Buzzell posts first regular season win in almost six years

Jason Buzzell can remember his last regular season win on the mound before Tuesday’s night’s victory in Tofield. He can remember it vividly. And that’s quite remarkable seeing as it was more than half a decade ago.

“It was a damp, cool night in Chipman,” Buzzell recalls. “I kept a short-staffed Crackerjacks squad in check until the sixth inning when Wes Harrison started beaking Chad Cossy’s dad who had to play because they were short guys.

That seemed to get them all fired up and we almost lost it.”

Buzzell left the game in the bottom of the seventh, and relied on Clark Banack to shut down Chipman with the bases loaded for a 5-4 win.

That was June 1, 2004.

After that, Buzzell didn’t get much time on the mound in the regular season as an Axeman, so his last win in any game came against a short-staffed Camrose Colts team at Tofield’s Canada Day tournament.

“It’s pretty sad, and you know you’re old when your last two wins came against teams that don’t exist anymore,” Buzzell said. “It’s good to get one finally again – you start to question yourself.”

Between the last regular season win and Tuesday night’s victory, Buzzell went 0-3 in four regular season starts, picked up another two losses in two relief performances and gave up 20 earned runs in 28 1/3 innings for a 4.94 ERA. This from a guy who has a career 3.91 ERA after last night’s game.

Buzzell conceded the fact he’s not an elite pitcher in the league, and doesn’t throw hard at all, but he’s quick to point out three of those six years he was getting fat and playing slo-pitch to pass the time until coming out of retirement last season.

“Now I know I was “retired” for three years there, but it’s not like I didn’t have some starts or chances to pick up a win – especially last year,” he said. “Now let’s hope the next one comes a little sooner.”

Posted on May 26, 2010 by Jason Buzzell