Thursday, November 3, 2088
MUSKIES UP 3-1, ONE WIN AWAY FROM FIRST PRO CUP
Down 3-2 going into their final at-bat in the top of the 9th, Belle Plaine rose to the occasion and broke the hearts of the Summerland Sunsets with a 4-run rally and wound up winning 6-4 to take a stranglehold on the Pro Cup Series with a three games to one advantage. The Musketeers are just one win away from the very first Pro Cup Trophy. Sadly, Summerland has never won the overall IPA crown either.
The Belle Plaine batters took advantage of closer Rik Boone's 9th-inning wildness to take control of the game and the Pro Cup Finals. With the bases loaded and no one out, Claude Mayeux and Viggo Frandsen walked, putting the Muskies in front 4-3, Jean-Paul Lacombe (.407/7 HR/18 RBI) singled in another score and Dominque Roche (.351/9 RBI) finished the scoring with a sacrifice fly, giving them a 6-3 margin. Sunset skipper Jayson Hallstrom used one of his starter in relief to stem the rally and hold the lead. However Joren Vanderzee couldn't hold back the flood of runs. All 3 of his inherited runners eventually scored. In the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs and the bases loaded, reliever Frankie Holstein floundered and needed a tired Johnny Koonce to bail him out. After Holstein forced in a run, Koonce retired the dangerous Guus Lutjens (.232/3 HR/8 RBI) on a 6-3 ground out.
The Muskies had a multitude of heroes. They socked 13 hits, led by Dominque Roche (.351/9 RBI), who was 3 for 4. Claude Mayeux (.383/2 HR/14 RBI) and Jace De Grom (.232/2 HR/9 RBI) both collected a pair of hits. Viggo Frandsen .263/2 HR/10 RBI) batted in a pair of runs. Marcel Giroud started and shut out the Sunsets until the 7th frame when they smacked him for 3 runs and the lead. Holstein (1-0/4.50 ERA) got the win with one and two-thirds scoreless innings and Johnny Koonce (3-1/1.06 ERA/4 saves/11 games) got the last out for his 4th postseason save. Paul Pegram started for Summerland, but only allowed 2 runs on 7 hits in his 7 innings. He whiffed 7 and walked 2, but he still trailed 2-0 when he left for a pinch hitter. Weak-hitting Summerland only got 7 hits, 3 of them by Norris Chance (.403/2 HR/7 RBI) and 2 by substitute CD Gerrit Maas (.533/6 RBI).
Starters for game six will be Allie Tuthill (14-13/3.07 ERA) for Belle Plaine and probably Joren Vanderzee (18-11/2.75 ERA)for Summerland, despite his relief stint in game four. He is just about Hallstrom only choice. Tuthill is 2-1 in the playoffs with a 4.63 ERA in 5 starts, while Vanderzee is 3-0 with a 3.48 ERA in his 4 starting assignments. The game is slated for Summerland's Sunset Stadium.
