A well-played defensive game is a thing of beauty and an absolute joy to behold!
Unfortunately, last night's game between the Cougars and the Veterans at New Scotland was not one of them. When all was said and done, the Cats just managed to edge the Vets in six innings by the score of 9-8. (The umps allowed us to start the seventh, but eventually pulled the plug on account of darkness.)
John Breen started on the mound for the Cougars and Berny Rasowsky for the Veterans. Both pitched better than the score would suggest. And after four innings both had yielded to relief: Frank Montagano, who got the win for the Cougars, and Brad Buchan, who took the loss for the Veterans.
Cougars catcher Jim "Iron Man" Wing continued red hot at bat, going three for four with a pair of doubles. Ben Petrone was three for three for the Veterans--actually he was four for four if you count the unfinished seventh inning.
In the end, timely hitting made the difference, with the Cougars pushing across what turned out to be the deciding run in the bottom of the sixth. Breen opened the inning with a single, stole second, and was balked over to third. That set the stage for Wing's game-winning double.
My thanks to Tony, veteran Veterans manager, and to the rest of his team for an exciting game. I'd also like to thank the umps, who generously allowed us to play up to and then into the darkness. I know that both teams would have gone on playing had they not called a halt to the proceedings.
I should also note that this was the first time I've actually seen a full-blown intentional walk in a game that I've played in. The Veterans issued the pass to Cougars clean-up hitter Andy "The Rocket" Andros with one man on in the sixth. And it worked perfectly for them, as they got out of the inning with no further damage.
