Thursday, May 14

Hodgkins and Roberts Combine to Shut-Out Willows, 4-0

Wilkinson Park - If you left your canoe at home for tonight’s game, then you were literally up the creek without a paddle as rain drenched Willows and SBS and forced the game to be called after four innings.  SBS made the most of those innings, though, by putting across four runs en route to their fifth win of the season.

            After Hayden Owen walked to lead off the game and then advanced to second, Jon Vickers doubled him home for the team’s first run.  Andrew Roberts moved Vickers to third with a grounder to the right side and Michael Kilmartin smacked a fly ball to center, scoring Vickers with the Sacrifice Fly.  While the runs weren’t exactly pouring out of the SBS dugout, two would prove to be enough and the heavy clouds would instead provide a different kind of deluge over home plate.

            In the bottom half of the inning, Willows threatened to tie the game as Daniel O. and Griffin Henderson both walked and advanced to scoring position with one out.  Thomas Hodgkins, who picked up his second win of the season, struck out a batter, however, and then J-Vick tracked down a Riley Hasson fly-ball to end the threat. 

            In the second, SBS couldn’t take advantage of a lead-off single by Matt Gilboy but Hodgkins found his stride (or more accurately his stroke, on the water soaked field which was beginning to look more like a community pool) and retired Willows in order with two strike outs and an athletic assist on a comebacker.  Owen and Vickers would team up again in the third with two outs for SBS’ third run.  After Hodgkins shut down Willows in the bottom frame, Kilmartin, Hodgkins and Gilboy would all reach safely. Kilmartin then scored when Joseph Grant was hit by a pitch.  Cam H. came in and was able to strike out the side to keep the damage at one run, four waterlogged balls, a pitcher’s mound more slippery than a greased eel on ice skates and about twenty players with wet undergarments.

            In the fourth, Roberts replaced Hodgkins, who felt like he’d been shot-putting all afternoon as opposed to pitching.  After a two batters reached with one out, Roberts was able to strike out the next two to preserve the win for Hodgkins and complete the most quiet (and wettest) abbreviated no-hitter in recent memory.