On a beautiful June evening, the Hounds took to the field to try to get back on the winning track. We were up against the team from The Stumble Inn, who are in the top tier of the league. Unfortunately, we were short-handed for this game, and it would prove to be costly. Wink was our starting pitcher and he pitched and fielded his position very well. He deserved the victory, but we were not able to muster enough offense. It did not help that we had to take an automatic out each time through the order due to the fact we were short-handed. It was hard to get any type of rally going and let's give credit to Stumble Inn as they have some impressive players. Their SS was particularly dominant.
This would prove to be an epic ballgame. We held a 5-3 lead until the bottom of the 6th, when Stumble tied it on a cheap 2-run home run. The game was played on a razor's edge for the next few innings, with each team refusing to give an inch. Ultimately, Stumble had runners on 2nd & 3rd with 2 outs and their clean-up hitter due up. After an intentional walk to load the bases, the next hitter stroked one up the middle and off the glove of the diving Iain for the game-winning, walk-off hit. Final Score: Hounds 5, Stumble Inn 6. (10 innings)
This is one of those games that only those that were there can truly appreciate. I hope we will bring the same spirit and defensive cohesion we had for this game to our remaining games. If we do that and can produce just a little more offense, we will be very hard to beat. There is still hope to make the playoffs.
