Mudhens Outlast Expos in Marathon Slugfest
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer
This second game of our championship doubleheader at Conejo Creek Ballpark was taylor-made for anyone craving an abundance of offense in a championship game. This A Division Championship between the Mudhens and the Hollywood Expos turned out to be just that - a bizarre combination of bloop singles, texas leaguers and any other method you can think of to reach base safely.
The Mudhens are first to get into the hit parade in the top of the 1st inning. Leadoff hitter Anthony Jones singles and, soon after, advances to 2nd on a pass ball. The next two batters would walk, loading the bases for Jeremy Basis. He doubles to clear the bases. The next batter is Ben Purer, who grounds out to short, but gets an RBI in the process. The Mudhens settle for 4 runs in the inning and take the early 4-0 lead through 1/2 an inning of play.
The Expos leadoff hitter flies out to start the bottom of the 1st. The next batter is hit by a pitch to reach base safely, but is forced out at 2nd in a fielders choice shortly thereafter. With a runner on and 2 outs, the next batter is Richard Othon. He doubles, scoring a run. The next batter is Tom Schultz, and he singles home Othon. Brother Tyler Schultz follows with a double of his own. The Expos settle for 2 runs in the inning and trail the Mudhens 4-2 through 1 complete.
But back come the Mudhens. Leading off is Josh Crosgrove, who singles. He's followed by Nader Adaweya who doubles. the next batter strikes out, bringing up Anthony Jones who draws a walk to load the bases for pitcher Alan Johnson. He singles home a pair of runs. Two batters later, Jeremy Basis singles home a run for his 4th RBI in only his 2nd at bat. He's followed by Ben Purer who singles to get his 2nd RBI of the contest. The Mudhens match their 1st inning effort, scoring 4 runs in the inning to take an 8-2 lead through an inning and a half.
But the Expos get one back in the bottom of the inning. With 2 out, leadoff hitter Dominic Hanna triples in the gap and later scores on an RBI single from Jesus Banuelos. The Expos settle for 1 run and trail 8-3 through 2 complete innings of play.
The Mudhens send up Jason Richards to start the top of the 3rd inning. He walks and steals 2nd shortly thereafter. Nader Adaweya reaches base due to a fielding error with Richards scoring. The next batter grounds out, sending up Harold Papineau with 2 out and 1 on. He singles to drive home a run. The Mudhens settle for 2 runs in the inning and now lead 10-3 through 2 1/2 innings.
The game would remain 10-3 as we entered the bottom of the 4th inning and the Expos coming up. they send up Bobby Saulog who promptly doubles to get things started. The next batter pops out, followed by Lucas Barraza who draws a 1 out walk. The next batter is Dominick Hanna who singles for his 2nd hit of the game. Soon after, a fielding error scores a run. Jesus Banuelos follows with an RBI sac fly to left. Adam Rebensdorf follows with an RBI single. Two batters later, Tom Schultz drives home a run. The Expos get 4 runs on just as many hits and now trail the Mudhens by a score of 10-7 through 4 complete.
The Mudhens first 2 batters in the top of the 5th are retired. Jason Richards draws a 2-out walk and soon after he steals 2nd. Josh Crosgrove is next up and he reaches base on a fielding error, with a run scoring in the process. The Mudhens get an unearned run in the inning and extend their lead, now leading 11-7.
But the Expos weren't backing down. The first 2 batters would be retired in the bottom of the 5th inning, sending Steven Knapton to the plate with 2 out. He singles to keep the inning alive for Dominick Hanna who has singled and tripled in this contest thus far. He responds with his 3rd hit of the ballgame - a double. Up comes Jesus Banuelos with 2 out and runners at the corners. He doubles home a pair of runs. The Expos settle for 2 runs in the inning and now trail 11-9 through 5 complete innings of play.
With the Mudhens failing to score in the top half of the 6th, up come the Expos in the bottom of the inning to try and even things up in this whirlwind of a championship. The first batter grounds out, sending Tom Schultz to the plate who already has 2 RBI singles to his credit. He adds to his offensive resume with a solo homer to pull the Expos to within a single run. Brother Tyler Schultz follows with a single, sending up Bobby Saulog with 1 on and 1 out. He doubles to drive in Tyler Schultz and tie this game at 11. The Expos settle for the 2 runs and we're all tied up at 11 through 6 innings of play.
But the Mudhens weren't laying down. They lead off the top of the 7th with shane Ampe who singles. Jeremy Basis is up next and he reaches due to a fielding error. The next batter would strike out, sending up Austin Basis with 2 on and 1 out. He singles to drive home a run. The next batter is Jason Richards and he gets an RBI single as well. The Mudhens get 2 runs in the inning and they re-take the lead, now up 13-11 through 6 1/2 innings.
The Expos fail to score in the bottom of the 7fh; so here come the Mudhens in the top of the 8th to try and extend the lead. With 1 out in the inning, Will Gile doubles. Harold Papineau follows with a single; his 3rd single of the game. Next up is Anthony Jones, who doubles home Gile. they settle for the single run and are now up 14-11 through 7 1/2.
Both teams fail to score in their next at bats, bringing the Expos up in the bottom of the 9th with one more chance to make up the 3 run deficit. The 1st batter would strike out, sending up Richard Othon who doubles. The next batter would ground out for the 2nd out of the inning. Tyler Schultz comes up with 1 on and 2 out. He single to drive home Othon. Expos trail 14-12. They have 1 on with 2 out and the tying run, Bobby Saulog, coming to the plate. He singles to put runners on the corners with the potential game-winning run coming up to the plate, Peter Bahlawanian, with 2 out. However, Mudhen reliever Shane Ampe registers a most important strike out to end the rally and the game for the Expos.
Congratulations to the 2008 PCBL Fall A Division Champion Mudhens on scoring a big championship victory against a tenacious Expos team that put up a dozen runs against them, only to come up short. Although there was no clear cut MVP in this contest;
in a game of this nature it only seems fitting to mention the offensive standouts on both sides of the diamond in this championship:
Mudhens:
Jeremy Basis (2 for 4) Single, Double, 4 RBI's, 2 Runs
Alan Johnson (2 for 4) 2 Singles, Walk, 2 RBI's, 2 Runs
Ben Purer (2 for 5) Single, Double, 2 RBI's
Anthony Jones (2 for 3) Single, Double, 2 Walks, 1 RBI, 1 Run
Harold Papineau (3 for 3) 3 Singles, 1 RBI
Expos:
Dominick Hanna (4 for 5) 2 Singles, Double, Triple, 3 Runs
Bobby Saulog (4 for 6) 2 Singles, 2 Doubles, 1 RBI, 1 Run
Tom Schultz (3 for 6) 2 Singles, Homerun, 2 RBI's, 1 Run
Tyler Schultz (3 for 6) 2 Singles, 1 Double, 1 RBI, 1 Run
Jesus Banuelos (2 for 5) Single, Double, Sac Fly, 4 RBI's
Richard Othon (2 for 4) 2 Doubles, Walk, 1 RBI, 2 Runs
GAME STATS:
MUDHENS 4 4 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 14 18 2
EXPOS 2 1 0 4 2 2 0 0 1 12 20 4
Game Time: 1:00pm - 4:34pm (3 hours, 34 mins)
Umpires: Bases: Chris Chegwin
Plate: Ryan Goodman
Pitching
WP: Alan Johnson (Mudhens)7 IP / allowed 11 runs on 18 hits, with 3 walks & 3 K's
Save: Shane Ampe (Mudhens) 2 IP / allowed 1 run on 4 hits, with 2 walks & 5 K's
LP: Tyler Shultz (Expos) 3 IP / allowed 10 runs on 8 hits, with 4 walks & 4 K's
Adam Rebensdorf (Expos) 6 IP / allowed 4 runs on 10 hits, with 4 walks & 5 K's