Diablos Clipped 23-18

In a game we started amazingly well, the Diablos ultimately succumbed to the dreaded Clippers, 23-18.

It's hard to write about this type of loss, because we had the opposition on the ropes - early on, and then late in the game. But we let it slip away.

We started with some fabulous defense. In the first Mark Childress made a diving catch on a sinking line drive headed to the gap. Brian Goldufsky followed that up with two putouts, one of which was quite athletic to shut down the powerful top of the Clipper lineup. In the second, it was more of the same. This time it was Mike Daley making a one out running catch in right field with runner on first and second. The runner on first tagged up but the lead runner took off. There was a lot of confusion but Goldufsky made sure he was heard and we easily doubled off the errant runner going from second. Inning over.

In the third, Jim Krotchka made a fabulous backhaded stab in the 5-6 hole and whirled to throw a strike to first to get the Hall of Famer Gary Tryhorn. And Childress followed that with another running catch. Finally in the fifth, Tom Caldwell got in on the action in left field on a deep fly for the first out. That was just a prelude to a grounder to first baseman Greg Lagomarsino, who perfected a 3-11-3 double play by hustlng back to first to catch Goldufsky's relay.

In the meantime, we built a 10-0 lead after three. Dan Roach led us off with a triple to the right center gap. After Ed Hendrickson brought him home with a sacrifice fly, with two outs, Caldwell hit a two run blast and Lagomarsino and Don Devencenzi sandwiched a single by Goldufsky to produce the rest of our five runs. In the second the bottom half produced two runs and in the third Krochka's two run bomb highlighted a three run add on inning.

In the fourth, the Clippers showed why they are nearly undefeated the last couple of years as they put up eight to close the gap, and added six more in the next two innings to take their first lead at 14-12. Give us credit, though, there is no quit, and the middle and bottom of the order, Bob Vitro, Jeff Mertens, Heffe, Bill Hoffman, Willie Hollis, and Steve Shapiro all singled and when leadoff hitter Roach stroked a two run single we had our own five to re-take the lead at 17-14.

We shut them down in the seventh, and added one in our half on a Lagomarsino double, but then the offense and defense kind of went to sleep - and they poured on nine runs in the last two innings to win going away.

However, we proved to them and to ourselves that we will not be a pushover to the Clippers or anyone else, and we will put them away one of these times.

Mertens led the way with a 4-4 day. Clocking in with three hits were Hendrickson, Krotchka, Caldwell, Lagomarsino, Devencenzi, Hoffman, Hollis, and Shapiro. Everyione else had at least one knock and all but two (or their proxy) scored a run.