The bright side is Athens went 3-1 the last sim, starting the week off winning 3 straight against the Tokoyo Pearls.
Fighting Centaurs Get Past Tokyo for 9-8 Win The Athens Fighting Centaurs besoiled an otherwise fine performance by Tokyo catcher Reko Kelander by beating the Pearls, 9-8, at Piraeus Park. Kelander was 3-5 with a home run and 2 singles, while scoring 2 times and driving in 3. Athens, with the win, sits at 31-58.
The decisive blow was delivered by Huo-tu Shaw in the bottom of the ninth when he hit a solo home run off 25-year old right-handed pitcher Asir Suoud to win the game for Athens. The home crowd went nuts.
"This place was jumping at the end," Shaw said.
Nam-cheol U of Tokyo ties the GBC EA regular season game record for strikeouts with 5.
Fighting Centaurs Get Past Tokyo, 2-1 In a tension-filled contest between the Athens Fighting Centaurs and the Tokyo Pearls, pitcher Travis Wearne was superb. The Athens right-hander, who is tied for 2nd in the GBC EA in innings pitched with 112.0, spearheaded his team's 2-1 win. Athens, at 32-58, occupies 4th place in the GBC EurAsia.
The clutch at-bat came in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Athens third baseman Jack Acheson, facing Eugenio Velosa, had a run-scoring walk. It gave the Fighting Centaurs the 2-1 win.
"This place was rocking at the end," Acheson said.
Pearls Dealt 6-4 Loss
Behind the hitting of Matthew Woods, the Athens Fighting Centaurs stopped the Tokyo Pearls, 6-4. Woods was 3-4 with a home run and 2 singles. He scored 3 times for the Fighting Centaurs. Abdul-Muhaimin Saleem, the winning pitcher, improved to 5-6. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 runs, while striking out 6 and walking 2. Safiy Hodgson got credit for the save for Athens. It was his 1st of the year.
Andres Soto had a big 2-run home run for the Fighting Centaurs in the bottom of the third inning. With Athens leading 2-1 and a runner on 2nd, he sized up a fastball from Barry Short, who is tied for 5th in the GBC EA in innings pitched with 106.1, and punished it. The result was his 17th home run of the season, which put the Fighting Centaurs on top, 4-1.
Said Athens manager Raoul de Braber: "We squared some balls up." The second-place Pearls now sit at 55-36. As If the loss wasn't bad enough, Short left in the 4th inning with a injury. He's listed as day to day with a finger blister.
9-2 Win Gets London to 53-41 London starter Boulos Naim kept the Athens hitters in check, helping his team cruise to a win, 9-2. Ron McLeish recorded the save, his 5th. London goes to 53-41, Athens to 33-59.
The Monarchs got a big hit from first baseman Lee Bundy. Facing Athens pitcher Sarsour bin Salman in the bottom of the fifth, Bundy pounded a 2-run double to right-center. His 26th double of the season put the Monarchs ahead, 2-1.
"We're playing like we're capable of," said London manager Jack Gulliver.
