Buckley Mows Down the Bears, Lucky 38 Wins 2-1
Wilfred Buckley did not pitch a complete game, nor did he even get the win. Yet the Lucky 38 pitcher earned game MVP honors after striking out 13 batters and giving up only two hits and a run in 7 2/3 innings in Lucky 38’s 2-1 win over the New California Republic.
Buckley was finally pulled with the score tied 1-1 and two outs in the eighth inning after he appeared to run out of gas by walking two batters. Bobby Lorn replaced him to complete the inning. and he eventually earned the win.
Lucky 38 took the lead in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a great start to the inning. Eddie Pegasus pinch hit for Lorn in the 9th spot and led off with a double. Mike Duncan then singled Pegasus to third, and Stu Vanstone followed with an RBI single to score Pegasus for the 2-1 lead.
After the initial barrage of hits on NCR’s reliever Willie Caine, Lucky 38’s big three could not blow the game open and the inning ended. However, Otis Pryor came in for Lucky 38 and shut down the Bears in the final inning, giving Lucky 38 a two games to one advantage in the Mojave Series.
Despite not factoring into the decision, the NCR’s Donnell Dugood also had an excellent pitching performance. He finished giving up one run on just five hits with seven strikeouts and no walks in seven innings. He was pulled for pinch hitter Gabriel Rodriguez in the eighth inning.
The Bears only two hits in the game came from Clyde Martin. He hit a solo shot in the fourth inning to tie the game 1-1 and doubled in the seventh. Along with Martin’s double to become the first runner on base, the NCR only had three base runners in the game, with the other two coming on Buckley’s two walks.
Lucky 38’s first run came on a leadoff solo shot in the bottom of the third. In the game, Lucky 38 had eight hits. Mike Duncan and Jimmy LaRue had two each to lead the team.