After two innings yesterday at Satellite Field, this game was shaping up as a sadly typical Cougars debacle. The Marlins had chalked up six runs on six hits in the second, while the Cougars managed to strike out three times in the first (with a lone single thrown in for good measure) and then go down one-two-three in their half of the second.
Then, in the third, something...well...strange happened. The Cougars proceeded to string together nine straight base hits, then a walk, and then one more base hit, for a total of ten runs on ten hits. Not only have the Cougars never scored ten runs in an inning, but, if I'm not mistaken, we've never scored that many runs in a game!
The Cougars attack was led by Jim Wing, who had two big doubles in that magical third inning. And speaking of magic, Cougars starter Dave "The Magician" Plew was at his trickiest best, keeping Marlins hitters off-balance with a maddening variety of off-speed pitches. After a rocky start, Dave settled in to scatter five base hits over the last four innings to nail down the complete game win.
Marlins pitcher Dennis Scimeca also went the distance, and except for that thoroughly inexplicable third inning, he managed to shut down the Cougars with little trouble. Skip Treece was as smooth as ever in center field for the Marlins, tracking down a number of fly balls and making it look just too easy.
Final score: Gray Cougars 10, Marlins 7.
After five years in the CDMSBL, this was the first time I've played on a team that has beaten the mighty Marlins--and I don't mind saying that it really felt good to finally beat the best.
My sincerest thanks go out to Ed, the Marlins manager, a true gentleman, and the entire Marlins team, who are a great bunch of guys to a man.
Thanks, also, go to Jim K., who umpired the game solo with an admirable professionalism.
And I'd like to express my gratitude to Skip Treece, who congratulated me a second time as I walked to my car. He was as impeccably gracious in defeat as he always is in victory, and as far as I'm concerned, it's guys like Skip that make playing in this league such a pleasure.
