Dateline: Running Cedar
It was a beautiful Spring afternoon at Running Cedar as the Indians were on the road against the Tigers. Indians bats were alive early as Brendan led off with a smash to the second baseman who barely handled it to make the play at first. Charles drilled a single to center and Christian T. smashed a solid double to right. Will walked to load the bases. Connor walked to score Charles. Nikhil grounded out to second for an RBI to score Christian T. A wild pitch put runners on at third and second and Bryon came up with a big two out single to score Will and Connor. Charles went to the mound and and the Tigers leadoff man singled. The next batter blasted a screaming line drive (Editors Note: Sometimes we embellish these things a tad, but this time it really was a shot where you couldn’t see the ball) and Nicholas snared it for the out and fired across the diamond to Will who caught it for a huge double play. The next batter grounded out to Brendan at short who handled a tough hop and fired to Will for out three. Indians fans rejoiced at the quick 4-0 lead.
In the second, Chad walked and stole second and moved to third on a wild pitch. A walk to Nicholas put him on first and he stole second to put runners on third and second. Jesus hit a towering fly ball to deep center, but the center fielder made a great catch for out three. Charles threw two quick strikes to the next batter and on an 0-2 pitch, the cleanup man drilled a long fly to left. Pedro drifted over to the ball and made a huge catch for out one. Charles struck out the next batter for out two. A single and four walks resulted in two runs and the bases were loaded. Coach Grossman went to the bullpen and brought in his relief specialist Nikhil who has gotten the Indians out of some tricky situations the last couple of games. Nikhil delivered again with a crucial strike out on four pitches to end the inning. After two it was 4-2 Indians.
In the third Brendan led off and was hit with a pitch. Charles was then hit on the wrist to put runners on at first and second. Jesus was sent in to run for Charles. Christian T. singled and Brendan scored. Will walked to load the bases. Connor walked to pick up an RBI and score Jesus. Nikhil walked to score Christian T. and Bryon again came up with a big hit to score Will. In the bottom of the third Brendan came on and threw heat. After a walk, the next batter hit a high popup that Will drifted over at short, called for and caught for out one. Two more singles scored a run and put runners on at first and second. Brendan settled down and got a strikeout for out two and a popup back to the mound for out three. After three it was Indians 8 Tigers 3.
In the fourth, the offense continued with a walk to Chad. Chad moved to third on two wild pitches. Chad then alertly stole home when the Indians pitcher was trudging back to the mound and Indians fans celebrated. Pedro hit a shot back to the mound that was nicely fielded for out one but Chad scored so Pedro picked up a key RBI. Christian V. walked and Nicholas walked. Christian V. broke for home and scored on a successful steal but he was called out because the batter was ruled to have interfered with the play. This reporter does not agree with that call since he saw no interference, but it is the umpires call. Coach Grossman was seen thumbing through a rule book, but the umpires description was within the rules and Christian V was declared out for the third out of the inning. Brendan ran into some control problems in the bottom of the fourth as he walked the first three batters. The next batter blasted a hard grounder to Chad at second who fielded it and flipped to Bryon at short for out one. With one out Chad was brought in to pitch. He walked the first batter to put runners on at first and second. The next batter bunted and Chad made a great play coming off the mound and firing to Christian T. at first. The next batter hit a long, high popup to second that Charles caught for out three. After four it was Indians 9 Tigers 5.
The coaches decided that due to time constraints the fifth would be the final inning. With one out Charles walked, Christian T. walked and Will doubled to score Charles and Christian T. Will moved to third and tagged up and scored on a long fly by Connor to right to pick up yet another RBI for Connor. Nikhil walked and Bryon singled for his third hit of the day but the inning ended with no further Indians runs. In the bottom of the fifth, Will came on and was lights out. He gave up a single that ultimately scored a meaningless run, but then he gave up another single to right. The next batter hit a shot to first that Christian T. fielded nicely for out one. A huge strike out of the cleanup hitter was good fr out two and after a walk, Will blasted three straight pitches by the next batter for out three. Final score: Indians 12 Tigers 6.
Coach Grossman said, ‘This was obviously one of our best games of the year. Whenever you give up only six runs in a game you are usually going to do well. Our offense again hit wonderfully and I’m very happy to see Bryon went three for three today.” Coach Goldstein said, “It was a great game by our defense. I’d like to especially point out the great work done by Nikhil and Chad in relief as they were put in some tough situations and they both performed admirably. Team sponsor and bench coach, Coach Cassidy said, “The sponsor is very pleased and is looking into making a long term investment in this ball club.”
