In the highpoint of the season's 2nd half and one of the most exciting games in Spirit history, North Shore topped Sussex 5-4 in front of a raucous, supportive crowd at Fraser Field, which rose to its feet to cheer on Kevin Fitzgerald as he closed out Sussex to secure the win.
The Spirit showed their trademark resiliency, battling back from several forms of adversity tonight.
The first type of adversity came from the umpire. Don January's strike zone was extremely inconsistent all night, and seemed to be much smaller than most. Additionally, an apparent blown call on a play at the plate spoiled a nice defensive play by Jon de Vries seemed to turn the tide of the game in Sussex's favor in the 7th inning, allowing the tying run to score on a sac fly by Marcos Agramonte.
The Spirit also overcame the loss of their starting pitcher, Chris Farley, in the 2nd inning. Farley looked shaky during warmups, and his poor control carried over into the game. After firing a wild pitch with a 2-2 count and 1 out in the 2nd inning, Spirit trainer Erica Gagnon came out to visit him; he was then pulled from the game with an apparent injury. Never fear, though- Jared Trout came in with his best performance of the year, getting the game into the 7th. He let in two inherited runs in the 2nd inning, but pitched flawlessly the rest of the way.
North Shore also faced the adversity of facing a similarly tough, resilient team- Sussex kept clawing all night and on a few occasions nearly seized control of the game. Sussex jumped on Farley and Trout in the 2nd to take an early 3-0 lead. North Shore followed up with a 3 run inning of their own in the bottom of the 3rd, fueled by an Alex Trezza leadoff home run to right field (15). In the 4th inning, the Spirit took the lead off Sussex starter Lincoln Mincks on a Wishy sacrifice fly. But Sussex kept scratching and clawing, finally tying the game in the 7th on an Agramonte sac fly.
Finally, two Spirit players overcame personal adversity to provide the winning 1-2 punch for North Shore. Chris Rowan came back in a big way from his long stint on the injured list, blasting a go-ahead triple in the bottom of the 8th that scored pinch-runner Luis Sabino (running for Andrew Wishy, who doubled as part of his best game in recent memory). He also made a nice grab and throw on the final out that retired Sussex in the 9th. And Kevin Fitzgerald, the Spirit closer, overcame recent struggles to close down the Skyhawks 1-2-3 in the top of the ninth inning. He regained his confidence and his swagger- something he'll definitely need going toward the postseason.
**
Tonight was quite simply a total team effort by the Spirit and I can't say enough how encouraging and entertaining it was to watch. You had the improved lineup with the addition of Rowan, the great clutch bullpen work by Jared Trout, the winner Dennis Robinson, and closer Kevin Fitzgerald. You had solid defensive plays including two in the 9th inning. And you had a dramatic, close ballgame that the Spirit won by showing a lot of grit and toughness. What more can you ask for?
Big calls to the stars of the game:
CHRIS ROWAN- who returned in a big way with the game winning hit and a solid defensive play
JARED TROUT- who saved the game with his stellar relief outing
ALEX TREZZA- who reached base three times and blasted a solo HR to start the rally
DENNIS ROBINSON- who induced a double play in the top of the 8th to get out of a 1st-and-3rd with 1-out jam, setting the stage for victory, and of course
KEVIN FITZGERALD- who got the save.
When you need to name almost 1/4 of the roster in the 'players of the game,' you know it was a total team effort.
Additionally, I must give a lot of credit to:
-Jon de Vries, who had a hit, an RBI groundout, and threw out two would-be basestealers. He also made a fine defensive play in the seventh inning that was unfortunately marred by a blown call at home plate. Still, as much as I hate to admit it, the guy played a hell of a game.
-Andrew Wishy, who seems to be emerging from his long dryspell with two straight solid games.
-John Kennedy, who made an absolutely terriffic call in pinch-running for Wishy with Sabino in the 8th. Granted, the hit by Rowan was ripped so it ultimately didn't matter, but it was the perfect situation for a sub. Wishy probably wasn't coming up again; Sabino added speed and was a critical baserunner; and Luis is a huge upgrade for 9th-inning defense.
So chalk up credit for three guys I don't normally shower praise upon. It was that good of a performance.
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5 comments:
"-John Kennedy, who made an absolutely terriffic call in pinch-running for Wishy with Sabino in the 8th."
Yea, because you called that :p
-Amanda
Well the good thing is with a spot sealed we have a month for Morse-Farley to sort themselves out into a 1-2 punch again, and keep Siak going as a playoff #3. It looks like there is a sizable and interesting competition as to who would get the ball in a game 4 situation.
The bullpen's rather sketchy, though, I must admit. Fitzy looked nice today, however.
Sparky shut it at the next five words that I type..........I totally agree with Joe.
I agree with what Joew said about the like 5 players of the game being mentioned,the spirit overcoming adversity,and the bullpen showing they can come through in the clutch. This win was a total team effort,without evryone doing what they did we wouldn't have won tonight. The team's comitment to performing to their best and the teamwork on display shows we're a force to be reckoned with. I'm loving this,and so are all the fans.
ALTHOUGH,the bulk of fans still act as though they're at a funeral and not a ballpark. These crowds are pathetic and I hate having them. Other than the occasional few games with a small group of people and the one game every two months with almost the whole crowd these crowds ABSOLUTLY SUCK! The game is won in a late inning rally and not even 1/2 the crowd rose on the 2-2 count with 2 outs....or during the actual rally,mind you. These crowds suck and the people in them,besides the ones that actually care (we know who) should be embarrassed to call themselves fans.
Oh well,at least tomorrow we can look to another good game......hopefully.
Lets pray we don't pull a sort-of Sox..... :-p
Kennedy's call to pich run was an absolute no-brainer. It would Only be noteworthy if he hadn't done so.
Sorry, can't give a Professional Baseball Mrg credit for a little league decision.
Dave: Ever have an original thought?.
Yeah, but we've seen Kennedy not make obvious moves before.
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