Monday, April 6, 2009

Near Perfect Redemption on Saturday Night


Responding well to game one’s loss, Magnolia roared in game two of Saturday night’s double header. The team posted three first inning runs and added one more in the fourth inning to cruise to a 4-0 victory over the Brewers, the tournament host.

The story of the night was pitching. Stuart Fairchild threw five innings of perfect baseball, striking out nine. Stuart was fluid, confident and just mowed the Brewers down. It was a joy to watch him and a tough decision to protect his young arm on a cold night. Stuart fought valiantly to stay in (he knew what was happening) but the ball was wrestled from his hand and turned over to Nick Reeves.

Nick kept the no hitter, but lost the perfect game with a walk. A nice double play was turned to erase this walk and keep the Brewers to just 21 batters.

As with all no-hitters, great defense played a key role. Stuart pounced like a cat on two tough bunts. Ben Thomson snow coned a line drive headed down the first base line, and later combined with a speedy Nick Reeves covering the bag to prevent an infield single in the seventh.

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