[Jazzmosis]

Huge delay on this cliffhanger... real life got in the way (changed jobs, created my own company, etc). Didn't even have a chance to open up OOTP until just now. So naturally, here it is.. game 4!

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Game 4

We were in a hole, and Grand Rapids wanted to close out the series and move on to the finals with ease. While London and Toledo were locked in a tight series that Toledo lead 2-1, Duluth and it's fans were simply hoping to keep our chances alive... or hell, just lead a single game at this point. But our backs were against the wall, and we needed to play our best baseball right away. And everyone knew it.

This game was going to be a re-match of game 1: Lampe vs Depaz. We needed Depaz just to survive, and Grand Rapids was looking to nail our coffin shut and rest up for the next series.

It didn't take long for Grand Rapids to put the pressure on. After Depaz rolled the first two outs, Arias racked up a double, and Raines followed it up with an RBI single. Gayhart then took a ball off the wall in right field that scored Raines from first. Depaz then finally got another groundout to end another torturous inning. 2-0 Grand Rapids, and we hadn't even stepped up to the plate yet.

The boys didn't lay down though. After Lampe got two outs, Warden kept the inning alive by beating out a double play ball. Then Stewart, who had been mashing all series, delivered a clutch, 1-2 pitch double that plated our first run. Duluth's crowd cheered rowdily, happy just to see their team respond right away.

Things got worse though. Determined to bury us early, Grand Rapids got their first two batters on before Marihito delivered another two runs with a single. I immediately called the bullpen and got Lino Alemany warming up. Depaz didn't have it, and if something wasn't done quickly, this game was going to be a lost cause. 4-1. The crowd went deathly silent.

Berns knocked a leadoff single in the bottom half. Leo West bunted him to second. Salazar then struck out on three pitches. With Depaz due up, I pinched him for Pedro Sanchez, my backup leftfielder. After working a 3-1 count, he batted us back in the game with an RBI single. The crowd picked up again with ferocious cheers - we were not going to go down easy. Lehmann then put runners on the corners with a single of his own. But that would be as close as we would get. 4-2.

Alemany came in for the third, and Gayhart got back the run with a massive bomb that just managed to stay fair. 5-2.

Lampe and Alemany traded zeroes from that point until the bottom of the 6th. After Warden worked a leadoff walk, he bolted for second on the first pitch - Marihito was caught off guard, and launched the throw into centre field, putting Warden on third with nobody out. Stewart grounded out to third, holding Warden at third. Zeman, mired in an 0-the-series slump, finally got on base - by getting plunked. Berns then stepped up to the dish, fans on their edge in anticipation, and worked himself into a 8-pitch at bat. On the 8th pitch - the 6th strike for Lampe - Berns finally roped a ball in fair territory, over second base. Warden trotted home, and Zeman made the most of his opportunity by hustling to third base. Runners back on the corner, 1 run in, 1 out. Leo West, our bunting hero, dug into the box. Lampe sighed heavily, and reared back with a slider. West stung it on the ground towards Gayhart, who made a stumbling grab and fired to second. Ramirez, Grand Rapids' shortstop, received the ball and pulled his arm to fire to first. However, his body was lurched forward as his legs came out from underneath him as Berns slid into him. The two crashed to the ground, the ball never leaving Ramirez's hand. Zeman trotted across the plate, and the Duluth faithful went insane. We'd battled back with two runs. 5-4. One run was all we needed.

Alemany continued his mastery of Grand Rapids, skirting out of another inning with an inning-ending double play. In the meantime, Lampe had been lifted for a pinch hitter. That in itself was a victory.

With Alemany leading off the bottom of the 7th, I made the tough decision to pinch hit him. Morrison, who'd had two pinch ABs this series, one of which was a homerun, was my obvious choice. With Sanchez delivering in my other pinch hit, I was hoping for a little pinch luck. And Morrison wasted no time. With Aaron Rasch replacing Lampe on the hill, Morrison took the first pitch he was and turned it the other way into the gap, pouring a leadoff double. The Duluth fans erupted into cheers, and the sell-out crowd rised to its feet in anticipation. Meanwhile, our dugout was all standing on the top step, watching and clapping as Lehmann - 2 for 3 on the day - stepped up.

Rasch wiped the growing sweat off his brow and looked in for the sign. He reached back and fired a fastball at the knees that Lehmann bit at - and grounded through Rasch's legs. Ramirez sprinted behind second and laid out to make the stop, but the ball bounced into centre. The crowd went into a frenzy as Morrison rounded third and dashed for the plate as CF Lehman (our Lehmann's cousin) fired to home. Morrison slid into the plate, just beating the throw. Our bench exploded with the fans, as after things had looked so bleak for so long, we finally had Grand Rapids on it's heels. 5-5.

Cesar Ortiz came in to relieve Alemany in the 8th, facing a task of the heart of Grand Rapids' order: Lehman (.400 in the series), Arias (.308), and Raines (.313). Lehman grounded out on an 2-0 count. Arias on a 1-1. And Raines worked into a full count before he too grounded out.

Berns lead off the bottom of the 8th to great cheers. After all, he was 3-3 today, and hitting .545 this series. And with Rasch still on the hill, Berns continued the hot hitting with a leadoff single that sent Rasch to the showers. West then did what he does best - bunted Berns to second. I started to chew my nails in nervous anticipation before calling the 'pen to get closer Orval Thomas warm. Then my attention returned to the game. Salazar was up, taking his brutal .067 average with him. He flew out to deep centre, but it moved Berns to just 90 feet from the lead. With Ortiz due up, I looked to my bench for a little more pinch magic. I made the call to Saurez, who with a bandage wrapped around his ailing bicep, took a bat and jogged to the plate. Shade, the reliever that had replaced Rasch and sported absolutely electric stuff, quickly got ahead 1-2 in the count.

Shade pulled the string on a slider, one that cut down towards Saurez' knees. He swung on it, and roped it past a diving Gayhart. The bench erupted and Berns sprinted home for the 6th run. It took 35 innings, but we finally had our first lead of the game. The crowd couldn't contain their excitement, and frankly, neither could we. The stadium, holding a meager 7500 fans, had the volume of 75000. You couldn't help but get swept up in the moment. 6-5. 6-5 Duluth.

The top of the 9th came up, and Thomas stepped up to the hill. I made a series of defensive changes, moving the bunting sensation from short to 2nd, utilizing bench player Corkery's superior defense at short, and then bumped Lehmann out of right for Elizade.

And it got off to a terrible start. Gayhart dropped a soft single in on Thomas' third pitch, and Thomas walked off the mound. His shoulder hurt. As it would turn out, he'd strained his rotator cuff and would miss the rest of the playoffs. Sieber, my always-reliable setup man, would be thrust into the highest pressure situation of his Duluth's young career. Ramirez greeted him with a seeing-eye single back up the box. Runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out.

Buhr dug in, and worked a 10 pitch at-bat into a full count. He then drilled a line drive - right over West. West, however, jumped the highest anyone had ever seen - a moment that became legend later on in Duluth Express lore - and snagged the ball in a snowcone. But before he could even land, the ball was in his hand and heading to second base to complete a line-drive double play that put two outs on the board and left only a runner on first.

Salsbury came in to pinch hit - Grand Rapids was trying to steal some of our pinch magic - but Sieber would have none of it, and shut the door with a filthy slider that Salsbury couldn't connect with. The Express poured onto the field like they had just won the championship in 7 games, celebrating our heart-filled comeback win that kept us alive in this playoffs.

We had clawed ourselves back into the series. It had took everything we had, but Grand Rapids knew that we weren't going to lay down and die. We still had a mountain to climb, but the point was we were alive. And as I celebrated with my team, that's all I wanted to think about.

We were alive. The fans knew it too.