The Mulberry Larks’ offense was alive and well during their second straight elimination game, as they pounded Old City pitching for 9 runs – all of them coming in the middle frames. After their second round victory over Sodersville, the Larks have now scored 17 runs in their past two contests.
Coming off a shutout in their first round game versus Delmont District, Old City ignited the home town fans when started Bob Gewinski shocked Mulberry with a two-out, 3-run homerun in the bottom of the 2nd inning off Gibson LaRouche. But Mulberry responded with some two-out magic of their own. In the top of the 4th, Mulberry put three straight men on base with two outs before left fielder Shigatoshi Snoozer roped a bases clearing triple down the left field line to knot the score at three. He then came home safely on Gibson LaRouche’s rbi single.
But the Rens, having lost their first and only lead of the tournament, refused to give in. Molasses Hyde led off the bottom half of the frame with a towering solo shot, knotting the score at four. Mulberry responded just as quickly and powerfully, as Tank Holyfield slugged his own homerun in the top of the 5th, giving the Larks a 5-4 lead. Old City would never lead again, as shaky command by Gewinski paired with timely hitting by the Larks gave Mulberry a comfortable 9-5 lead by the 6th inning. The veteran starter allowed a tournament high six walks and 14 hits, including three singles to opposing Hurler Gibson Larouche, who reached base four times and drove in two.
Old City would mount a late rally in the 9th off a tiring LaRouche, bringing the Rens within two runs with the bases loaded. But the boys in red ultimately fell just short, as Lucky Walker flew out to shallow center to end the contest as well as the Old City’s hopes of tournament glory.
Mulberry moves on to face Delmont District, who look to rebound from an 18-2 shallacking at the hands of mighty Lawler. The contest is set to begin at 3:30pm Sunday afternoon.
Perhaps inspired by the staggering success of Rene Dubois’ PBC, several new squads across the region have been appealing to the commissioner to be considered for inclusion for league play. Sodersville, Lawler, Pluto and New Garfield reportedly have full teams ready, while Delmont District, Upper Paxton and St. Sebastian look to have squads filled out by summer’s end. Rumors are beginning to swirl that Old City is looking to join the fray as well, which would mean an even 8 teams for possible absorption.
While talent has yet to be tested, Managers of the ‘New Eight’ have discussed plans to hold a tournament with hopes of garnering attention. New Garfield manager Longfellow Gould had this to say, “Look, we know these kids can play. By staging a local tournament we’ll be able to generate some buzz, hopefully get people excited enough to favor the expansion of Dubois league.”
Sodersville outfielder Mojo Jones added, “We all saw what a success the PBC was this past year. The Invitational, the playoffs, it was all high quality baseball. We know Dubois can run a good show, and we all think we have something to offer.”
Even as Concord Park held a 5-1 lead into the 6th,7th, and then 8th, the question remained on everyone’s mind, “Will it be enough?”. Despite chances late, The Nine failed to expand on their lead, giving hope to a Murrayfield team that has proven its ability to come from behind again and again.
Then, finally, in the 9th it began. Three straight hits to lead off the bottom half of the frame loaded the bases, putting Murrayfield in business. A sacrifice fly from Tyson made the score 5-2, and that was it for starter Martin Clapp. Two batters later, pinch hitter Miles Pearce knocked a single, scoring Vinnie Knox and closing the gap at 5-3. Representing the go-ahead run with two away, Isaac Pope stepped in. But Pope grounded out sharply to end the furious comeback rally, and Concord Park fans back home breathed a resounding sigh of relief.
“Even when you beat them, that team really takes it out of you,” said an exhausted Martin Clapp, who gave up 3 earned runs over 8 1/3 innings of work. “No matter the score, you can’t relax until that final out. They can come back and beat anybody, anytime.”
On the offensive side, it was the bottom of the order getting things done for Concord Park. Daniel Maynard and Martin Clapp, batting in the 8th and 9th spots respectively, each delivered run scoring two out hits. Lee Loveland and Geoffrey Bernard had fine days at the plate as well, going a combined 6-8 with 2 walks.
Concord Park will look to close the series out at home Friday night, when ace Americus Hammond takes on youngster Colt Lincoln.
Goonie Wheeler was unusually quiet in the locker rooms after Murrayfield & Grant’s shallow performance in the first game of the PBC Series. The catcher, perhaps the most physical (and most oafish) player in the league, showed little of his morning charm.
“I didn’t know they played baseball over there in Concord, until about, well until about April,” he joked in the morning press-hour. The game had been schedule since in September. He had played the Nine already once, in August.
Mr. Wheeler better not forget again anytime soon.
Prior to the final inning, his end-of-the-bat solo home run that squeaked over the right-field wall in the second had been one of two hits by the Barons all game. He had been one of four base runners. Murrayfield & Grant, an amalgam of two of the top three teams here in North River, and one built around an allegedly careful balance of tactical contact hitting and an arsenal of flat-out raw power, had been embarrassingly disarmed by a bunch of kids.
All this was happening as we struggled to watch, pitch after pitch, the great George Herbert Henderson–G.H., or simply the “Doc”–descend from the halls of Murrayfield’s finest hurlers into mediocrity. Initially declared fit for the Series prior to the lockout, Henderson had been in and out of physical therapy in the colder months. A cheerfully optimistic press conference a month ago ensured the fans and media that he was in top shape, that the Barons need not make any bullpen adjustments in the off-season, and that his return would at least ensure the Barons a 1-0 series lead by the time the boys got on the bus to Concord. He wasn’t even sure he’d bother making the trip, preferring to rest up for his match against the victor of Auburn and Wampaug.
Six innings, eight hits, two walks, and five runs later, Henderson trotted head-down toward the dugout having narrowly escaped a Concord pillaging. He was sent back, confused, to re-trace his steps diagonally across the greens to the Pitchers’ Club House, just to the right of the scoreboard. It read 5-1. He was being pulled. He walked slower this time. The game had ended. Henderson had done enough. Davis Sr. had seen enough. The Barons would try again Friday. This all with three full innings left of play.
But it wouldn’t matter. Elmo Lincoln, the erratic elder clown-brother of future-Ace/baby Colt Lincoln, (whose arrival to the Club is one of the stranger cases of an epidemic known as ‘Siamese contracting’, a borderline legal negotiating strategy which has sprung about under the commissionership of Mr. DuBois and especially prevalent during ‘The Divide’), fumbled through the final three innings. Clapp continued to shut down the Barons at the dish. And then the usual glimmer of hope returned in the bottom of the ninth was, as usual, too late.
M&G teased us again. They loaded the bases with no outs on a string of base hits. The leading run was at the plate; a better team could have done it. This team last year could have done it. But even after two runs crossed, the Barons still very much alive, few actually felt they would pull it out. It was because they had just appeared so flat all night. They looked weak. They looked old. They looked like they were a team that had already gotten beat, no matter the score.
A routine grounder confirmed it. Concord Park, thought to be the longest-shot pick of the tournament last summer, has found itself one game away from the championship. The Barons find themselves a loss away from another early exit in a top tournament, another year of no hardware to put in the empty trophy case that sits in the room full of league pennants in Murrayfield.
“You know…we are allowed to lose baseball games once in a while. We’re not perfect,” Skipper Davis lamented.
Sure coach, just not one more.
—–
Atticus Rigby is a contributing Sports Editor for the Grant City Chronicle, a columnist for North River Sporting.
PBC Circut Table
as of June 28, 2011
| rnk | team | pts | rtng | wtd | avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
30 | 2.14 | 2.50 | 2.32 |
| 2 |  |
25 | 2.50 | 2.08 | 2.29 |
| 3 |  |
25 | 1.79 | 2.08 | 1.94 |
| 4 |  |
23 | 1.92 | 1.91 | 1.92 |
| 5 |  |
11 | 1.83 | 0.91 | 1.37 |
| 6 |  |
9 | 0.88 | 0.75 | 0.82 |
| 7 |  |
9 | 0.88 | 0.75 | 0.82 |
| 8 |  |
6 | 1.20 | 0.20 | 0.70 |
| 9 |  |
7 | 0.57 | 0.58 | 0.67 |
| 10 |  |
7 | 0.57 | 0.58 | 0.67 |
| 11 |  |
5 | 1.00 | 0.16 | 0.58 |
| 12 |  |
2 | 0.50 | 0.06 | 0.28 |
| 13 |  |
1 | 0.33 | 0.03 | 0.18 |
| 14 |  |
1 | 0.33 | 0.03 | 0.18 |
| 15 |  |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 |  |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
