And Now For Something Completely Different...

A post about the actual games.

Yeah, there were games last night. This is going to have to be an abbreviated version, since I have to go to school in a few, but here goes..

The New Haven County Cutters continued the downward spiral yesterday, while the Spirit blasted their way to their 3rd straight win and 4th of 5 at Fraser. North Shore won, 5 -4, improving their record to a solid 6-2 start while New Haven sits at a dismal 2-10. Ken Ray (2-0) picked up the W for North Shore while Ryan Bonesio took the loss for the Cutters. Ray was solid, pitching 6.2 innings and giving up 4 runs in the victory, with all 4 runs coming in one uprising. The bullpen came in and closed it out, as Comolli and McCally combined to pitch 2 1/3 shutout innings, with the latter picking up a save. The game was played in front of about 1,900 at Fraser Field.

The Spirit moved ahead early yet again. In the bottom of the 2nd inning, Alex Trezza continued to sizzle as he launched a majestic home run over the right field fence to give the Spirit the lead, 1-0. It was Trezza's 3rd HR of the year.

The lead didn't last long, as New Haven got to Ken Ray in the 3rd. A leadoff double by Encarnacion set the stage for an RBI single by Darren Ciraco (one of the few runs in the game not plated by a homer). A Peavy single put runners on first and third for Darren Brooks, who uncorked a 3 run blast off of Ray to tie the score at 4. The Cutters put two more men on in the inning, but Ray escaped by striking out Terni to end the inning. It was the last time the Cutters would score.

The Spirit wasted no time in responding. Andy Howdeshell, playing for Yuri Sanchez who missed his 2nd straight start, laced a leadoff double of his own. Agramonte singled and then stole 2nd to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with nobody out. Eric Storey then picked up an RBI groundout, the only run scored for the Spirit that wasn't driven in by a home run. With 1 on for Vic Davilla and the score 4-2, Ryan Bonesio served up a meatball to Vic that was subsequently ripped toward the parking lot over the right field fence, tying the score at 4 on Vic's 3rd HR of the year.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the 5th, when Travis Oglesby continued to impress with his team-leading 4th HR of the season, making it 5-4. The Cutters did not threaten until the 7th, when they put on two men with a walk and a hit batsman to chase Ken Ray from the game, but Mark Comolli got Brooks to ground out to end the threat. Comolli got in trouble in the 8th. After retiring the leadoff man Larned on a groundout, he gave up a single by Terni, followed by a bunt single by Stegbauer. He knuckled down, however, striking out Encarnacio and getting Keto Anderson to fly out to deep centerfield, escaping the jam and preseving the 5-4 lead.

Ryan McCally closed it out in the 9th, pitching a 1-2-3 inning and giving North Shore the victory. These two teams are at it again tonight at 7:05 PM at Fraser Field, on Dick Radatz tribute night.

Spiritfans.blogspot.com Player of the Game: Vic Davilla (1)

AROUND THE LEAGUE.

The Capitales just keep rolling. They swept a doubleheader from the Jackals last night, 7-5 and 10-4 at Yogi Berra Stadium in NJ. Quebec improves to a scorching 11-2, 2.5 games up on North Shore for the division lead. The Jackals are off to a disappointing 5-8 start, good, however, for 2nd in the South, 2 games off of Worcester. The two teams finish off their 3 game series tonight as NJ looks to avoid the sweep.

Speaking of the Tornadoes, they impressed again at Fitton Field last night, shutting down the Brockton Rox, 7-3 in front of 2,093 fans in Worcester. Lucas Taylor and Omar Pena homered for the Tornadoes in the victory. The first-place Tornadoes (I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd be saying that this year) are 5-4 while Brockton drops to a disappointing 7-6, 4 games behind Les Capitales. The Tornadoes and Rox conclude their series tonight.

Finally, the Grays pulled another one out, a 4-3 victory in 11 innings at Dunn Field in Elmira. 759 people were in attendance to see the 4-3 "home" win for the traveling grays, who scored the winning run on an RBI single by Mark Burke to win it. The Grays are a solid 7-5, 3.5 games back of Quebec in the North; Elmira's 3-9. Game 2 of the series is tonight in Elmira.

STANDINGS.

QUEBEC 11-2
N SHORE 6-2
GRAYS 7-5
BROCK. 7-6

South Division

WORCESTER 5-4
N JERSEY 5-8
ELMIRA 3-9
N HAVEN 2-10