For eight innings, the Raiders played about our best game of the year. We had the Outlaws on the ropes. The game was a seesaw and close through six innings - there were five lead changes. We put up five in the seventh, and shut the Outlaws down in the bottom half. We added on five more in the eighth, and they responded with three. In the ninth the Raiders scored four runs with two outs and no one on base with six straight hits. We were in the driver's set, up 24-16. But a couple of dropped fly balls at key moments cost us in the bottom of the ninth, and we let it slip away.
Still, we have played the first place team tough in three of our games against them, beating them once. It's been a season of what ifs...
The first four in our lineup (Cary Mitsuyoshi, David Gerds, Dave Balfour, and David Gratz) all had four hits. Behind them, Randy Cobb had five. Balfour drove in seven runs. Gerds hit three doubles. Balfour and Gratz hit back to back home runs in the fifth.
The rest of the lineup contributed as well. Don Devencenzi, Jeff Kravin, and Max Martin contributed three hits each and Ray Oducayen had two plus two walks including one intentional that backfired in the eighth when with two outs, Devencenzi followed him by knocking in the fifth run. All of the above drove in two runs.
We also turned three or four double plays, two by Gerds stepping on second and firing to first. The third was on a great stop by Oducayen, who stepped on third and threw to second. Gerds also ranged far into shallow center to snow cone a ball for the third out in the sixth to shut down a potential big inning.
It was a tough loss, but at least we can hold our heads high that we gave the Outlaws everything they could handle.
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