Tuesday night at the B-Diamond was a perfect night for a ball game. The B-Diamond looked great after a fresh mowing. The sun was out and not a cloud in the sky. It wasn't too hot and there was a light breeze. Thank you, Jesus!
Enough of the weather report:
The Cubs jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning. With two outs and nobody on, The Cubs got consecutive singles from Jerry Rosen, Ron Lochner and Dave Mitchell. The Twins fought right back in the bottom half with 2 walks, a wild pitch, and a sacrifice fly by Rick Saidenberg.
The Cubs used 4 walks and 1 error, to go along with hits by Rosen, Lochner, and Dan Hernandez to plate 5 runs in the second inning, to take a 6-1 lead. The Cubs would add two more runs in the 3rd, again starting with two outs and nobody on. Paul Miles instigated the trouble with a single and two stolen bases. Chris Dunn followed with a RBI single and two stolen bases of his own. After Rosen walked, Lochner plated Dunn with his third hit in 3 innings.
Down 8-1, the Twins scratched out a run in the bottom of the 4th. They got the leadoff batter on with the Cubs only error of the day. Jim Tino followed with a single and Cubs' starter Mike Girard hit Joe Parker with a pitch to load the bases with nobody out. Greg Briscoe got the RBI when he hit into a 5-4 fielder's choice. Jerry Rosen helped out his pitcher by throwing out Briscoe trying to steal second. Girard then induced another grounder to third and the inning was over.
The Cubs pushed the lead to 11-2, in the top of the 5th when Girard led off with a single and Chris Dunn sent him racing 270 feet with a RBI triple. Lochner hit into a fielders choice to drive home Dunn. Singles by Dave Mitchell and Ron Massaroni provided the 3rd run in the inning and the lead was 11-2.
The Twins would score their final run, in the bottom of the 5th. Stefan Koustakis was hit by a pitch with one out. Jeff Whitehead drilled a line drive double into the gap bringing Koustakis around to 3rd. Saidenberg collected his 2nd sacrifice fly of the day and the lead was cut to 11-3.
The Cubbies would close out the scoring with a single run in the 6th on a single by Jim McQuade; a walk to Dunn; and a Twins error, making the final score 12-3. The Cubs pounded out 14 hits while Girard and Massaroni held the Twins to 2 hits. Girard went 5 innings allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 2 hits, 3 walks, and 2 HBP, while striking out 3. Massaroni pitched the final two scoreless frames without giving up a hit. He walked one, hit one batter, and struck out one.
The Cubs move to 12-0 with the win, while the Twins drop to 4-7 with the loss. Next up for the Cubs is the third and final regular season meeting with the Whiz Kids. The game is next Tuesday night at Watervliet High School, at 5:30 pm. It should be a good one!
