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If Andrew Zarzour liked his teammates after the top of the first, he loved them following the bottom of the inning.
Second baseman Eric Young singled to lead off, sending a Steve Trachsel pitch sharply to right field. The Cubs' Wilton Veras then booted a ball hit his way by shortstop Edgar Renteria. That put two on for veteran Mike Piazza.
The 30-year-old catcher, knowing he had to be on top of his game today, then smashed a 428-foot home run into the cheap seats in deep centerfield as a response. The Dodgers had staked their young pitcher out to a 3-0 lead. Zarzour let out a howl as he watched the ball fly way over the head of Preston Wilson.
The second inning had a different feel altogether for Zarzour. The nerves were virtually gone. He was just playing baseball — just like Little League, just like at Bunn High School, just like in Great Falls. His catcher might as well have been one of his best friends from childhood, Robbie Maine. The ballpark might as well have been the humble "stadium" the Wildcats use for their high school games each spring, with a few rows of metal bleacher seating being the only real place for fans to sit.
Zarzour got the next two Cubs' hitters, Preston Wilson and Mark Grace, out with more ground balls. Catch Kirt Manwaring finally ended the no-hit and perfect game bid with a seeing-eye single that snuck over the head of shortstop Edgar Renteria. But Zarzour was able to work out of the inning by getting Henry Rodriguez to hit into a ground-ball out on the first pitch.
Going into the bottom of the second inning, it was still 3-0 Dodgers. The night owls in Bunn, N.C. were going crazy...
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