The 55+ Semi-finals got off with a bang last night at the A-Diamond!
The underdog 4th seeded Twins took on the number one seed Cubs. For the first 5 innings, Twins' starter Gary Webber was in control, and the Twins had what looked like an unsurmountable 4-0 lead. In fact Webber no hit the Cubs through the first 5 frames. Mixing his pitches masterfully, he kept the potent Cubs' line-up frustrated, looking for answers.
Meanwhile his teammates capitalized on some wildness by the Cubs' starter, Mike Girard, and some crazy infield hits bunched together in the 5th inning to build that 4-0 lead. They also used some solid hitting, especially in the first inning. With two outs and nobody on, Steve Rychik tripled and Jeff Whitehead doubled him home. Gary Webber followed with a line drive single up the middle, but Chris Dunn nailed Whitehead at home with a perfect throw to the plate to end the inning, with just a 1 run deficit.
The Twins got their second run in the top of the 4th inning. They got back to back singles from Whitehead and Webber to start the rally. After two infield outs and a walk, Girard drilled Greg Briscoe on a 2-2 pitch to force home the Twins second run.
All of the signs pointed to an upset in game one when the Twins built the lead to 4-0 with two runs in the inning on 5 singles, three of which never threatened to leave the infield. All three were jam shots. Two took crazy bounces and one was dribbled perfectly between the pitcher and 3rd base. It looked like everything was going the Twins way and there was nothing but frustration on the Cubs' side. When Webber set the Cubs down in order, in the bottom half of the 5th, it looked grim for the top-seeded Cubs.
However, the Cubs did not win 16 of their 18 games in this talented division by folding when they were up against it, and when Girard got out of a bases loaded (2 out) jam in the top of the 6th by striking out the Twins' number 6 hitter, the mood in the dugout amped up. The comeback started in the bottom of the 6th, when Jim Bonaparte reached first by hustling out what looked like a routine groundball to second. When the throw was low and was not able to be handled cleanly at first, Bones' hustle was rewarded by his reaching first safely. A groundout to third put shared player Paul Miles on second with one out. Carlos Espada singled Miles to third. Chris Dunn then singled to score Miles and send Espada to third. Mike Girard was up next, and after Dunn stole second on the first pitch, Girard drilled a two RBI single up the middle, and suddenly the Cubs were within 1 run, and the mood in both dugouts had changed. Webber got out of the inning by inducing a pop out to the catcher and a strike out, with the Twins desperately clinging to a 4-3 lead.
The final frame started with The Cubs bringing on Chris Dunn to pitch. He struck out 2 in a 1-2-3 inning. The bottom of the 7th started with a ground out to second and a fly ball to right that looked like it would be the second out. That grounder was misplayed and the tying run was on first. Jim Bonaparte then hit a ground ball to third that looked like it could be a game ending double play, but the throw to second was low and was not able to be handled at second. Alex Marin made it to third on the play. Miles again entered the game as the shared runner for Bonaparte. John Coulombe followed with a ground ball to second but the throw home was late and off target. The game was now tied at 4, with runners on the corners and one out. Coulombe stole second without a throw, and Carlos Espada was then intentionally walked to load the bases. Chris Dunn delivered a long drive to left center for a walk off double, and the Cubs' celebration began!
It was a tough loss for the Twins, especially pitcher Gary Webber, who deserved a better fate. The Cubs' win a game after being out hit, out pitched, and outplayed through 5 full innings. Exciting stuff!
Game two will be Monday night at the A-Diamond in Schenectady. This game 2 will follow game 1 of the other Semi-final series between the 2-seed Whiz Kids and the 3-seed Yankees. Game time is likely to be 7:30 pm. I absolutely can't wait! As NY State Baseball Hall of Famer Jimmy Dalton always says, "GOD I LOVE THIS GAME!"
