Report by the Armada’s Marcelo Figueroa

Just like last night, Chico struck first in their half of the 1st inning. Dale Swinford led things off with a base hit before moving over to second on a sacrifice bunt from Dan Luyben. After a fly out and a walk, All-Star Truan Mehl drove in Swinford with an RBI single to make it 1-0 Outlaws.

The Fleet didn’t wait long to strike back. Thanks to a few defensive miscues from Chico, Long Beach was able to get back in the game in the bottom half of the first. First baseman Matt DeJesus misplayed a Josh Womack grounder that allowed him to reach base. He then stole second base on the first pitch to Omar Bramasco. Bramasco then grounded a ball through the legs of third baseman Jonny Ash to allow Womack to advance to third. It was the second error of the inning for the Outlaws. Runners were now on second and third with no outs for J.J. Sherrill. Sherrill managed to ground out to shortstop to plate Womack and move Bramasco to third. The score was now 1-1 with just one out. Next up was designated hitter Matt Edgecombe. Edgecombe slapped a ball through the right side into right field for an RBI single, driving in Bramasco from third. Long Beach claimed the lead 2-1 at the end of one inning of play.

The Armada was back at it in their half of the second. The 7-8-9 hitters Andy Bouchie, Jonny Kaplan and Steve Young all singled to load the bases for Womack. Womack had a productive out, grounding out to second base allowing all runners to move up 90 feet. This out drove in Bouchie from third to make it 3-1 Long Beach. Then on the first pitch he saw Bramasco flied out to deep center, driving in Kaplan from third and moving Young to third base. It was then Fleet 4, Outlaws 1. But the Armada was not finished. Casey Garrison who entered the game for Sherrill who went out with an apparent leg injury singled in his first at-bat to bring in Young. The scoreboard read Armada 5, Outlaws 1 at the end of two innings of play.

But the Fleet didn’t have much time to enjoy the lead. After back-to-back walks allowed by Lonergan, Rich Janeway grounded back to the mound but Lonergan threw the ball into centerfield to allow all runners to advance. Swinford came in from second and Dan Luyben and Janeway were the runners on second and third with no outs. Long Beach still led 5-2 at this point. Lonergan shook off the mistake and struck out the next two batters swinging and it looked as if he might get out of the jam. But designated hitter Shane Cronin came up with a timely two-out single to bring both runners in and cut the lead to just 5-4.

Long Beach was able to get one of those runs back in their half of the third when Andy Bouchie singled and advanced to second as Napoleon Calzado was thrown out at third. Then with two outs Kaplan hit an RBI single to push the lead to 6-4.

Then in the bottom of the 4th the Fleet would add even more. Young and Womack both walked to lead off the inning and a Bramasco single brought in another run to make it 7-4 after four innings of play.

The 5th inning saw even more fireworks, as both clubs put up 3 runs in the inning. In the inning, Chico tallied three runs on two hits on two Armada errors. Then in response the Fleet scored three runs on three hits on one Chico error to make it 10-7 Fleet.

The Outlaws cut into the lead in the top of the 6th when Swinford doubled, stole third base, and came in on a sacrifice fly from Janeway. It was 10-8 Armada after six innings of play.

The 7th inning was the first inning neither team scored, as relievers Rusty Jones for the Armada and Michael Ryder for the Outlaws pitched effectively.

The bullpen pitched well for the Fleet tonight as Jones pitched 2.1 innings in relief and Justin Segal entered the game and induced an inning-ending double play in the top of the 8th.

Ryne Tacker then came in to close the door on the Outlaws in the 9th but struggled. He walked the bases loaded after recording the first out of the inning. Manager Garry Templeton then brought in lefty Sean Buller to face Jonny Ash. He induced a game-ending 6-3 double play picking up his third save of the season.

Taking the hill for the Armada tomorrow night will be right-hander Dustin Gober. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm.