Stayed in Jacksonville with Game 4 being a possible elimination game but apparently the Wolf Pack weren't prepared to just roll over and play dead. They jumped on Chicago starter Mike Fritzsche to the tune of 5 runs on 8 hits driving in out of the game before he completed the 2nd inning. Veteran second baseman Blake Muller led the way for Jacksonville with a 4 for 5 game and hit his 2nd homer of the series.
Chicago's offense did their best to stage a comeback, with veteran first baseman Jose Flores going 3 for 5 and hitting a home run and superstar shortstop Pat Thompson was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, but in the end the Fire fell just short and will have to wait at least one more day to clinch the series and continue their quest for a repeat championship.
Meanwhile, we are now facing a possible elimination game in the MGL also, with the surprising underdog Detroit Falcons now leading 3 games to 1. This was another great pitching matchup and it took a solo homer by veteran outfielder Eric Dougherty to walk it off for the Falcons in the bottom of the 12th inning. Dougherty's homer followed a one-out single by Travis Merrill but Merrill was caught stealing on the first pitch to Dougherty. Former Brewer (okay, let's face it, everyone in this paragraph so far is sort of a former Brewer, with Merrill having spent time in our minor league system) lefty starter Terry Dubiel was excellent in 7 innings for the no-decision and Phoenix starter Homare Matsumoto was nearly as good in 8 innings pitched.
In spite of being on the verge of moving on to the KCS, Detroit has a measure of pressure on them to win the next game, the final one in Detroit in this series, before returning to that hitter's paradise in Phoenix where the Speed Devils probably regain the advantage.
