Hamsters take Galena-Tucson series in 5 October 12, 1998
(Galena,IL)-Today, the Hamsters beat the Tucson Border Patrol 9-1 to
propel them into the second round of the playoffs. This marks the first
time the Hamsters have ever been to the LCS.
"I'm excited as hell," exclaimed manager and owner Matthew Peck,
"Last year, we knew we should have made it to the LCS but we're defeated
by Brooklyn. This year, we had another close series with Tucson but we
came out ahead!"
"It could have gone either way," noted rookie outfielder Johnny
Butler, who is slated to get a plattoon job in the outfield with Galena in
'99, "Tucson played a tremendous series, and the outcome could have really
gone either way. We were all really nervous going into game 5. We didn't
want last year to happen all over again."
Galena is now preparing to play Motor City in the LCS, who beat
Deadwood in the first round, also in 5 games. Motor City has tremendous
power and suspect pitching. Galena is almost exactly the opposite with
little power--Kevin Stocker was Galena's home run leader with 20--but the
best pitching in the PVBL. Galena's staff had a 2.91 ERA for the season.
Both Motor City and Galena have tremendous speed, "To counter Motor City's
speed," manager Peck reports, "Candy Powell will see some time behind the
plate. Powell is one of the best defensive catchers in the league.
Stopping Motor City's running game is part of the strategy to beating
them."
Will Galena, a team that won 109 games in the regular season, be
able to make it to the coveted World Series this year? "Motor City is
going to be a great challenge," first baseman Brant Brown confessed, "but
if our pitchers keep throwing like they've been throwing all year, and we
shut down their running game, I think we can do it. And then it's on to
the BIG SHOW!"
