The Whiz Kids called upon a few of their veteran warhorses to beat the Damn Yankees on Wednesday evening at New Scotland in a big 55s matchup. Darrell Duncan turned in a dominating performance on the mound and Billy Smith provided the big bat with a pair of hits and 3 RBI as the Kids defeated the Yankees 4-3.
Duncan scattered nine hits, but most importantly he walked only one and spaced his eight strikeouts in what seemed like the most opportune times. Down 2-0 after three, Smith lined an RBI single to left and Mike Lannon tied the score with a sacrifice fly.
After the Yankees grabbed the 3-2 lead with a single run in the fifth, Smith came through once again with a two-out, two-strike single up the middle in the bottom half of the inning to score runners from second and third.
It was a tough-luck loss for ace Bill Kervan, who is battling back from a shoulder injury. He allowed just three hits and struck out five, as the Kids took advantage of seven walks and two hit batters. The Yankees just couldn't seem to come up with the big hit, as they stranded 12 runners on base and were hitless in 11 tries with runners in scoring position.
The Whiz Kids victory shakes up the battle for second place in the 55s standings. The Cards have first wrapped up, but the Yankees (9-5), Marlins (9-5), Americans (8-6) all have one game remaining. The Whiz Kids finish 9-7 heading into the tournament.