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Patriots
0 - Rams 3
Starting pitcher Chris Mowday
was unstoppable, going six innings for nine strikeouts and giving
up no runs
Then, as if New South Wales did not have enough problems, the
back to back Crawford brothers (Nathan and Tristan) came in for
middle relief
Ryan Searle closed out the ninth for the Rams with no run given
up by the determined Rams pitching staff
In offense, it all happened in the second inning
Young Jay Nilsson hit an RBI double, James Linger singled for
an RBI, and then Wade Dutton hit a single for the third run of
the innings
That is all the Rams needed with the great shutout pitching performance
Queensland
and South Australia keep sun from setting on their seasons
Round four of the 75th Anniversary
Claxton Shield opened with two sides in jeopardy of losing touch
with the opposition and any chance of a chance at the playoffs
But a pair of inspired performances by the Queensland Rams and
South Australia saw both teams keep their hopes of a finals berth
alive
First up South Australia ......
In the other series being played this weekend, Lismore's Albert
Park played host to Game One of the grudge series between the
New South Wales Patriots and Queensland Rams - two sides battling
for playoff contention
The Rams, who trailed New South Wales by three games in the standing
entering Friday's match-up, were desperate to come away with
the win and kick start 2009 with a move in the right direction
However the Patriots were not going to make things easy for them,
sending former Major Leaguer Chris Oxspring to the mound in his
first start of the Diamond Anniversary Claxton Shield
But it was Rams starter Chris Mowday who stole the headlines
in the pitcher's duel, firing six shutout innings, allowing just
five scattered hits and striking nine Patriots hitters along
the way
Both sides had outstanding support from their bullpens, with
Rams and Patriots relievers combining for 8.1 scoreless innings
between them
Ultimately it was some timely hitting and a New South Wales defensive
miscue allowed the Rams to score three runs in the bottom half
of the third inning - and that was a total that would hold up
for the remainder and allow the Queenslanders a hard fought 3-0
victory
The win brings the Rams within two games of the third placed
Patriots, meaning a series sweep would see them overtake New
South Wales for the coverted final spot in play-offs
Queensland
hits back with 3-0 shutout of New South Wales
No need to issue an obvious
HAPPY NEW YEAR to our many mates in Queensland because they would
be the first to acknowledge the familiar taste of momma’s
home cooking after the recent festive season
The all away schedule was not too kind to the Rams pre-Christmas,
but Santa had obviously filled their Christmas stockings with
a welcome dose of home field confidence for their confrontation
against the pale blue ‘Cockroaches’ at Lismore
Both teams would celebrate the importance of the occasion by
dealing out their heaviest of pitcher (or picture) cards
The home standing Rams would open the bidding with seasoned professionals
Mowday and Crawford (T), along with Independent Leaguer Crawford
(N) and future pro Ryan Searle
The Patriots would hope to trump them with former major leaguer
Chris Oxspring, followed by ‘AAA’ southpaw Craig Anderson
and the well-performed Todd Grattan
New South Wales would hold plenty of aces, but the Rams called
a successful misere with their combined shutout in this series
opener
Mowday enjoyed one of his finest moments in a fairly long AMLB
career with his NINE strike outs coming at the brilliant rate
of one-point-five per inning to make sure that five hits couldn’t
develop into any scoreboard damage
The potent duo of 'Crawford and Crawford' simply refused to answer
the door in the late innings with three strike outs and only
one base runner never likely to get anything started for New
South Wales in those most important set-up relief innings
Future Chicago Cubbie Ryan Searle maintained the inhospitable
withdrawal of the welcome mat via a most impressive closure and
save at the nadir of a game that didn’t have too much padding,
even at the end
Former big leaguer Oxspring took the loss after not his sharpest
ever effort, but he wasn’t too bad at all
Nor was reliable Patriots’ stalwart Craig Anderson who made
a welcome return with a nice scoreless workout that will do him
plenty of good
Todd Grattan, who has been more solid than otherwise at AMLB
level, was really good again with three very neat scoreless innings
to keep his team in the game
Let’s just remind ourselves that the Patriots allowed only
three runs and only one, attributed to Oxspring, was earned
To get the shut-down New South offence out of the way, it sometimes
gives a good indication of emerging talent when young players
are able to stand out in tough conditions
If New South Wales tyro David Kandilas can get to the majors
with the Colorado Rockies, he would seem to have a batting stroke
that will cause MLB balls to fly around like missiles in the
rarefied air of Denver’s “mile high” Coors Field
His two hits were two of only six put on the board by his team
on this day, while Pat Maat was the only other to get on base
twice with a hit and a walk
Kandilas aside, this was a measure of the hosts’ pitching
effectiveness this time around
For the Maroons, who could help but notice the welcome return
of that most famous of Aussie baseball names NILSSON that has
somewhat dominated our national competition for the best part
of thirty years … think about that, Subscribers!
Former Cleveland Indian Jay, son of our Hall-of-Famer Bob, was
quick to plant the family name back on the AMLB landscape with
his 1-2 that started with a RBI double and was rounded of with
a walk and a hit-by-pitch … not bad Jay!
‘Flintoff & Dunn’ can only apologise for not giving
Wade Dutton top billing this time, but our excuse is that it
has become impressively mundane for him to deliver the only multi-hit
game for Queensland, plus a RBI
As we have said often, Wade has leapt out of the large shadow
cast by his prolific Independent League brother Brad during Claxton
Shield 2009 to date
Atlanta prospect James Linger knocked in the other RBI for the
hosts
We will now take the unusual liberty of mentioning the return
of ‘Mighty Mike’ Collins who batted 1-4, and his history
would suggest that he’ll be a great pick-up for them
What more can we say? ...... the Rams are back in town, while
the Patriots are still doing OK!
Big
Mow's day for a shutout
Whether it was the pre-game
advice of seven year old baseball buddy Harry Martin or the must
win situation the Queensland Rams find themselves in at the latter
end of the season, the answer may never be known
Either way, Chris Mowday was determined to walk away with a win
to his name and much to the dismay of Shane Barclays’ Patriots,
he came out firing on Friday night
Mowday was dominant from the start, blowing away all three outs
in the first innings with strike outs, setting the tone for the
Patriots evening
With his control unwavering throughout, Mowday tore through the
New South Wales line-up with monotony as proceeded to strike
out nine in a six innings shut out that saw him give up just
two walks and five hits
Whilst it may have been Mowday’s ability that set up the
win, it was the execution of the Rams fielding that ensured the
Patriots felt the frustration of not being able to score throughout
With the game set up nicely, Queensland were far from assured
of a win
In the top of the seventh, Manager Peter Yates opted for the
change, bringing in Nathan Crawford to ensure the win
Crawford was a little erratic, but his one innings was as important
as that of his brother, Tristan, who also contributed with a
three batter scoreless dig which included two strike outs
Ryan Searle came in as closer in the ninth, allowing Yates to
take a long awaited breath and the win
Whilst the pitching ensured New South Wales stayed out of the
game entirely, it was a three run third innings that helped the
Rams to the win
New South Wales starter and former San Diego Padres major leaguer,
Chris Oxspring worked well into the second innings before a throwing
error from short stop Michael Lysaught allowed Michael Collins
to secure first
Oxspring erred to the next batter, walking David Sutherland to
set up the run for Jay Nilsson to bring in
Nilsson obliged with a huge two bagger to centerfield, scoring
Collins and set Sutherland up at third
Far from finished with the rally, home town hero James Linger
moved the Maroons two up, driving down the right field line to
score the run
Wade Dutton made it a hat-trick, driving in the third before
the innings was shut down when Oxspring fanned Brad Dutton at
the plate for the third out
Wade Dutton’s two hits for the game was the best for the
Rams, while centerfielder David Kandalis provided two of the
Patriots six hits for the evening |
