Freeburg took the lead early when CF Bill Davis went yard with one on in the 1st. 2B Earl Lawson broke the game open for the Firedogs with a 3-run shot in the 8th. SP Tom Randolph threw 7 strong innings to pick up his first win of the season. We were just outplayed in all aspects. We were outhit and our pitchers gave up 4 BB and 3 HBP.

Player of the Game:
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Holy bullpen meltdowns, Batman! Troy led 4-2 after 7, but we took the lead, 5-4, in the 8th on PH Danny Binford's double. Troy answered back in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead on CF Bob Ward's 3-run double. But we weren't done yet. We put 4 hits, a walk, and a reached-on-error together in the 9th to push across 4 runs and get the win.

Player of the Game:
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We open 2012 with a loss. Troy SP Jacob Taylor held us in check through 8 innings and left with a 2-0 lead. He didn't get the win, however, as 2B Arnold Bennett tied the game for us with a 2-run HR in the 9th with 1 out. Trojan PH Brenton Kimbell untied it with a home run of his own in the bottom of the inning.

Player of the Game:
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This will be my third (and hopefully last) year managing in the Low Minors. Our GM has been busy in the off-season as our team looks quite different. Our offense looks to be improved and we have a ton of depth in the infield. Last year I had trouble finding anyone who could hit and play SS decently. Should be easier this year. Our pitching is probably worse and it's very left-handed. Our rotation will start the season with 3 lefties and 1 righty, while our bullpen is evenly split: 4 of each....

2011 was my second year managing in the low minors. It was mostly a step back. Although our team scored 34 more runs and allowed 14 fewer than in 2010, we only managed to go 44-56 (both halves combined), compared to 49-51 last year. Our performance in the 2nd half of 2011 was especially abysmal (18-32). And I received a score of 20 for the season (compared to 39 in 2010). We went 12-25 in 1-run games, which explains a lot about our struggles. We lost a quarter of our games played by 1 run!...