I was on the road today but when I got back in town, I decided to ride by Moxie Stadium to see what Lee and Riverheads might be up to. The idea was that I would stop on the hill, glance at the scoreboard, and if it looked like a good enough game, I would go watch the rest of it.
Well I got there in the home half of the fifth and Riverheads was ahead 5-2, so I stayed around and witnessed just about everything you could see in a game for those last 2 + innings, as the teams more than doubled their output before the visiting Gladiators survived 11-6. However, I have to candidly admit and I am sure everyone in attendance would agree.....neither team should be especially proud of those late innings, as the play by both was sloppy at best, which led to most of those runs coming by way of errors.
The first thing I learned from other RHS fans was a general opinion that we had been "robbed" of a home run at some point in the game and that it "should" be 6-2. Since I didn't see it, of course I can't comment, but apparently there was a question of fair or foul, just one of MANY officiating calls that were not appreciated in this one.
Anyway, the Leemen used the long ball effectively there in the bottom of the fifth and plated a run on a sac fly to close the gap to 5-3. That set the stage for a truly bizarre sixth inning which seemed to take an hour to play.
The Lee pitcher (have no idea about any names) walked the first two batters to immediately give the Big Red a scoring threat. The runners then moved up on a bunt that the pitcher could not field cleanly as the Gladiators loaded the bases with nobody out. Another walk forced in a run to put RHS ahead 6-3.
The next batter hit a routine grounder up the middle that could have been a double play ball. Instead the Leemen bobbled it, then threw it away at least once more and when the dust settled, three more runs had crossed the plate to break the game open for Riverheads.
The Lee skipper went ballistic on the umpire in both halves of the sixth, but Blue elected not to toss him. Also at some point, Coach Tibbs (Lee's AD) appeared on the scene and read one of his own fans the riot act over some comments being made about the home plate ump and then apologized to the Riverheads fans as he walked by. So things got a little testy to say the least. Pitching changes by both teams further slowed the pace of the game.
RHS plated one more run in that inning before Lee finally stopped the bleeding at 10-3. However, the Gladiator fielding in the bottom half of the sixth was not much better than what we had just seen as two mental errors plated a pair of runs. The inning ended with RHS on top 10-6 but it could have been closer if the umps had agreed with either or both of Lee's arguments.
Riverheads scored once more in the top of the 7th, again on a two-base throwing error, and finally some sanity was restored in the bottom of the inning when Braeson Fulton, the third Gladiator pitcher of the game, calmed things down and showed how it is supposed to be done by striking out the side. By that time all anyone wanted was for the game to be over.
So I did not see "all" the action but saw enough to know that it was a pretty frisky night in Gypsy Hill. The win gives the Big Red a 3-2 league mark and 4-2 overall. It was a great night weather-wise, but based on what we are being told to expect, it could be this time next week before anyone sees any more action.
Well I got there in the home half of the fifth and Riverheads was ahead 5-2, so I stayed around and witnessed just about everything you could see in a game for those last 2 + innings, as the teams more than doubled their output before the visiting Gladiators survived 11-6. However, I have to candidly admit and I am sure everyone in attendance would agree.....neither team should be especially proud of those late innings, as the play by both was sloppy at best, which led to most of those runs coming by way of errors.
The first thing I learned from other RHS fans was a general opinion that we had been "robbed" of a home run at some point in the game and that it "should" be 6-2. Since I didn't see it, of course I can't comment, but apparently there was a question of fair or foul, just one of MANY officiating calls that were not appreciated in this one.
Anyway, the Leemen used the long ball effectively there in the bottom of the fifth and plated a run on a sac fly to close the gap to 5-3. That set the stage for a truly bizarre sixth inning which seemed to take an hour to play.
The Lee pitcher (have no idea about any names) walked the first two batters to immediately give the Big Red a scoring threat. The runners then moved up on a bunt that the pitcher could not field cleanly as the Gladiators loaded the bases with nobody out. Another walk forced in a run to put RHS ahead 6-3.
The next batter hit a routine grounder up the middle that could have been a double play ball. Instead the Leemen bobbled it, then threw it away at least once more and when the dust settled, three more runs had crossed the plate to break the game open for Riverheads.
The Lee skipper went ballistic on the umpire in both halves of the sixth, but Blue elected not to toss him. Also at some point, Coach Tibbs (Lee's AD) appeared on the scene and read one of his own fans the riot act over some comments being made about the home plate ump and then apologized to the Riverheads fans as he walked by. So things got a little testy to say the least. Pitching changes by both teams further slowed the pace of the game.
RHS plated one more run in that inning before Lee finally stopped the bleeding at 10-3. However, the Gladiator fielding in the bottom half of the sixth was not much better than what we had just seen as two mental errors plated a pair of runs. The inning ended with RHS on top 10-6 but it could have been closer if the umps had agreed with either or both of Lee's arguments.
Riverheads scored once more in the top of the 7th, again on a two-base throwing error, and finally some sanity was restored in the bottom of the inning when Braeson Fulton, the third Gladiator pitcher of the game, calmed things down and showed how it is supposed to be done by striking out the side. By that time all anyone wanted was for the game to be over.
So I did not see "all" the action but saw enough to know that it was a pretty frisky night in Gypsy Hill. The win gives the Big Red a 3-2 league mark and 4-2 overall. It was a great night weather-wise, but based on what we are being told to expect, it could be this time next week before anyone sees any more action.
