OttawaBallFan
06-27-2008, 02:40 PM
The close to 2500 in attendance saw an exciting game Wednesday night but saw the Rapz lose another one in extra innings.
Down 1-0 in the first, Ottawa scored four runs on five straight hits. They added another run in the second and were leading 5-1 and had scored in 8 straight innings, just one shy of the league record set by the 2005 Grays.
Starter Adam Hawes had troubles keeping the Skyhawks at bay allowing 4 runs on ten hits, all singles save for Walter Young's double to drive in two in the third. Young was cheered by many in the crowd having been a fan favorite here with the Lynx two years ago. Still, Hawes left leading 5-4.
The Rapidz added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and were leading 7-4. They had also scored at least one run in 9 of their last 10 innings. Unfortunately, they could not score for the next eight innings as Sussex pecked away at their lead. They took until the eighth however when they scored two against Greg Bunn, who did pitch four strong innings in relief. The score was 7-6 for our local team.
In the ninth, big Walter Young hit a mammoth home run to right against Jason Pilkington to tie the score. It was to be Pilk's only batter he faced that night.
Noel Baca came in relief and pitched well for three innings before the wheels came off in the twelfth and allowed the three runs that would prove to give Sussex the win, 10-7.
Baca will also be part of Rapidz trivia history. In the ninth, Jabe Bergeron the DH singled and was taken out for pinch-runner Scotty McKnight. This meant that the Rapidz lost the use of the DH. With two outs in the 11th, Jeremy Milons singled and Noel Baca became the first Rapz pitcher to come to the plate. He did not get an official at bat however as Milons was caught stealing by a mile.
The Skyhawks also lost their DH when Young also singled in the 11th and was replaced by a pinch-runner. Pitcher Matt Salvato, and the eventual winner, was waiting in the on-deck circle when Jorge Moreno made the third out.
On Thursday night, the fans in attendance also were treated to a good show. Over 4000 tickets were sold but about 1200 (by my estimates) showed up after the region experienced rain in late afternoon.
Sussex opened the scoring in the first with three runs with the first four hitters getting hits against Mike Kusiewicz. To me, it seemed like Mike changed his pitching motion and if I'm right, could have been the source of his early troubles. He seemed to pitch more sideways than normal, even in the bullpen before the game.
But the Rapidz pecked away as the Skyhawks had done to them the previous night. They scored one in the second, one in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Just to be sure, they added another in the sixth. Kusiewicz held Sussex off for five innings after they scored three on him in the first and that was enough to give him the win, his first. Baca and Burrows continued to keep the Skyhawks off the board to secure the team's ninth win of the season. It was the first time the team had won two games in a series splitting the four games against Sussex.
The Ottawa bats have collected at least 10 hits in each of the last three games.
Down 1-0 in the first, Ottawa scored four runs on five straight hits. They added another run in the second and were leading 5-1 and had scored in 8 straight innings, just one shy of the league record set by the 2005 Grays.
Starter Adam Hawes had troubles keeping the Skyhawks at bay allowing 4 runs on ten hits, all singles save for Walter Young's double to drive in two in the third. Young was cheered by many in the crowd having been a fan favorite here with the Lynx two years ago. Still, Hawes left leading 5-4.
The Rapidz added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and were leading 7-4. They had also scored at least one run in 9 of their last 10 innings. Unfortunately, they could not score for the next eight innings as Sussex pecked away at their lead. They took until the eighth however when they scored two against Greg Bunn, who did pitch four strong innings in relief. The score was 7-6 for our local team.
In the ninth, big Walter Young hit a mammoth home run to right against Jason Pilkington to tie the score. It was to be Pilk's only batter he faced that night.
Noel Baca came in relief and pitched well for three innings before the wheels came off in the twelfth and allowed the three runs that would prove to give Sussex the win, 10-7.
Baca will also be part of Rapidz trivia history. In the ninth, Jabe Bergeron the DH singled and was taken out for pinch-runner Scotty McKnight. This meant that the Rapidz lost the use of the DH. With two outs in the 11th, Jeremy Milons singled and Noel Baca became the first Rapz pitcher to come to the plate. He did not get an official at bat however as Milons was caught stealing by a mile.
The Skyhawks also lost their DH when Young also singled in the 11th and was replaced by a pinch-runner. Pitcher Matt Salvato, and the eventual winner, was waiting in the on-deck circle when Jorge Moreno made the third out.
On Thursday night, the fans in attendance also were treated to a good show. Over 4000 tickets were sold but about 1200 (by my estimates) showed up after the region experienced rain in late afternoon.
Sussex opened the scoring in the first with three runs with the first four hitters getting hits against Mike Kusiewicz. To me, it seemed like Mike changed his pitching motion and if I'm right, could have been the source of his early troubles. He seemed to pitch more sideways than normal, even in the bullpen before the game.
But the Rapidz pecked away as the Skyhawks had done to them the previous night. They scored one in the second, one in the fourth and two in the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Just to be sure, they added another in the sixth. Kusiewicz held Sussex off for five innings after they scored three on him in the first and that was enough to give him the win, his first. Baca and Burrows continued to keep the Skyhawks off the board to secure the team's ninth win of the season. It was the first time the team had won two games in a series splitting the four games against Sussex.
The Ottawa bats have collected at least 10 hits in each of the last three games.