Bucharest Sounds at Sheffield Mountain Hares - Series Recap
Logo by @20_range
Game 1
Tuesday, July 20th, 2060 – Sheffield win 8–7 (46–48)
The opener was pure roller-coaster: nine innings of “are we screaming in fear or fun?”
Bucharest jumped Saville-style on the scoreboard, with J. Shan and A. Santhanakrishnan leaving twin vapor trails in the 1st for a quick 3–0 lead. The Sounds kept nudging ahead behind more long balls from J. Pedelty and K. Zhuan, and took a 7–5 edge into the 9th.
Sheffield’s bats, which had been simmering like a forgotten kettle, boiled over late. A six-run 6th, powered by a parade of knocks from R. Graham, E. Ali and friends, flipped the game to 8–5. When Zhuan answered with a two-run shot in the 9th off N. Barrios, Kingfisher Park turned into a collective sharp intake of breath – but Barrios slammed the door for save no. 17 and an 8–7 win.
Player of the Game:
Keung Zhuan (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI, SB, all the drama).
⸻
Game 2
Wednesday, July 21st, 2060 – Bucharest win 6–0 (46–49)
In Game 2 the Mountain Hares’ offense disappeared like a Wi-Fi signal in a stone basement. Shashi Puskara was the router, the password and the smug IT guy all in one: 6.1 innings, just three hits, four walks and four strikeouts in a 6–0 Bucharest shutout.
The Sounds did their damage early. In the 2nd, catcher Jon Toth turned A. Herzog’s fastball into a three-run souvenir, stretching the lead to 4–0. I. Takko added a solo shot in the 5th, and Bucharest basically set their bats down and admired the view.
Sheffield scraped together only four hits – a lone double from A. bin Jameel was as close as they came to a threat, and even that felt more like a strongly worded letter than a rally.
Player of the Game:
Shashi Puskara.
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Game 3
Thursday, July 22nd, 2060 – Bucharest win 10–0 (46–50)
Game 3 was the full Bucharest experience: thunderous bats and Evrim Shushud painting corners like a more accurate Jackson Pollock. Shushud spun 7.1 scoreless frames, allowing only three hits and no walks while fanning six. The Hares’ hitters, meanwhile, looked like they’d accidentally picked up pool noodles instead of bats.
The Sounds put up crooked numbers early and often – three in the 1st, three more in the 2nd – turning L. Saville’s evening into a very short horror anthology (1.2 IP, 6 ER). J. Pedelty, E. Sousa and H. Thoma all homered, while K. Zhuan drove in four as Bucharest piled up 16 hits and a 10–0 win.
To make things worse, 2B Ilpo Takko left with an injury while running the bases, as if the baseball gods felt the scoreline needed extra salt.
Player of the Game:
Evrim Shushud.
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Series Summary
Bucharest takes the set 2–1, outscoring Sheffield 23–8 and turning Kingfisher Park into their personal rehearsal studio. The Hares snatched the opener in wild comeback fashion but were then shut out in back-to-back games, mustering just seven hits over the final 18 innings.
Sheffield leaves the series at
46–50, four games under .500 and feeling a bit like a rabbit that tried to race a freight train. The rotation showed both sides of its personality – late-inning grit from R. Ochoa and T. Allen in Game 1, then rough nights for Herzog and Saville – while the offense will hope Game 1’s fireworks are the real them, and Games 2–3 were just a very bad dream with a Bucharest soundtrack.