Mike Kane threw a no-hitter, and his teammates gave him plenty of support in a 10-0 victory over the Dodgers Monday night at New Scotland. The Dodgers only had two base runners, both in the second inning. Kane allowed a one-out walk to Don Ball, and the next batter hit a fly ball to the outfield, that was dropped for an error. The next batter grounded out to third, with the runners holding. Kane struck out the next batter to end the threat. Kane didn't allow any other ball to leave the infield.
What's a no-hitter without some defensive gems? With two outs in the first, Ray Coletta hit a shot to deep centerfield. Joe Burns made a great over the shoulder catch, ala Willie Mays, to end the inning.
Meanwhile, third base truly was the hot corner. Bob "Homer" Holmes of the Whiz had a total of 6 putouts and assists, including some diving plays, that left the Dodgers shaking their heads.
Offensively, Burns scored in the first when he reached on an error, and came around to score on a sac fly by Shawn Martin. In the second, John Cortese hit a two-out, two-run double to plate Reggie Flansburg and Dennis Buckley. The Whiz batted around in the third, scoring seven runs on seven hits.
Kane, who struck out 5, and his battery mate, Dan Maguire, were in sync the entire game.
The Whiz Kids advance to Thursday's game at the A diamond, facing the winner of tonight's matchup between the Cards and Yankees.
Congrats to Don Ball and the Dodgers on a fine season.
The Whiz opened that first inning with two remarkable plays. The Dodger leadoff batter scorched a one-hop rocket down third, but Bob Holmes sprawled to his left, snagged it, and threw to first for the out. Their third batter drove a ball deep into the right-centerfield gap. After a long run, speedy Joe Burns cradled it to his chest in full stride as if it were a baby thrown from a burning building.
Can I get an amen?
On most days -- hell, in 95% of our games -- the Dodgers would have had one run scored, a baserunner on second base, and their cleanup hitter striding to the plate. And Mike Kane might have been wondering what pitch to throw next. Instead, the Dodgers had to grab their gloves, head out to the field, shaking their heads. Three up, three down.
The tone was set.
Defense wins.
Sidenote: That pitching matchup was actually a rematch from our only other meeting this season, very early in the year, in soggy May, when the Whiz Kids came away with a 1-0 victory, feeling very fortunate it worked out that way. We did not take the Dodgers lightly.
Donnie Ball (and Chain) has done a fine job with that team. It takes time to come together. We are glad to share the field with them. Good team, good men.
I can only echo Jim and Jimmy's description of the game. Mike Kane is a tough pitcher to face. That s - l - o - w wind up, then, whoosh ... fastball on the corner. Or curve ball that I (we) swung at and missed by a foot. He had the Dodgers crying in our beers.
The Whiz Kids' defense was rock solid. Mr. Holmes play at 3B on our lead-off hitter sent a message that the Dodgers were in for a long night. Joe Burns' running catch in CF was as good as it gets.
The Whiz Kids set the bar during the regular season. Now that the Dodgers are in our off-season, we'll see if we can raise our game a little closer to that standard. Thank you for the kind words.
One could tell from that defensive excellence in the first inning that it was going to be a tough night for the Bums. Whiz could do nothing wrong. Whiz were on a mission and still are. Look out!
