Cougars' Bats Missing in Action
Charlotte shutout as offense continues to sputter
Sept. 16, 2009
LOUISVILLE -- Kid Nichols allowed 1 run and 3 hits in a complete game effort for Charlotte. By anyone's reasoning, that should have been enough.
It wasn't, though, as Charlotte was blanked by Louisville's Will White, who struck out 10 Cougars while scattering five hits in his own complete game effort.
Charlotte's punchless offense mixed things up, though that meant Elmer Smith was the only starter with double-digit homers on the season (10). It didn't help. John McGraw led off the 5th with a double but was stranded. He was the only Cougar to reach second base. Tommy Tucker had two hits, and Nichols himself contributed one as well. But Charlotte was overmatched by White - a decent pitcher, no doubt, but one a team in a pennant race who gets the start Nichols provided must defeat - all night long.
Some may see it as a saving grace for Charlotte that New York lost as well, 6-1 to the Philadelphia Ringers, keeping Charlotte's deficit at 6 1/2 games. But others will see it something more, a missed opportunity in a race that has shown signs of slipping away from them.
The Cougars have now lost four straight, hitting .204 during the stretch. They need more, and they need it quickly.