Anchorage Prepared For Showdown With Galena June 30, 2000
Anchorage AK (AP) - In what has turned out to be quite a rivalry in the
Enterprise League, Anchorage faces off against the division-leading Hamsters
in a three-game series that could determine who leads the division the rest
of the way. Both teams are expecting quite a battle. "We really want to
show them that we aren't a team to take lightly anymore. We might have been
a cake-walk in the past, but we are for real this year." said Anchorage
pitcher Willie VanLandingham.
The Abominations will send their top three pitchers to the mound to face
the Hamsters. Game 1 will feature Mike Bottenfield (7-2, 2.33 ERA) versus
Hamster ace Jerermi Gonzalez (7-4, 2.65). Gonzalez has outpitched #1 starter
Kevin Appier this year, who picked up his fourth loss of the season on
Wednesday. Game 2 pits Anchorage's Bobby Jones (8-2, 1.83) against Tennessee
Jones (8-5, 3.17). The Jones vs. Jones matchup is very interesting because
both are young pitchers that will be stars in the PVBL for years to come. No
relation, though. The final game will feature VanLandingham (5-6, 2.93)
versus Kevin Tapani (5-3, 5.72). Another great matchup, Tapani has been
effective filling in for the injured Carl Pavano. All of his starts have been
quality.
Offensively, the 'Boms have struggled and have not shown signs of pulling
out of their funk either. Jeff Cirillo has been hitting below .250 for
much of the season and has been rumored to be a candidate for benching.
Designated hitter John Jaha has also struggled behind the plate as has leadoff
man Lance Johnson of late (at least for Lance).
Galena, on the other hand, has improved offensively this season and at times
has had to rely on their offense to carry them. Injuries to pitching and
poor performance from historically great pitchers has put the burden on the
offense more this season then ever. But they are still in first place. For
now...
