A tough season for the Thunder came to an end Saturday, with two tough losses against some quality opponents.
An undermanned Thunder ( missing starting catcher Pete Geanellis and starting center fielder Matt Kelly) drew two of the top pitchers/competitors in the division.
Game 1, against the always tough Jim Latore of the Black Sox, saw the Thunder, behind Ron Massaroni, clinging to a 2 - 1 lead into the bottom of the sixth. At this point, the home plate umpire decided that the strike zone should be the size of a postage stamp. The Sox, aided by a couple of very questionable calls, scratched for a couple of runs, and took home a 3-2 victory. Massoroni ,although obviously furious, kept his composure throughout, and handled all this with a class that many of his peers would could not have exihibited. In fact the whole Thunder team kept their heads up and headed to game 2. (Latore by the way, took the ball immediately after against the Teal of the Marlins, and by all accounts should have had another victory, if not for an enormous defensive collapse by the Sox in the seventh). Jim, you can play on my team anytime!
Game 2 saw the Thunder facing another great competitor in Pete Westfall and the Yankees. Great F!@^$ draw!! Insult to injury, Yankees top hitter Rick Caruso shows up just in time for this game after missing game 1 against the fish. (Think they could have used him in that tough 2 - 1 loss!) After battling against Pete to finally tie the game at 2 all after 6 innings, the Thunder's defense finally hit the wall in their last inning of play, allowing the Yankees 7 runs. Instead of folding their tent, the Thunder pushed across 3 of their own in the bottom of the seventh, and left the bases loaded! Great heart shown by a real class group of guys!! Thanks fellas.
