Hogs Close in on Hamsters as End Draws Neigh September 23, 1997
Calgary (AP)--After a two game sweep over the Calgary North Hosers in a pair
of exciting duels, Punxatawney has moved to just 1/2 game behind the
streaking Galena Hamsters for the best record in the PVBL. With their
respective divisions already clinched, this seems to be the only goal left
for these two teams.
Today was a crucial day in this unimportant race, as Galena was on the verge
of pulling away and acquiring an insurmountable lead. However, for the
first time in weeks, the Hamsters dropped two straight and offered the Hogs
a chance to win their way back into the race.
In the first game, however, a loss seemed inevitable. Calgary shut down
Punxatawney for the first 7 innings and took a 3-0 lead into the 8th. But
as the Galena loss showed up on the scoreboard, the Hogs knew that they
needed to take advantage of the opportunity to catch up a game. Led with
homers by Greg Myers and Scott Rolen, as well as fine hitting from Rondell
White and Damon Mashore, the Hogs rallied to tie the score at 3 in the 8th.
John Wetteland came in to try and hold the game at 3-3 in the 9th, but to no
avail as Punxatawney scored 3 more times and got a win for Tim Worrell.
Worrell's 2 1/3 scoreless innings merited his 3rd victory of the year.
The second game was even more exciting. Once again, the Hogs found
themselves behind by 3, this time heading into the 7th, and still down 2
going into the 9th. But once again, all it took was the sight of Galena's
2nd loss of the day to drive Punxatawney into a fury and lead them back to
tie the game at 6 after 9. Nobody scored in the 10th, but 3 runs by the
Hogs in the 11th got just their 4th extra inning victory of the year.
Fred Young was an offensive leader, playing in one of his first games of the
year. The backup catcher went 2-4 with a homer hitting leadoff while
Rondell White was 2-6 with a double batting second. Other homers came from
Tony Batista, Damon Mashore, and Marty Cordova. Mashore's big blast was the
team's 300th of the year and it helped put the game away in the 11th.
The pitching was a bit uglier. Hermanson lasted only 2 1/3 inning and gave
up 5 of the 6 Calgary runs. However, Rick Aguilera, Henry Neale, and Ricky
Bottalico combined for 8 2/3 inning of 7 hit, 1 run, 1 BB, 7 K baseball--a
fine relief performance. Neale took the win, improving his record to 3-0 on
the year.
"Galena is going down!" cried a jubilant Fred Young after the second game.
His 2 hits in the second game were his first hits of the season--the homer
the first of his career. Though he is hitting just .105, Young, like many
other Hogs benchwarmers, made a big contribution to one of the wins.
Stats 'n Stuff
Ryan Klesko is still struggling to reach both 50 homers and 150 RBI, stuck
at 49 and 146. "I'm just pressing too hard. Tomorrow I'll just relax and
take it easy, and hopefully the stroke will come back."
As far as team stats go, the Hogs have finally dropped below the .300 mark
to .299, leaving only the Duluth Bjork still over the .300 mark at .313.
Nonetheless, the Hogs are leading many other categories in the DL. They are
3rd in AB, lead in runs, and 2nd in doubles, 2nd in homers with 300, leading
in RBI, 2nd fewest strikeouts, lead in runs created, lead in OBP, lead in
SLG, and have the 2nd highest average against lefties and righties.
In addition, the pitching staff's 99 combined wins lead the DL, 2nd fewest
walks, 3rd most strikeouts, 4th lowest opposing average, 2nd most quality
starts and 4th most team shutouts--a solid team all around.
We're now looking forward to the playoffs with a number of players now
healthy. And Jason Giambi should be back in time for the playoffs to begin.
Good luck to all teams in the playoff races!
