Selects vs. Smoke
Thursday, July 3, 2014
The Selects looked very much like a team that hadn't played in three weeks on Thursday night, allowing a string of errors to end a five-game win streak that dated back to the end of May. They never trailed entering the bottom of the seventh, before the Smoke scored three runs without registering a hit to win 7-6.
The Selects jumped ahead in the top of the first when Kevin Ryrie and Scott Clark came in to count on RBI singles from Tim Coverdale and Shayne Riepert. The Smoke then took advantage of two errors in the third to tie things up, and the score remained knotted at two until the fifth.
In the top of that frame, Mike Brown stroked a leadoff single and moved to third on a two-out single from Darren Strickland. With runners at the corners, the Selects put Strickland in motion and he showed savvy beyond his 18 years, getting caught in a rundown long enough for Brown to score from third. The Smoke quickly tied it back up as Rob Wood drew a leadoff walk and capitalized on errors to score without a hit in the inning.
The Selects looked to take control in the top of the sixth as singles from Aaron McCaw, Brad Cleasby, Ryrie, Clark, and Coverdale led to three runs and a 6-3 advantage. The Smoke got one back in the bottom half to make it 6-4 and, after a 1-2-3 top of the seventh, set up their comeback victory - four batters, a walk, two costly errors, and three runs.
MVP: Shayne Riepert, P/SS