Wizard of Oz catch preserves Tiger comeback

On a scorching afternoon at Valley College, the Tigers and Pirates battled yet again... this time for who'd go to the championship game.

Despite a gutsy performance by Cat hurler Rich Thorne, it looked like it'd be the Bucs who'd prevail as they took advantage of several Tiger errors in the early innings, used timely hitting and built a 6-2 lead. It didn't help the Tigers that Pirate pitcher Richard Reeves was on his game, holding the normally high scoring Tigers to only a couple of runs.

But in the bottom of the 7th, Troy Combs led off with a walk and promptly stole second. Chuck Casillas singled him in before Allen Wilson walked to bring up the tying run. Oz Guzman singled to load the bases and the Tigers were back in it.

Lead-off hitter Stefan Marks singled to cut the lead to two. Two outs and three walks later, the Tigers had tied it and still had the bases loaded for Vic Acosta who drove in the go-ahead run with a slap single to right.

But the Pirates didn't fold the hand. In the top of the eighth, Frank Gonzalez led off with a sure single to left only to be robbed by a miraculous diving catch by Guzman. Thorne finished the inning to get the complete game and hard-earned victory.

The Tigers would like to congratulate the Pirates on their excellent season and always good sportsmanship. They're always a great matchup!

BOX SCORE 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 R H E
Fairfax Pirates 13002000 6 11 0
Verdugo Tigers 20000050 7 8 5

Date: August 18, 2013     Time: 1:30pm      Venue: LA Valley College   

Fairfax Pirates
Hitters AB R H RBI BB K
Roger Stewart 3 2 1 0 1 1
Twitt Gibson 3 1 1 1 0 0
Jefferson Hoff 3 0 2 1 0 0
Jerry Whitaker 2 0 1 0 1 1
Robert Reeves 2 0 0 0 0 0
Michael Pedote 2 0 1 0 0 1
Jose Pelayo 3 0 0 0 0 2
Tom Kopp 3 0 2 0 0 0
Ron Anderson 1 1 1 0 2 0
Rod Arancibia 2 1 1 1 1 0
Segio Rodriguez 1 0 0 0 0 0
John Petrocelli 2 0 0 0 0 0
Frank Gonzalez 3 1 0 0 0 1
Scott Disharoon 3 0 0 0 0 1
Totals 33 6 10 3 5 7
2B: Gibson, Hoff
SB: Stewart (2), Whitaker (2), Pedote, Kopp
HBP: Reeves, Pedote
Verdugo Tigers
Hitters AB R H RBI BB K
Rich Thorne 0 0 0 0 0 0
Stefan Marks 3 1 1 1 1 0
Bryan Vick 3 2 1 0 1 1
Chris Bishop 4 1 2 1 0 0
Sean Donnellan 1 0 0 1 3 0
Randy Garza 2 0 1 2 2 0
Vic Acosta 4 0 1 1 0 0
Troy Combs 0 1 0 0 3 0
Chuck Casillas 2 1 1 1 0 0
Jamie Fraser 1 0 0 0 0 0
Allen Wilson 1 0 0 0 1 0
Doug MacKenzie 1 0 0 0 0 1
Osvaldo Guzman 3 1 1 0 0 0
Totals 25 7 8 7 11 2
2B: Bishop (2)
SB: Combs (2)

Fairfax Pirates
Pitchers IP H R ER BB K PT
Robert Reeves 6.1 6 6 6 8 2 0
Scott Disharoon (L) 0.1 0 1 1 3 0 0
Tom Kopp 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Verdugo Tigers
Pitchers IP H R ER BB K PT
Rich Thorne (W) 8.0 11 6 2 5 6 0
HB: Thorne (2)

View Statistics Abbreviations