Oct. 23, 2007 — The top two teams in the Quarren Schjang 40 Plus Softball league squared off Sunday night in what turned out to be the best game of the year to date.
In the end, the powerful Las Vegans squad finally got the best of seven-time defending champions Just for Fun by a score of 16-15. The winning run came off the bat of Gilberto Belardo in the bottom of the seventh. The Las Vegans' win came at a time when the defending champs were looking to run away with the league, and it served notice to the champs that they will also be in the hunt this year.
JFF drew first blood, scoring two runs on RBI singles by Kai Schjang and Raymond Cintron to take the early lead. That lead was short lived however, as Dennis Brow delivered a towering two-run blast over the center-field fence and Tony Watts came up with an RBI double to give the lead to the Las Vegans at the end of one inning, 3-2.
In the top of the second JFF was back on the attack, plating four runs on a three-run bomb over the left-field fence by Kai Schjang and an RBI single by Dwayne Thomas to go up 6-3. But it was another short-lived lead, as the Las Vegans erupted for six runs in the bottom of the inning to go up 9-6. They scored six runs on a three-run homer to left off the bat of Brow, a solo shot by Ray Defraitas, an RBI single by Watts and a bases-loaded walk drawn by Gilberto Belardo.
JFF got to within one in the top of the third at 9-8 when they scored twice on back-to-back home runs by Guido Schjang and Eustace Davis. The Las Vegans came up with one run on Belardo’s RBI single to lead 10-8 at the end of three complete innings.
Again JFF got to within one in the top of the fourth as they came up with an unearned run to trail 10-9. The Las Vegans had no answer in the bottom of the inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning, JFF came up with three runs on a two-run home run by Guido Schjang and an RBI single by Cruz Soto in the top of the sixth to briefly take a 12-10 lead. The Las Vegans responded with five runs in their half of the inning to take a 15-12 lead after six innings. They scored five runs on a two-run shot by pitcher Ramon Thomas, RBI singles by DeFraitas and Frank Rijos and a fielder’s choice.
Needing to score to stay in the game, JFF came up with three runs on an RBI double by Raymond Cintron and RBI singles by Reuben Mercado and Kai Schjang in the top of the seventh to knot the game at 15. The stage was now set for the Las Vegans last-inning thrilling victory.
Ramon Thomas went the distance to pick up the win for the Las Vegans, while Herminio Velasquez picked up the loss for JFF. Ramon Thomas also helped his own cause at the plate by going 3 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs. He was well supported by teammates, Brow, 3 for 3 with two home runs and five RBIs; Defraitas, 3 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs; and Belardo, 2 for 3 with two RBIs.
For JFF, Kai Schjang was 3 for 5 with a home run and five RBIs; Guido Schjang 2 for 4 with two home runs and three RBIs; Davis 2 for 4 with a home run and one RBI; and Dwayne Thomas 3 for 5 with one RBI.
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