Desperately needing to come out of the Hawaii and Sacramento series with one or two wins if the Stars were going to keep their hopes of staying under 100 losses for the season, Valencia played like a team possessed with what we here at the Gas are not exactly sure.
The first of the two series was played at Hawaii who is jockeying not only to finish atop of the Pacific but also not to be on the outside looking in for the last wild card spot should they not win the division.
The Valencia youngsters were able to split the series at two games apiece in front of a hostile hula skirt wearing crowd. On a side note someone should tell Hawaii GM, James Walker, to either wear some boxers or cross his legs if he insists on sitting in the front row behind the plate. On another side note, the counseling for the Valencia pitchers after that series was a success although they are never going to be able to unsee that bag of balls.
In the first game things went as the experts expected with Hawaii winning by a score of 11-6. Valencia took a 6 to 5 lead into the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Tropics plated six runners with the big shot being a Carlos Sanchez three-run homer.
The second game did not go to the script as Valencia won by a 9-3 margin. Home runs were plentiful for the Stars as second baseman Sumiteru Okubo belted a pair of homers to drive in three runs and Ed Bush cranked out a three-run version of his own. Mid-season acquiree Dana Pualani pitched six shutout innings to earn the win and improve his record with Valencia to 6-4.
The third game saw Valencia win a lower scoring affair 3 to 2. Bill Nesbitt and Bradley Russel provided the lightning each hitting a solo homer while Sam MacPherson provided the thunder pitching 6.2 innings while allowing one run to improve his record to 6-8.
In the series finale, the jewels underneath Walker's hula skirt began to take its toll as the Tropics evened the series by winning 6 to 3. Hawaii did their own version of a home run barrage by Armando Medina, Vicente Martinez and former Star Carlos Schumann all going yard.
As the setting moved back home to Dunn Field, the fans saw the home team win two of the first three contests but drop the first game by a score of 9 to 6. Emilio Morales Jr and Mohammed bin Mus'ad each rounded the bases in one of his at bats.
Game 2 evolved into a 6 to 1 Valencia victory behind the strong pitching performance of Kinzo Iwamato. Kinzo allowed only one run in seven innings of work.
Game 3 was a higher scoring event with each team getting 13 hits, but Valencia prevailed by a final of 8 to 6 thanks to a three-run seventh inning fueled by a two-run Ed Bush homer. Pedro Hernandez (2-0) claimed the victory in relief.
After the week's dust has settled, the Stars' record sits at 62-91 led by Bush's 4 homers in 27 at bats. Hopefully the '63 or Bust' signs can be validated with a win in one of the final nine games of the season.