Say what you want about the North Shore Spirit's first half of the 2005 season, but one thing that one can not deny is that this team has a lot of heart and spunk. After the way they played about a month ago, the thought that they would even be alive for the first half division title with 2 days to play would have seemed ridiculous. This afternoon's game, played in front of about 2000 people, most of them with youth groups, on a sunny day at Fraser Field, sort of epitomized this plucky attitude, as the Spirit ended the first half with a victory, giving them a very solid 28-18 mark, better than their 2003 record which netted them the division title, but this year, good for 2nd place in the CAL North Division. This is a very nice mark and a good sign for the 2nd half, as after starting 9-3, the Spirit started a massive downturn, playing well below .500 ball until their record sank to .500 about 30 games into the half, but outstanding baseball down the stretch, highlighted by 5/6 vs Quebec on July 4 weekend and 3/4 vs New Jersey immediately following energized the team and the fans, and gave them life in the first half. (The full first-half recap will come here at about this time tomorrow, it's sure to be interesting!) And although a few heartbreaking losses that could have put the Spirit into the playoffs stick in one's craw, the overwhelming attitude around the Spirit right now is one of optimism about the 2nd half, not one of disappointment- as although there were some games they blew, there were also some games that they pulled out of the fire.
Today's game was a fun and interesting one. The Spirit , led by starter Gregg Pleeter, fell behind 5-2 in the 6th inning, but tied it up there thanks to some more shoddy play by Elmira, capped by a Vic Davilla RBI single to score Agramonte and Brian Macchi hitting it to third base, forcing an error by the third baseman and allowing the tying run, Rob Fischer, to score. The "New guy", catcher Brian Lentz, homered in the 7th to give the Spirit the temporary lead, but Ryan McCally blew it in the 9th to send it to extra innings. No worries, however, as Yuri Sanchez scored on a walkoff wild pitch to win it.
The Spirit are off tomorrow before taking on Old Man Boyd and the Brockton Rox Friday Night at Fraser for "Opening Day Phase 2."
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