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In one their most exciting battles of the season, the Punxtawney Groundhogs edged the North Spokane Titans by a 4-3 score. Like their last few games, Punxatawney opened by scoring early, tallying runs in the first, second, third, and fourth inning. They had a 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the 4th. However, a 2 RBI double by Brian Hunter and an RBI single by Edgar Renteria, along with an error by Ryan Klesko playing at 1B, allowed the Titans to close the gap to 4-3. Carlos Perez came in to relieve Titan starter Scott Karl and was able to hold Punxatawney through the seventh inning. Punxatawney starter Pete Schourek was equal to the task as he prevented North Spokane from scoring again through the 7th as well.
Grady Norris came in to throw the top of the 8th and was able to hold the Hogs at 4 runs but not without some trouble. He only threw 9 strikes in 21 pitchers and walked 2. Punxatawney ace setup man Scott Ruffcorn threw the bottom of the 8th, making short work of the Titans as he walked one and struck out one. Jeff Juden then relieved and threw the 9th, yielding one hit and striking out two.
The bottom of the 9th was much more perilous. Randy Myers came in for the save but had major problems. He got one out but gave up 3 hits to load the bases before Curt Leskanic relieved him. Leskankic threw just one pitch before he pulled his tricep tendon and was removed from the game. The ball was then given to Jim Burright who was making his first major league appearance in a major pressure situation. He needed just 4 pitches to record the final 2 outs of the game and pick up his first save in his first game. Schourek got the win, bettering his record to 5-1. Scott Karl got the loss and fell to 0-6. "You've heard my talk up Burright all year, saying he was the ace of the future. Due to Curtis' injury, the future is now. Jim will be taking over as one of our closers until Curt is done with his rehab in Roswell. He'll earn that spot on the roster."
Burright was elated at this chance to pitch in such a crucial game. "It makes all that driving around worth it. Two days of driving to Punxatawney, then back to Roswell, then back to Punxatawney, and two days later I'm coming into a 1 run game with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth. And without a problem, I finished it up. Almost like a dream. I'm gonna make Leskanic earn this spot back."
"Well, the game should never have been that close, period," said Hogs owner Dan Shapiro. "We had 16 hits, 5 of which were extra base, but we left 14 men on base. That's simply not acceptable."
Rondell White led the offensive attack, going 4-5 and scoring one run. He has 7 hits in his first 9 at bats as a Groundhog and has quickly gained popular support in the small Pennsylvania village. "The fans can't wait for us to come home so they can see him play," stated Shapiro. Rondell agreed, saying, "This team is great. We're virtually unstoppable right now and I'm proud to be a part of it.
Jason Giambi, getting a chance to play DH while Klesko tried 1B, finally starting hitting the ball again after a long slump. He went 3-5, hitting a solo home run. Other offensive contributions came from Roberto Kelly (2-4, run), Ryan Klesko (2-5, RBI), Scott Rolen (2-5), and Brian Giles (2-4, solo HR). Slumping Norberto Martin added a double but has not impressed anyone as he returned from injury. "We're considering putting McPheeters back in there, but Norberto will definetly stay with the club. Roy is a veteran and probably won't be with us next year. Norberto is the shortstop of the future and will eventually run the infield with Rolen."
Punxatawney has one game left at North Spokane before a playing day off. 3-2 Rocky Coppinger will be starting against 1-3 Carlos Castillo. Following the day off, Punxatawney will return home from this long road trip to battle Los Angeles once again. After a series at San Diego, Punxatawney will finally begin their inter-divisional schedule, opening with a series against the Phoenix Gila Monsters (Chicago NL at the moment, but thats changing.) "We are really looking forward to the Phoenix series. It's our first series out of the division and we get to play one of the best teams in our league. Their pitching staff is incredible as well. I can't believe they can do that well with a 4 man rotation. Perhaps its something we could try," ended Shapiro.
Written by Dan Shapiro