Punxatawney, PA (AP)--The situation was dire. Trailing 6-5, bottom of the
9th in game 5 of the divisional playoffs. Paul Wagner on the mound, tiring
but still confident. Three outs from elimination, the Punxatawney
Groundhogs knew they needed to pull yet another miracle to beat the Chicago
South Siders.
But before they got to the 9th, this game was very interesting. At first,
it seems to be a Hogs blowout in the making. Punxatawney scored 3 in the
first and 1 in the second to carry a 4-0 lead. However, Wagner buckled down
and allowed his team, by scoring 3 times in the 4th and 6th, to go up 6-4.
Punxatawney responded with 1 in the bottom of the 6th to bring the game to
within 1, where it would remain until the final frame.
As the Hogs came in for their last bats, Shapiro called them together for a
brief meeting. "We didn't come this far to lose in the first round of the
playoffs. We have 3 outs left and we need 2 runs. Do it."
And they certainly did do it. Shapiro pulled out all the stops, even
utilizing rookie bench warmer Jack Jackson as a pinch runner.
"To be honest, it seemed unlikely. We had 7-8-9 up, but we'll match our
7-8-9 (Greg Myers, Scott Rolen, and Roberto Kelly) against anyone in the
league. After Greg got on, I knew we'd need more speed out there on the
bases so I sent out Jackie [Jackson]," Shapiro said.
Myers led off with a single and Scott Rolen, batting next, hit a clutch
double to tie the game at 6. It was just another phenomenal game in a
season of great games for the young 3B.
Roberto Kelly, who has revived what seemed to be a dying career this season
in rural PA, came up next and drove a tired Wagner pitch into the outfield
green to score Rolen and end the game, giving the people of Punxatawney
reason enough to pour onto the field and mob the players (but not before the
players had touched the proper bases!).
After the game, Shapiro had nothing but compliments for Chicago. "They are
a great team and Mike has done a phenomenal job of turning them around. I'm
real worried about next year--they don't even lose a player. But for now,
we get to keep going to the next round."
There was no clearcut series MVP, however. It was a tough choice, but the
nod eventually went to Greg Myers. He went 5-17, drove in 6, scored 4
times, and hit 3 homers over the 5 games.
"I'm glad to have this, but the entire team really deserves it, not just me.
Not that it will prevent me from making space in the trophy case, but
everyone contributed to this win," Myers said after hearing he won the
award.
"We're ready to keep going. One more series and we'll be in the big one. I
guess we're playing Vero...we'll enjoy the trip to sunny Florida," Shapiro
said as the team departed after the game.
