Milleteers Triumph in Extra Innings
Posted June 4, 2009
The Milleteers eeked out an extra inning win against the previously undefeated Camrose Road Runners tonight. To say that the Camrose Road Runners and Leduc Milleteers are evenly matched would be an understatement.
They have met five times in the last two years and four of them have been one run games with two of them going to extra innings. On tap for tonight was a match up of all-star hurlers Steven Pahl and Steve Offrim.
Last time they faced each other they each threw eight shutout innings in that epic twelve-inning game last year. It did not start out a pitcher’s duel however as Steve Pahl was going on short rest and didn’t have much on the fastball tonight and the Road Runners capitalized as they stroked three extra base hits in the first inning to jump out to a two run lead. Pahl made the adjustment however as he turned to his breaking stuff and was effective for six innings giving up four runs, three earned and reaching double-digit strikeouts.
Steve Offrim was also effective as he went seven innings and racked up nine strikeouts, but he just could not get the Doyle brothers out as they finally brought their hitting sticks tonight and went a combined seven for seven at the dish in front of their grandpa, who came up from Sundre for the game. Not satisfied with a just good night at the dish, Kevin Doyle took the mound for the seventh and eighth innings and kept the Road Runners off the score sheet to get the win.
In the bottom of the eighth rookie Greg Zilkie led off against reliever Hans Haugen and hit a hard line drive to left field that was misplayed into a leadoff triple. Hans then buckled down to strikeout Greg Jackson and get Trevor Pahl, who had been four for four at that point, to fly out to almost wriggle out of the jam.
Then the baseball gods decided to reward the Milleteers for all the one run defeats the have incurred this year as catcher Shane Gerein hit a sharp ground ball right to the second basemen to end the inning, only to see it hit a rock and bounce over his head to plate the winning run and to hand Camrose their first loss this year.
Despite the hard fought and draining game both teams find themselves in action tomorrow as Leduc goes to Bardo to take on the defending champs and Camrose takes on the Tofield Lakers.
Both teams will also be taking part in a tournament in Camrose this weekend, and hopefully the extra innings won’t take too much out of either teams’ pitching staff. Hopefully grandpa Doyle can make it out for these games as it is nice to see the Doyle brothers bashing the ball around again.
Posted on June 4, 2009 by Steve Pahl
