Date line:Fox Mill Park

On a hot and humid afternoon, the Indians took the field against the league leading, undefeated, Pirates. Brendan hit a single to left. Charles hit into a fielders choice Second to first which allowed Brendan to advance to second. Coach Goldstein, at third signaled for Brendan to steal third. In the opinion of this reporter, it was a gutsy move with Andy Galloway behind the plate. On the next pitch Brendan took off, the throw was in time, however the third baseman missed the catch and with the ball rolling into left field, Coach Goldstein sent Brendan home for the score. Christian T. then hit a single followed by Will. With men now on Second and Third, Nikhil popped up for out two and bryon went down swinging.

Charles took the mound, and the leadoff batter hit the ball to Nikhil at second who scooped it up and tossed it to Will at first for out 1. The next batter singled to right which scored a run. The next batter walked and then a single loaded the bases. Then Charles went to work and struck out the next batter and induced a dribbler back to the mound for out three. After one the score was tied one all.

Top of the second, Chad hit a pop up down the third base line which was caught by the third baseman in foul territory. The rest of the tribe went down swinging.

Charles went back to work. He struck out 1, then walked 1, then struck out 1. With 2 outs and the middle batter on third, a dribbler was hit to Charles on the mound. Charles scooped it up and did the unpredictable, he threw it home to Christian T. Christian T. placed the tag on the runner for out 3. This report would like to pint out that a throw to first would have been saver, however the results were the same. After 2 the score remained tied.

Top of the third, Pedro came up to bat and connected for a single, two passed balls later he was standing on third. Jesus went down swinging, Brendan walked. Charles hit a shot to center field scoring Pedro and Brendan, however the umpire ruled that Charles had thrown his bat and called the batter out. Christian T. walked and Will popped out to the shortstop.

Brendan now took the mound and walked the leadoff batter, The next hit to Bryon at short who threw to Will at first for out 1, the next batter hit to the pitcher who threw it to Will for out 2. The next walked and a double scored one run and the next batter hit back to the pitcher who threw to Will for out 3. After 3 it was Indians 3 Pirates 2.

In the fourth the Indians had runners primed to score but the first out came on a strike out. Christian V. stepped up and hit a short fly to left field, the Short stop drifted over to make the catch but dropped the ball. Sadly The umpire called Christian out for a thrown bat. The third out came when, on a passed ball the coach sent the runner on third. However a good bounce off the back stop and heads up play by the Pirates pitcher got the tag out at home.

In the bottom of the inning Brendan showed his dominance and his new composure. He struck out 3 of five and walked two, no hits that inning for the Pirates. Score still 3-2 in favor of the Indians.

In the fifth the other Quintero brother was heard from, a nice single put Jesus on first. But sadly with two outs, Brendan hit back to the pitcher who turned and threw to second for out 3.

Will took the mound for the Indians as the 5th inning started. First and Second batters got on with hits. The third batter hit to Bryon at short who threw it to Christian T. at first for out 1. But a run scored. Next Pirate also got a single and the third got a double scoring another runs. Will, always the professional did not let this rattle him and settled down to strike out the next 2. After 5 the Pirates had their first lead 4-3.
Top of six. Charles lead off with a nice single, but the umpire again called thrown bat and the batter was out. Christian T. walked but was hit into a fielders choice Short to second by Will. Nikhil hit a double into the outfield which scored Will and then the Tribe went down swinging for out 3. The score was now tied at 4 a piece.

The Pirates batters lead off with a walk, Will struck out the next and induced a Christian V. to Brendan (5-4) fielders choice and then a pop out to Brendan to retire the side.

The game now went into extra innings Chad hit a nice shot out to shallow right and it looked to this reported that he had beat the throw from right to first, but the umpire called him out. Christian V. and Nicholas went down swinging.

The lead off batter for the Pirates was walked and the next batter hit one back to the mound where Will fielded it and threw to first, however the base runner was flying and was sent home, the threw was a little off line and the run scored ending the game. Pirates 5 Indians 4.

This Report cornered Coach Goldstein for a short interview Q – “What were you thinking when you had Brendan steal third?” A – “I was thinking that Brendan is fast and could get under the tag, but when the throw went errant, I sent him home for the score.” Q – “What about the team as a whole?” A – “I think Coach Grossman would be very proud of this team. Battling back in the 6th to tie it and almost holding the Pirates to another tie. But hey, this is baseball. Coach Grossman was reached on the road to Israel to scout some Israeli ballplayers and he said in a very brief statement, “I am very proud of this team and I think people need to watch out for the Indians in the playoffs — no other team has taken the Pirates seven innings — we’ve got our best baseball ahead of us.”

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