Dateline: FC Blue
The O’s took the field on a very pleasant fall evening under the lights.
Top of the first and Colin got the start. He struck out the first two batters. The next batter reached on a infield error and two unearned runs scored as the next batter drove a line single to right that ended up going to the wall for two runs. Colin settled down and struck out the next batter. Bottom of the first and Scott and Krish led off with walks. Colin grounded out to the mound to move the runners to third and second. Sol drilled a singled to left to score Scott, Coach Grossman sent Krish around third to score, but the Tigers made a great play and got him at the plate for out three. After one it was 2-1 Tigers.
Top of the second and Colin went back to the mound. He struck out the first two and with two outs the next batter singled to right. On the next pitch, the runner tried to steal second but Frankie fired a strike down the Sol at second and got the runner by six feet. Bottom of the second and the O’s offense, went to work. Adam doubled to center. Michael grounded out to move Adam to third. Isaac singled to score Adam. Tripp and Scott walked. With two outs Krish hit a grounder to third and the third baseman decided to throw across the diamond to first. The throw was off-line and Isaac scored. Frankie singled to center to score Tripp and Krish and so the O’s hit their four run limit. After two it was 5-2 O’s.
Top of the third and Krish came on in relief. He struck out the first batter. The next batter walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. The next batter struck out. Bottom of the third and Sol singled and Michael walked but the O’s stranded two runners on base. After three it was still a 5-2 thriller.
Top of the fourth and Krish went back to the mound. The first batter doubled to center. He then tried to steal third but Colin was catching and he threw a bullet to Tripp at third who deftly applied the tag. Krish quickly struck out two more batters. Bottom of the fourth, the O’s went down quickly — Scott did walk but three other batters struck out. After four it was still 5-2.
Top of the fifth Frankie came on in relief. The first batter walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. .The next batter grounded back to Frankie who threw to Isaac for out one. The runner on second then tried to get to third. Isaac fired across the diamond but the throw bounced and got past Sol at third to score the run. Frankie settled down and struck out the next batter. The next batter drilled a shot to the wall for an in the park home run. Frankie then struck out the next batter quickly. Bottom of the fifth and the O’s threatened but couldn’t get an insurance run. With one out, Colin singled. Sol singled to move Colin to third. The next batter struck out and Michael grounded out to first to end the inning. After five it was a one run game: O’s 6 Tigers 5.
Michael came on in relief to try to close out the Tigers in the sixth. The first batter grounded out to the mound where Michael made a nice play and threw to Isaac for out one. The next batter hit a single and the runner moved to second and third on wild pitches. One out and the tying run was only 60 feet away. Michael struck out the next batter for out two. Oh the drama. The next batter walked and moved to second on a stolen base. With two outs, the number three hitter in the order came to the plate. Michael struck him out on three pitches and O’s fan rejoiced. Final Score: O’s 5 Tigers 4.
Coach Grossman said, “That was a great defensive game. We only walked three batters and give our catchers some credit for gunning down two of their attempted stolen bases. ” This reporter asked Coach Grossman what he was thinking sending Krish home in the first inning. Coach Grossman said, “You reporters always like to play Monday morning quarter back. It’s easy to say how bad an idea it was once you see him get out. I thought he had an even chance of scoring and with two outs thought it wasn’t a terrible idea. Clearly it didn’t work out, but I was proud of how our team showed excellent resilience throughout the game.
