Bad news first: In warm-ups for today's game, Jim Wing was in the outfield shagging flies in case we needed him to sub in for any of our outfielders. A liner from the fungo hitter was headed directly at Jim, when he lost the ball in the sun. He never again retained sight of the ball and it ended up hitting him right in the face. He ended up face down on the turf, and had to be helped off the field with his face bleeding profusely. The ambulance crew had to be called and Jim was whisked away to the local hospital. The team had to regain our composure, and get back to playing baseball against a very good Southern Cal Dodgers, while we were all worried about our buddy. The group got together in front of the dugout and dedicated the game to Jim.
TJ Scorsone pitched the first 4 innings giving up just 1 second inning run. The offense got on track early with 4 runs in the second and 1 in the third. In the 5th, TJ got tired and gave up four runs , and the score was tied at 5 entering the 6th inning. Jim McQuade drove in Dean Little in the top of the sixth for a 6-5 lead. One inning later the Braves offense erupted for 5 runs and added 1 in the 7th inning to expand the lead to 12-5. The Southern Cal Dodgers never quit, and plated 1 run in the 8th and 4 in the 9th to close the gap to 12-10 and had the tying run at the plate when Ralph Caputo slammed the door shut with the final batter striking out. Mike Girard led the offense with a perfect 4 for 4 day at the plate, with a double, 3 singles, and 4 RBI's. Scott Ross continued his torrid hitting with another 3 hit game, scoring 2 and driving in 2. Jim McQuade also recorded his second 2 hit game in a row.
Jerry Solomon pitched a solid 3 plus innings in support of Scorsone and Caputo. The Braves improved to 2-1, and are currently sitting in 7th place (would qualify for the playoffs) at the midway point of the round robin. We are scheduled for a double header tomorrow, with a 10:00 am game against the Arizona Pirates, and a 2:00 pm game vs the RC Diamondbacks (Arizona). We will be praying for our buddy Jim as he recuperates from his injuries, and prepares to return home for surgery. We have more reason than ever to push through the nagging injuries, and play through our 4th and 5th games in 3 days, all at 95 degrees or better. I will update you all tomorrow. Thanks for all of your support!
Very sorry to hear about Jim's injury; especially that it was severe enough to force a pretty tough dude off the field. Best wishes for a speedy recovery and we'll see you on opening day. Best of luck to the rest of the guys in Arizona.
