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THE ISLANDIAN TIMES
Wednesday, October 10, 2046
2046 IPA PRO CUP FINAL SERIES - Game 4
SIRAK KNOTS SERIES, VIPERS TOP HELLCATS 7-3
The underdog Valmara Vipers needed a win and got it when Primo Sirak held off the Hartsdale Hellcats 7-3 in game four of the IPA Pro Cup Finals at War Memorial Stadium in Valmara... this knotted the Islandian title series at two games apiece... in a solid outing Sirak (5-2/2.04) checked the heavy-hitting Hellcats on three runs and eight hits in eight innings, while notching eight Ks and walking just one... reliever Kasio Kitowsky worked the ninth and sat the Hellcats down in order to preserve the victory... in a rough start Hartsdale ace Gil Younger (4-3/3.44) caught the loss as the Vipers smacked him for five runs and five hits in six innings... Younger also hurt himself by walking five batters... when he left, the Hellcats trailed 5-1.
Valmara went to work on Younger in the first inning with three runs on two walks and three hits... 1B Cain Greene (.283) singled in the first score, SS Antos Dacko's (.233) base hit plated run number two and 3B Jose Vargas (.271) doubled in the third one... CF Don Ritchie (.348) made it 4-0 with a solo homer in the fourth frame... Hartsdale got its first run in the top of the third on an RBI single by 2B Myrt Breland (.328)... the Vipers extended the lead to 5-1 in the fourth on a double by 2B Ken Jensen (.278), a ground-out and a wild pitch... the Hellcats cut it to 5-3 on a two-run blast by CF Darrell Nesbitt (.275) in the seventh, only to have Valmara match it with two in the last of the eighth on RBI singles by C Randy Calhoun (.132) and pinchhitter Paul McMahon (.111).
Each club collected eight hits with Dacko (.233) leading the Vipers with a pair of hits and Melton (.354) topping the Hellcats with two.
Game five will also be in Valmara with a rematch of the game-two hurlers, Teddy Twardzik (24-12/2.69) for the Vipers and Kippy Wilhelm (20-16/3.63) for the Hellcats... Hartsdale won that one 3-2 in 12 innings... so far in the postseason Twardzik is 3-1 in 5 starts with a fine 2.74 ERA, while Wilhelm is 3-0 in 5 starts with an even more impressive 2.40 ERA.
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