Selects vs. Jays
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
After waiting nearly two weeks to find out they were in the playoffs, the Selects opened their quarterfinal series against the Jays on Tuesday night and the game proved to be worth the wait.
After Scott Clark and Shayne Riepert held the offenses scoreless through two innings, the Selects drew first blood in the top of the third, when Kevin Ryrie drew a walk, stole second, and scored on a Jamie Ridley single. The lead proved short-lived, however, as the Jays knotted the game in the bottom half of the inning, when Justin Krulicki doubled and scored on a Chad Annis single. They grabbed the lead in the fourth when Kevin Matthews walked and scored on a Justin Clayfield single; after advancing on a passed ball, Clayfield then came in to count on a Krulicki single to give the Jays a 3-1 lead.
The Selects were not going to go quietly, though. With one out in the top of the fifth, Jamie Ridley drew a walk and Mike Brown singled. Both advanced on a passed ball, setting up Mike Welton's two-run single to tie the game. With two outs and Welton on third, Brent Furtney eventually bested Riepert in a long battle, stroking a single to LF to give the Selects a 4-3 lead. But they weren't done yet. After walks to Zack Anstett and Clark to load the bases, Ryrie drew an RBI walk to make it 5-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth and final inning.
Alas, the Jays proved they had a little resilience of their own. Jeff Kolb singled, Al Taylor walked, and Tim Bartram singled to load the bases with nobody out. Matthews singled past a drawn-in infield, scoring Kolb and Riepert (pinch-running for Taylor) to tie the game and move the winning run to third. After an intentional walk was issued to Jeff Laythorpe, Clayfield singled up the middle to cash Bartram with the winning run.
Game two of the series goes Thursday at 9 p.m. The Selects need a win to keep their season alive.
MVP: Mike Brown, CF