The second game saw Allentown choosing to start Damian Pearson (9-13, 3.61) up against Annapolis's Gonzalo Henriques (11-6, 3.62). The choice of Pearson seemed odd to many of the Allentown faithful, who wondered why Izaguirre wouldn't start the flutterballer, Lemuel Izzo. Rumors abounded that Izaguirre had some morbid fear of knuckleball shenanigans, passed balls, wild pitches, shenanigans that would be all the more likely in a postseason pressure cooker.
It had also been rumored that Pasqual Rocha had, in captivity, a soy possum appropriated for voodoo, and stuck on top of an old phonograph, thereby inducing spin to a pitch that, in Rocha's mind, wasn't really a pitch.
Voodoo and knuckleballs aside, the odd event of the game was Rowe's handling of Henriques in the sixth inning. Allentown had seized a 3-2 lead after five innings, and then disaster befell the Middies in the bottom half of the sixth. First, Henriques gave up a leadoff double to Andres Ferrant, and then after getting Michael Jones to ground out, Gonzalo lost all control.
He walked the opposing pitcher, Pearson. He walked the leadoff hitter, Bearce. To prove those weren't flukes, he then walked Baeza to force in a run. Rowe had scrambled the pen into action, yet he remained resolute on the bench. Was he already getting heat for the hook on Lopez? Still, Middies' fans were rapidly scratching all the hair from their heads.
To break up the tedium of walking batters, Henriques drilled Billy Rhynes with a fastball to the hip. Finally, Rowe walked to the mound and removed Gonzalo. Finally. But with the bases loaded, Felipe Zubiaga delivered a breaking pitch that Zachary Coil slammed into the left centerfield gap, for a two-run double.
The damage was irreversible. Allentown won easily 9-2. Damian Pearson pitched a stellar complete game.
Code:
BOX SCORES Annapolis @ Allentown
Game #: 1633, (GAME LOG) , Saturday, 10/16/1999
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Annapolis 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 1
Allentown 0 0 0 0 3 5 1 0 X 9 10 0
Annapolis AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
B. Landeros LF 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .333 2 3
R. Bozek C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 .074 0 1
J. Cueva 2B 3 1 1 0 1 1 0 .391 1 3
J. Neyra 3B 4 1 2 2 0 0 1 .179 1 6
M. Truong 1B 3 0 1 0 0 0 2 .375 0 5
W. Brubaker CF 3 0 0 0 0 2 3 .280 1 4
J. Sauceda SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 2 .240 0 3
M. Jones RF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .074 0 0
G. Henriques P 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
F. Zubiaga P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
1-J. Wlthll PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0
L. Casares P 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
Totals 30 2 4 2 1 7 8 .257 159 745
Substitution Notes
1 - J. Walthall pinch hit for F. Zubiaga in the 8th
BATTING
Homeruns: J. Neyra (1, 4th inning off Pearson, 1 on, 1 out.)
Runs Batted In: J. Neyra 2 (6)
Team LOB: 2
FIELDING
Errors: J. Cueva
Allentown AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
E. Bearce 2B 2 2 0 0 3 1 0 .160 0 1
G. Baeza RF 2 2 0 1 3 0 2 .167 1 3
B. Rhyne CF 4 1 2 4 0 0 1 .357 3 9
Z. Coil LF 5 0 1 2 0 1 5 .138 0 2
E. McGill 1B 5 0 4 2 0 0 1 .308 0 7
D. Suniga C 4 0 0 0 0 0 5 .185 3 7
A. Ferrant SS 5 1 1 0 0 1 6 .077 0 0
H. Jones 3B 5 2 2 0 0 0 3 .364 1 1
D. Pearson P 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 .333 0 0
Totals 33 9 10 9 7 4 23 .244 135 670
BATTING
Doubles: Z. Coil (2, 6th inning off Zubiaga, 3 on, 1 out.) A. Ferrant (1, 6th inning off Henriques, 0 on, 0 out.)
Runs Batted In: G. Baeza (3), B. Rhyne 4 (9), Z. Coil 2 (2), E. McGill 2 (7)
Sacrifice Hits: D. Pearson 2 (3)
Team LOB: 6
FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Bearce-Ferrant-McGill)
Annapolis IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
G. Henriques L 5.1 6 8 8 6 4 0 92 47 19.06 0-2
F. Zubiaga 1.2 3 1 1 1 0 0 30 16 3.24
L. Casares 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 9 6 4.91
PITCHING
Batters Faced: G. Henriques 30, F. Zubiaga 10, L. Casares 4
Inherited Runners-Scored: F. Zubiaga 3-3
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: G. Henriques 4-7, F. Zubiaga 4-1, L. Casares 1-2
Game Score: G. Henriques 22
Allentown IP H R ER BB K HR PI PS ERA RECORD
D. Pearson W 9 4 2 2 1 7 1 102 65 2.93 1-0
PITCHING
Batters Faced: D. Pearson 32
Ground Balls-Fly Balls: D. Pearson 7-12
Game Score: D. Pearson 77
GAME INFO
Time: 2:55
Attendance: 44991 (45000, 100.0%) at Allentown Ballpark
Weather: Partly cloudy (59 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 11 mph
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Damian Pearson