The news is not particularly stupendous, but if you're a Pepper or the team's fan, it's pleasant to learn that the club won
its second game in row, downing the Pirates, 8-3, at the A Diamond on a hot (88 degrees, feels like 90) Thursday night.

Solid pitching from the Peppers' Frank Montagano, Dave Plew and Dan Durbak kept the Pirates off the board save for two innings,
the third and fourth when the men in black and yellow scored their runs. Durbak had a strong defensive and offensive night
pitching three scoreless innings and going 2-for-3 at the plate, with an RBI and a run scored. Catcher Charlie Freer got
on base twice by errors, and made them costly ones for the Bucs, stealing two bases and scoring twice.

The two biggest blows by the Peppers came, first, from Ted Witting, who, just back from a two-week vacation, cracked an RBI double
deep to left, his second such shot of the year, in the third inning to get the men in vegetarian red their second run of the game. Then,
late in the game, Brad Maione took out his version of Black Betsy (Shoeless Joe Jackson's homemade black hickory
bat) and laid down a surprising bunt, maybe 12 feet in front of the plate, a wayward tumbler with a mind of its own,
unwilling to be picked up, to keep a rally going and lead to the team's final score.

The win keeps the Peppers in fourth place, with a 4-6-1 mark. The sixth-place Pirates fall to 2-9.

- Your Peppers' scribe, Mike Hart



-- Edited by mikehart on Monday 25th of July 2022 03:30:03 AM