Hogs Take 4th Straight, Preparing for Playoffs September 17, 1997
With a pair of solid wins over the Houston Hellraisers 6-2 and 9-2, the
Punxatawney Groundhogs have solidified their chances of reaching the 100 win
plateau and have nearly clinched the best record in the Defiant League.
Ryan Klesko had another great day going 5-9 with 3 runs, 3 RBI, and 4
doubles. However, he was unable to hit homer 50 and Dante Bichette from
Spokane stroked his 50th today and is the first to reach that mark in PVBL
history.
The pitching in both games was solid. Scott Aldred became the 4th Hogs
pitcher to 10 wins with a 6 2/3 inning, 2 run performance. Scott Ruffcorn,
Tim Worrell, and Ricky Bottalico finished up with 2 1/3 innings, allowing 1
hit and 2 strikeouts between them. Although Bottalico did not record a
save, Ruffcorn got his 13th hold and Worrell got his 6th.
Game 2 featured Dustin Hermanson's 10th win, making him the 5th Hogs pitcher
to record double digit wins this season. He went 7 innings, giving up 2
runs. Sean Bergman and Rick Aguilera threw 2 scoreless frames to finish up.
However, even with the two wins today, boosting the season record to 95-50,
the Hogs look like they won't catch the Galena Hamsters for best record.
Galena, at 99-47, is 3.5 games better than Punxatawney with just 17 and 16
games left, respectively. Even so, the Hogs are overjoyed with the great
success of this first year. They have been virtually unchallenged for the
division title since April or May and look like they'll have a good shot at
reaching the world series.
They are eagerly watching the tightening race between Vero Beach and
Binghamton. The Mets have 15 games left and trail Vero, who has 17 left, by
1 game. The two teams face off tomorrow in a crucial game after splitting a
doubleheader today. Phoenix seems to be a lock to win the Data division and
it would take a near miracle for the Springfield Panthers to overtake the 6
game lead. The other crucial race is for the wildcard. Most likely, it
will be either Vero or Binghamton who gets the spot, but a run by
Springfield or Chicago could result in one of those teams getting ahead.
Binghamton is currently in line and is 3 better than Springfield and 4
better than Chicago.
In the Enterprise League, the 4 teams seem to be a bit more of a lock, but
the wildcard is undecided. Galena has already clinched and Cockeysville
seems to have no chance at the wildcard in the Spock division. In the Kirk,
Motor City and Brooklyn are fighting for the division crown but both teams,
being over .600, will likely make the playoffs even though one will be the
wildcard. Hartford has rebuilt their lead to 4.5 games in the McCoy
division, but Ken Caminiti's return may make the race interesting.
Punxatawney is eager to face all of these teams in the postseason. There
are some great teams in the EL that we never got to face and the DL needs to
enact revenge for our loss in the all-star game!
