It was another beautiful evening in the Sylmar foothills for this years PCBL Summer Season Wood Bat Championship between the Giants and the Muckdogs. This game was a repeat of the Spring Season Championship where the Muckdogs claiimed the title by a final score of 14-4. As a matter of fact, this Summer Season Championship marks the 4th time that these two teams have faced off in the Wood Bat Final; with the Muckdogs holding a
3-0 series lead going into this contest.
The first inning and a half would go scoreless; bringing the Muckdogs up in the bottom of the 2nd inning to try to be the first to score in this contest. David Lopez leads off the inning with a double and steals 3rd shortly thereafter. He scores as Carlos Melara grounds into a fielders choice. The next batter flies out, bringing up Mike Lindberg who singles. The next batter James Dupree who gets an RBI single. The Muckdogs get 2 runs in the innings and take the early 2-0 lead.
But the Giants would strike back in the top of the 3rd. With 2 out in the inning, Wes Bolton singles and eventually steals second. Garrett Behnke doubles home Bolton. The next batter is Kody Kimbrel who singles home Behnke. The Giants get 2 runs in the inning to tie this championship at 2 apiece.
The score would remain a 2-2 tie as we entered the bottom of the 5th inning. The Muckdogs led off with Manager and DH James Dupree who reached base by way of a fielding error. The next batter was leadoff hitter Brandon Loomis who doubled. The next batter popped out, bringing up Eric Melara who reach base due to the 2nd error of the inning. The next batter would pop out for the 2nd out; but the next 2 batters would reach base due to errors to total 4 in the inning. 3 more runs came across for the Muckdogs as a result, putting them ahead 5-2 through 5 complete innings.
We would still have a 5-2 Muckdog lead as we entered the bottom of the 7th inning. The Muckdogs Lenny Beckerman walked to lead things off and soon after advanceed to 2nd on a pass ball. A fly ball sacrifice moved him to 3rd and soon after a fielding error scored him. The Muckdogs extend their lead; up 6-2 through 7 complete innings of play.
That would prove to be the final score as the last inning and a half of this championship would go scoreless, giving the Muckdogs their league-leading 5th Wood Bat Championship with a 6-2 victory over the Giants. Congratulations go out to the Muckdogs for winning another championship; proving yet again to be a dominant force in the wood bat division.
Offensive kudos for the Muckdogs have to go to the following:
Eric Melara 1 for 3 / Solo Homer, walked, hit by pitch, 3 runs
Dusty Michael: 2 for 3 / double, RBI triple, 1 run
Scott Bailey 2 for 4 / 2 singles, walk, 2 runs
Lenny Beckerman 2 for 5 / RBI single, double, 2 runs
Brandon Loomis 2 for 5 / 2 RBI singles, 1 run
Game Stats:
Game Stats R H E
Giants 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 6
Muckdogs 0 2 0 0 3 0 1 0 - 6 7 2
Game Time: 7:10pm - 9:35pm (2 hours, 25 minutes)
Umpires: (bases) Chris Chegwin
(plate) Pat Smith
Pitching Stats:
Winning pitcher: Eddie Mercado (Muckdogs)
4 innings / allowed 2 runs on 5 hits / 0 BB / 2 K's
Save: Matt Stone (Muckdogs)
5 innings / allowed 0 runs on 3 hits / 1 BB / 7 K's
Losing pitcher: Bob Diaz (Giants)
7 innings / allowed 6 runs on 7 hits / 1 BB / 2 K's
Chew Diaz (Giants)
1 inning / allowed 0 runs on 0 hits / 1 BB / 2 K's
