[Westheim]

1996 CONTINENTAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Portland Raccoons (108-54) vs. Las Vegas Aces (95-67)

Game 1 – Kisho Saito (19-8, 3.59 ERA) vs. Jou Hara (15-14, 3.35 ERA)

LVA: 2B M. Gomez – 3B Petipas – CF J. Vargas – RF Quintela – 1B Zamora – C Manuel – LF Li – SS R. Gutierrez – P Hara
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – 3B O’Morrissey – RF Strong – C Vinson – SS Salazar – P Saito

KI-SHO! (clap-your-hands) KI-SHO! (clap-your-hands) KI-SH-… Manuel Gomez’ leadoff double did not raise hopes early on. Bob Petipas’ infield single and Javier Vargas’ bloop into shallow center scored them Aces a run before most people in attendance had gotten a beer. But Brewer also doubled to lead off our first inning, and with two out, Wedemeyer sunk a ball into the bleachers behind rightfield, and we had the lead. O-Mo and Strong got on, and Vinson doubled in O-Mo, too, 3-1.

That lead didn’t hold, and it also didn’t hold very long. Xiao-wei Li reached on an error by Salazar to lead off the second. He was still at first base when Hara laid down a bunt with one out, and Kisho’s throw went way past first. Two errors, two runners in scoring position, and after Manuel Gomez’ double, two runs. Who would be knocked out first?

Saito allowed another run in the third, helped by a balk with a runner on first base. Wedemeyer led off the bottom 3rd with a single. After O-Mo had whiffed, Strong doubled up the line into right, but came up lame at second base with pain in the knee. Newton replaced him. Two in scoring position, one out, Vinson flew into an out to Quintela and we only tied the game in the inning, 4-4.

In the bottom 4th, Brewer singled and Kinnear doubled. No outs, go-ahead runs in scoring position, Reece grounded out to short, scoring at least Brewer.

After a perfect fourth, Saito put two on in the fifth, but the Aces failed to score, and O-Mo made a great play to end the inning.

It turned out that Jou Hara was knocked out first, being pinch-hit for in the top 6th with Michael Sanders, who popped out, as Saito had another perfect inning. Saito would be knocked out in the top 7th, still in a 5-4 game, when Vargas hit a 1-out single. De La Rosa came in and the Aces immediately pulled back Carlos Quintela for left-handed batter Taisuke Mashiba, who worked a walk off Gabby. Zamora would ground out to O-Mo, and that brought up Andres Manuel, and the Aces did not hit for their right-handed catcher here. Gabby struck him out.

Bottom 7th. Miguel Quintero issued a leadoff walk to O-Mo, who then went to steal second. Manuel’s throw was into the outfield, and O-Mo went to third with no outs. Newton doubled him in, and we got runners onto the corners with one out, but Higgins and Brewer made outs. 6-4.

The Aces also put two on in the eighth against Otero, but didn’t score. The ninth, Ban came in. Vargas doubled, and he struck out Mashiba, but then issued a 4-pitch walk to Zamora. PH Edward Carter hit an RBI single and it was crumbling away. Ban went 0-2 on Li, before the Ace made contact and shot a high fly ball to deep center. Reece after it, that’s gonna be cloooose – GOT IT!!! The park burst into cheers!!

Robison Gutierrez, the weak-hitting shortstop was Tzu-jao Ban’s batter for the money. A strike, another one, pitch number three, swung on AND MISSED!!

Raccoons 6, Aces 5 (Raccoons lead 1-0) – Brewer 2-5, 2B; Wedemeyer 2-5, HR, 2 RBI; O’Morrissey 1-2, 2 BB; Strong 2-2, 2B; Newton 1-2, 2B, RBI;

That. Was a nailbiter. Whooo. This one could have gone wrong in so many places, and thankfully the Aces had thrown around their pinch-hitters early on and had none left when it mattered most. Whoah.

Scott Strong was diagnosed with knee tendinitis, which was not a good thing for us. He was DTD, but that was nothing that would get very much better very soon and he would be hampered for a week.

The Scorpions’ phenom Steve Rogers was blown up by the Rebels in game 1 of the FLCS for six runs in two innings, and the Rebels hung on to win 6-3.

Game 2 – Jason Turner (14-9, 3.11 ERA) vs. Rafael Espinoza (20-7, 3.07 ERA)

LVA: 2B M. Gomez – 3B Petipas – CF J. Vargas – RF Mashiba – LF Sanders – C Manuel – 1B A. Maldonado – SS R. Gutierrez – P Espinoza
POR: 2B Brewer – LF Kinnear – CF Reece – 1B Wedemeyer – 3B O’Morrissey – C Vinson – SS Salazar – RF Newton – P Turner

Bad control cost Jason Turner early on. After Petipas hit a 1-out single in the first, Turner walked the next two, and the inning escalated from there. The Aces stomped him for three runs in the first, and that was not a great outlook against the winningest pitcher in the Continental League.

Yet, by the time Weeds’ at-bat in the bottom 1st was over, the Raccoons were in the lead. Brewer had doubled, Kinnear singled, Reece doubled, and Wedemeyer emptied the bags with a homer to right, about to the same spot as the day before.

It was not a series for starting pitchers so far. And Turner didn’t look like he would go very deep into this game. In the third, Vargas, Mashiba, and Sanders all hit HUGE fly balls to deep left. Kinnear sucked up all of them, but with a little wind that’s three runs. Salazar made another error in the fourth, and Turner gave up another hard, deep out, this time to Newton, and the Aces left two on once more. Our 4-3 lead held up.

But to Turner’s defense: he actually got better as the game went along. The fifth, sixth, and seventh innings? No Ace on base. Unfortunately, the Raccoons also didn’t up their lead. Ingall hit for Turner in the bottom 7th, drawing a walk with one out, and Brewer would add an infield single. A chance? Kinnear and Reece failed to get the ball out of the infield and we didn’t score. No score since the first.

De La Rosa collected the first two outs from Petipas and Vargas in the eighth, then left for Santana to face Mashiba, and the Japanese grounded out.

We finally got more than one hit in an inning in the bottom 8th. Wedemeyer led off with a single through Gomez’ legs and went to second when O-Mo grounded out to short on a hit-and-run. Vinson then singled to left and slow enough for Wedemeyer to score. Kondo hit for Santana and got Vinson forced at second, but then scored on a triple by Luke Newton. Ingall grounded out and that gave the ball and a 6-3 lead back to Ban.

Higgins at first and Kondo behind the dish were meant to improve the defense, but that didn’t help when Brewer bumbled Sanders’ grounder to start the inning. After Manuel struck out, Antenor Maldonado grounded to the right side. I’d like to think, Weeds wouldn’t have gotten that, but Higgins did, zipped to Ingall at second, and was back at first in time – double play.

Raccoons 6, Aces 3 (Raccoons lead 2-0) – Brewer 2-4, 2B; Wedemeyer 2-4, HR, 3 RBI; Turner 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, W (1-0) and 1-2;

WEEEEEEDS!!!

The Scorpions’ Cory Maupin blew the save in game 2 of the FLCS and was raped with bats as the Rebels scored four in the ninth to win 6-5. They now lead the FLCS 2-0 and that surprises them as much as anybody.