The Cubs and Twins got together at 7:30 pm last night at the A-Diamond for their second meeting on the year.
Gary Webber started for the Twins, with Chris Dunn getting the start for the Cubs.

The Cubs got off to a flying start in the top of the first inning. Carlos Espada worked a leadoff walk and immediately stole second.
Matt Miles followed with a slow roller to the third base side of the mound. Webber got to the ball quickly but threw the ball into right field
as Espada came around to score. Chris Dunn singled Miles to third with still no outs. Webber got a big strike out of the Cubs clean-up hitter,
and got Mike Girard to ground out to short (Miles scored on the play). Bryce Cutler singled Dunn to third, with two outs. Jim Bonaparte
followed with a booming double over the center fielder's head, and suddenly the Twins were staring at a 4-0 deficit after one half inning.

For the next 5 innings Webber and Dunn held their opponents scoreless. That brings us to the bottom of the 6th inning. The top 3 hitters
for the Twins: Frank Owens, Jeff Whitehead, and Steve Rychik all singled to get the ball rolling for the Twins. A RBI fielder's choice by Webber, and a
RBI groundout by Mike Arbour cut the Cubs lead in half (4-2). Dunn got a pop out to the mound to end the inning, and with one inning to go, the Twins
were now within striking range.

The Cubs loaded the bases after two were out, in the top of the 7th on singles by Cutler and Bonaparte, and a walk to Ron Massaroni, but Webber
got the final out on a weak grounder to end the inning and give his team a chance in the bottom of the 7th. Mark Wight and Terry McCarthy led of with solid singles.
Jeff Cohen followed with a double to right. It looked like big trouble for the Cubs, but Dunn and the Cubs got bailed out when John Coulombe hit Sherwin So
with the first throw, and So made a great relay throw to home, where Mike Girard tagged out McCarthy, before he could score the tying run. Instead of a tie game with
a runner on second and no outs; the great relay play (sound fundamentals) had the Cubs still clinging to a 1 run lead, with Cohen on second and one out. Huge
Play! Rick Saidenburg then singled Cohen to third. A ground out by Rodney Smith to second plated the tying run, and the Cubs weren't out of the woods yet.
Frank Owens singled to put the winning run into scoring position, but Dunn got a groundout to short to end regulation at a 4-4 tie.

The Cubs retook the lead in the top of the 8th, on 3 walks (Coulombe, Espada, Matt Miles) and a wild pitch. On the wild pitch, Gary Webber felt something pull
in his Achilles tendon, as he was rushing to cover home and was unable to continue. Jeff Whitehead came on and got a big K with the Cubs 3-hitter in the box, to
limit the damage to one run.

With one out in the bottom of the 8th, John Reel, pinch hitting for the injured Webber blooped a single down the right field line. Arbour grounded out, advancing
courtesy runner Rychik to second. A wild pitch later, and Rychik was just 90 feet away, with 2 outs. With two strikes on the Twin's number 6 hitter, Dunn reached
back for a little extra, but the ball went high and wide, and Girard could not catch the ball cleanly, and as the ball got away, Rychik hurried home with the tying run.
Dunn finally did get the strike out to end the inning, and it was on to the 9th.

The Cubs got the lift they needed when Mike Reutter led off the 9th with a towering drive over the left fielder's head for a double. Mike Girard, feeling the need for redemption,
drilled the second pitch he saw off the pitching rubber, between Whitehead's feet, and it bounded all of the way over the shortstop's head and into left field for the go ahead RBI.
Cutler followed with his 3rd hit on the night, to put men on 1st and 2nd with nobody out. Mr. Bonaparte then laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to move both men into scoring position.
The Cubs would plate both of those insurance runs on a clutch two-out single by Sherwin So.

The Cubs starter now just needed to get through the bottom of the 9th, and the Cubs' perfect record would remain in tact. Well, he did not mess around, he got a lazy fly ball to left;
a strike out (his 7th of the game); and a fly out to short center, that Carlos Espada caught "Willie Mays" style. A great ending to a huge win for the Cubs. Everybody contributed,
whether at the bat, in the field or on the mound. A big team effort, that ended just before 10:30 pm.

The Cubs cling to the top of the standings at 12-0, and face the second place Whiz Kids (10-1), next Thursday (08/07/25) at 5:30 pm, at Watervliet High School.
It should be another great game between these two historic rivals.

-- Edited by mgirard11 on Wednesday 30th of July 2025 09:56:45 AM