Wild Card: Chuckanut Bay vs. Great Kills

The Gold League wild card matchup was Chuckanut Bay (89-73) vs. Great Kills (88-74). The winner of this series gets the reward of having to face the Diamond Gems (120-42), holder of the best overall record in the league. So, here's how the games went...

Game 1
Great Kills 2 at Chuckanut Bay 9
John Maine went the distance and Julio Lugo left the yard and had 2 RBI as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas defeated the Great Kills Galloping Ghost by the score of 9 to 2 at Busch Stadium. Great Kills never recovered after Chuckanut Bay took the lead in the 3rd inning when they scored 2 runs on 2 hits. The critical plate appearance was by Lugo who brought a roar from the partisan Busch Stadium fans when he bombed a two-run dinger (his 1st of the season). Chuckanut Bay had a total of 11 hits for the game. Maine(1-0) allowed 2 runs on the game. Jason Jennings(0-1) was tagged with the loss. He was hit hard and gave up 10 hits and 3 walks in 6 and 2/3innings.

Game 2
Great Kills 11 at Chuckanut Bay 3
Ben Sheets racked up an impressive total of 16 strikeouts and Alex Rios had 2 base hits and 3 RBI as the Great Kills Galloping Ghost defeated the Chuckanut Bay Tubas 11 to 3 at Busch Stadium. Sheets(1-0) contributed a very nicely pitched game. He surrendered only 8 hits and no walks in 9 innings and allowed 2 gopher balls. Great Kills had a total of 16 hits for the game. Livan Hernandez(0-1) took the loss. He got hit pretty hard, allowing 8 hits and 3 walks in 5 innings. 'He was really impressive tonight,' Hernandez said of his counterpart. 'Our guys were just swinging at air.'

Game 3
Chuckanut Bay 4 at Great Kills 8
Alex Rios cracked a homer and had 2 RBI and Ted Lilly whiffed 10 batters as the Great Kills Galloping Ghost topped the Chuckanut Bay Tubas by a score of 8 to 4 at Angels Stadium. Lilly(1-0) gave a fine effort for Great Kills. He surrendered 5 hits and 2 walks in 6 and 2/3 innings. Great Kills and Chuckanut Bay each finished the night with 10 hits. Kevin Millwood(0-1) was the losing pitcher. Lilly was pleased with his performance. He noted, 'I had good zip on my pitches. Just as important, my location was right on. The fans really got into the game too - that alwayshelps me. Now, if I can only do that again in my next outing.'

Game 4
Chuckanut Bay 10 at Great Kills 6
Third baseman Miguel Cabrera went yard and had 2 RBI at Angels Stadium as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas beat the Great Kills Galloping Ghost 10 to 6. Paul Byrd(1-0) got the win despite looking shaky at times. He gave up 8 hits and 1 walk in 6 innings. The Chuckanut Bay offense poured it on, scoring in 7 of the 9 innings. Brendan Donnelly(0-1) was tagged with the loss in relief. He gave up 4 runsin 2 innings of work.

Game 5
Great Kills 3 at Chuckanut Bay 5
Miguel Cabrera had 2 base hits at Busch Stadium as the Chuckanut Bay Tubas beat the Great Kills Galloping Ghost 5 to 3. Chuckanut Bay took the lead off Jason Jennings in the first inning when they scored 4 runs on 3 hits. That was all John Thomson(1-0) needed. The pitchers took over after the 4th inning as neither team was able to score again. Thomson was helped out by Takashi Saito who recorded his 1st save. Jennings(0-2) ended up with the loss. He pitched 6 innings giving up 6 hitsand 3 walks.

The series was very much back and forth and it seemed to switch quite frequently as to who was getting the rolls at any given time. In game five, Chuckanut Bay seemed to get all the rolls at the crucial times. These were two very evenly matched teams.

Now, here's hoping the Vaughn's brain is still scrambled from organizing free agency when the next series gets underway!