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HomeNewsArchivesLate-Inning Collapse by St. Thomas Hurricanes Results in Tie Game

Late-Inning Collapse by St. Thomas Hurricanes Results in Tie Game

Oct. 30, 2007 — The Chicago Fire scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth to earn a tie against the St. Thomas 45 Plus Hurricanes Tuesday in the 2007 Men’s Senior Baseball League (MSBL) tournament in Arizona.
The Hurricanes looked well on their way to victory after starting pitcher Kai Schjang had retired the Fire in order over the last two innings, but consecutive doubles by the Fire's first two hitters in the bottom of the ninth quickly changed things. Those two runners scored, and the tying run came home on a passed ball before Schjang was relieved by Frankie Braithwaite. He retired the three hitters he faced to prevent an outright loss for the Hurricanes.
Batting first, the Hurricanes came up with one run on an RBI ground out by Elrod Hendricks Jr. to take the early lead, but the Fire answered with one run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI ground out by Pat Farrell to knot the game at one.
After the Hurricanes failed to score in the top of the second, the Fire came up with two runs in the bottom of the inning to take the lead at 3-1 on a two-run single by Greg Bechold.
The Hurricanes took the lead at 4-3 in the top of the third as they came up with three runs on a sacrifice fly by Frank Thomas, an RBI single by Hendricks and an error on the Fire's second baseman. The Fire came up empty in the bottom of the inning.
The Hurricanes continued their offensive onslaught in the top of the fourth, scoring three more runs on a towering home run over the left-field fence off the bat of Mike Martin to extend their lead to 7-3. The Fire was able to answer with one run on an RBI single by Peter Zilonis in the bottom of the inning to trail 7-4 after four completed innings.
After a scoreless fifth inning, the Hurricanes came up with their eighth run on an RBI ground out by Anthony Stridiron in the top of the sixth. The Fire responded with three runs on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Tom Crompton and a two-run single by Zilonis to get to within one at 8-7 at the end of six innings.
The Hurricanes extended their lead to 10-7 in the top of the seventh on RBI singles by Kai Schjang and Glen Francis. The Fire had no answer in the bottom of the inning.
The game would go to the bottom of the ninth with the same score and the game time just about expired. The Fire needed three runs to tie and four to win because there are no extra innings in the preliminary games. After being retired in order over the last two innings, the Fire was up to the task as they came up with three runs on an RBI double by Wes Thomas, an RBI single by Crompton and a wild pitch to tie the game at 10. Schjang was then relieved by Braithwaite, who got the three outs to preserve the tie.
Schjang pitched a strong game before getting into trouble in the top of the ninth, and Braithwaite did a great job in relief to prevent the outright loss. Chuck Scheidt came on in relief for the Fire and kept the Hurricanes off the board over the final two innings. Leading the Hurricanes offensively was Thomas, who went 3 for 5 with one RBI; Smith, 2 for 3; and Martin, 1 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs. For the Fire, Zilonis went 3 for 4 with three RBIs, Bechold 2 for 4 with two RBIs and Thompson 1 for 2 with two RBIs.
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