Plain, simple Jake

Two by two, hands of blue

Exhibition action in the Gateway Inning-a-Minute Baseball League continued yesterday at the Terror Dome on the campus of Miskatonic University, as the visiting Ariel Blue Suns scored two runs in the ninth inning on the way to a come-from-behind, eleven-inning 4–3 victory over the MU Fighting Cephalopods.

Defence dominated for both teams over the first two innings, with the only offence coming on a single by Blue Suns second baseman Atherton Wing. Things opened up in the third, though, as the Cephalopods scored two runs on four hits against Blue Suns pitcher Adelei Niska, who ended the game with 20 strikeouts in eleven innings of work, including 17 in the first nine innings.

Ariel came back in the top of the fourth with three singles by left fielder Malcolm Harbatkin, shortstop Crazy Ivan and centre fielder Rance Burgess, but only Harbatkin was able to score, leaving the Blue Suns behind 2–1. In the sixth, a solo home run by someone who, due to shoddy recordkeeping by the home team, remains unidentified, put the Cephalopods up by 2, a score that stood after eight innings

In the top of the ninth, though, the Blue Suns finally got their bats working again after four hitless innings. Third baseman Lawrence Dobson led off the inning with a double, then scored on a two-out single by Wing. Wing then scored on a double by Burgess to tie the game, and Niska shut down the Cephalopod batters in the bottom of the ninth to send the game into extra innings.

Neither team scored in the tenth, but Harbatkin singled to lead off the eleventh. He reached second on a ground out by Ivan, stole third after Wing was walked, then came home on a sacrifice fly by Burgess to put the Blue Suns ahead 4–3. The Cephalopods managed one hit in the bottom of the inning, but couldn't score, and the Blue Suns came away with a solid victory.

The top hitters for the Blue Suns were Wing (2–4, 1 RBI, 1 BB) and Burgess (2-5, 2 RBIs). Niska allowed three runs on eight hits in eleven innings of work.

posted by Jake @ 2:16 PM