew followed up their victory over the Snakes with a 17-4 shellacking of the Cards to move back into first place.

These two big victories began an eight-game winning streak to close out the regular season, one that would see the club finish at 13-3. A month and a half later the club would use the confidence gained by the huge "Turning Point" win to sweep the Snakes in the finals by three games to none, giving the Brewers their first of what would be six DVFL Championships.