NCA #1 Nordhagen Beach Party Boys (79-29) vs SCA #3 Atom Cats (64-44)
Game 2 - Nordhagen Beach 4, Atom 2
Nordhagen Beach Tops Atom Again, 4-2
Starter Tommy Beach was sensational for the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys in his team's 4-2 triumph over the Atom Cats in Game 2 of the Sole Survivor Series today. Beach pitched well, but Nordhagen Beach picked up the win to take a 2-0 lead in the series.
Maxx Murtagh had a critical at-bat with one out in the bottom of the seventh for Nordhagen Beach. He came through with a solo home run to put Nordhagen Beach in front, 4-2.
"There's a lot of good karma around our club," said winning manager Matt Ballhawk Getman.
The next game is set to be played for Saturday, September 28th , 2301 at Coolest Field in Town in Boston.
Analysis
Two games in, and the Atom Cats have scored a total of three runs. While the Cats found ways to be successful in 2301 against the SCA, the pitching of the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys is on another level. This time, Tommy Beach pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two earned runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts. Marc Woodsman and Tom Mannequin pitched the final three innings, allowing just one hit and striking out three. Mannequin retired all three batters he faced, including striking out two, to earn the save.
The Party Boys scored single runs in each of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th innings to take a 3-0 lead off Atom ace Scruffy Taguchi. In the 3rd inning, Ryan Combs led off with a double. With two outs, Michael Fogcrawler drove him in to make it 1-0.
In the 4th inning, Mike Swift walked and then advanced to third on Jon Hitman's single. With one out, Beach hit into an RBI fielder's choice. The third run came in the 5th. Maxx Murtagh led off the inning with a triple. With one out, Fogcrawler singled him in.
The Cats got their first and only runs off Beach in the top of the 6th. Rabbit Forest led off with a single. With one out, star Will Ashfire went deep off Beach to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Boys got their final run in the bottom of the 7th when Murtagh connected for a solo bomb off reliever Adam Forestman.
Without their offense hitting on all cylinders, they are quite frustrated. Now they travel home to The Coolest Field in Town at the Atom Cats Garage facility. There, they should be able to find more pop in their bats, but with Beachboy Nut and Beach both scheduled to start Games 4 and 5, the Cats might want to make sure they cut the deficit to two games to one.