On another beautiful spring day at the field of dreams, Rudgear, Gold barely squeaked a walk off win over Team Gray 17-16.
The game was close early. Much improved Gray took a 3-0 lead in the first that we matched, the big hit being the first of two Steve Alvarez gapper doubles, this one for two runs. The bottom of our lineup (Joy Dardin, Steve Bedrick, and Anthony Puccio) set the table in the third for our first five run inning, and the top (Tom Gonzales, Bob Fulgham, Gary Namanny and again the Batman) cleaned up the bases. In the fifth we had a nearly identical rally, this time it was Dardin, Pooch, and Jeff Merten getting on, and Gonzales and Namanny clearing them with a two run double and a two run triple for our five. Namanny's shot in the left field corner was one of the deepest hits I have seen at Rudgear without going onto the berm, and it bounded away from the left fielder, and Gary was so excited he just kept running for the sixth run (that did not count).
We were just starting to get comfortable at 13-6, but Gray came roaring back to tie it in the sixth, and then shut us down for two innings. So it was tied going into and out of the eighth - Rob Katzer's two run double knotted it up to answer their pair.
They managed to push one across in the ninth, and after a groundout, Curt Wade got us going with a line drive double. Doug Carlson moved him to third and yours truly hit a line drive that the usually surehanded right fielder nearly ran down, and it was tied. Stan Bielecki got a hit to move Carlson to third with the winning run. Dardin followed with a chance to win the game and hit a line drive right at the RC fielder who was playing at the cones, but the runner on third could not score (I am begin generous here). Up stepped backup pitcher Steve Bedrick with two outs and he planted the ball between the two right fielders and when Bielecki beat the throw to second in an attempt for a force play, it was all over, and the fat lady sang.
Other than our pitcher Gonzales we didn't have many highlights defensively, but he ran to the third base line to catch a short pop up, snared a shot up the middle that he knocked down and got the lead runner at 2B, and ended an inning on a similar grounder this time to his back hand, and a toss to first. All while staying behind the screen until the ball was hit!
Gonzales, Namanny, Alvarez, and Dardin lead the way with three hits apiece. Every single hitter in the lineup had at least one hit. Another great team game.
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