Wow. Put this one up there with the Spirit's win in Quebec in 2004. This game had it all.
Tonight's starting pitchers, Gary Galvez and JC Huguet, cruised early on, and the game settled into a calm pattern. It was scoreless through 5. Then, the runs came fast and furious, and in the end the Spirit emerged with a 5-4 victory and a 2-1 series lead. WOOO!!
With the game tied at 4, Mike Torres smashed a home run off of Surf closer Matt Pike to decide the game. Derek Drage came in and set Keesee, Fischer, and Taylor down 1-2-3 to end the game.
The Spirit struck first in the 6th on Alex Trezza's solo home run, but the Surf came right back to chase Galvez with 3 of their own in the bottom of the frame.
In the top of the 7th, Mike Torres's RBI single and Alex Trezza's bases loaded sac fly tied the score again.
But once again, the Spirit bullpen could not hold it. With Lucas Taylor (who else?) on 3rd and 1 out, Anthony Granato grounded out against Carl Schaeffer to bring home the 4th Surf run.
The Spirit, however, did not give up. Vic Davilla came through with a clutch RBI single in the top of the 8th, scoring Gary Roche and tying the game before Torres's winning blast an inning later.
ONWARD!
Showing posts with label dramatic wins. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dramatic wins. Show all posts
Friday, September 07, 2007
Thursday, September 06, 2007
Spirit hang on for the win in game 1
ATC 0 0 1 / 0 1 0 / 2 0 0 -- 4
NSS 2 1 0 / 1 1 0 / 0 0 X -- 5
Well, it wound up being a nailbiter (of course)! The Spirit hung on to defeat the Atlantic City Surf 5-4 in game 1 of the semifinals in front of a tiny crowd at Fraser Field.
The Spirit held a 5-2 lead in the 7th, but the Surf clawed back with a 2 out rally off of Spirit starter Ryan Bicondoa. David Keesee hit an RBI double to make it 5-3. Then, Lucas Taylor knocked an RBI single in to left field to cut the lead to 5-4. Bicondoa escaped the jam by getting Anthony Granato to strike out looking with the go-ahead run on base.
In the 8th, Bicondoa worked his way into a jam, but Donny Langdon and Derek Drage worked their way out of it ---- barely.
With 2 men on and 1 out, Bicondoa was lifted for Langdon, who came in to face the left hander Clyde Williams. He whiffed Williams for the 2nd out of the inning and was quickly lifted for closer Derek Drage, who was called upon to get four outs.
He got off to a shaky start, giving up an infield single to Rob Fischer to load the bases. Alex Trezza then made what may well have been a game-saving play. After a pitch to Wally Rosa, Trezza caught Fischer sleeping at first and rifled a snap-throw to the 1st baseman. Fischer was tagged out to end the inning and the threat was defused.
There was more drama to come in the 9th for Drage. Wally Rosa popped out to start the inning, but David Keesee walked to give the surf a chance. With Lucas Taylor up, Drage threw a wild pitch to move Keesee into scoring position. Drage then whiffed Taylor for a huge 2nd out.
That brought up Anthony Granato, who flew out to center field to end the ball game and give the Spirit the 1-0 series lead.
Bicondoa got the win, and Surf ace Brian Rodaway got the loss after giving up 3 early runs in the first 2 innings. He ultimately gave up 5 runs in 7 innings of work.
The Spirit struck first in the home half of the first inning with a 2-out rally. Vic Davilla singled and Luis Lopez walked to bring up Nilson Teilon. Teilon singled up the middle to score the first Spirit run. Then, the throw home was wild, allowing Lopez to score and making it 2-0.
A scorched Jerson Perez homer to left field increased the lead to 3-0 for Bicondoa.
The Spirit put up single runs in the 4th and 5th to cap off their offense for the night. In the 4th, Trezza launched a leadoff double and was brought home by a bloop RBI single by Gary Roche. One inning later, Josue Lopez picked up an RBI to make it 5-2.
Atlantic City would add two to their total, but the Spirit hung on, and are now two wins away from the finals.
Onward...
NSS 2 1 0 / 1 1 0 / 0 0 X -- 5
Well, it wound up being a nailbiter (of course)! The Spirit hung on to defeat the Atlantic City Surf 5-4 in game 1 of the semifinals in front of a tiny crowd at Fraser Field.
The Spirit held a 5-2 lead in the 7th, but the Surf clawed back with a 2 out rally off of Spirit starter Ryan Bicondoa. David Keesee hit an RBI double to make it 5-3. Then, Lucas Taylor knocked an RBI single in to left field to cut the lead to 5-4. Bicondoa escaped the jam by getting Anthony Granato to strike out looking with the go-ahead run on base.
In the 8th, Bicondoa worked his way into a jam, but Donny Langdon and Derek Drage worked their way out of it ---- barely.
With 2 men on and 1 out, Bicondoa was lifted for Langdon, who came in to face the left hander Clyde Williams. He whiffed Williams for the 2nd out of the inning and was quickly lifted for closer Derek Drage, who was called upon to get four outs.
He got off to a shaky start, giving up an infield single to Rob Fischer to load the bases. Alex Trezza then made what may well have been a game-saving play. After a pitch to Wally Rosa, Trezza caught Fischer sleeping at first and rifled a snap-throw to the 1st baseman. Fischer was tagged out to end the inning and the threat was defused.
There was more drama to come in the 9th for Drage. Wally Rosa popped out to start the inning, but David Keesee walked to give the surf a chance. With Lucas Taylor up, Drage threw a wild pitch to move Keesee into scoring position. Drage then whiffed Taylor for a huge 2nd out.
That brought up Anthony Granato, who flew out to center field to end the ball game and give the Spirit the 1-0 series lead.
Bicondoa got the win, and Surf ace Brian Rodaway got the loss after giving up 3 early runs in the first 2 innings. He ultimately gave up 5 runs in 7 innings of work.
The Spirit struck first in the home half of the first inning with a 2-out rally. Vic Davilla singled and Luis Lopez walked to bring up Nilson Teilon. Teilon singled up the middle to score the first Spirit run. Then, the throw home was wild, allowing Lopez to score and making it 2-0.
A scorched Jerson Perez homer to left field increased the lead to 3-0 for Bicondoa.
The Spirit put up single runs in the 4th and 5th to cap off their offense for the night. In the 4th, Trezza launched a leadoff double and was brought home by a bloop RBI single by Gary Roche. One inning later, Josue Lopez picked up an RBI to make it 5-2.
Atlantic City would add two to their total, but the Spirit hung on, and are now two wins away from the finals.
Onward...
Friday, August 31, 2007
Video Of Crazy End To Last Night's Game Vs NJ
Here's a video of the play to end last night's game. I suggest letting it load all the way THEN watch it.
It's not the best video ever,and I decided to follow the batter while he ran around the bases for once (STUPID! x_x).....so this sin't as good as I thought it would be in helping us decide.....but it still does the trick ;]
PS: HAPPY 700TH POST! ^_^
It's not the best video ever,and I decided to follow the batter while he ran around the bases for once (STUPID! x_x).....so this sin't as good as I thought it would be in helping us decide.....but it still does the trick ;]
PS: HAPPY 700TH POST! ^_^
Thursday, August 30, 2007
WTF?
I turned on the radio 5 minutes ago, and the Spirit have seemingly won the game on some sort of walk-off sac fly/error type deal, but the Jackals are convinced that the runner was doubled off to end the inning? Something like that... I don't know... this is really weird, the Spirit and Jackals have been out there for 5 , 6 minutes arguing...
Either way, the Spirit were down 8-7 going into the 9th and tied it --- the question is now whether they have won or not.
Was anyone listening to the play? WTF happened?
Either way, the Spirit were down 8-7 going into the 9th and tied it --- the question is now whether they have won or not.
Was anyone listening to the play? WTF happened?
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
1 down...
I told you that this team was unstoppable with Vic..... and they just completed the first step of my undefeated prediction with a walkoff, 7-5 win tonight as Vic Davilla smashed a homer to end the game.
The Spirit were down 5-4 going into the home half of the 9th after more heroics by Sandy Madera - but Weed and Roche reached to set up Davilla's game winner.
There are now 5 games to go in the regular season and the magic # to finish ahead of NJ is 1.
The Spirit were down 5-4 going into the home half of the 9th after more heroics by Sandy Madera - but Weed and Roche reached to set up Davilla's game winner.
There are now 5 games to go in the regular season and the magic # to finish ahead of NJ is 1.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
JOSUE LOPEZ
...just hit a walkoff home run to give the Spirit a 4-3 win in the bottom of the 13th!!!!
Newcomer Carl Schaeffer pitched a scoreless 13th to get the win. Where'd we get this guy and who did we cut?
Oh yeah -- WOO!
Newcomer Carl Schaeffer pitched a scoreless 13th to get the win. Where'd we get this guy and who did we cut?
Oh yeah -- WOO!
Monday, August 20, 2007
"Get this man his postgame spread!"
On a night when the man who hit the biggest home run in Spirit history returned to the fold, Josue Lopez picked up a big, clutch homer of his own, sending a two-run blast deep into the night in the 9th to give the Spirit a 6-4 victory over the New Jersey Jackals.
Derek Drage picked up another heart-attack save, putting on the first two men before escaping the jam with the help of a huge strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play when Dustin Yount whiffed. He got Joe Mihalics to pop out to (who else?) Nilson Teilon to end game 1 of a 4-game set that could very well be a preview of the championship series in a few weeks.
Joey Siak got the start for the Spirit. He pitched five decent innings, giving up three runs, and earned a no-decision.
The Spirit gave Joey an early lead off of Isaak Pavlik, putting up a 3-spot in the 2nd inning. Teilon (woo!) walked and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Josue Lopez. After Jerson Perez reached, John Welch hit his 3rd home run in the last 5 games, increasing the lead to 3-0.
With the score 3-1 in the 4th, Josue Lopez got another RBI on a fielder's choice - his 2nd RBI of the night.
From there, the Jackals began to claw back. They chased Joey Siak by putting a pair of runs up in the bottom of the 5th when Clay Kuklick got an RBI triple and Joe Mihalics brought him home with a single to center.
Brandon Martin came in to pitch the 6th and didn't get off to the best start, giving up an RBI double to Wilton Veras to tie the game. He was aided by some poor baserunning, though, as Veras ran into the second out of the inning trying to stretch his hit into a triple. The next man popped up to end the inning.
Martin settled down after that, keeping the Jackals quiet through the 7th and 8th and setting the stage for Josue Lopez's blast off of losing pitcher (and former Elmira legend) Kyle George in the 9th.
W) Martin
L) George
SV) Drage
...........
The Spirit have signed pitcher Luis Arroyo, who made the All-Star team in the United League this year pitching for the Laredo Broncos.
18 starts
8-4
3.55 ERA
4 CG
124.1 IP
126 H
58 R/49 ER
128 K/63 BB
.259 avg against
Not bad at all, but who knows how these numbers translate.
He has 3 years of experience in the Atlantic League from 2002-2004.
.........................
I'll be tracking the big 'magic numbers' on the left-hand side of the blog.
Derek Drage picked up another heart-attack save, putting on the first two men before escaping the jam with the help of a huge strike 'em out, throw 'em out double play when Dustin Yount whiffed. He got Joe Mihalics to pop out to (who else?) Nilson Teilon to end game 1 of a 4-game set that could very well be a preview of the championship series in a few weeks.
Joey Siak got the start for the Spirit. He pitched five decent innings, giving up three runs, and earned a no-decision.
The Spirit gave Joey an early lead off of Isaak Pavlik, putting up a 3-spot in the 2nd inning. Teilon (woo!) walked and came around to score on an RBI groundout by Josue Lopez. After Jerson Perez reached, John Welch hit his 3rd home run in the last 5 games, increasing the lead to 3-0.
With the score 3-1 in the 4th, Josue Lopez got another RBI on a fielder's choice - his 2nd RBI of the night.
From there, the Jackals began to claw back. They chased Joey Siak by putting a pair of runs up in the bottom of the 5th when Clay Kuklick got an RBI triple and Joe Mihalics brought him home with a single to center.
Brandon Martin came in to pitch the 6th and didn't get off to the best start, giving up an RBI double to Wilton Veras to tie the game. He was aided by some poor baserunning, though, as Veras ran into the second out of the inning trying to stretch his hit into a triple. The next man popped up to end the inning.
Martin settled down after that, keeping the Jackals quiet through the 7th and 8th and setting the stage for Josue Lopez's blast off of losing pitcher (and former Elmira legend) Kyle George in the 9th.
W) Martin
L) George
SV) Drage
...........
The Spirit have signed pitcher Luis Arroyo, who made the All-Star team in the United League this year pitching for the Laredo Broncos.
18 starts
8-4
3.55 ERA
4 CG
124.1 IP
126 H
58 R/49 ER
128 K/63 BB
.259 avg against
Not bad at all, but who knows how these numbers translate.
He has 3 years of experience in the Atlantic League from 2002-2004.
.........................
I'll be tracking the big 'magic numbers' on the left-hand side of the blog.
14 to go: Spirit @ Jackals, 8/20
For old time's sake, let's do a game thread, with all postings here in comments instead of going to the chat room.
Scoreboard
FINAL - Spirit 6, Jackals 4
Other games impacting the playoff race:
Brockton Rox 6 @ Quebec Capitales 3, 8th
Atlantic City Surf 6 @ Worcester Tornadoes 6, 8th
New Haven County Cutters 1 @ Sussex Skyhawks 2, 8th
Boston Red Sox 6 @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0, FINAL
New York Yankees @ Anaheim Angels, 10:05 PM
Game Notes:
6:30 PM>
According to the league site, the starters are: DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5).
But if D-Rob really is gone, someone else will be starting. Stay tuned.
OK, let's go.
7 PM>
AHH Nilson Teilon is in the lineup!!! And the Spirit have added a pitcher, Luis Arroyo, who has 3 years of Atlantic League experience and was a United League all star this year. He'll be pitching Wednesday.
Scoreboard
FINAL - Spirit 6, Jackals 4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
| NJJ | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 1 |
Other games impacting the playoff race:
Brockton Rox 6 @ Quebec Capitales 3, 8th
Atlantic City Surf 6 @ Worcester Tornadoes 6, 8th
New Haven County Cutters 1 @ Sussex Skyhawks 2, 8th
Boston Red Sox 6 @ Tampa Bay Devil Rays 0, FINAL
New York Yankees @ Anaheim Angels, 10:05 PM
Game Notes:
6:30 PM>
According to the league site, the starters are: DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5).
But if D-Rob really is gone, someone else will be starting. Stay tuned.
| Tonight's Pitching Matchups | ||
|---|---|---|
| ATLANTIC CITY AT WORCESTER | J.C. HUGUET (6-5) VS ALEX PENA (4-5) | |
| NEW HAVEN COUNTY AT SUSSEX | ROLANDO VALLES (4-5) VS JAMIE MERCHANT (2-1) | |
| BROCKTON AT QUEBEC | BRYAN MORSE (2-3) VS MICHEL SIMARD (8-7) | |
| NORTH SHORE AT NEW JERSEY | DENNIS ROBINSON (4-4) VS ISAAC PAVLIK (7-5) | |
| NASHUA AT GRAYS | HIDEKI NAGASAKA (8-1) VS ELLIOTT SHAW (6-7) | |
OK, let's go.
7 PM>
AHH Nilson Teilon is in the lineup!!! And the Spirit have added a pitcher, Luis Arroyo, who has 3 years of Atlantic League experience and was a United League all star this year. He'll be pitching Wednesday.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
And that's why you stay 'til the end of the game
It's cliche, I know - but the reason why it's worth it to wait in line for 2 hours, or get ripped off by some lowlife scalper, is because you never know what you're going to see at the ballpark.
So, the Red Sox are now 2-41 when trailing after 8 innings. Thank you Mike Lowell, Jason Varitek and Coco Crisp! Oh, and don't forget Lester, Timlin and Gagne.
The ovation for Lester when he came out of the bullpen before the game gave me the chills, and being part of the crowd as we all stood for the ENTIRE 9th inning was amazing. Belief is back!
Video from Fenway as Timlin gets a big K with the bases loaded in the 8th, the crowd sings Sweet Caroline, and Lugo gets a big ovation to start the bottom of the 8th:
In Brockton we had another nailbiter:
(from the Spirit site)
By John Leahy Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Jerson Perez went 3-for-4 and Julio Soriano fanned Brockton's Lee Rubin with the tying run on in the bottom of the ninth as the North Shore Spirit held off the Brockton Rox for a 6-5 victory at Campanelli Stadium in game two of their three game series.
The Spirit broke on top 2-0 in the second against Rox lefthander Bryan Morse, who had one-hit the Spirit in his last start. Luis Lopez singled and and one out later moved to third on a Jersen Perez single. Josue Lopez delivered a clutch two-run single for the 2-0 Spirit advantage.
Brockton took the lead in the bottom of the fifth against Spirit starter Matt Bishop (8-4) with a four-run inning. Three straight hits opened the inning, with Jared Edmonson's infield hit scoring the first run. Lee Rubin blasted a three run homer later on in the inning for a 4-2 Rox lead.
The Spirit rallied right back in the top of the sixth. Mike Torres and Luis Lopez cracked back to back doubles to open the inning for a run to make it a 4-3 game. One out later, Jerson Perez singled and was doubled in by Allen Mottram to tie things up at 4-4.
North Shore then plated a pair of runs in the seventh, on an RBI double by Jerson Perez and a wild pitch by Rox reliever Jon Koch ( 0-3) for the sixth run.
The Rox were not done, as they rallied in the bottom of the ninth for the second straight evening. With one out, Melvin Falu doubled off of Spirit reliever Brandon Martin and then scored on a Jared Edmonson single to make it 6-5. Martin fanned Jorge Mejia for the second
out, and Soriano came out of the pen and struck out Rubin swinging.
Very nice.
So, back to Fraser tomorrow - time to finish off the sweep. Bring your brooms and hawaiian shirts!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Wow
Christ on a Cracker, that game got DRAMATIC. Wow. My pulse is still returning to normal after that one. DAMN those Rox are a FEISTY bunch.
The live-blog below this post is pretty much an accurate stream-of-consciousness rambling of what I was feeling in the 9th.
The Spirit took a fairly comfortable 6-3 lead into the 9th inning, but Derek Drage continued to be a 'heart attack closer' tonight, letting the Rox crawl right back into the game.
Rox slugger Francisco LeBron came up to bat with the bases loaded and 2 out and drew a four-pitch walk to make it 6-4.
Then, John Allen hit a ground ball up the middle that was booted by Gary Roche, continuing the game and allowing a run to score.
Tony Gonzalez came to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to win the game. After a nail-biting at bat, Drage reared back and whiffed Gonzalez to finally end the game and give Gary Galvez a well-deserved victory.
Gary Galvez (is it bad that I want to write Gary Glitter?) gave up 2 runs on 6 hits in 6.2 strong innings of work.
Donny Langdon came in and got the last out in the 7th, but gave up a leadoff single in the 8th. He was then replaced by Jamie Baker, who came in to face Francisco LeBron.
Baker walked LeBron, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out, but Baker escaped the jam and got three huge outs to maintain the 6-3 lead --- every bit of which would be needed.
At the plate, Mike Torres and Anton French starred with 3 hits apiece. Torres also had 2 RBI on the day, including an RBI triple in the 8th.
Luis Lopez added an RBI double in the 8th inning to score Torres with what would end up being the winning run.
Nice.
The live-blog below this post is pretty much an accurate stream-of-consciousness rambling of what I was feeling in the 9th.
The Spirit took a fairly comfortable 6-3 lead into the 9th inning, but Derek Drage continued to be a 'heart attack closer' tonight, letting the Rox crawl right back into the game.
Rox slugger Francisco LeBron came up to bat with the bases loaded and 2 out and drew a four-pitch walk to make it 6-4.
Then, John Allen hit a ground ball up the middle that was booted by Gary Roche, continuing the game and allowing a run to score.
Tony Gonzalez came to the plate with the bases loaded and a chance to win the game. After a nail-biting at bat, Drage reared back and whiffed Gonzalez to finally end the game and give Gary Galvez a well-deserved victory.
Gary Galvez (is it bad that I want to write Gary Glitter?) gave up 2 runs on 6 hits in 6.2 strong innings of work.
Donny Langdon came in and got the last out in the 7th, but gave up a leadoff single in the 8th. He was then replaced by Jamie Baker, who came in to face Francisco LeBron.
Baker walked LeBron, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out, but Baker escaped the jam and got three huge outs to maintain the 6-3 lead --- every bit of which would be needed.
At the plate, Mike Torres and Anton French starred with 3 hits apiece. Torres also had 2 RBI on the day, including an RBI triple in the 8th.
Luis Lopez added an RBI double in the 8th inning to score Torres with what would end up being the winning run.
Nice.
Friday, August 10, 2007
SUSSEX PULLS A SUSSEX
Anton French, making his Spirit debut in a pinch-hitting role, lined an RBI single into right-center to score Gilbert Gil and give the Spirit a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning. That would be all the scoring the Spirit would need as Dennis Robinson pitched a complete game shutout (!!!) to give North Shore the victory.
The game had been an epic pitcher's duel between Dennis Robinson and Jamie Merchant. Merchant retired 12 Spirit batters in a row from the 4th to the 7th. He had given up no runs on just 3 hits.
So, naturally, the Skyhawks took him out in the 8th in favor of Dayle Campbell. Campbell served up a pair of hits in the 8th, including the RBI single by French, to break the game's long deadlock.
The game had been an epic pitcher's duel between Dennis Robinson and Jamie Merchant. Merchant retired 12 Spirit batters in a row from the 4th to the 7th. He had given up no runs on just 3 hits.
So, naturally, the Skyhawks took him out in the 8th in favor of Dayle Campbell. Campbell served up a pair of hits in the 8th, including the RBI single by French, to break the game's long deadlock.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
5-1 FINAL in Brockton
The Can-Am Alert Scale has been raised to Red:
The Spirit have been upgraded from "On a roll" to "On a FREAKIN' UNSTOPPABLE roll."
Nothing can stop these guys right now - not a psycho, ball-chucking rightfielder, not 2004 all-star closer John Koch, not even the great John Kelly can derail the Spirit.
Joey Siak's 8 strong innings were certainly the story of the night, but not to be overlooked is the great performance of Alex Trezza. Trez had 4 hits on the night, including an RBI double in the 10th which scored Mike Torres and gave the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Jamie Baker pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 3rd win.
Back to Lynn tomorrow...
The Spirit have been upgraded from "On a roll" to "On a FREAKIN' UNSTOPPABLE roll."
Nothing can stop these guys right now - not a psycho, ball-chucking rightfielder, not 2004 all-star closer John Koch, not even the great John Kelly can derail the Spirit.
Joey Siak's 8 strong innings were certainly the story of the night, but not to be overlooked is the great performance of Alex Trezza. Trez had 4 hits on the night, including an RBI double in the 10th which scored Mike Torres and gave the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Jamie Baker pitched a scoreless 9th to earn his 3rd win.
Back to Lynn tomorrow...
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Fireworks disrupt a quiet Sunday at the ballyard
Today, the crowd at Fraser Field was treated to a breathtaking game which the Spirit won 3-2 to sweep their 3-game series against the Worcester Tornadoes. But an ugly bench-clearing incident in the fourth inning stole the headlines from Ryan Bicondoa's oustanding victory.
In the middle of the fourth inning, seemingly out of nowhere, a brawl broke out. There is still confusion as to what actually set off the fight, but by most accounts, Carlos Rodriguez tossed a baseball either at Worcester pitcher Alex Pena on his way out of the dugout, or into the Worcester dugout in general. If this is the case, Rodriguez should never play another game in a Spirit uniform again, no matter what his official punishment is from the league. Carlos Marley has already had some off the field issues, but personal issues are one thing, endangering people on the baseball field is another thing entirely.
Rodriguez had been plunked by an 89 mph fastball earlier in the game, but that is no excuse for what he evidently did today.
According to numerous sources after the game, including one player, Worcester's Keith Beauregard had been 'getting into it' verbally with several Spirit players, including Dennis Robinson, throughout the weekend, which set up today's tensions.
In the actual fracas, Josue Lopez bulldozed three Tornadoes players, Rodriguez charged like a bull at a few players but came empty, and Beauregard and Robinson squared off head to head at around the second base bag.
Beauregard got Robinson into somewhat of a headlock and grabbed his hair, and Andy Theriault came flying out of the bullpen to smash Beauregard off of D-Rob.
One has to wonder what Rich Gedman --- absent for the second consecutive game --- would have thought about this ugly incident. I'm guessing he was not happy to hear the news.
Beauregard and bench player Greg Smith were tossed out of the game for Worcester.
On the Spirit side, Josue Lopez and Carlos Rodriguez were tossed. Rumor has it Robinson could be facing league sanctions at some point.
No coaches were ejected.
The most significant event to occur, though, as far as the game was concerned, was the fact that Worcester starter Alex Pena - who at the time had a no-hitter through three innings - hurt his wrist in the fracas and had to leave the game in favor of Reed Willets.
The Spirit responded immediately, as Luis Lopez ripped an RBI single to score Gary Roche to give North Shore the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th.
The lead held up until the 8th inning as Bicondoa was simply masterful, baffling Worcester hitters with a solid fastball at around 85-86 MPH and unhittable backdoor breaking balls in the low 80s.
After 7 innings of shutout, 2-hit ball, however, Bicondoa yielded the 1-0 lead in the 8th. Mike DeCarlo blasted a solo homer to deep left to tie the game at 1.
The Spirit rallied around their starter, however, and gave him the victory he deserved with a few clutch runs in the bottom of the 8th.
BJ Weed got it started off of Worcester reliever PJ Bevis with a 1-out single up the middle. Gary Roche followed with his 2nd hit of the day, which advanced Weed to 3rd base; Roche was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double.
With 2 out, Mike Torres hit a high chopper to the second baseman who tossed it toward first, but the ball scooted away from first baseman Yohanny Valera, allowing Torres to reach and Weed to score the go-ahead run.
Alex Trezza added an RBI single later on in the inning to score Torres and give the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Worcester would not go quietly in the 9th. After Bicondoa got the first two men to go down easily, Omar Pena smashed a 2 out double, which prompted Vic Davilla to make the move to bring in Derek Drage.
As Bicondoa walked off the field, he of course received the rousing standing ovation he deserved for 8.2 excellent innings of work ----------- NOT. Needless to say, Fraser Church remained just that as one of the best pitching performances of the year came to an end.
Bicondoa's final line was very impressive: 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K.
Derek Drage had a heart attack moment, giving up a double to Patrick Perry to make it 3-2, but he got Yohanny Valera to pop up to end the game and send the fans home happy.
It was North Shore's 7th straight victory over Worcester and second consecutive series sweep against our Commonwealth Cup rivals.
It should be an interesting off-day tomorrow - hopefully we can get the scoop about potential punishments (either from the league or from the team itself) that come down in response to todays extracurricular activities.
What shouldn't be lost in this, however, is the fact that Bic did an amazing job out there on the hill today. On to Brockton.
In the middle of the fourth inning, seemingly out of nowhere, a brawl broke out. There is still confusion as to what actually set off the fight, but by most accounts, Carlos Rodriguez tossed a baseball either at Worcester pitcher Alex Pena on his way out of the dugout, or into the Worcester dugout in general. If this is the case, Rodriguez should never play another game in a Spirit uniform again, no matter what his official punishment is from the league. Carlos Marley has already had some off the field issues, but personal issues are one thing, endangering people on the baseball field is another thing entirely.
Rodriguez had been plunked by an 89 mph fastball earlier in the game, but that is no excuse for what he evidently did today.
According to numerous sources after the game, including one player, Worcester's Keith Beauregard had been 'getting into it' verbally with several Spirit players, including Dennis Robinson, throughout the weekend, which set up today's tensions.
In the actual fracas, Josue Lopez bulldozed three Tornadoes players, Rodriguez charged like a bull at a few players but came empty, and Beauregard and Robinson squared off head to head at around the second base bag.
Beauregard got Robinson into somewhat of a headlock and grabbed his hair, and Andy Theriault came flying out of the bullpen to smash Beauregard off of D-Rob.
One has to wonder what Rich Gedman --- absent for the second consecutive game --- would have thought about this ugly incident. I'm guessing he was not happy to hear the news.
Beauregard and bench player Greg Smith were tossed out of the game for Worcester.
On the Spirit side, Josue Lopez and Carlos Rodriguez were tossed. Rumor has it Robinson could be facing league sanctions at some point.
No coaches were ejected.
The most significant event to occur, though, as far as the game was concerned, was the fact that Worcester starter Alex Pena - who at the time had a no-hitter through three innings - hurt his wrist in the fracas and had to leave the game in favor of Reed Willets.
The Spirit responded immediately, as Luis Lopez ripped an RBI single to score Gary Roche to give North Shore the 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 4th.
The lead held up until the 8th inning as Bicondoa was simply masterful, baffling Worcester hitters with a solid fastball at around 85-86 MPH and unhittable backdoor breaking balls in the low 80s.
After 7 innings of shutout, 2-hit ball, however, Bicondoa yielded the 1-0 lead in the 8th. Mike DeCarlo blasted a solo homer to deep left to tie the game at 1.
The Spirit rallied around their starter, however, and gave him the victory he deserved with a few clutch runs in the bottom of the 8th.
BJ Weed got it started off of Worcester reliever PJ Bevis with a 1-out single up the middle. Gary Roche followed with his 2nd hit of the day, which advanced Weed to 3rd base; Roche was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double.
With 2 out, Mike Torres hit a high chopper to the second baseman who tossed it toward first, but the ball scooted away from first baseman Yohanny Valera, allowing Torres to reach and Weed to score the go-ahead run.
Alex Trezza added an RBI single later on in the inning to score Torres and give the Spirit a 3-1 lead.
Worcester would not go quietly in the 9th. After Bicondoa got the first two men to go down easily, Omar Pena smashed a 2 out double, which prompted Vic Davilla to make the move to bring in Derek Drage.
As Bicondoa walked off the field, he of course received the rousing standing ovation he deserved for 8.2 excellent innings of work ----------- NOT. Needless to say, Fraser Church remained just that as one of the best pitching performances of the year came to an end.
Bicondoa's final line was very impressive: 8.2 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 1 HBP, 7 K.
Derek Drage had a heart attack moment, giving up a double to Patrick Perry to make it 3-2, but he got Yohanny Valera to pop up to end the game and send the fans home happy.
It was North Shore's 7th straight victory over Worcester and second consecutive series sweep against our Commonwealth Cup rivals.
It should be an interesting off-day tomorrow - hopefully we can get the scoop about potential punishments (either from the league or from the team itself) that come down in response to todays extracurricular activities.
What shouldn't be lost in this, however, is the fact that Bic did an amazing job out there on the hill today. On to Brockton.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I've been slipping, I know...
Due to work and sleep and other crazy stuff like that, I've missed the last two games and posting has been scarce.
Looks like we had an exciting walk-off win today, 3-2, over the Surf - see the game story on the Spirit site.
Last night looks to have been 'one of those games' - we hadn't had one in a while, so I'm not too worried about it.
2 out of 3 against a resurgent Atlantic City team is a pretty good way to kick off the homestand.
Now it's time for a day off after a whilrwind 8-2 start to the 2nd half before a series against the Nashua Pride.
Then, we are off to New Haven, and I will be taking a few days off from work to take the trek down to CT and watch that series. I can't wait!
See you all at the park on Friday night.
-Joe
Looks like we had an exciting walk-off win today, 3-2, over the Surf - see the game story on the Spirit site.
Last night looks to have been 'one of those games' - we hadn't had one in a while, so I'm not too worried about it.
2 out of 3 against a resurgent Atlantic City team is a pretty good way to kick off the homestand.
Now it's time for a day off after a whilrwind 8-2 start to the 2nd half before a series against the Nashua Pride.
Then, we are off to New Haven, and I will be taking a few days off from work to take the trek down to CT and watch that series. I can't wait!
See you all at the park on Friday night.
-Joe
Friday, July 20, 2007
Sweep (and a wild one at that)
Today, once the Sox game got delayed to a 9 PM start, I pursued my favorite rainy-night pastime: dashing down to Fenway to poach a cheap ticket off of someone ditching due to the rain delay. Mission accomplished - I was in the 2nd row next to the Sox dugout by the end of the night and got some good pictures, all for $20. Unfortunately, it was a frustrating as $@!#! game.
But in Worcester, the news was much better for our Spirit, as they swept the Tornadoes to maintain 1st place in the 2nd half standings at 4-0.
It was a wild one at Hanover Insurance Park as the Spirit beat Worcester, 10-8. Vic Davilla and Tom Donahue were both tossed during the game for arguing with the umps, and Mike Torres left the game in the first inning with an injury. (The Spirit indicated that it was precautionary, however, and that Torres would be OK.) The Spirit overcame all of that to get the win.
Gary Galvez, making his Spirit debut, was chased in the 5th inning. He tossed 4 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs - not a very glittering debut. It was 5-4 Spirit with 1 out and the bases loaded when Galvez gave way to Sean McNamara, who gave up a bases-clearing triple to Dom Ramos which gave the Tornadoes a 7-5 lead. A sac fly by Josh Bureaugard increased Worcester's lead to 8-5.
In the top of the 6th, North Shore struck right back against Worcester's Matt Desalvo. BJ Weed chased Desalvo with an RBI single that plated Josue Lopez. Chris Shank came in for the Worcesterians and provided little relief. With 2 runners on base and 2 out, Joe Hough popped up to the catcher Yohanny Valera in fair territory. Valera dropped the ball, and an errant snap throw to 3rd gave Valera 2 errors on the play and allowed both runners to scamper home and tie the game.
P.J. Bevis gave up the decisive blow in the top of the 8th as Carlos Rodriguez smashed an opposite field solo home run to give North Shore the 9-8 lead. They would add another in the inning to make it 10-8.
The big story was Derek Drage, who pitched four shutout innings of relief from the sixth 'til the ninth to get the win.
Now, the Spirit get a few hours of sleep before taking the bus up to Quebec at 7 AM.
Hey Miles:
...IT'S ON, MOTHAF**KA
But in Worcester, the news was much better for our Spirit, as they swept the Tornadoes to maintain 1st place in the 2nd half standings at 4-0.
It was a wild one at Hanover Insurance Park as the Spirit beat Worcester, 10-8. Vic Davilla and Tom Donahue were both tossed during the game for arguing with the umps, and Mike Torres left the game in the first inning with an injury. (The Spirit indicated that it was precautionary, however, and that Torres would be OK.) The Spirit overcame all of that to get the win.
Gary Galvez, making his Spirit debut, was chased in the 5th inning. He tossed 4 1/3 innings and gave up 5 runs - not a very glittering debut. It was 5-4 Spirit with 1 out and the bases loaded when Galvez gave way to Sean McNamara, who gave up a bases-clearing triple to Dom Ramos which gave the Tornadoes a 7-5 lead. A sac fly by Josh Bureaugard increased Worcester's lead to 8-5.
In the top of the 6th, North Shore struck right back against Worcester's Matt Desalvo. BJ Weed chased Desalvo with an RBI single that plated Josue Lopez. Chris Shank came in for the Worcesterians and provided little relief. With 2 runners on base and 2 out, Joe Hough popped up to the catcher Yohanny Valera in fair territory. Valera dropped the ball, and an errant snap throw to 3rd gave Valera 2 errors on the play and allowed both runners to scamper home and tie the game.
P.J. Bevis gave up the decisive blow in the top of the 8th as Carlos Rodriguez smashed an opposite field solo home run to give North Shore the 9-8 lead. They would add another in the inning to make it 10-8.
The big story was Derek Drage, who pitched four shutout innings of relief from the sixth 'til the ninth to get the win.
Now, the Spirit get a few hours of sleep before taking the bus up to Quebec at 7 AM.
Hey Miles:
...IT'S ON, MOTHAF**KA
Saturday, July 07, 2007
BC Guy saves Spirit from more Sussex embarassment
...McGuire is a solid pickup, y'all. He was SICK in the Big East hitting over .400 his sophomore season, and tore it up in the Cape League too. He struggled in the ACC this year but I think he'll be fine at this level. He has decent speed and fielding ability.
---from northshorespirit.com---:
---from northshorespirit.com---:
Mike Torres singled home Jared McGuire in the bottom of the tenth inning as the Spirit leave the Skyhawks on the field with a 4-3 walkoff win Saturday night at Fraser Field.
It was BC graduate Jared McGuire’s first game with the Spirit and he came through in a big way by singling and stealing second base to set-up the opposite field hit by Torres to give the Spirit the victory.
The Skyhawks struck first in the contest in the top of the fifth inning on a two-run home run by Steve Friend that plated Matt Ceriani to make the score 2-0. The home run was Friend’s second in as many games versus the Spirit and two total on the season.
Sussex tacked on another run the following inning on consecutive doubles to lead off the frame by Rob Gandolfo and Jabe Bergeron, upping the score to 3-0.
The Spirit closed in on the Skyhawks in the sixth. Gary Roche blooped a single to center and moved to third on a double by Mike Torres. Cleanup hitter Luis Lopez ripped a single to left and collected his first two RBIs in a Spirit uniform by plating Roche and Torres to cut the lead 3-2.
The Spirit evened the score in the seventh on a sacrifice fly by BJ Weed that scored Jerson Perez from third on a close play at the plate which Skyhawks backstop Ceriani dropped the ball and just like that the score was tied at three a piece.
The Skyhawks squandered a great chance to take the lead in the top of the tenth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Spirit closer Derek Drage struck out Larry Bethea and Scott Grimes to get out of the jam.
Drage would pick up the win in relief, his second of the season, striking out five hitters in his two innings of work, including the two Ks that ended the threat in the tenth.
Torres continued his torrid hitting pace this season, going 2-for-4 in the ballgame while picking up his 30 RBI of the season on the walkoff single off Sussex hurler Bart Braun.
The Spirit look to take the series lead tomorrow afternoon with the first pitch slated for 1:05. Matthew Bishop will oppose Rene Barreras in game three of the series.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
FUN IS GOOD: SPIRIT STUN PRIDE 7-5 IN 10 INNINGS
With 2 outs in the 9th and the Spirit down 5-4, Darren Blakely hit a pop up to left, and it appeared to be over. I got up and started to walk out. The Pride were about to win in come-from-behind fashion.
But not on this night - on a night when the sellout crowd of 3,341 bought into the 'fun is good' mantra and created a tremendous atmosphere, a night when Vic Davilla came out of retirement for the 80000th time, and a night when the Spirit continued to finally show some pop.
There were a million story lines going into the bottom of the 9th: Vic's return, Josue Lopez's Golden Sombrero (0-4, 4 Ks), Torres's continued offensive excellence, the solid pitching of Josue Matos, and the not-so-solid pitching of Jamie Baker, who served up a 2-run, game tying homer in the 8th to Jermy Acey.
But the real storyline was about to unfold.
Jerod Edmondson, Nashua's left fielder, dropped Blakely's easy pop to left. Blakely reached 2nd.
Enter BJ Weed. He smokes a game tying single to lift, prompting some serious jubilation in the Fraser stands the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen, except maybe in playoff games.
In the top of the 10th, Nashua put runners on 1st and 2nd w/ 1 out. Matt Creighton smashed a line drive to right which Carlos Rodriguez handled. The runner on 2nd attempted to tag up and reach 3rd.... big mistake. Carlos Rodriguez GUNNED him out and ended the inning, prompting another standing ovation from the Fraser faithful.
Alex Trezza started the bottom of the 10th by reaching 2nd--- 2ND!!! --- on a dropped third strike. (In the many baseball games I've seen, I don't recall EVER seeing that happen. EVER!) Then Carlos Rodriguez sent everyone home happy with an absolute no-doubt screaming blast over the left field fence and into Jimmy Hurst territory near the trailers. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
I didn't even go nuts when he hit the HR (I used up all of THAT energy when Weed tied the game) I just kind of sat there amazed and a little overwhelmed --- this probably rivals the Tony C night walkoff win over Brockton for the title of 'best ever Spirit regular-season home game.'
The Pride looked absolutely stunned and the Spirit were hopping around jubilantly. It was a great celebration and a deserving one for Rodriguez who was already a hero for his top-of-the-frame heroics. They were clearly pumped and could feel some serious momentum.
The Spirit now have 4 wins in a row - their longest streak of the season. Maybe the fight and getting smoked by Quebec brought them together. Or maybe their big bats are just starting to hit up to their potential. Either way, the offense is turning it around, and the pitching has been there all year (league leading 2.94 ERA going into tonight). With an easy part of the schedule coming up, this might just be the turning point we've been anticipating since day two of the season.
Vic Davilla hit a home run in his third-ever 'first game back', a solo dinger to dead center. Darren Blakely also had a smashed HR of his own early on. In addition, Mike Torres ripped an RBI single, adding up to an early Spirit 4-0 lead.
But the Pride chipped away at Spirit starter Josue Matos, who did pretty well in his debut appearance but was chased after narrowly escaping further trouble in the sixth.
The man/ninja/myth/hero/Lantigua-slaying legend Dennis Robinson made his return in the 7th and retired the Pride in order.
In the 8th, Jamie Baker struggled mightily. He walked the leadoff man (never a good sign) and gave up a 2-run opposite field blast to Jermy Acey to tie it. Then in the top of the 9th Billy "Simple Simon" fared no better. He also walked the leadoff man, Luis Rodriguez. With runners on 2nd & 3rd and 2 out, Simon threw an awful wild pitch that skipped past Trezza and let Rodriguez in the back door, stunning the Spirit and giving Nashua a 5-4 lead.
It appeared to be a lost cause, then --- the Spirit had complete control of the game and let it go to waste. They were going to fall back to .500 and lose a game they should have won.
But it was not to be. Hooray drama!
What an awesome night at the ballpark.
It's nights like these that make all the rest of them worth it... this was the Spirit experience at its best. Here's hoping it's not the last time we get that magical feeling this year.
Post script: QUEBEC LOSES TO NEW HAVEN, 7-3! Perfect. AND Atlantic City's 3-1 win over Worcester means the Spirit are a half game back of the magic #4 spot in the league table.
But not on this night - on a night when the sellout crowd of 3,341 bought into the 'fun is good' mantra and created a tremendous atmosphere, a night when Vic Davilla came out of retirement for the 80000th time, and a night when the Spirit continued to finally show some pop.
There were a million story lines going into the bottom of the 9th: Vic's return, Josue Lopez's Golden Sombrero (0-4, 4 Ks), Torres's continued offensive excellence, the solid pitching of Josue Matos, and the not-so-solid pitching of Jamie Baker, who served up a 2-run, game tying homer in the 8th to Jermy Acey.
But the real storyline was about to unfold.
Jerod Edmondson, Nashua's left fielder, dropped Blakely's easy pop to left. Blakely reached 2nd.
Enter BJ Weed. He smokes a game tying single to lift, prompting some serious jubilation in the Fraser stands the likes of which I don't think I've ever seen, except maybe in playoff games.
In the top of the 10th, Nashua put runners on 1st and 2nd w/ 1 out. Matt Creighton smashed a line drive to right which Carlos Rodriguez handled. The runner on 2nd attempted to tag up and reach 3rd.... big mistake. Carlos Rodriguez GUNNED him out and ended the inning, prompting another standing ovation from the Fraser faithful.
Alex Trezza started the bottom of the 10th by reaching 2nd--- 2ND!!! --- on a dropped third strike. (In the many baseball games I've seen, I don't recall EVER seeing that happen. EVER!) Then Carlos Rodriguez sent everyone home happy with an absolute no-doubt screaming blast over the left field fence and into Jimmy Hurst territory near the trailers. Amazing. Absolutely amazing.
I didn't even go nuts when he hit the HR (I used up all of THAT energy when Weed tied the game) I just kind of sat there amazed and a little overwhelmed --- this probably rivals the Tony C night walkoff win over Brockton for the title of 'best ever Spirit regular-season home game.'
The Pride looked absolutely stunned and the Spirit were hopping around jubilantly. It was a great celebration and a deserving one for Rodriguez who was already a hero for his top-of-the-frame heroics. They were clearly pumped and could feel some serious momentum.
The Spirit now have 4 wins in a row - their longest streak of the season. Maybe the fight and getting smoked by Quebec brought them together. Or maybe their big bats are just starting to hit up to their potential. Either way, the offense is turning it around, and the pitching has been there all year (league leading 2.94 ERA going into tonight). With an easy part of the schedule coming up, this might just be the turning point we've been anticipating since day two of the season.
Vic Davilla hit a home run in his third-ever 'first game back', a solo dinger to dead center. Darren Blakely also had a smashed HR of his own early on. In addition, Mike Torres ripped an RBI single, adding up to an early Spirit 4-0 lead.
But the Pride chipped away at Spirit starter Josue Matos, who did pretty well in his debut appearance but was chased after narrowly escaping further trouble in the sixth.
The man/ninja/myth/hero/Lantigua-slaying legend Dennis Robinson made his return in the 7th and retired the Pride in order.
In the 8th, Jamie Baker struggled mightily. He walked the leadoff man (never a good sign) and gave up a 2-run opposite field blast to Jermy Acey to tie it. Then in the top of the 9th Billy "Simple Simon" fared no better. He also walked the leadoff man, Luis Rodriguez. With runners on 2nd & 3rd and 2 out, Simon threw an awful wild pitch that skipped past Trezza and let Rodriguez in the back door, stunning the Spirit and giving Nashua a 5-4 lead.
It appeared to be a lost cause, then --- the Spirit had complete control of the game and let it go to waste. They were going to fall back to .500 and lose a game they should have won.
But it was not to be. Hooray drama!
What an awesome night at the ballpark.
It's nights like these that make all the rest of them worth it... this was the Spirit experience at its best. Here's hoping it's not the last time we get that magical feeling this year.
Post script: QUEBEC LOSES TO NEW HAVEN, 7-3! Perfect. AND Atlantic City's 3-1 win over Worcester means the Spirit are a half game back of the magic #4 spot in the league table.
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Oh...my...god
The Spirit hung on to win tonight by a toenail , 4-3. Matt Bishop got the win. Billy Simon, a former Red Sox prospect, came in for his first Spirit appearance and got his first save despite a shaky 9th.
I got back to my room in the 9th inning and turned on the radio to hear that it was 4-1 Spirit. With 1 out Francisco LeBron launched a 2 run homer to make it 4-3. The Rox then got the tying run in scoring position after a single and a wild pickoff throw.
With 2 outs, Simon was able to rear back and get a K of de la Cruz to end the game and nail down the crucial win.
In the first inning, Mike Torres knocked an RBI single and Alex Trezza hit a 3-run homer to account for all of the Spirit's offense tonight.
I tend to think that 'character' and 'resolve' are overrated in sports in general and particularly in baseball --- the most important factor is the talent of the players on the field. But this particular Spirit team IS more talented then they have been playing, I'm sure of it. And tonight's win showed character and intestinal fortitude, bouncing back from yesterday's devastating loss.
The Spirit are now 15-16.
I got back to my room in the 9th inning and turned on the radio to hear that it was 4-1 Spirit. With 1 out Francisco LeBron launched a 2 run homer to make it 4-3. The Rox then got the tying run in scoring position after a single and a wild pickoff throw.
With 2 outs, Simon was able to rear back and get a K of de la Cruz to end the game and nail down the crucial win.
In the first inning, Mike Torres knocked an RBI single and Alex Trezza hit a 3-run homer to account for all of the Spirit's offense tonight.
I tend to think that 'character' and 'resolve' are overrated in sports in general and particularly in baseball --- the most important factor is the talent of the players on the field. But this particular Spirit team IS more talented then they have been playing, I'm sure of it. And tonight's win showed character and intestinal fortitude, bouncing back from yesterday's devastating loss.
The Spirit are now 15-16.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Now THAT's Bicondoa!!!
Ryan Bicondoa really is back, now. Bic pitched six dominant, one-hit innings and got the win today as the Spirit beat the Cutters 1-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 3,605. The only Spirit run came in the 3rd inning when Jerson Perez's sacrifice fly scored Brad Rea.
In addition to Bicondoa's outstanding outing, the Spirit got great pitching from Shawn McNamara, who pitched 1.2 one-hit innings, Donny Langdon, who came in in the 8th inning to retire lefty Henry Stanley, and Kevin Fitzgerald, who slammed the door with a perfect ninth inning to earn his 3rd save. He struck out two batters beforegetting Jeremy Pickrel to ground out to first to end the ballgame.
It was not a great day if you like offense. The Spirit scored one run on four hits on the day while the Cutters were held to only two hits and never got a runner past 2nd base.
This is the third time the Spirit have won two in a row this year (@ Nashua and @ Atlantic City) and the first time at home. The Spirit, now 8-7, go for their first proper sweep of the year (the rain shortened 2 game series in Atlantic City doesn't count) tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. The game will be broadcast on Tape Delay on 1510 the Zone at 6 PM, so nothing will be posted here until the broadcast is over.
Player of the Game: Ryan Bicondoa (1)
EDIT: I've decided that posting this is going to be a tradition following all Spirit wins:
In addition to Bicondoa's outstanding outing, the Spirit got great pitching from Shawn McNamara, who pitched 1.2 one-hit innings, Donny Langdon, who came in in the 8th inning to retire lefty Henry Stanley, and Kevin Fitzgerald, who slammed the door with a perfect ninth inning to earn his 3rd save. He struck out two batters beforegetting Jeremy Pickrel to ground out to first to end the ballgame.
It was not a great day if you like offense. The Spirit scored one run on four hits on the day while the Cutters were held to only two hits and never got a runner past 2nd base.
This is the third time the Spirit have won two in a row this year (@ Nashua and @ Atlantic City) and the first time at home. The Spirit, now 8-7, go for their first proper sweep of the year (the rain shortened 2 game series in Atlantic City doesn't count) tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. The game will be broadcast on Tape Delay on 1510 the Zone at 6 PM, so nothing will be posted here until the broadcast is over.
Player of the Game: Ryan Bicondoa (1)
EDIT: I've decided that posting this is going to be a tradition following all Spirit wins:
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Spirit Win In Longest Game In Recent Memroy Up North
I went up with Eric and Alan to the Nashua/spirit game on Jimmy Buffett night up in Nashua. We eventually saw some of the sttaff and the other Dave up there. Anyway,let's get to the game report.......
The Spirit @ Nashua Game By The Numbers:
Spirit: 8 Nashua: 6 Innings: 13
Total Combined Hits: 27 Total Combined Errors: 7
Pitchers Used: 6 Spirit, 7 Nashua
Total Time: 4 hours, 21 Minutes
Total blown calls,Umps: $#$%##@
This game was so long that all of the Can-Am games were done before ours…..and even the Red Sox game IN TEXAS was done before us. Even the fireworks had to be canceled due to city ordinances, announced over the PA system by our friend Spike—filling in for the regular PA guy who was in Manchester. I even ran out of space on the front of my scorecard and had to use the back of it.
This was set to be a good matchup. It was going to be Siak Vs Thorton. Joey Siak was lights out. He went 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 2 and walking one. Siak also had the help of a good first tweo innings for the Spirit. In the first, Jerson Perez struck out but got to first on a wild pitch. The next batter, Darren Blackley, belted a 2-run homer to left to make it 1-0 Spirit. Then up came Carlos Rodriquez and her too belted a homer to extend our lead to 2.In the second the Spirit scored again after a Roche single and Rosa double on a passed ball and a B.J. Weed sacrifice fly. The sac fly was an amazing play though, as both center and right fielders dove for the ball VERY close together, with the right fielder coming up with it. This made it 5-0 Spirit after 2.
In the third both teams scored a run. The Spirit scored in the top frame on a RBI single from Mike Toress that scored Rob Fischer, who went to third on a Rea single. The Pride finally got aboard in the bottom frame on a lead-off homer to C Allen Mottram. The score would be 6-1 after three, but the Pride cut the lead in half in the 6th, scoring off of former Pride Jamie Baker. Baker came in after Siak allowed runners onto 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Baker came in and gave up back-to-back RBI singles to make it 6-3 Spirit. Manager Vic DaVilla then took out Baker and replaced him with Robinson,who ended Pride scoring.
The Pride shut down the Spirit lead behind the pitching performances of Jason Kosow and Lance Steven while the Pride made comebacks in the last 2 innings. In the 8th the Pride scored 2 runs on a single from Creighton that turned into an E8 then E6. Then in the 9th they scored to tie it up at 6 on a weird series of events after Fitzy came in to try to pitch. The first batter, Mottram, hit a grounder to Fitzy who then threw the ball to first…..but it was a very weak throw and the runner reached (it was ruled an E1). A wild pitch advanced the runner then the batter grounded out to Fitzgerald to advance the runner to third. The next batter was CF Rich Gianetti who sac flied to right to tie up the game. The bases would later be loaded and Fitzy got out of the jam by getting Creighton to pop up to the catcher.
Now it would go into extra innings. As the game progressed Eric, Alan, Dave, & I got a little frustrated. Before we knew it we were on our 5th pitcher and it was the 12th inning. After a while we began to wonder who would be left to pitch. It seemed like the game would never end, and the announcement of the final score of the Red Sox game only strengthened that. I will admit that although this game was frustrating it was still a blast. For the first time I saw Joe “Slim” Pescuci behind the plate…..I am totally amazed at how much weight the guy lost. However, he was not the same tonight behind the plate as the game progressed. At one point in the 12th he yelled (and swore) at the Spirit dugout for something I don’t think they did on a 2-0 count then after the next ball awards the batter first. He messed up a few times tonight, as did other umps. This game was THE WORST umpping job I’ve seen in a long time.
The Spirit bullpen of Macnamara and Langdon shut down the Pride in extra innings while Palazzolo, El Guapo himself, Mann and Borroughs held the Spirit offense at bay. Then came the 13th inning, and in came the Pride’s Nagasaki to face the Spirit’s Rodriquez with runners in scoring position. Carlos belts it to center for an RBI single, but more damage is done when the center fielder drops the ball and another run scores. The score would then become 8-6 Spirit, and that’s how it would stay in after the bottom frame was complete.
Altogether both teams did very well and the pitching performances were amazing. I really enjoyed theis game and hope that we can take another road trip home. Also, sorry if this ran a little long…..I’m no good at condensing stuff.
SPIRTFANS PLAYER OF THE GAME: I’ll have to say Macnamara. He gave us quite a few great innings in a time of need.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
--Spike called us over. He said during Friday’s game our favorite “MVP” Andy Dillard hit a grounder to short, dogged it out, and was immediately replaced by Wasserman. SO, since DeVries is gone, Spike wants us to carry on tradition and make Dillard our new “Run it out!” guy. XD
--It was Jimmy Buffett night up there. There was a band that was pretty good….but what I really liked where the jerseys, which impressed me.
IN-GAME NOTES:
-- Eric got the home run ball that Darren Blakley blasted in the first. If we are correct, it is the first homer rin ball of the Spirit season.
-- WE got talked to by an usher, who said we were swearing. I don not believe this to be true, and think that it was just some rude fans behind us who didn’t like us cheering for our team. (Sound familiar?)
-- In the 4th Donahue sent home Rosa on a double that should’ve held him to third. The result was an inning-ending out at home. While some say Rosa ran through the sign some others (like myself) say Donahue sent him.
-- I liked Slim when he weighed 500 pounds. He was horrible tonight….but at least we could still make fun of him =]
-- Spike was good as PA announcer tonight, minus a few mishaps.
-- I toom a few small video clips.
POST-GAMED NOTES:
--Obviously,like I said, the planned fireworks show got cancelled
-- Ok,this was uncalled for……leaving the game me and Alan walk down some stairs and Alan very gently grazes a guy walking down. The guy gets realy mad at Alan, even after he apologized, and is still yelling at us while climbing th stairs and we’re heading for an exit. Alan swears at the guy just once and the dude jumps at least 10 feet down and starts chasing after us—but thankfully is held back. That was totally uncalled for….and I hope someone brings it up to the Nashua people, as Spirit people saw this all front and center.
!~! VIDEO (WITH PICS) TO BE UP SOMETIME TOMORROW! !~!
The Spirit @ Nashua Game By The Numbers:
Spirit: 8 Nashua: 6 Innings: 13
Total Combined Hits: 27 Total Combined Errors: 7
Pitchers Used: 6 Spirit, 7 Nashua
Total Time: 4 hours, 21 Minutes
Total blown calls,Umps: $#$%##@
This game was so long that all of the Can-Am games were done before ours…..and even the Red Sox game IN TEXAS was done before us. Even the fireworks had to be canceled due to city ordinances, announced over the PA system by our friend Spike—filling in for the regular PA guy who was in Manchester. I even ran out of space on the front of my scorecard and had to use the back of it.
This was set to be a good matchup. It was going to be Siak Vs Thorton. Joey Siak was lights out. He went 6 innings giving up 3 earned runs on 6 hits while striking out 2 and walking one. Siak also had the help of a good first tweo innings for the Spirit. In the first, Jerson Perez struck out but got to first on a wild pitch. The next batter, Darren Blackley, belted a 2-run homer to left to make it 1-0 Spirit. Then up came Carlos Rodriquez and her too belted a homer to extend our lead to 2.In the second the Spirit scored again after a Roche single and Rosa double on a passed ball and a B.J. Weed sacrifice fly. The sac fly was an amazing play though, as both center and right fielders dove for the ball VERY close together, with the right fielder coming up with it. This made it 5-0 Spirit after 2.
In the third both teams scored a run. The Spirit scored in the top frame on a RBI single from Mike Toress that scored Rob Fischer, who went to third on a Rea single. The Pride finally got aboard in the bottom frame on a lead-off homer to C Allen Mottram. The score would be 6-1 after three, but the Pride cut the lead in half in the 6th, scoring off of former Pride Jamie Baker. Baker came in after Siak allowed runners onto 2nd and 3rd with no outs. Baker came in and gave up back-to-back RBI singles to make it 6-3 Spirit. Manager Vic DaVilla then took out Baker and replaced him with Robinson,who ended Pride scoring.
The Pride shut down the Spirit lead behind the pitching performances of Jason Kosow and Lance Steven while the Pride made comebacks in the last 2 innings. In the 8th the Pride scored 2 runs on a single from Creighton that turned into an E8 then E6. Then in the 9th they scored to tie it up at 6 on a weird series of events after Fitzy came in to try to pitch. The first batter, Mottram, hit a grounder to Fitzy who then threw the ball to first…..but it was a very weak throw and the runner reached (it was ruled an E1). A wild pitch advanced the runner then the batter grounded out to Fitzgerald to advance the runner to third. The next batter was CF Rich Gianetti who sac flied to right to tie up the game. The bases would later be loaded and Fitzy got out of the jam by getting Creighton to pop up to the catcher.
Now it would go into extra innings. As the game progressed Eric, Alan, Dave, & I got a little frustrated. Before we knew it we were on our 5th pitcher and it was the 12th inning. After a while we began to wonder who would be left to pitch. It seemed like the game would never end, and the announcement of the final score of the Red Sox game only strengthened that. I will admit that although this game was frustrating it was still a blast. For the first time I saw Joe “Slim” Pescuci behind the plate…..I am totally amazed at how much weight the guy lost. However, he was not the same tonight behind the plate as the game progressed. At one point in the 12th he yelled (and swore) at the Spirit dugout for something I don’t think they did on a 2-0 count then after the next ball awards the batter first. He messed up a few times tonight, as did other umps. This game was THE WORST umpping job I’ve seen in a long time.
The Spirit bullpen of Macnamara and Langdon shut down the Pride in extra innings while Palazzolo, El Guapo himself, Mann and Borroughs held the Spirit offense at bay. Then came the 13th inning, and in came the Pride’s Nagasaki to face the Spirit’s Rodriquez with runners in scoring position. Carlos belts it to center for an RBI single, but more damage is done when the center fielder drops the ball and another run scores. The score would then become 8-6 Spirit, and that’s how it would stay in after the bottom frame was complete.
Altogether both teams did very well and the pitching performances were amazing. I really enjoyed theis game and hope that we can take another road trip home. Also, sorry if this ran a little long…..I’m no good at condensing stuff.
SPIRTFANS PLAYER OF THE GAME: I’ll have to say Macnamara. He gave us quite a few great innings in a time of need.
PRE-GAME NOTES:
--Spike called us over. He said during Friday’s game our favorite “MVP” Andy Dillard hit a grounder to short, dogged it out, and was immediately replaced by Wasserman. SO, since DeVries is gone, Spike wants us to carry on tradition and make Dillard our new “Run it out!” guy. XD
--It was Jimmy Buffett night up there. There was a band that was pretty good….but what I really liked where the jerseys, which impressed me.
IN-GAME NOTES:
-- Eric got the home run ball that Darren Blakley blasted in the first. If we are correct, it is the first homer rin ball of the Spirit season.
-- WE got talked to by an usher, who said we were swearing. I don not believe this to be true, and think that it was just some rude fans behind us who didn’t like us cheering for our team. (Sound familiar?)
-- In the 4th Donahue sent home Rosa on a double that should’ve held him to third. The result was an inning-ending out at home. While some say Rosa ran through the sign some others (like myself) say Donahue sent him.
-- I liked Slim when he weighed 500 pounds. He was horrible tonight….but at least we could still make fun of him =]
-- Spike was good as PA announcer tonight, minus a few mishaps.
-- I toom a few small video clips.
POST-GAMED NOTES:
--Obviously,like I said, the planned fireworks show got cancelled
-- Ok,this was uncalled for……leaving the game me and Alan walk down some stairs and Alan very gently grazes a guy walking down. The guy gets realy mad at Alan, even after he apologized, and is still yelling at us while climbing th stairs and we’re heading for an exit. Alan swears at the guy just once and the dude jumps at least 10 feet down and starts chasing after us—but thankfully is held back. That was totally uncalled for….and I hope someone brings it up to the Nashua people, as Spirit people saw this all front and center.
!~! VIDEO (WITH PICS) TO BE UP SOMETIME TOMORROW! !~!
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