50/70 Majors - results from recent games ...

Thursday, 6/19 - Championship

Orioles 7, Red Sox4

Saturday, 6/7

Orioles 7, Angels 2 - The Orioles put together strong pitching, excellent defense and timely hitting to win a hard fought playoff game by the score of 7-2 over the Angels to advance to the championship game.

John Frauenheim and Jack Booma combined for six outstanding innings in a two hit, one walk performance. Shekhar Sharma recorded a key out catching a fly ball off the bat of the lead off hitter in the bottom 4th inning with Anthony Castillo catching a pop up behind first base to record the second out of the inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Dan Frisbee contributed a defensive gem with a diving catch in centerfield. Andrew Hoskins and Isaac Mills scored 3 of the Orioles 7 runs and Tommy Burns recorded a critical put out of Anthony Mayo, who had doubled to lead off the game, when he was picked off second base.

The Orioles took an early 2 run lead plating runs in both the first and second innings. The Angels went on to tie the game up in the bottom of the 2nd on RBI’s by Ricky Ortiz and Dylan Pearson. But the Orioles came right back in the top of the 3rd to score the decisive runs making the score 4-2. The Orioles scored three more times in the top of the 4th to expand their lead to 7-2.

In the top of the fifth Anthony Mayo recorded an inning ending double play by catching a line drive off the bat of Charlie Knoll and then doubling the Orioles runner off second base. John Frauenheim and Jack Booma retired the Angels in order over the final three innings with Charlie Knoll capping it off with a game ending double play, catching a line drive to left field and then doubling an Angel’s runner off third by throwing to Chris Wilson for the final out.

Congratulations to the Angels, who were the regular season champs, on a fine season.

Red Sox 6, Indians 5 - In a well played game by both teams, the Red Sox overcame a 3-run deficit to score a 6-5 victory over the Indians to open 50/70 playoff action. Indians pitchers Zack McIntyre and William Colclough kept the Red Sox off balance throughout the game. Cameron Taylor kept up his hot hitting for the Indians with a 2-run RBI double in the 2nd while Matt White continued to produce for the Indians as he collected two hits, an RBI, and scored a run. The Indians played stingy defense throughout the game, allowing no Red Sox to reach base by error and making heads-up plays throughout the closely contested match. Brian Linovitz, Patrick Walsh, Richard Walsh, and Ben Stievator each contributed excellent defensive work for the Indians.

As usual, Mike Gjormand was a tremendous defensive asset for the Indians, controlling the game at catcher. The Indians took a 5-2 lead into the 6th, but clutch hits by Matt Skowrinski, Dylan van Vierssen, Taylor Evans, Keith Kobel, and Timmy Im, along with an RBI grounder by Steven Campbell, led to 4 Red Sox runs. This gave the visitors a 6-5 lead heading into the bottom of the last frame. Zack McIntyre, Jake Medvene, and Matt White all delivered deep shots to the outfield in the bottom of the 6th for the Indians; however, great outfield work by Steven Campbell, Timmy Im, and Daniel Blevins preserved the 6-5 win for the Red Sox. Pitchers Keith Kobel and Matt Skowronski were very strong for the Red Sox, giving up only 5 hits combined, while Brendan Eyerman produced a clutch hit and run early to keep the game close. Mark Anderson reached base twice and Matt Wojciechowski contributed to two important defensive outs in the 4th and 5th to keep the game close, setting up the Red Sox for their last inning rally.

Thursday, 6/5

Indians 4, Red Sox 4 - Cameron Taylor's two-out triple in the 5th inning helped the Indians tie the Red Sox, 4-4, in the regular season finale for the new 50/70 Major League. Outstanding pitching from Jake Medvene, Zack McIntyre, William Colclough and Brian Linovitz for the Indians and Keith Kobel, Taylor Evans and Mark Anderson for the Red Sox kept the game a low-scoring affair.

Tuesday, 6/3

Angels 11, Indians 4

Monday, 6/2

Angels 8, Orioles 2 - In a game closer than the score suggests, the Angels out lasted the Orioles 8 to 2. The Orioles pitchers picked off 2 Angels runners to end innings. The Angels stranded 12 Orioles runners. And the play of the game was a catch in center field by Lorenzo Allensworth and his throw home to Anthony Mayo for a double play to end the inning and bases loaded threat.

Thursday, 5/29

Red Sox 19, Loudoun Nationals 8 - The Red Sox spotted the Nationals an 8 run lead in the first before responding with 19 unanswered runs. Among the outstanding offensive leaders for the Red Sox were Timmy Im, who went 2 for 2 with three runs and 4 RBI, and Mark Anderson, who went three for three, scored three runs, and knocked in 6. Steven Campbell, Daniel Blevins, Matt Wojciechowski, Matt Skowronski, Dylan van Vierrsen, Taylor Evans, and Brendan Eyerman each reached base at least twice and scored at least once as the home team collected 17 hits. Daniel Blevins and Steven Campbell gave outstanding pitching performances holding the Nationals scoreless after the first.

Tuesday, 5/27

Indians 10, Loudoun Cubs 9 - Michael Gjormand laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score Ryan Castro to cap a dramatic come-from-behind 10-9 victory over the Loudoun Cubs. Down 9-5 going into their last at-bat, a lead-off walk by Zack McIntyre followed by singles by Cam Taylor, Richard Walsh, Ben Stievater and Castro, a sacrifice by Patrick Walsh and a walk by Brian Linovitz set the stage for the walk-off suicide squeeze.

Red Sox 8, Orioles 2 - The Red Sox combined excellent pitching, strong defense, and timely hitting in defeating the Orioles 8-2. Daniel Blevins and Matt Skowronski each provided strong pitching performances for the Red Sox as they scattered four Orioles hits. Taylor Evans provided the offensive spark, going two for two and providing a clutch 2-RBI double that helped ignite an 8-run 2nd inning for the home team. For the Orioles, Andrew Hoskins continued to produce offensively as he put together a two-hit performance and John Frauenheim and Chris Wilson both had strong outings on the mound.

Angels 7, Indians 4

Thursday, 5/22

Angels 15, Red Sox 0 - In a remarkable performance, Mike Jones pitched a 2 hit, 6 strike out, complete game shutout. In the 4th inning, Mike put the game out of reach by hitting a grand slam.

Wednesday, 5/21

Indians 11, Orioles 10 - Matt White hit a walk-off 2-run single to score William Colclough and Jake Medvene in the bottom of the 4th inning to lead the Indians to an exciting 11-10 win. Down 8-0 early, the Orioles rallied for 9 runs to take the lead going into the last inning, setting the stage for White's heroics. Jack Booma shined both on the mound and at the plate, going 3-3 with a double.

Monday, 5/19

Angels 11, Orioles 5

Tuesday, 5/13

Angels 15, Loudoun Nationals 8

Indians 4, Red Sox 3 - The Indians used strong pitching and small ball offense to hold off the Red Sox, 4-3 in six innings. Brian Linovitz pitched two strong innings and Zack McIntyre finished with 4 innings of one-hit ball to power the Indians. McIntyre also scored the game-winner on an rbi groundout by Jake Medvene in the top of the sixth. Dylan Van Vierssen and Matt Skowronski pitched well for the Red Sox and Steven Campbell scored three times.

Saturday, 5/10 - All games were cancelled due to weather.

Tuesday, 5/6

Red Sox 16, Angels 6 - The game ran 3-1/2 innings and ended at the 2-hour drop dead before completing the 4th inning. The final score reflects run totals as of the end of the 3rd.

Indians 8, Orioles 3 - Cameron Taylor pitched 3 shutout innings and the Indians defense sparkled in an 8-3 victory. Matt White singled in two runs and William Colclough and Jake Medvene each scored twice to lead the offense.

Sunday, 5/4

Cubs 11, Rockies 2 - A combination of sharp defense, excellent pitching, and timely hitting propelled the Cubs to a victory over the Rockies in a rescheduled Monday game. Things looked grim when Rockies pitcher Nestor Folta opened up the 1st by striking out the top of the Cubs order on all strikes. However, Cubs pitcher Robert Riddick held the Rockies with three strikeouts of his own, and the game was on. The Cubs picked up four runs in each of the next two innings, combining a good eye to draw walks with clutch hitting. Ryan Eisnaugle had an RBI in each of his three at bats, including a stellar bunt, and Sriram Iyer and Miles O'Bryan each made contact to bring in additional runs. The Cubs pitching and defense continued to hold the Rockies , with Robert Riddick allowing only one run over three innings, and Adam Boynton pitching two strikeouts in the fourth as well as making a key out at first base in the bottom of the fifth. Tyrell Ricks pitched the fifth inning and recorded three straight outs, including two strikeouts, to close out the game.

Saturday, 5/3

Red Sox 7, Pioneer Giants 4

Angels 10, Pioneer Cubs 7

Orioles 22, Pioneer Yankees 10

Pioneer Cardinals 16, Indians 9

Friday, 5/2

Orioles 6, Indians 4 - This was the makeup game from April 22.

Wednesday, 4/30

Indians 9, Angels 8 - The Indians rallied from 5 runs down in the last inning to defeat the Angels, 9-8. Solid relief pitching from Ryan Castro kept the Indians in the game and Michael Gjormand singled home Matt White with the game winner. Devon Goldsby blasted a 2-run homer to left-center field in the first inning for the Angels.

Mets 10, Rockies 3 - In a battle of the unbeatens, the Mets took the Rockies 10-3, to go to 7-0 on the season and take sole possession of first place. The game was a close 5-3 after three innings, but the Mets scored 5 runs in the 4th to put the game out of reach. Muriah Fabricius and Drew Daczkowski were the Mets Co-Players of the game, both rebounding from being hit by pitches to make solid offensive and defensive contributions to the team's victory. Evan Leckenby pitched two strong innings, and Kyle Petrillo pitched three excellent innings for the Mets. The game ended when Kyle gloved a line drive comebacker and threw to first to double up the Rockies ' runner. In another defensive highlight, Jack Lipsky, playing left field, got the ball in quickly to Evan Leckenby who threw a frozen rope to Drew at home to snag a sliding Rocky at the plate. Kevin Petrillo went 3-3 at bat, scoring three runs for the Mets. It was a solid team win, where every Met player made an important contribution.

The Rockies certainly didn't go down without a fight. Starting pitcher Michael Mozeyko opened with three excellent innings, anchored by a Rockies ' defense that had 6 putouts behind him. Nestor Folta, playing center field, made the ESPN highlight reel with an amazing, running catch that stole a sure triple from Evan Leckenby. Nestor also scored two of the three Rockies ' runs, with aggressive base running and blazing speed. Josh Griffin also contributed 2 solid hits to the Rockies ' cause as well.

Padres 13, Cubs 4 - After a slow start, the Padres now have a 2-game winning streak with a 13-4 win over the Cubs in 4 innings. The Padres have scored 25 runs in the two games. Michael Smith led the way, scoring three runs, and Alan Duran and Ted Madden contributed doubles. The Padres defense was led by Andy Zimmerman, who had 2 putouts and an assist, and Ted Madden, who played two great innings at catcher and threw out a steal at third base. The Cubs were led by Tyrell Ricks, who reached base on all three of his at bats, and Matt Pavelcka and Robert Riddick, who had back-to-back stand-up triples in the third inning. Ryan Eisnaugle saved a run from scoring with his heads-up defense.

Marlins 8 Nationals 8

Tuesday, 4/29

Orioles 3, Red Sox 3

Saturday, 4/26

Indians 10, Loudoun Nationals 3 - Aggressive base running combined with stellar defense allowed the undefeated Indians to beat the Loudoun Nationals, 10-3. The Indians had 13 defensive putouts in support of fine pitching performances from William Colclough and Zack McIntyre.

Angels 6, Red Sox 1

Orioles 9, Loudoun Cubs 7

Tuesday, 4/22

Loudoun Brewers 13, Red Sox 0

Angels 10, Loudoun Nationals 4

Saturday, 4/19

Orioles 6, Pioneer Giants 5

Pioneer Athletics 12, Red Sox 1

Indians 3, Pioneer Cubs 1 - Brian Linovitz scored two runs and Patrick Walsh provided a game-saving catch on a drive to centerfield in the bottom of the sixth to help secure victory.

Pioneer Cardinals 7, Angels 6

Tuesday, 4/15

Indians 8, Orioles 7 - The Indians outlasted the Orioles.

Red Sox 6, Angels 6

Saturday, 4/12  

 Angels 8, Orioles 3 with a homerun by Lorenzo Allensworth

 Indians 14, Red Sox 6

Tuesday, 4/8

Red Sox 7, Orioles 2

Indians 4, Angels 3 - The Indians beat the Angels, in a very exciting opening game of 2008. The Indians rallied from a 3-1 deficit and withstood a monster homerun by Anthony Mayo to win. Strong pitching from Jake Medvene and Zack McIntyre held the potent Angels in check.

46/60 Majors - results from recent games ...

***Championship Playoff Results for Saturday, 6/14 - The Padres completed their run through the playoffs with an outstanding 9-1 win over the Rockies in 6 innings. One day after their best offensive output of the season, the Padres played their best defensive game. Richard Holt was remarkable on the mound, pitching 5 strong innings and giving up only one run, and Kyle King caught all 6 innings behind the plate.

The Padres scored 4 runs in the first with 5 consecutive hits by Alex Herd, Andy Zimmerman, Kyle King, Richard Holt, and Matthew Vollaro. Then the storms came. The teams waited out the rains for an hour, then resumed play. The Padres ended the first with a double play, as Alan Duran caught a liner at second, and doubled up the Rockies runner by throwing to Alex Herd at first.

The next two innings were scoreless, but the Padres struck for four more in the top of the fourth on hits by Richard Holt, Alan Duran, and Michael Smith, and aggressive baserunning by Ted Madden, Cole Roberts. and Matthew Vollaro. The Pads made some excellent defensive plays in the bottom of the inning - Matthew Vollaro caught a long fly ball, Javert Valenzuela-Barrios caught a line shot to third, and Michael Smith threw out a runner at first on a grounder to shortstop.

The Padres made their lead 9-0 in the fifth on singles by Andy Zimmerman and Kyle King. The Rockies got the run back in the bottom of the inning as Dylan Herbert led off with a triple to the right field fence. Dylan scored on a spectular ground-out play by Michael Smith at shortstop. Dylan was the Rockies player of the game, having the Rockies only two hits of the game and making several great catches on long flies to right field.

After Michael Mozeyko pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the 6th, the Rockies were down to their final three outs. Andy Zimmerman came on in relief after Richard Holt walked the Rockies leadoff batter. Andy immediately induced a grounder to third, where Richard cleany played the ball and forced out the runner at second. Three pitches later, the Padres ended the game on another double play. Andy struck out the batter, and Kyle King picked the Rockies runner off first, throwing to Alex Herd to apply the tag and make the Padres the 2008 Majors 46/60 playoff champions.

The Padres would like to congratulate the Rockies on their two playoff wins, and would also like to congratulate the Mets and the Marlins on their first and second place finishes in the regular season.

Friday, 6/13

Padres 22, Mets 3 - The Padres played their most complete game of the season with an outstanding 22-3, 4-inning victory over the Mets in the second round of the playoffs. The Padres were led, as they have been all year, by Michael Smith, with 4 hits and 3 runs. On the mound, Mike struck out 6 Mets in the first two innings, while giving up only 1 run. How good were the Padres hitters? In 39 at-bats the Padres struck out only one time. For the Mets, Drew Daczkowski and Geoff Parriott each had two hits. In the 4th inning, the Mets refused to give up, with Kyle Petrillo leading off with a mammoth triple to right field. A heads-up 1-3-2 double-play by the Padres quashed any possibility of a Mets rally.

The Padres congratulate the Mets on an outstanding regular season and their well-earned first place finish.

Saturday, 6/7

Padres 5, Cubs 4 - The Padres won 5-4 over the Cubs on Saturday in a hot, tense 6-inning game. The Padres got it going in the first. With bases-loaded and none out, the Cubs forced two outs at home before the Padres broke through. Javert Valenzuela-Barrios and Matt Vollaro delivered hits, and Ted Madden walked, as the Padres scored three times. The Cubs came back with two in the bottom of the inning on 5 walks. The Padres pitchers - Michael Smith and Richard Holt - found their grooves the rest of the way. The defensive play of the game came in the top of the second, when the Cubs' Miles O'Brien snared a sharp line drive off the bat of Cole Roberts. Each team scored once in the third, and once in the fourth. Alex Herd's sharp line-drive single over second delivered what proved to be the Padres' game winning run. Pitchers Tyrell Ricks of the Cubs and Richard Holt of the Padres each pitched scoreless fifth and sixth innings. The Padres turned in some good defense in the bottom of the sixth to preserve the win. Catcher Michael Smith threw out a runner stealing third, and Matt Vollaro caught a soft liner at first to end the game.

Congratulations to the Cubs on such a great game.

Rockies 13, Nationals 3 - Rockies prevailed in a steamer that began with fog and ended at 95 degrees. The Nationals struck first with a great shot by Brian Hopkins and smart base running to take the early lead. Nestor Folta battled back on the mound, pitching three awesome innings and holding the Nationals to 3 runs. The Rockies bats came alive and scored early with 5 runs in the 1st. Jason Branting had two awesome shots to left field for a double and single in the later innings. Joseph Mozeyko also had a base clearing double that was almost stolen by the Nationals leaping short stop. The Marlins had some fantastic play at home with the help of the pitcher charging home to stop the Rockies rally. Joseph Mozeyko closed for the Rockies with only 15 pitches with the Rockies taking the win, 13 to 3.

**Regular Season Wrap-up**

Monday, 6/2

Cubs 9, Marlins 2 - In a makeup game for a rained-out Saturday match, the Cubs combined hard hitting and crisp pitching to defeat the Marlins 9-2. The Cubs pitchers recorded 12 strikeouts over five innings of play. Leading the way was Robert Riddick, who struck out four and allowed no runs in two innings of solid work. Patrick Broussard struck out two of the four batters he faced in the third, and Matt Pavlecka recovered his form in the fourth to finish strong with three strikeouts. Tyrell Ricks closed out the game, striking out three of the four batters he faced. Miles O'Bryan also had a key defensive play, catching a hard hit fly to right for the first out of the game. The Cubs hitting was also led by Robert Riddick, who went 3 for 3 with two doubles, one of them a deep shot to left field, and had 3 RBIs. Patrick Broussard and Tyrell Ricks also had two hits apiece, and each had an RBI as well.

The Marlins pitching was led by Ashley Schnarrs, who had four strikeouts and allowed two runs in two innings of work. Corey Burch led the Marlins hitting, going 2 for 3.

Mets 14, Padres 4 - Making up yet another rainout, the Mets beat the Padres 14-4 to lock up the regular season championship with two games remaining. Kyle Petrillo, Drew Daczkowski and Geoff Parriott pitched 4 excellent innings for the Mets, each pitcher at some point getting into a jam but each working his way out of it! Drew recorded 5 k's in his two innings of work. Offensively, every Met got on base, with 9 different Mets crossing the plate. Kyle led the Mets with three hits, and Jaime Langtry stroked a highlight reel triple into the left field gap.

For the Padres, Michael Smith, Alex Herd and Andy Zimmerman started off the 1st inning by scoring. Michael stuck out three Mets in just one inning of work, and Matthew Vollaro induced five groundballs in under two innings of work. Andy Zimmerman played some scrappy ball, getting hit by a pitch, later scraping up an elbow, but recovering to pitch a solid inning of work for his team.

Saturday, 5/31

Rockies 11, Padres 9 - The Rockies led with Michael Mozeyko, who pitched two great innings and contributed with a single in the fourth. Nestor Folta pitched through the 5th and displayed his usual aggressiveness on the base paths to give the Rockies their first run. The Padres were dominant but the Rockies never gave up and slowly began chipping away at the Padres lead. Dylan Herbert contributed to the RBIs with two singles, one that he turned into a triple with smart base running.
The Padres were led by Michael Smith and Alex Herd, who each hit and scored in both the first and second innings. Andy Zimmerman delivered a 2-run single, and Matthew Vollaro continues to swing the bat well, singling and scoring the Padres last run in the third. Michael Smith pitched two shut-out innings to start the games as the Padres built the early lead.

Friday, 5/30

Padres 8, Cubs 6 - In a Friday night make-up game, the Padres defeated the Cubs 8-6. The Cubs took an early 5-0 lead in the first on hits by Tyrell Ricks and Patrick Broussard. Patrick also pitched the first two innings for the Cubs, giving up no runs and no hits. Tyrell was everywhere the first two innings, accounting for 5 of the six outs, including a double play started at second. For the Padres, Richard Holt and Kyle King each contributed two solid innings, giving up only one run between the two of them, and Ted Madden gave the Pads three great innings behind the plate. The Padres stormed back in the 4th inning, scoring seven runs to take the lead. Richard Holt and Matthew Vollaro hit shots to the outfield, and other hits were made by Javert Valenzuela-Barrions, Ted Madden, Alan Duran, Andy Zimmerman, and Alex Herd. Great defensive plays were made in the bottom of the fifth by Matthew Vollaro, who caught a deep fly to right, and Cole Roberts, who sealed the game with a groundout at second.

Thursday, 5/29

Mets 18, Rockies 12 - Making up an early season rainout, the Mets took the Rockies 18-12 in a game that featured a ton of offense and, literally, fireworks at the end. Co-players of the game Drew Daczkowski and Geoff Parriott pitched 5 strong innings for the Mets, and Geoff, pitching in the last inning, had to focus hard as the Herndon Fireworks Display went off right behind the catcher. He bore down and did awesome, inducing two groundouts and getting a strikeout. Drew, along with Evan Leckenby, also contributed rock solid work at catcher. Jaime Langtry made two important outs playing second, and the Mets threw in a double play as well. Offensively, Kyle Petrillo had three hits, two of them hitting outfield gaps, Drew had a standup triple, Terry Peterson bashed a double to left, and Jack Lipsky simply crushed the ball to right field for a long double.

The Rockies were led by the pitching of Jake Anders, Jeff Joppich, David Ahlstrom and Nestor Folta. The four of them combined for ten strikeouts over four innings of work, with Nestor striking out three Mets in his one inning of work. Offensively, Joseph Mozeyko delivered a screaming triple to left field.

Wednesday, 5/28

Cubs 7, Rockies 6

Padres 6, Nationals 2 - The Padres defeated the Nationals tonight 6-2 in 5 innings. Javert Valenzuela-Barrios led the Padres offense with a 2-out bases-loaded single in the bottom of the first to put the Padres up 3-0. Michael Smith added a single and a double, and Alex Herd reached base safely 3 times. Matthew Vollaro singled, and Sean Logan got on board with 2 walks. Alex Herd pitched the 4th and 5th innings for the Padres, giving up just 1 run, striking out 4, and fielding two groundouts. The Padres pitchers struck out 12 on the night and gave up just one hit.

The Nationals were led by Rory Mason, who doubled in the third inning for the Nationals only hit. Daniel Carney and Jake Bentley pitched three effective innings of relief, giving up just three runs while striking out 5.

Marlins 16, Mets 9 - The Marlins beat the Mets 16 to 9. Corey Burch, Brett Parker and Ben Darby pitched for the Marlins. Corey Burch added two hits and scored three runs.

Wednesday, 5/21

Mets 8, Rockies 4 - After a first inning downpour, the Mets took the Rockies 8-4 to move to 9-1 on the season and stay solidly in first place. Evan Leckenby and Kevin Petrillo pitched 5 rock solid innings for the Mets, greatly assisted by some excellent defense behind them. Terry Peterson gunned down a Rockie with a rope thrown from deep third, and Evan ended the game with an assist from short thrown to Muriah Fabricius, who stretched and scooped the ball for an awesome put out. Kevin also had three unassisted putouts. Offensively, player of the game Jaime Langtry, playing despite a severe case of poison ivy, had two super at bats, the second resulting in a screaming line drive to the right/center outfield gap. Kyle Petrillo went 3 for 3.

The Rockies were anchored defensively by a rally stopping catch by left fielder Jeff Joppich, and a beautiful play at home with Michael Mozeyko flipping the ball to Nestor Folta to catch a sliding Met. Michael, Jason Branting and Dylon Herbert had the sole singles for the Rockies.

Marlins 10, Nationals 5

Padres vs. Cubs games was rained out, another make-up game.

Saturday, 5/17 (makeup games from 5/10)

Marlins 9, Rockies 5 - The Marlins beat the Rockies 9 to 5 behind the pitching of Corey Burch, Ashley Schnarrs and Ben Darby. Corey Burch added two hits and scored three runs at the plate. The Marlins scored 4 runs in the 5th inning with the last one coming in on a sacrifice fly by Brett Parker. Nester Folta hit a home run for the Rockies .

Nationals 14, Cubs 5

Wednesday, 5/14

Mets 9, Cubs 8 - The Mets survived a fierce Cubs rally to squeak out a 9-8 win, improving to 8-1 and staying in first place. Being the stellar pitching of Evan Leckenby and player of the game Drew Daczkowski, the Mets surged to a 9-2 lead. However, the Cubs put the bat on the ball in the final inning and, with the bases loaded and down by only one run, Tyrell Ricks sent a deep fly ball to center field. The Mets' Terry Peterson, however, got a great jump on the ball, and made a super catch to rob Tyrell and the Cubs of at least three runs. Drew, pitching for the first time, shut out the Cubs in two strong innings of work. In the first inning, he also threw out the speedy Tyrell as he tried to steal second.

Both teams put the ball in play all night. The Mets batters had the fewest amount of strikeouts as a team in any game to date. Geoff Parriott had a beautiful line drive (with a steal home) and Kyle Petrillo contributed a single and a two out double to drive in three runs. The Cubs were led offensively by Robert Riddick (1 double, 1 single), Tyrell Ricks and Adam Boynton (2 singles each). Robert Riddick also highlighted the Cubs pitching, shaking off a tough first inning to strike out 2 of the Mets top 4 hitters and making the 1-3 play for the other out of the second inning.

Nationals 12, Rockies 0

Marlins 8, Padres 6 - The Padres got RBI-doubles from Michael Smith and Andy Zimmerman. Richard Holt pitched a 1-2-3 third, and had five strikeouts.

Saturday, 5/10 - All games were cancelled due to weather.

Wednesday, 5/7

Marlins 10, Cubs 8 - The Marlins battled back from a 6 to 2 deficit after one inning and 8 to 4 deficit after two innings to win 10 to 8. Ben Darby pitched the last two scoreless innings for the Marlins. Ashley Schnaars scored three runs and Colin Nulty scored two run for the Marlins. Patrick Broussard and Tyrell Ricks pitched two strong innings and Terrell Ricks had two hits and scored two runs for the Cubs.

Mets 6, Nationals 5 - Drew Daczkowski hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 5th as the Mets squeaked by the Nationals 6-5. The combined pitching of Evan Leckenby and Kyle Petrillo gave up one earned run in 4 innings to stake the Mets to an early lead. However, in the top of the 5th, behind some timely walks and 2 excellent steals home, the Nationals took a run lead. Muriah Fabricius, co-player of the game, led off with a single, followed by two more from Evan Leckenby and Kevin Petrillo. Kyle took an intentional walk, to set things up for Drew's winning hit. The Mets, who were aggressive at the plate all night, got two singles from co-player of the game Robert Beck, who also hustled on the base paths to put himself in scoring position. The Mets defense was solid, with Jaime Langtry contributing some excellent heads up play in the outfield.

Brian Hopkins and Daniel Carney pitched 5 strong innings for the Nationals, with Brian striking out the Mets' leadoff and numbers two and three hitters in the 3rd, two of the K's being on beautiful change-ups. Brian also had the sole Nationals hit on the evening.

Rockies 3, Padres 3 - The Rockies and the Padres played to a 3-3 tie in 5 crisp innings. With the tie, the Rockies continue their pursuit of first place, and the Padres continue their recent unbeaten streak. The game started as the battle of the Michaels, with Michael Smith of the Padres facing Michael Mozeyko of the Rockies on the mound. Each pitched three effective innings, leaving with the score at 2-2. The Rockies ' Nestor Folta opened the game with a stand-up triple, then scored the game's first run. The Padres countered in the bottom of the first with leadoff batter Michael Smith singling and eventually scoring. Smith contributed his own stand-up triple to leadoff the bottom of third, then scored on a perfectly executed bunt by Andy Zimmerman. The Rockies took the lead again in the top of the 5th off another triple by Folta, but the Padres held the lead at 1 run by getting the third out at home on a scoring attempt on a passed ball. With the bases loaded and 2 out in the bottom of the 5th, the Padres Kyle King singled sharply up the middle to drive in Sean Logan with the tying run. The Rockies preserved the tie by getting the final force-out a second base on another sharply hit grounder by Richard Holt.

The Rockies' outstanding defensive plays were turned in by Dylan Herbert, who snared a line drive at second base, and Josh Griffin, who caught a pop-up behind first base and doubled up the Padres runner. The at-bat of the night was by Matt Green, who, with 2 strikes on him, fouled off 4 consecutive pitches to keep his at-bat alive, then earned the walk - one of those great baseball moments. For the Padres, Michael Smith was the defensive player of the game, with 6 Ks, 2 assists and 1 put-out in three ininngs at pitcher, 2 putouts at first base, including a great catch of a pop-up behind him, and two putouts and an assist at catcher. Michael contributed to 14 of the 15 outs made by the Padres defense. Nestor Folta of Rockies and Richard Holt of the Padres eached pitched two effective innings to close the game.

Saturday, 5/3

Padres 18, Nationals 8 - The Padres winning streak increased to 3 games with a 17-8 win over the Nationals in 5 innings. The Padres scored 5 in the top of the first, then the Nationals responded with 3, led by Brian Hopkins with a triple. The Padres broke it open in the 4th with 9 runs, included a bases-loaded triple by Andy Zimmerman. Andy also pitched three strong innings, and Alan Duran made his first piching appearance of the year, closing out the game with a good inning.

Marlins 18, Mets 8 - Ben Darby pitched three innings, added three hits, scored three runs and batted in several runs leading the Marlins to a 18 to 8 victory over the Mets. Brendan Arney also scored three runs for the Marlins and Corey Burch had three hits. Kevin Petrillo started and pitched two strong innings for the Mets. Evan Leckenby and Drew Daczkowski each scored two runs for the Mets.

Cubs and Rockies will make up their game at a later date.

Wednesday, 4/30

Mets 10, Rockies 3 - In a battle of the unbeatens, the Mets took the Rockies 10-3, to go to 7-0 on the season and take sole possession of first place. The game was a close 5-3 after three innings, but the Mets scored 5 runs in the 4th to put the game out of reach. Muriah Fabricius and Drew Daczkowski were the Mets Co-Players of the game, both rebounding from being hit by pitches to make solid offensive and defensive contributions to the team's victory. Evan Leckenby pitched two strong innings, and Kyle Petrillo pitched three excellent innings for the Mets. The game ended when Kyle gloved a line drive comebacker and threw to first to double up the Rockies ' runner. In another defensive highlight, Jack Lipsky, playing left field, got the ball in quickly to Evan Leckenby who threw a frozen rope to Drew at home to snag a sliding Rocky at the plate. Kevin Petrillo went 3-3 at bat, scoring three runs for the Mets. It was a solid team win, where every Met player made an important contribution.

The Rockies certainly didn't go down without a fight. Starting pitcher Michael Mozeyko opened with three excellent innings, anchored by a Rockies ' defense that had 6 putouts behind him. Nestor Folta, playing center field, made the ESPN highlight reel with an amazing, running catch that stole a sure triple from Evan Leckenby. Nestor also scored two of the three Rockies ' runs, with aggressive base running and blazing speed. Josh Griffin also contributed 2 solid hits to the Rockies ' cause as well.

Padres 13, Cubs 4 - After a slow start, the Padres now have a 2-game winning streak with a 13-4 win over the Cubs in 4 innings. The Padres have scored 25 runs in the two games. Michael Smith led the way, scoring three runs, and Alan Duran and Ted Madden contributed doubles. The Padres defense was led by Andy Zimmerman, who had 2 putouts and an assist, and Ted Madden, who played two great innings at catcher and threw out a steal at third base. The Cubs were led by Tyrell Ricks, who reached base on all three of his at bats, and Matt Pavelcka and Robert Riddick, who had back-to-back stand-up triples in the third inning. Ryan Eisnaugle saved a run from scoring with his heads-up defense.

Marlins 8 Nationals 8

Saturday, 4/26

Padres 12, Marlins 6 - The Padres broke into the win column with a 12-7 victory over the Marlins in 6 innings. Michael Smith and Alex Herd got things going with consecutive doubles to start the game, as the Padres plated their first four batters. Alex also caught a long fly ball in left field and made an unassisted double play at first base. Kyle King and Richard Holt combined to throw three effective innings to close the game. The Marlins got effective relief pitching from Colin Nulty, Brett Parker and Corey Burch. Ashley Schnaars and Alastair Young led the way at the plate, with both reaching base safely on all three of their at-bats.

Mets 6, Cubs 3 - The Mets squeaked by the Cubs 6-3 to move to 5-0 on the season. Kyle and Kevin Petrillo pitched two run balls, with Evan Leckenby throwing 6 strikes to get the pressure save in a 2 men on, one out situation. Terry Peterson also looked solid on the mound for the Mets. Kevin also had three infield assists. Jack Lipsky had an important double to left field to score a hustling Robert Beck to give the Mets a small cushion. Drew Daczkowski contributed two hits, and Evan got on base and scored all three times he was at bat.

Cubs Pitchers Patrick Broussard, Matthew Pavlecka and Adam Boynton were outstanding, each allowing only 1 run. Matthew, who struck out three in a row to end the second, also had the sole Cubs hit, a shot to the outfield. Tyrell Ricks came on in the 5th and threw flames, although the Mets somehow managed to get their bats on them. The Cubs also played exciting defense, throwing out two Mets players at the plate. In one, Tyrell took an outfield throw at cutoff and threw a perfect ball to Adam Boynton, who blocked the plate and put the tag on. In the other play, Patrick fielded the ball, threw to Matthew at 1st, who then threw a dart back to home where Adam again put the tag on a sliding Met. Great baseball defense against an aggressive Mets team.

Rockies 11 Nationals 6 - The Nationals jumped to a commanding 5 to 1 lead in the first. Nestor Folta made a spectacular catch in the 1st inning to keep the Nationals in check. Brian Hopkins, pitching for the Nationals, was almost un-hittable through two innings. The Rockies scored 2 in the 3rd but were robbed of more by a great catch by Brian Hopkins to keep the score 5 to 3. Joseph Mozeyko threw three spectacular innings for the Rockies and despite the Nationals best efforts, the Rockies prevailed 11 to 6.

Wednesday, 4/23

Mets 16, Padres 1 - The Mets defeated the Padres 16-1 in 4 innings to move to 4-0 on the season. Every player scored at least one run for the Mets. Evan Leckenby and Kyle Petrillo held the Padres to one run, greatly assisted by their defense which had 8 putouts behind them. Player of the game Jack Lipsky made two outs in the field, in addition to his excellent at bats and base running. Jaime Langtry also had a beautiful outfield assist from right field.

The Padres had some great defensive plays of their own, with a double play started by Javert Valenzuela-Barrios, two players caught stealing by excellent throws from their catchers, and a perfectly executed trick play by Andy Zimmerman and Michael Smith that caught a Met player in a rundown. The Padres also were putting their bats on the ball throughout the game. Alan Duran had two strong hits, and Cole Roberts had a beautiful hit, with his heads up baserunning leading to his scoring the Padres sole run.

Rockies 4, Marlins 2 - It was a tight game through 4 innings with great pitching by Corey Burch and Alistar Young for the Marlins and the Mozeyko brothers, Michael and Joseph, for the Rockies. The Marlins took the lead in the 3rd inning with back to back singles from Colin Nulty, Corey Burch and Ashley Schnaars. The Rockies took the lead back in the 4th with smart/aggressive base running by Michael Mozeyko and Josh Griffin. Fantastic pitching by both teams kept the 5th and 6th innings scoreless with the Rockies coming out on top 4 to 2.

Cubs 10 Nationals 4 - The Cubs break their 0-for-Wednesday streak with a win against the Nationals. The Nationals battled the Cubs to a tie going into the bottom of the last inning, but the Cubs were able to win it in the end.

Saturday, 4/19

Cubs 5, Marlins 4 - The Cubs started off strong with a 4 run first inning, and then held on for a 5-4 win against the Marlins. In the sixth inning, the tying run was on 3rd base when Cubs pitcher Tyrell Ricks struck out the final Marlins batter.

Mets 16, Nationals 1 - The Mets defeated the Nationals 16-1 to go 3-0 on the season. The pitching trio of Kyle Petrillo, Kevin Petrillo and Terry Peterson allowed just one hit and two walks, for a total of three base runners for the game. Terry, the Mets' player of the game, also contributed with his bat and heads up hustle on the bases. Geoff Parriot and Drew Daczkowski had great hits, as did Kyle, who banged a triple to the right field fence. Drew also gave another strong performance behind the plate.

Rockies 11, Padres 8 - The Padres jumped out to an early 5 to nothing lead in the first with Kyle King and Richard Holt leading the hit parade. Things quieted down once the Rockies pitchers found their rhythm. The Rockies opened things back up with a 7 run 4th, scoring 3 runs off a stand-up triple by Nestor Folta. Smart base running by both teams and error free defense kept things close to the end with a final score of 11 to 8 in favor of the Rockies. The Padres plated their first five batters of the game, and were led by Cole Roberts with 2 RBIs. Pitcher Michael Smith struck out 5 in two innings.

Wednesday, 4/16

Mets 11, Marlins 6 - Mets defeated the Marlins 11-6 to move to 2-0 on the season. Evan Leckenby (Player of the Game) for the Mets, and Ben Darby for Marlins, both threw strong innings at pitcher in what was a tight game after 3 innings. Behind Evan's and Geoff Parriott's bats, some excellent base running and key hits by their teammates, the Mets extended their lead in the latter innings. Kevin Petrillo pitched two strong innings to close it out, with Drew Daczkowski and Kyle Petrillo providing excellent defense behind the plate.

Rockies 11, Cubs 7 - The Cubs opening 2 pitchers (Robert Riddick & Matt Pavlecka threw 2 shutout innings and 4 strikeouts and their closer (Tyrell Ricks) faced 4 batters and struck out 3. It wasn't enough to overcome the Rockies hitters with Matthew Green and Jason Branting going 2 for 3 and Nestor Folta with a stand up triple. Solid defense all around with a nail biting finish across 5 innings.

Nationals 11, Padres 3 - The Padres' player of the game tonight was Alan Duran, who hit safely in both of his at bats, including a triple in the 2nd inning.

Saturday, 4/12

Cubs 8, Padres 4 - The Cubs jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but the Padres battled back with 4 runs in the third inning. The Cubs held on to win it 8-4 with sharp pitching and good defensive play. Cub's pitchers: Patrick Broussard (3 innings), Tyrell Ricks (3 innings).

The play of the game for the Padres was turned in by left fielder Sean Logan. Sean backed up an overthrow to third base, and then threw out the runner at home trying to score. Catcher Kyle King was in position, made a clean catch and applied the tag.

Marlins 11, Nationals 9

The Mets and the Rockies will make their game up 4/21 (rained out).

Wednesday, 4/9

Mets 9, Cubs 3

Marlins 8, Padres 1

50/70 Angels; Anthony Mayo (1), Lorenzo Allensworth (2), Devon Goldsby (1), Mike Jones (1)

Note: Bat-a-thon home runs are tracked separately.