The story of the senior divisions this year may be that new teams threaten to overcome perennial powerhouses. In the 33 Division, the newcomer Indians took the regular season and may be headed for a championship showdown with defending champs and #2 seed Dodgers (of course, both teams first have to deal with the Yankees and Mets in series that start tonight).
In the 45 Division, the expansion Bombers nip at the heels of the defending champion Giants (though the Reds and Marlins will stand in the way come playoff time.
And then there are the new "kid" Giants in the 55 Division. They went undefeated in the regular season, eliminated the defending champ Damn Yankees in the playoff semis to face the perennial powerhouse Cardinals in the finals. Game 1 went to the Giants 4-2. On this Monday night at Satellite Field, the Giants vie for an undefeated championship season, while the Cards look to extend the series to a deciding third game.
Cardinals send John LaTorre to the hill, and the Giants counter with Jimmy K.
Each team scored once in the first, both on walks, steals of second, and RBI by the three hitter.
Inning 2 and the Giants score 6 on 3 singles, a double, and 2 Cardinal errors. Giants hit the ball hard, with six consecutive batters (6-7-8-9-1-2) scoring. In their half of the second, Cards went down in order on a foul pop and 2 groundouts. End of two, Giants up 7-1.
Inning 3 looked like inning 2. A lead off ground rule double by Giants lefty #5 ended LaTorre's night on the mound. New Cardinals hurler (Al Freer, I believe) also found the going rough, as after a groundout to short, an error and 2 singles plated two, giving the Giants a 9-1 margin. In the bottom half, the Cards got their first base hit from the lead off batter (again, Freer, I believe). The 9 hitter then scorched a ball up the middle, but it was fielded at the bag by the Giants 2B who stepped on the bag with plenty of time to toss it to first for a DP. A ground out ended the inning, 9-1 Giants.
At the risk of monotony, inning 4 saw the Giants score 2 on 4 singles (well Fred Pidgeon hit shot to right center that some might have turned into a double or triple, but he seemed content with the 2 RBI and first base). The Cards went 3 up, 3 down...again...on a K and two P4s. Giants 11, Cards 1.
Five innings would be it for this contest. The Giants got their 12th run on a Cardinals error, stolen base, and RBI single. The Cards would plate one in the bottom half, on a single, stolen base, ground out, and single, but that was it. Giants win 12-2 and complete their impressive undefeated championship run.
Final lines for this game were something like:
Giants: 12 runs, 15 hits, 0 errors.
Cards: 2 runs, 3 hits, 5 errors.
(This scorer may have been rough on a couple of those errors, the Giants were crushing the ball).
WP: Konstantakis, LP: LaTorre
New team 1, Defending (and Past) Champions, 0. 33 Indians and 45 Bombers, you're up. Let's see what you got.
Thanx Curt for the summary. It was the Giants' defense that combined on a 3-hitter to earn this victory. No errors in 14 chances over 5 innings. Made every play look easy.
Jim Whitford 3B, Ralph Caputo SS, Tony Nardacci 2B, Pete Geannelis 1B, Tom Maney LF, Darrell Duncan CF, Mike Lannon RF and Bill Smith C. I'd simply say any pitcher can win with that defense, but I'm not sure I've ever seen a team focus with that kind of defensive intensity for a full game before. They were in it every single pitch. Absolutely tenacious. And they hit like they pitched. Not one wasted at-bat. Total focus.
As a team, we also want to thank all the 45 Giants who came out to lend their support and urge us on to the perfect season. 20-0. Now we know how Tim Brown, Steve Van Gelder and the rest of the 2009 Yankees felt after becoming the first CDMSBL team to go unbeaten for a full season.
Way to go Giants!! Sorry I couldn't make it out the game. Would have liked to seen that one. Hell of a season fellas! Can't wait to join you guys in a few years!
Congrats to Jimmy K and ALL the Giants as I don't care who you or what league you play in, it's never easy and quite an accomplishment to win a title out of the gate, much less without a single bogey on the scorecard... Fantastic job and as great an inaugural season as anyone could have, happy for all you guys...
GREAT reporting too Curt, so thanks for that! Like your synopsis too, nice and spot on... And a big Happy Belated Birthday to you too good sir!
