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Hall Of Famer
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 2,464
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LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES REVIEWS
 vs 
Chicago Hitmen (87-75) vs Louisville Racers (94-68)
Both pitchers are on their game, but it's Chicago that strikes first. Jose Cardenal took a Volquez fastball over the rightfield wall to give the Hitmen a 1-0 lead.
Volquez got back to work, and LeMaster was sharp for the third and fourth. But in the fifth, his control left him.
After retiring the first two batters, LeMaster walked Richie Ashburn on 9 pitches. Jim Lefebvre was hit by a pitch. Then Joe Jackson walked to load the bases. Then Rico Petrocelli walked on four pitches. Three walks and a hit batsman yielded a run for Louisville and we were tied.
Washington doubled to start the top of the 6th. Two batters later, Patsy Dougherty singled to bring him in and LeMaster had the chance to put the bizarre fifth behind him.
Jerry Mumphrey singled to lead off the 6th. But LeMaster got through it. Ashburn singled to start the 7th...but LeMaster got through that, too.
Volquez was fine the rest of the way, leaving the pressure on LeMaster.
He would throw a perfect 8th, and closer Brandon Lyon would throw a 1-2-3 ninth for the Hitmen to give them a 2-0 lead in the series. They now get three games at home with the hope of finishing the series in friendly territory.
Chicago 2, Louisville 1 (Chicago leads series 2-0)
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St. Louis Tides (91-71) vs Arizona Sandmen (102-60)
Game Two: Bronson Arroyo (18-8, 3.81) goes for the Tides against Dutch Leonard (23-9, 3.29).
After a brutal, crushing Game One defeat, many thought the Tides would be crippled.
That didn't last.
Three batters into the game, after Duke Snider launched a 435-foot blast to center, the Tides were up 3-0, and there was a bounce in their collective step.
The bottom of the first, which caused three unearned runs after yet another error, this one by Arroyo, saw Arizona score four runs, the big blow being Ruppert Jones' two-run double. And so, after one inning, Arizona led 4-3.
In the third, Dan Uggla blasted a homer off Leonard to lift St. Louis back from trouble, tying the game at 4.
In the bottom of the third, St. Louis' defense proved costly. Errors by Pete Suder and Hal Chase led to another run when Chase missed an easy grounder to allow a run to score and make it 5-4 Arizona.
Mike Hargrove hit an RBI single for Arizona in the bottom of the 4th, and Larry Gardner did the same in the 5th - his coming off Joe Hoerner, who relieved Arroyo, the make it 7-4 Arizona, and St. Louis seemed to be having the series slip away from them.
In the top of the 7th, Tommy Harper tripled off Satchel Paige, who relieved Dutch Leonard after a 42 minute rain delay in the 6th. Dick Higham doubled Harper home to make it 7-5. Clark Griffith came on, and promptly walked Johnny Evers. That set the stage for Willie Randolph, who yanked a 3-run shot down the rightfield line to put St. Louis on top 8-7, and again restore St. Louis' faith they could win.
The game stayed that way until the 9th, when Arizona brought in Randy Choate to relieve. He faced five batters, walking three and retiring two. Dan Casey then came in to relieve him, only to have Fred Lynn greet him with a 2-run single to give the Tides some cushion and a 10-7 lead.
Joe Sambito came in to try and close it out for the Tides. Ruppert Jones grounded out to lead off the inning. Then Wes Parker singled. Next, Willie Wells did the same. Irish Meusel came up next and repeated the feat. Parker came around to score, only to have Tommy Harper reverse the poor-defense trend, gunning him down at home.
It wasn't over yet, though,
John McGraw followed up with a single, bringing Wells around to score, cutting the score to 10-8.
Mike Grady came up with runners on second and third. But Sambito got Grady to lift a lazy fly to center...questionable with the Tides' six errors in two games...but Snider secured it and the Tides, despite all their flaws, were back in the series.
St. Louis 10, Arizona 8 (series tied 1-1)
Last edited by EMSoccerCoach; 10-02-2010 at 06:43 PM.
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