It was a beautiful evening for a game last night at New Scotland, and the Reds and Golden Marlins enjoyed every moment of it. When these two teams get together, the games are always close, well-played, and enjoyable. This game hit on all three counts.
The Golden Marlins got on the board first in the top of the second. Dave Mitchell walked, to lead off the inning, and Mike Girard tripled him home. Jim McQuade followed with a sac fly to left, and the Marlins led 2-0.
The Reds bounced back with 3 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, to take a 3-2 lead. Chris Dunn and Ron McCarthy led off with singles. The Marlins misplayed a sacrafice bunt attempt, and the bases were loaded with nobody out. Marlins' starter, Jerry Solomon, looked like he would escape the jam unscathed, when he got the next two Reds hitters to pop out to the infield, but Alex Marin walked to force in a run and Joe Careccia plated two more with a single. The rally ended as Alex was thrown out at third on a nice 9-6-5 relay.
The winning rally would come in the top of the 4th inning for the Fish. Tim Brown singled with one out, and stole second. Randy Craft walked, and Ron Lochner tied the game with a RBI single. Dave Mitchell singled to load the bases. Mike Girard grounded to first, where the ball was misplayed and the Marlins had a 4-3 lead. Reds' starter, Ron Massaroni, limited the damage by inducing a 6-4-3 double play (the third DP in as many innings for the Reds).
The Marlins pitchers made that 4-3 lead stand up as Jerry Solomon pitched a scoreless 5th (to earn the win), and Girard came on to get the last six outs (to earn the save).
We all enjoyed the post-game re-hydration session and talked about how much we all look forward to the next meeting.
