Gud Twins Tourney, St. Paul Sectional, Game 1: Expect the expected

Playoffs?

Playoffs.

We’re talking about playoffs.

TJ Division

(4) Bristol Barstools 0
(1) Wonder Years 15
Years lead series 1-0

The Wonder Years have still not lost to the Bristol Barstools in the GTT.

Phil Hughes pitched eight shutout innings, eight of the nine Years in the lineup got hits (seven with multiple hits), and the Years stomped the Barstools 15-0.

Hughes surrendered just four hits over his eight innings, striking out 11. At the bat, Lew Ford and Rich Reese each included a home run among their three hits.

Haven’t got much more to say about this one.

(3) Digital Divide 2
(2) Scrabble Babble 3
Babble lead series 1-0

The Babble put up two runs in the first inning and never gave the Divide the lead, escaping a bases-loaded situation in the ninth to eke out a 3-2 win.

GTT ERA leader Geoff Zahn pitched eight three-hit innings, allowing only one unearned run in the top of the second when two errors allowed Logan Morrison to advance around the bases, scoring on a groundout.

That run halved the Babble lead, Scrabble having scored a pair of runs on a Ken Landreaux groundout and Jerry Zimmerman single.

Max Kepler gave the Babble an insurance run with a fifth-inning home run, but that was all the help Scrabble would get, the lineup leaving 14 men on base.

That Kepler insurance run came in handy when reliever Zach Duke ran into trouble in the ninth. Jake Cave led off with a walk, Willians Astudillo singled him to second, and Morrison sent Cave to third with a sacrifice fly. Duke walked Chris Parmelee to load the bases and brought in Cave by hitting Ronald Torreyes with a pitch, making the score 3-2 with the tying run on third. But Duke struck out Tommy Watkins and got Juan Graterol to ground out, ending the game.

Benjamin Division

(4) Early Birds 2
(1) Inside Baseballers 3
11 innings
Baseballers lead series 1-0

The Early Birds came five outs away from an upset. Thirteen outs later, they left with a loss.

Travis Miller walked Joe Mauer to force in the winning run in the bottom of the 11th as the Baseballers pulled off a series-opening 3-2 win.

The Birds took an early lead, four straight singles in the top of the third plating one run and a second coming across on a Mauer GIDP.

Meanwhile, Mark Redman kept Inside bats quiet, allowing two hits over five innings. But the bullpen failed to hold the lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, Glen Perkins had two outs and a runner on first, but Greg Gagne lined a double into left to bring in Rich Rollins. Alex Wimmers entered in the eighth, but surrendered a game-tying home run to Byron Buxton.

From then on, it was shutout innings until the 11th.

Miller loaded the bases, but got two quick outs and was on the verge of escaping the jam. Then Mauer came up.

(3) Alliterative Appellations 3
(2) Special Ks 6
Ks lead series 1-0

A four-run first inning gave the Ks a lead they would not surrender.

Jim Lemon hit two home runs and Walter Johnson struck out 14 over eight innings as Special took a 1-0 series lead with a 6-3 victory over the Appellations.

That first inning saw Alliterative in a four-run hole before Rich Robertson even recorded an out. Byron Buxton and Brian Dozier walked, Nelson Cruz doubled Buxton in, Dozier came across on a wild pitch, and Lemon socked his first home run of the game to put a quad-spot on the board.

The Appellations narrowed their deficit to one in the middle innings, Shannon Stewart hitting a sacrifice fly in the fourth and Rich Reese bringing in two on a double one inning later.

But solo home runs by George Mitterwald and Lemon set the Ks’ lead back to three, and Bump Hadley shut down Alliterative in the ninth.

Season (second half) | SPS (Game 1) | SPS (Game 2)