Milleteers Slip By Bardo

After a bit of rain the evening turned out to be a beautiful night for ball.  The game played by the Milleteers and Bardo Athletics was anything but however as there were more errors than hits in this one.  Maybe the rain sped up the infield as both teams had defensive issues.

Jon Anstey got the start for the Milleteers and was more efficient than dominant as he only racked up four strikeouts, but was a ground ball machine.  The Milleteers did a good job early converting those ground balls into outs, save for a lead off error in the third that led to an unearned run.

Bardo starter Sean Melanson was equally efficient as he held the Milleteers scoreless through four, surrending only two hits (one of which came after a blown strike three call).  The wheels would fall off for Bardo in the fifth though as the Milleteers scored four runs off only one hit as the A’s made for errors.  The big dagger was a dropped fly ball in right field that would have ended the inning with the bases loaded.  Instead three runs scored to give the Milleteers the lead.

Bardo tried to to get back in it in the sixth with Anstey tiring as he loaded the bases with walks, but he managed to get out of the jam with the score intact.

In the seventh the Milleteers handed the ball over to rehabbing Murray Doyle to close it out.  Doyle managed to get the first two outs quickly, but then Bardo charged back.  The spark was a game ending grounder to third that took a wicked hop over the gloe of third baseman Josh Johnson.  It was a harbinger for things to come as after a bloop into no man’s land behind second and a line drive to right the tieing run was on first.  Doyle then threw away a pick off to move the runners up a base.  He then got another game ending grounder to third, but this time it took another bad hop right over Johnson’s head to tie it up and put the winning run on second.  The next batter came up and picked on Johnson again, and he got another bad hop, but this time he smothered it but the throw was late and the inning was extended with the go ahead run still in scoring position.  Doyle then finally got an A’s hitter to ground out somewhere else as short stop Trevor Pahl converted the out.

Pahl then led of the bottom of the seventh with a walk.  Then he stole second on the first pitch and was sacrificed over to third on a great bunt from Doyle.  Bardo then wanted no part of clean up hitter Steven Pahl, despite his 0.125 batting average as they gave him an intentional pass.  He then took second on a defensive indifference setting the stage for the walk off.  On the next pitch second baseman Adam Ducarme lined one to left and Trevor beat the throw home on the sac fly to seal the deal.

As usual it was a tight one between the Milleteers and A’s, and as usual Sean Melanson stymied the Milleteers hitters only to be let down by his defense.  The win puts the Milleteers into fourth place as they have worked their way back to five hundred baseball after the disasterous first week of the season.  Next up a clash with the third place Rebels in Ryley on Thursday, weather permitting.