Dateline: Field of Dreams (Field #14)
With the initial six games behind them single elimination began. The Warriors were seeded #55 and as such played the winner of the 94 vs 95 game — the Whitman Wildcats. The Wildcats had just played at 10:00 AM as the Warriors filed in with their red home jerseys.
Marty took the mound and pitched extremely well. The first batter grounded out to Thomas for out one. The second batter hit a long fly to left, but Matt made a great play for out two. Finally the last batter grounded out to Sam at third for out three. The Warriors put runners on as Jordan walked and Sam walked but they were left on base. After one it was 0-0.
In the second with two outs, the Wildcats finally got a runner on base with a single to right center. The next batter singled to right, but Marty settled down and struck out the last batter on three pitches. The Warriors got on the board with two outs in the second. Thomas singled to left. Graham walked. The runners advanced on a wild pitch. Justin hit a shot to left to score Thomas and Graham. After two it was 2-0 Warriors.
Top of the third and Marty shut down the Wildcats, three up and three down. Bottom of the third, the Warriors again threatened as Sam reached on an infield error but he was left on base. In the fourth, the Wildcats got on the board. A leadoff single, a doubled to left scored the run. The runner moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a ground out. Marty calmly struck out the next batter to end the threat. In the bottom of the fourth, the Warriors went down quietly and after four it was a 2-2 thriller.
Top of the fifth, Marty again shut down the Wildcats. A popout to short for out one. A walk and then Andy at catcher gunned down the runner trying to steal second. Conor was kicked in the face as the runner was stealing but he held onto the ball. Conor was checked out thoroghly and remained in the game. Marty then got the next batter to ground out to Sam at third.
Bottom of the fifth, score still tied. The Warriors went to work. Marty singled and stole second. With two outs, Sam stood in at the plate. He took a strike and then watched a ball. The count 1-1. The afternoon sun was starting to heat up. The next pitch was met with only Sam’s bat as he blasted it over the left field wall for a huge two run home run. His second in two games. Warriors fans celebrated and after five the Warriors led 4-2.
Marty continued on the mound as he went for a complete game. He faced the top of the order. The leadoff man popped out to Sam. The next hitter, hit a shot to Sam at third which he corralled for out two. After an infield error, there were two outs and the cleanup man was the tying run at the plate. Marty threw heat and got the batter to ground out to Conor at short for out three.
Final Score: Warriors 4 Whitman Wildcats 2
Assistant Coach Grossman said, “Well we have very limited time as we play on this field in an hour, but this just shows you that you can’t take anyone lightly in this tournament. The Wildcats may have had a low seed, but they played us tough. I suspect our bats are going to really come alive soon as we have too much offensive firepower to just score a few runs a game. Marty pitched a great six innings, giving up only five hits. Sam was huge at the plate with a big two run home run. ” This reporter asked the coach about Conor’s injury. He said, “Well we’ll keep some ice on his face and it looks like he’ll be able to keep playing. He is an extremely tough kid.”
Editors Note: This ended the Whitman Wildcats run as they went 0-6 in the initial games with an average runs allowed per game of 11.83.
