Another Creaker Squeaker: ND Gold over Cardinal Red 21-20

Full disclosure: The Gold manager (that's me) bites his nails.

Well, this season, this team has me biting down to the first knuckle.

Yes, we are 7-2, but every week, it seems to come down to the last AB, the last breath. We won, 21-20, with the tying run on third and the speedy Darrell Hoh on second with the winning run and powerful Rob Dousa at the plate. Rob had already planted one almost all the way to Heather Field Five earlier in the game.

But Tom Gonzales pulled out his bag of magic tricks, and gave Dousa no chance. With first base open, he threw one about 16 feet high and a foot short, and then a ball about four feet high. The other team's coaches were grousing about intentional walks. Gonzales came in a little closer but a ball. Dousa turned his back, and Gonzales snuck in a strike on the front left corner on 3-0. Now Dousa had to hit, and the pitch came in high but not too high and probably a strike and Douza tomahawked a scorching grounder to SS Hugh Vasquez, who picked up the tough hop and fired a strike to first, game over.

This game we had the double curse of the first AND second. In the first inning, Gary Namanny hit a two run triple and eight of our first nine batters hit safely, and that gave us our first five. In the second the bottom of the lineup stood up tall, and after three straight hits and a sac fly turned it over to the top and five more hits turned in our next five. We were hitting on all cylinders, and through three it was 13-5. It was going to be a laugher, right?

Except.

We scored two runs in the next four innings (one on Rob Katzer's massive home solo home run) and Red closed it to 15-13. We started hitting again in the eighth - again the bottom of the lineup, Doug Carlson, Stan Bielecki, Steve Bedrick, Anthony Pucchio, and Jeff Mertens, and we had three more.

But Cardinal answered with five and there we were again, tied (18-18) going into the ninth open inning. Namanny got us on the board and into the lead with a big bomb to left. After a walk and a single, the clutch hit to follow was a two run double int a gap by Steve Mastronarde. He's still arguing over which is the Game Winning RBI.

Because as described above, three runs was not a comfortable lead. Red pushed across a couple of runs and that set up the final face off, but we persevered.

Defensive highlights: Gonzales cut off a throw from the outfield, and fooled Dousa into trying for second on a hit early in the game, and threw him out easily at 2B. The manager chased down a foul pop up almost at the first base dugout, and his momentum took him nearly crashing into the fence. Bielecki made a nifty step on second throw to first double play in the fifth to keep the opposition scoreless.

But the offense was clicking most if the game ouside the middle innings. Namanny hit for the cycle (4-5, 3 RBIs), Katzer went 5-5 (3 RBIs), Vasquez 4-5. Steve Alvarez, Curt Wade, Carlson, Kravin (3 RBIs), Bedrick, and Puccio all had three hits.

But I think I need therapy now.