Dateline : Fox Mill District Park
The Marlins took the field on a slightly cool fall evening this Monday. Coach Goldstein was at the helm due to Coach Grossman’s prior scouting commitments. The braves jumped on top with several fortunate walks and a couple of lightly hit balls off of Andrew. Down 4-0 for the first time, the Marlins struck back swiftly with four quick runs scored by Dave, Ricky, Andrew, and Cameron.
With the score tied, the Braves launched a couple of doubles off of some nice pitches by Andrew. Andrew was clearly throwing strikes but the Brave bats happened to connect with the ball. Again, the Braves scored four in the top of the inning, but the Marlins, undaunted, retaliated again. With four more quick runs by Matthew, Dave, Ricky, and Kevin the score was tied after two innings at 8-8. It was a thriller.
Kevin came on in the third and changed the tide. With some great fielding behind him with infield groundouts handled by Andrew and Ricky, he retired the side after only a run had scored. The Marlins continued their offensive barrage with four more runs scored by Austin, Peyton, Matthew, and Michael. After three, it was 12-9 and the Marlins were starting to roll as closer Dave got up in the bullpen.
Miffed that the clock ran out before he was able to pitch last game, Dave came on and threw heat. He struck out the side quickly and the Marlins added more insurance runs on a big single to dead center by Andrew. The game was ended due to the time with the Marlins ahead 16-9.
Coach Goldstein in a brief post game interview said “Our guys were great tonight. I am extremely pleased. There is still quite a bit of season to play.” Coach Emeritus Grossman, our scorekeeper, said “When the Marlins swing their bats, the opponents, better watch out!” She also mentioned there was an unusual hot dog controversy going on amongst the fans. This reporter plans to write a three-part documentary on the entire hot-dog situation. Suffice it for now to say that we were able to obtain in an emergency phone interview with the anonymous team director of public relations (we’ll call this person Mr. Marlin) that “the entire coaching staff will clarify the policy regarding feeding players prior to the next night game.”
Coach Grossman, available for a brief phone interview, said “Although I am sad that I couldn’t attend the game, I am very happy to hear that all went well. Coach Goldstein has a great record at the helm. He routinely turns down offers from the top teams in the league — I just hope we can keep him happy. He’s clearly the finest assistant in the league. I look forward to seeing everyone at practice at Hook Road at 5:30 this Friday.”