For those of you that missed the fun, your Melonheads scrapped their way to an Opening Day win!
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but with a steal of home and a couple of timely Marlins errors, we got the job done, winning 3-1 as Lisa Crocket dispatched Florida on just 90 pitches and we pushed the go-ahead run across in the eighth.
Kenny Kawaguchi pitched a hell of a game for Florida (0-1), going the distance himself, and he even drove in the first run in the bottom of the fourth. The Crocket Rocket escaped the bottom of the third after a Sonja Hagen single and Holly Franklin double put runners on second and third with no outs, striking out Vanna Steinman and Shane Smith before getting Cliff Floyd to ground out, but she wouldn’t be so lucky in the fourth. Davy Marian bunted for a double as third baseman Reese Worthington collided with Lisa, and after advancing to third on a Maynard McElroy sacrifice bunt, Kawaguchi sent a single past a diving Kimmy Eckman for what would turn out to be the lone Marlin run.
We got that run back quickly, utilizing a classic Little League style double steal. With Crocket on first and Maria Luna on third, Lisa bluffed stealing second and Maria raced home when Smith took the bait and threw down. The game remained tied until the eighth, when Gretchen Hasselhoff reached on a Kawaguchi throwing error. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, Ashley Webber utilized the Screaming Line Drive powerup and singled to right, with Gretchen reaching third. Ashley broke for second, and Gretchen managed to score during the ensuing rundown. With runners on the corners again after Jocinda Smith singled, Kimmy Eckman flew out to right, and with a throwing error from Franklin while Webber was caught between third and home, the Melonheads had three runs without an RBI.
That was more than enough for Lisa, who would set down the final six to seal the win. Marian reached on a Worthington error with two outs in the ninth but got thrown out trying to advance to second. Lisa allowed just five hits and one run, striking out 11. Kawaguchi’s own error meant two of the three runs he allowed were unearned. He struck out 10 and scattered eight hits over his nine innings.
WP: Lisa Crocket (1-0) LP: Kenny Kawaguchi (0-1)
This proves that even with a godawful roster, you can usually win on Backyard Baseball 2003 just by letting the game beat itself. We’re going to have to throw in some more obstacles next time as we take on the Expos for our home opener. Give me a follow on Twitch to stay up to date on all the fun.
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