Black Bears Win 4-3 With Backs Against The Wall

Published on July 24, 2003 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Berkshire Black Bears News Release


An eleven-inning stunner at Wahconah Park Thursday night saw the end of the four-game series require bonus baseball. In a series where all three games had been decided by one run, how fitting it was that the Black Bears scored two in the bottom of the ninth to keep the innings coming. Another pitchers' duel in Pittsfield, Rick Guttormson for Berkshire and Jordy Alexander for Quebec, delighted the fans with edge-of-your-seat excitement.

Les Capitales broke through a scoreless game in the sixth inning when Rafael Pujols hit a two-out, 2-run single to right with the bases loaded, to give Quebec a 2-0 lead. The Black Bears quickly returned one run in the bottom of sixth inning as first baseman Pete Paciorek hit an RBI double off the wall in deep right field, scoring Manny Crespo all the way from first. Quebec added an insurance run in the ninth inning off All-Star reliever Eddie Aucoin and seemed enough to end the game. However, the Black Bears never gave into Quebec. In the bottom of the ninth inning, after two quick outs, Kevin Forbes reached on a infield hit to second baseman, Andy Lang and advanced to second on pass ball by the catcher, Pujols. Brady Williams doubled, scoring Forbes, and putting the tying run in scoring position. Down in the count 0-2, Jose Mateo tied the game by singling to left, scoring Williams, capping the dramatic comeback. Despite leaving the bases loaded with only one out in the bottom of the tenth, the Black Bears got two very solid innings of relief from Aucoin after he allowed an unearned run in the ninth. Aucoin went 1-2-3 against Les Capitales in both the tenth and eleventh, setting up a Black Bear victory. In the eleventh inning, Brady Williams started things off with a single, Mateo walked, Mark Burnett singled to left and just like that, the bases were loaded. Chris Briones decided that the fans had seen enough baseball for one night. The Black Bears' catcher smashed the ball to center, scoring Williams from third, giving Berkshire 3-of-4 against Quebec and 5-of-7 in the weeklong home stand.

The Black Bears starter, Guttormson threw eighth innings allowing two runs, five hits with seven strikeouts. Les Capitals starter, Alexander allowed one run and six hits over seven innings. Eddie Aucoin picked up his third win this season, allowing one run, three hits with five strikeouts. Quebec right-hander, Sam Greco fell to 0-1 with the loss.

The Black Bears now spend the next two weeks on the road at Allentown, the All-Star Break, and Elmira, before returning to Wahconah Park on August 4th for a 3-game series with the North Shore Spirit.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Canadian American League Stories from July 24, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central