A nearly out Hyde Stadium on Chislic Night at the ballpark were treated to one of the most thrilling games that stadium has ever seen. Heated rivals, the Oahe Zap and Casper Spuds have found themselves in the midst of a crucial series with a playoff vibe in each game. Both teams are battling for the final postseason spot in the ILB, and this series will essentially decide who that spot belongs to. It has all of the ingredients of a thrilling series, and don’t forget the aspect that these two teams simply don’t like each other. This series simply has it all.
After losing a crushing game one, the Zap felt like Saturday’s game was a must-win if they wanted to stay in the mix. But it did not get started the way the Zap had hoped. Casper’s Matt Marsic and Kaden Wilcox both hit homeruns off Josh Porter in the top of the first inning to make it 3-0. The Zap would answer with two of their own in the first and second to cut it to a one run game while Porter eased into his start nicely. The Spuds would add another run in the third, but the scoring would stop and the pitching would heat up until the eighth when the game turned crazy.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Zap would score two runs with some good base running and some timely wild pitches. The Zap would leave runners on, but it was a victory in itself to tie the game up at four apiece. In relief, Connor Hammonds had an outstanding few innings of work to keep the Spuds in striking distance for his offense. In the top of the tenth inning, the Spuds would put a few runners on and bring them in on a bases clearing double to make it 6-4. Though, Hammonds still kept it at a respectable score as the Spuds could have taken a more commanding lead had it not been for his good work on the mound.
The Zap would turn patient at-bats into a scoring opportunity as Quinn Ludvigsen would take advantage of an errant throw and come home to score and make it a one run game. Andrew Phillips delivered a huge base hit in the game to help the Zap get themselves into a winning position, but the final at-bat of the game is the one that has everyone talking. Nick Golden would come up with runners on second and third and would fall behind in the count 0-2. Golden fouled off a pitch that the Spuds thought was strike three, but were told otherwise by home plate umpire Richard Gilmore who had to cut the Spuds celebration short for another pitch. Golden would get another chance, and on the very next pitch would bounce one over the first basemen’s head and into left, bringing home Jared Pugrand and Kaden Bazansky who scored the game winning run in a bang-bang play at the plate. The Zap chased Golden into center field as the packed crowd joined in from their seats. The Zap won 7-6, and took a massive game from the Spuds in this series.
Game three will come this afternoon on River 92.7 and DRGnews.com at 2:20 PM CT with first pitch at 2:30.
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