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Astros Tie Braves, Then Win Nightcap
The NJBL games this year have been very tight and very exciting, every one of them, and this past weekend's Mothers Day doubleheader against the Braves was certainly no exception, as the Astros improved their league record to 3-2-1 by tying and then beating a tough Braves squad that was previously undefeated.
In the opener, the Astros took a 2-0 lead in the first on four consecutive singles, some wind-aided, and rode a strong pitching performance from Teddy from there. The Braves managed a run in the fourth to cut the lead in half, but the 'Stros matched it with one of their own in the fifth and took a 3-1 lead into the last inning. That's when the Braves' bats suddenly woke up as they strung together a couple solid hits to tie it up in the top of the sixth. We loaded the bases with nobody out in our half, but were unable to push a run across, and after an uneventful extra inning, it went down as a 7-inning, 3-3 tie.
In the second game, the Braves took a 1-0 lead in the first, and as the innings wore on, that lone run started to loom larger and larger. Steven pitched a gem to keep them within sight, and then we came up in the top of the sixth, still down 1-0. Greg led off with a single, stole second, and moved to third on Chris' groundout. Frankie then came up with a clutch single to tie the game and, after stealing second, came home on another clutch single, this time by Ricky, and now we led 2-1. But the Braves weren't done. They got the leadoff man on and advanced him to third base - when the next man's infield pop up dropped in, it looked like they had tied it up, but the baserunner was out at home - the pop up glanced off the pitcher's glove, was retrieved by the catcher, who then threw to the first baseman covering home plate for the put out (photo above). Just your routine 1-2-3 in the scorebook. After that play, Steven had reached his pitch count max, so he was removed and got a Mothers Day hug from Mom on the field of play (photo below), and Frankie came in to get the last batter and seal the victory.
Great performances by all involved and very exciting to watch. Next up are the Long Island Sharks (not the Baymen Sharks, who we already played) this weekend at Cantiague Park (cue the Jaws music here).
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