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Bay League Title to Come Down to Final Day
Outpost News Service
September 13, 2015

In a remarkable finish to the second season of the Bay League, the Silver Beach Whales and Marsein Knights go into their final games in a dead heat for the Bay League championship. The Knights have led the league standings for much of the season, while the Silver Beach Whales have been propelled into the tie by the head-turning play of right fielder Josh Sowder.

The Knights, hailing from the remote northwest town of Marsein, came into the day's play with a one-game lead over the Whales and faced the last-place Gentry Hills Scouts in Gentry Hills. Marsein sent 24-year old pitcher Josh Ray (5-3, 3.22) to the mound to face Gentry Hills starter Allen Storey. Storey had only started one game, nearly three weeks prior, in the 2015 season, though he did pick up a win against the Allison Spelunkers in that start. It proved to be Storey that would have the advantage in this contest, holding the Knights scoreless until Mario DeGray led off the top of the final inning with a solo home run. By that time, Gentry Hills had plated three men against Knights' starter Ray, the first run coming after a leadoff single by Storey in the 5th inning. However, the Knights boast the top offense in the Bay League, and followed DeGray's home run with three straight singles off reliever Wahhab Duncan to add another run. Marsein had runners on second and third with nobody out and looked likely to at least tie up the game. Duncan picked up the first out by striking out Marsein left fielder Sterling Caldbeck on a curveball and induced pinch hitter Chad Ball to ground to the drawn-in third baseman for the second out. A second straight pinch-hitter, Joseph Davis gave the Knights some hope by drawing a base on balls to load up the bases, but center fielder Simon Burks grounded harmlessly to first base to end the game, leaving the Marsein Knights stunned at their inability to bring home the tying run from third with no outs.

Meanwhile in Tifton, the Silver Beach Whales faced off against their rivals, the Generals. Tifton had ace Carlin Bonner on the mound to face Jimmie Watson, who hadn't pitched a single inning in nearly a month and just 12 innings all season long. Bonner had shut out Marsein in his previous start, allowing 2 hits without a single walk and fanning 9 Knights hitters, and the advantage in the game looked strongly in Tifton's favor. Silver Beach's starting first baseman Jason Walton had other ideas, however. The Whales' first sacker followed a leadoff double by Jacob Leslie with a mammoth 2-run home run over the center field fence to give Silver Beach an early 2-0 lead. Walton followed that one inning later with an RBI single, and the 3-0 lead would be enough for Jimmie Watson, who turned in the game of his life, holding Tifton to 2 runs on 10 hits and a walk in his complete-game effort. The 7-2 Silver Beach win tied the Whales atop the standings with the Marsein Knights with one game for each team left on the schedule.

Tune in to the Outpost News Service on the 15th for the results of all the Bay League action, including the fateful games between Marsein and Gentry Hills and Silver Beach and Tifton!