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The Islandian Times
Thursday, October 8, 2020
2020 IPA Pro Cup Series
(best-of seven)
Crushers Win Again, McCullough Beats Nats 5-3
What a story is unfolding in the Pro Cup this year... unheralded Crystal Lake got excellent pitching in game two and again whipped highly-favored Ozarka 5-3... Ralph McCullough scattered 10 singles and didn't allow an earned run in his 8 innings... McCullough (2-1 4.25) went to the shower with a 5-3 lead and closer Jeff Jernigan saved it for him by retiring the Nats in order... Yuka Nawajuk (3-1 2.51) lost for the first time in the postseason in a lackluster outing... the light-hitting Crushers got to Nawajuk for 5 runs and 8 hits in 8 innings.
Crystal Lake scored in the first frame on 1B Phil Gravelli's (.362) single and a triple by 2B Greg Murphy (.315)... Ozarka deadlocked in the third at 1-1 on singles by 3B Andre Dumas (.403) and 1B Benny Rousseau (.421), putting runners on second and third... another base hit by SS James Couch (.340) tied the score... back-to-back doubles in the fourth by RF Jed Franks (.239) and C Eddie Robertson (.306) upped the Crushers lead to 4-1... Franks drove in two runs and Robertson one... Ozarka chopped the lead to 4-3 in the sixth when Rousseau and Couch singled to put runners on the corners... Rousseau scored when SS Jimmy Bell misplayed C Frank Kiffin's (.362) groundball... a sacrifice moved the runners up to second and third and 2B Teddy Tate (.256) got Couch in with a sacrifice fly... Crystal Lake finished the scoring for the day when McCullough (.222) doubled and advanced to third on a ground-out, then scored on CF Andy McGee's (.269) sacrifice fly.
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