9-News: 39.051 – Nine Catches Wave, Sweeps Surfers

[RonCo]

Will Dramatic Late Inning Heroics Turn Tide?
“It couldn’t have come at a better time,” said a soft-spoken Bill Inkster, manager of the Yellow Springs Nine. His team had just defeated the Long Beach Surfers 10-5 in a come-from-behind victory that was much closer than the final score indicates. “It was that way all series,” Inkster said. “That’s a good team we just swept, and to be honest, it could be us who got the sweeping rather than them.”

GAME FOUR A “SNOOZER”

Those words were true enough, as the Surfers and Nine—both with their survival on the line in this hotly contested season—played what amounted to playoff baseball in July. On this day, the Nine entered the bottom of the eight inning up only one run (par for the course this series), but managed to blow the game open on a two-run double by newcomer Juan Lopez and a subsequent two-run bomb off the bat of Jose Machado. The final score of 10-5 made for good headlines, but was as hard-fought as the rest.

“It was a great series,” Lopez said after being named Player of the Game. “I’m just glad I could come up here and help.” Lopez finished the game 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and five RBI. His exploits game Adam Barnard his second win since joining the team.


THREE EXTRA INNING SPECIALS

The first game of the series set the tome for what was to come, as both pitching staffs were sharp—sending the game into 13 innings, tied 2-2 until backup catcher Pablo Alaniz led off by drilling a Luis Rojas cutter 378 feet down the left field line. Alaniz leapt and pumped his fist as the crowd went wild, and seemed to enjoy every minute as his teammates swamped him at home plate. “You don’t get many chances to do that in your life,” he said afterward. “I wanted to remember it.”

The following game was more of the same, as the teams entered the 11th inning tied 3-3. At this point Nine manager Bill Inkster appears to have maybe out-maneuvered new Surfer manger Jose Vargas.

In the top half of the inning, Inkster let reliever Tristan Alfama face LHB Tom Kazansky, and Alfama recorded the strikeout. He then brought left-hander Adergazoz Ouakili in to face switch hitting Mark Simpson. As a rule, this wouldn’t seem to have been a great idea, as Simpson is stronger against the left-handers—of which Adergazoa most definitely is. But Ouakili struck Simpson out. Miguel Suarez, however, singled after Simpson, and after a wild pitch moved him along, Inkster ordered a rare intentional walk to RHB Enrique Gomez, bringing up LHB Wilson Ford—who Ouakili then struck out to end the threat.

In the Nine half of the inning, Long Beach manager Vargas made a few odd switches, leaving RHP Jose Rojas in to walk LHB George Robertson to lead off the inning, then going to lefty Jose Elicier to face RHB Dong-po Thum, who may be one of the hotter hitters in the league right now. A wild pitch later, Hopkins ordered Thum walked, and only then replaced Elicier with right-hander Rodolfo Medina, who induced a fielders choice grounder that moved Roberston from second to third. A batter later, Lopez hit a fly ball to deep right that scored Robertson on a tag up, winning the game for the Nine.

“I did what I thought I needed to do,” Inkster said after the game. “And he did what he needed to do. It’s a long season, and you spend a lot of it trying to figure out what your guys are capable of. Long Beach is a touch team, and Jose is a good manager.”

Game three, of course, was a third classic in a row, a pitcher’s duel between Pierre Legrand and Carlos Valle in which each gave up only a single run through seven, and in which the bullpens were equally up to the task through twelve innings. In the 13th, Rojas was again the victim, walking Lucas McNeill after getting a fly out, but then leaving a 1-0 offering to Aaron Stone over too much plate, and watching him crush a 456 foot blast into the stands in left-center for a 3-1 victory.

"It's been a rough season for me so far," Stone said afterward. "Maybe this will get me going a little."


VICTORIES PROPEL NINE IN STANDINGS

The four-game sweep buoyed emotions, and perhaps more important, gave the team—for the first time all year—a small amount of breathing room in the Heartland Division. The team leads Twin Cities by four games heading into a key series with Madison—who is down seven games. A big end to the month could change the division dynamics.