The Albany Cubs faced a tough Montgomery County Yankees team that is a perennial playoff participant here at the Fall Classic.
The Yankees pitcher was a crafty lefty, that while not being overpowering, was adept at getting ground balls and keeping the ball off of the
barrel of the Cubs' bats all game long.

Cubs' starter Darrell Duncan looked great through the first 3 innings, as he gave up just one run on two hits. In the bottom of the 4th inning,
with the Yankees lead at just 1-0, the Yanks got an inside the park home run, with one out, to make it 2-0. Darrell then hit the next hitter, and a passed ball
moved the runner into scoring position. The Yanks 3-hitter then hit a RBI double, to push the lead to 3. A grounder in the hole between short and third
was tracked down by Cubs short stop, Dean Little, but his throw to first was wide of the mark, and the fourth Yankees run crossed the plate, and the batter
advanced to second. The Yankees catcher then delivered their 5th run, with a solid single to left, and the afternoon was over for Duncan. Mike Girard came on
in relief with runners on 1st and 3rd, with still just one out. The courtesy runner, for the Yankees catcher, then stole second, and it looked like the game could
get completely out of hand. Girard, however was able to get the next hitter on a come backer to the mound, and struck out the next hitter, to leave his two
inherited runners stranded at second and third.

Still, the Cubs batters were unable to string together hits to gain any ground. The offense managed one hit per inning, but just one hit, in each of the first
5 innings. It wasn't until the top of the 6th that the Cubs bunched 3 hits in a row to get back in the game. Ron Lochner led off with a double. Randy Craft followed
with a single, that moved Lochner to third. Darrell Duncan kept the rally going, with a RBI double. The Cubs had finally broken through with their first run, and
had runners on second and third, with no outs. Dean Little then grounded out to second, and Craft scored to make it 5-2. The Yankees pitcher then got a ground out
to short, that held Duncan at third. Jim McQuade was then induced into a grounder to the third baseman, but his throw was mishandled by the Yankees' first baseman.
Duncan hustling all the way, scored from second on the play, and all of a sudden, the lead was down to two. Pat Martone was then hit by a pitch, and another Yankees
error filled the bases with two outs. Up came Jack Griffin, who already had two solid singles on the day. Jack blooped a ball toward right field, that looked like it might
drop in, but the Yankees second baseman made the catch, and the rally was over.

Meanwhile, Girard was keeping the Yankees at bay allowing just two singles, in his 4-2/3 innings of relief, striking out 2. That was crucial to the comeback effort, as the Yankees starter wasn't
looking any worse for wear after the Cubs rally in the 6th, as he got right back to inducing ground balls in the 7th, getting 3 ground ball outs. The 8th inning looked promising
for the Cubs, with a lead off single from Randy Craft, but he was erased on a line shot off the bat of Darrell Duncan that was speared by the second baseman, and quickly thrown to first,
to double off Craft. That play was huge, as Dean little followed with a single that surely would have scored Craft and made things tighter for the Yankees' pitcher and defense.
Another ground out ended the inning, and it was on to the 9th.

In the 9th, the Cubs got a one out single from Scott Ross, and a two-out single from Griffin (his 3rd of the day), but another ground out, this time off the bat of Girard, ended the game
with the Yankees on top at 5-3. The Yankees starter went the route, scattering 12 hits (his only hit-free inning was the 7th). He got 22 ground ball outs, including three double plays.

The Cubs will look to bounce back on Monday morning at 9:30 am, in a game against the DC Mustangs/A's. Ron Massaroni will get the start, in this crucial game.





-- Edited by mgirard11 on Monday 5th of November 2018 05:45:39 AM