Team Albany fought back from deficits in both games, and started the first day at 2-0. In game one, Team Albany came back from deficits of 1-0; 3-1; and 6-5, and pulled away late for a 11-6 victory over the Tri-valley San Jose Giants. Wayne Newcomb knocked in Dean Little in the 2nd inning to tie the game at 1. Ralph Caputo knocked in Ron Lochner and Dean Little, in the 4th inning, to give the good guys a 3-2 lead. Dave Mitchell hit a rocket, in the 5th, to knock in Scott Ross and Darrell Duncan and tie the game at 5. After the Giants took their third lead (6-5) of the game, in the bottom half of the fifth, Team Albany made their third comeback of the game, in the top of the 6th, when Ralph Caputo delivered Dean Little to tie the game. Entering the bottom half of the sixth, Mike Girard came in and set the Giants down in order, striking out 2. Albany's winning rally would come in the top of the next frame, when Albany got one out hits from Duncan and Girard. Ron Lochner knocked in the last two runs in the 4 run rally, with a line drive single. Mike Girard took it from there, and kept the Giants off the score board through the last 3 innings, striking out 3 more hitters along the way. Nice win: 11-6. In game two, the real story was Darrell Duncan's pitching. He navigated 8 innings without giving up an earned run. The only hiccup on the day for Darrell was the 5th inning, when his teammates kicked the ball around a little. Two big errors led to a 5-run 4th inning for the Seattle Blues. That inning gave the visitors a 5-2 lead. Again, Albany would just not be denied. The Home team scored 6 times in the bottom of the fifth inning. Meanwhile, Darrell kept the Blues scoreless from the 6th through the 8th innings, and put Team Albany on the verge of a 2-0 start. Again, Albany gave the ball to Girard to close out the opponent. Girard gave up just a one out walk and got the job done. Another nice win: 8-5 It was a great day to be on Team Albany! Day two sees the good guys going up against Fog City (San Francisco) who finished day one at 1-1.
Great reporting Mike. Keep up the good play. There are a lot of great and experienced players on that roster. I tip my cap and bend my elbow to you guys.
