Pastime Baseball League
PLAYOFF REVIEW
SOUTHERN LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Orlando Orcas (89-73) vs Los Angeles Idols (90-72)
Game One: Orlando starts Bill Hoffer (19-11, 3.46) against L.A.'s John Clarkson (17-13, 3.89) here in the opener.
Clarkson set down Orlando in order, setting up the high-powered Idols' first crack at Hoffer. It took four batters for L.A. to get on the board. Sammy Strang and Cal McVey singled to bring up lead MVP candidate Mike Donlin. Donlin grounded out into a force, moving Strang to third. But RBI champ Fred Tenney singled through the hole into right to score Strang and put the Idols up 1-0.
Hoffer escaped further damage and settled in. Clarkson retired the first 10 to face him until a Pete Browning single with one out in the fourth. But he was erased when Sam Crawford grounded into a double play, meaning Clarkson had still faced the minimum.
In the bottom of the fourth, Hoffer got Harry Stovey to ground to third on the first pitch, and Justin Morneau to pop up to second on the first pitch as well. Bill Wright waited for the fifth pitch, and proceeded to knock out 419 feet out of the yard to right-center to make it 2-0 Los Angeles.
Buck Freeman led off the fifth for Orlando with a grounder to short that Vern Stephens muffed. Ryan Ludwick struck out and Benny Kauff grounded into a force before Buck Ewing singled to right, letting Kauff make it to third. But Claude Ritchey grounded to second to end the inning.
Cal McVey hit a one-out single in the bottom of the fifth, and Tenney hit a 2-out triple to bring him home and put Los Angeles up 3-0 after five, with Clarkson cruising.
Pelayo Chacon tapped weakly in front of the plate and was thrown out to start the sixth. But Honus Wagner, Pete Browning and Sam Crawford hit successive singles to load the bases. Freeman flew out to right, scoring Wagner while Browning alertly tagged to third and the game was now 3-1. Ludwick then singled to score Browning and make it a 3-2 game., Crawford moving up to second. Benny Kauff then lined a single to right center to score Crawford and tie the game at 3. Clarkson would then walk Ewing on four pitches to load the bases and prompt a mound visit to settle him down. But Claude Ritchey scalded a single to center to score Ludwick and put Orlando up 4-3. Kauff held at third and was stranded as Clarkson got Chacon to ground out for the second time in the inning. But the damage was done, as 10 batters came to the plate in a four-run inning without an extra base hit to give Orlando the lead.
Handed a lead, Hoffer was brilliant, retiring the next nine batters to face him. Clarkson matched zeroes, but his Idols were now the chasers as they came up with one more shot in the bottom of the ninth.
Hoffer was done, though, despite his perfect last three innings. Takashi Saito (7-8, 25 SV, 3.28) came on to close it out...or try. Morneau blooped a single to left to start the inning. Pete Reiser would run for him. Bill Wright popped up to the catcher for the first out before Saito walked Hank Blalock on four pitches, putting the tying run on second and the winning run on first for Vern Stephens, who was 0-3 at that point. Sammy Strang (.320-20-83) loomed on deck.
Stephens tried to drop a bunt, but put it foul. Surprisingly, he tried again, and again he bunted foul. Forced to swing away, Stephens did something he had done 25 times during the regular season...he grounded into a double play - 6-4-3 - to end it and give the Orcas a 4-3 comeback victory.
Orlando leads series 1-0.