Well if you folks have been regular readers of my posts for the last year or so, we have been down this road before............meaning that I had OF COURSE finished my recap of the game, but when I hit the post button, this damn possessed machine of mine decided to only post what it wanted to post. But this time instead of giving up and calling it a night, I will try again.
He had not yet taken the mound but Kuhn had the key hit of that Gladiator third. With the bases loaded, he hit one down the third base line that should have been an easy force out. Instead the ball skipped though the wickets and into left field. That plated two runs and by the time the Big Red was finished the score was 5-2, a lead they would not relinquish.
Kuhn then took the mound to protect that cushion, but ironically his first inning was his shakiest as the Cougars got two of those runs back to close to within 5-4. But you know these two county rivals were not going to play a game without controversy, and that came on the call that ended the third.
SD had already closed the gap to 5-4, with two outs but had the bases loaded, hoping for more. The batter worked Kuhn to a full count, which set the stage for about as much drama as anyone could want. So on that 3-2 count, the home plate umpire asked the base umpire to be the bad guy and to the immediate disgust of the Cougar faithful, he gave the "yes he did" signal and the inning ended with RHS still on top 5-4.
After two scoreless innings, the Cougars tied things up in the bottom of the sixth. The lead-off man hit a deep one to right field that the Gladiator outfielder had trouble finding, to the point that it momentarily looked like we could see the rare inside the park homer. But he was held up at third and eventually scored. Before the inning ended, the Cougars had a potential lead run nailed at the plate when they tried to score on a wild pitch.
RHS then won it in the top of the 7th when the lead-off man reached safely, stole second, took third on a fielder's choice, and then came home when a grounder to the shortstop was bobbled "just enough" to allow everyone to be safe.
Kuhn would have had every right to be nervous heading into the home half of the seventh. Instead he set the Cougars down in order in an at-bat that was over in less than five minutes.
Not the prettiest game by either team but RHS will take their 5-0 record into their home opener Tuesday against Wilson. First pitch will be at 5:00 as always due to the unlighted field. The weatherman is promising sunshine but only 53 degrees, so bundle up.
