On a picture perfect night at New Scotland's Swift Road Park, the Cubs and Pirates got together for an entertaining game.
The Pirates got off to a good start against Cubs' starter, Scott Ross, with a two run home run by Darnell Baker, in the top of the first inning. Scott had two more Pirates reach base, after the HR, but struck out the 5 and 6 hitters for the Bucs, to escape further damage.
The Cubs would get one back in the bottom of the inning, on a RBI double by Mike Girard, after Ross reached base on an error, and stolen second. They would tie it up at 2, in the bottom of the 2nd on a Jerry Rosen single, a Kevin Jackson double, and a sacrifice fly by Ralph Caputo.
The Cubs were struggling to get to Pirates starter Jim Dalton, the first time through the order, as Jim kept the Cubs' hitters off balance with his assortment of off-speed pitches. As the order turned over, in the top of the 3rd, the Cubs line-up started to figure him out, getting 3 runs. Scott Ross had a single, Girard had his second double of the game, and Marc Lochner, and PJ Martone both singled.
The fourth inning saw Jim Dalton give way to Darnell Baker, on the hill for the Bucs. The bases were immediately loaded on a walk, a single by Bob Coffey, and an error. Another error plated a 6th Cub run. One out later, Girard collected his third hit of the game, a 2-RBI single, and the Cubs had a 8-2 lead.
Meanwhile Ross had shaken off his slow start, and had kept the Pirates bats quiet, shutting them out (after the Baker HR) through his 5 innings of work. He allowed only 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8. He stuck out the side in both the 3rd and 4th innings.
The Cubs would get two innings of relief; one from legend Skip Treece, and one from Ron Lochner. Skip had trouble with his control, walking 4 in his one inning, also surrendering 1 single to his good friend John Reel, but when things got a little scary at 8-4 with the bases loaded and nobody out, Skip got the next 3 Pirates' hitters in order. Ron Lochner also got off to a rough start in his inning of relief, walking the first two batters that he faced and giving up a single to Darnell Baker (his 3rd hit of the game). But Ron settled in with two K's, and a tapper to first, to keep the Pirates from scoring any more runs.
The Cubs would get the breathing room they were looking for, in the bottom of the 6th inning, as they plated 7 runs. Scott Ross, Ron Lochner, and Jerry Rosen all had 2-RBI singles in the rally.
The final score ended up at 15-5, but the game was much more competitive than that. The Pirates are a great bunch of guys, having a lot of fun, playing together because they like each other. They may not contend for a title in their first year, but they will get a win, or two, or ...
Good luck guys!
Next up for the 6-0 Cubs, is the Whiz Kids, at the A-Diamond in Schenectady, next Thursday night. This rematch from last year's semi-final pairing promises to be a good one!
