Dateline: McLean Field #2
Opening night of the 2010 all stars. The air was fraught with excitement as the Reston American team took the field. Conor went to the mound. The leadoff man for Vienna smashed a hard double to left to wake up the crowd. Conor settled down and struck out the next two. A walk and a tough fly to shallow center scored the run. Coach Grossman, decided to save Conor for another day and put in Pete. Pete brought the heat and struck out the last batter. In the bottom of the first, Conor took out his frustration on Vienna with a long blast to center field well over the fence to tie the game. After one, it was tied at one.
In the second Pete was rolling as he struck out two and got the leadoff man to popup to Patrick at second for out three. RA bats were quiet and it was still tied after two. Pete struck out the 2-3-4 in the third on the nine pitches! What an inning! In the bottom of the third RA threatened. Conor led off with a walk. Kent singled to put runners on first and second with one out. Unfortunately, a strikeout followed by a failed delayed steal attempt ended the inning. This reporter noticed some fans grumbling about Coach Grossman’s desire to try a delayed steal at this point in the game.
On to the fourth. The first batter grounded out to Jordan who stepped on the bag for out one. The next batter hit a shot to center, which Graham happily gobbled up for out two. Pete blasted three quick pitches by the next batter. In the bottom of the fourth, Brendan struck out after some close foul balls. SUDDENLY the game was SUSPENDED due to the fact the lights had to be turned off.
[Editors Note] This publication decided to go ahead and simply continue the narrative with the resumption of action following the suspended game. Action picked up right where we left off in the bottom of the fourth.
Patrick came in and blasted a single to left to get things rolling on the new Vienna pitcher following the suspension. Jordan followed with a walk. Coach Grossman sent in Graham to run for Jordan. Johnny walked to load the bases. With one out, the bases loaded, Josh smashed a huge two run single to right to score Patrick and Graham. Conor walked to load the bases and Pete hit a hard shot to third and the third baseman just snagged it with a leaping jump to save at least two more runs. After four, it was 3-1 Reston American.
In the fifth the Vienna American team desperately tried to fight back. The first batter struck out. The second batter doubled to right after fouling off what seemed like ten pitches. The next batter bunted and Pete made a great play and threw to first for out two. The next batter doubled to score a run. Finally, the next batter hit a dribbler to Pete’s right. He ran off the mound, picked up the ball on one knee, and fired across the diamond for a fantastic out three. In the bottom of the fifth Reston American was not done. It looked like things might go quietly after two outs. However, Brendan walked. Patrick doubled to left and Justin singled to score Brendan. Patrick was thrown out at home, but this reporter saw him clearly be obstructed by the third baseman. The umpire made the call and declared Patrick safe at home. Finally, the Vienna American got the last out but when the dust had cleared it was 5-2 Reston American.
Vienna, only three outs away from a loss made it exciting. The first batter hit a chopper to first. Jordan had some trouble with it, but stayed calm and touched the ball to the bag for out one. The next batter beat out an infield hit to third. Pete blasted three strikes by the next batter. With a three-two count and the Reston team only, one strike away Vienna got a big double to center. Coach Grossman went to the mound and this reporter was told that everyone was quite calm. Pete settled down on the next pitch induced a ground out to Patrick at second to end the game. Reston American fans celebrated a hard fought 5-3 win over an excellent team. Pete finished his excellent outing with nine strikeouts and four scattered hits.
Coach Grossman said, “Any time you can get a win over Vienna its a wonderful thing. Our guys have worked hard for the last two weeks and we are seeing that work pay off. The fact we did not make an error in the field was huge and our pitching with Conor and Pete in this game was rock solid. I cannot say enough about Patrick’s two hits or Josh’s huge two RBI’s that really made the difference in this game. Pete was brilliant on the mound. We will be ready for Great Falls on Tuesday.”
