Playoffs Round 1: Grays knockout Goats in wild Wild Card; winning run scores on 2-out suicide squeeze in 8th

Fainting Goats - 10
Dorian Grays - 11

WP: Mike Whately. LP: Mike O'Donnell

The Grays, losers of 3 straight, and the Goats, losers of 10 of 11 games in the regular season, met in the round 1 Wild Card game that someone had to win.

Instead of America's Biggest Loser, what we got was the TNB+50 equivalent of Muhammed Ali v. Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden in '71. (Frazier won that one after dropping Ali in the 15th round with a picture-perfect left hook.)

Saturday's slugfest in the league's first-ever Wild Card game was also decided late, and in the role of Joe Frazier was the Gray's "Dirt" Doug Dagarin, who dropped a picture-perfect suicide squeeze with 2 outs in the bottom of the 8th to drive in the winning run,

The runner on third, Big League Stu Clark broke for the plate and was at least halfway down the line before Dagarin squared around and dropped a little squibber down the third baseline. The only chance the Goats had was to try for the runner on second breaking for third to end the inning, but Rocky Strempel slid in just under the tag.

The Grays tied the game moments earlier at 10-10 when John "Ski" Malinowski slid in under the tag in a play at the plate on a fielder's choice grounder to third by Strempel.

The Goats had 3 really close plays go against them in 8th. If any two of them turned out differently, the outcome of the game would have been different.
That is how close of a game it was.

The Goats went into the bottom of the 8th leading 10-9. Paddy Johnson worked a one-out walk, moved to 2nd on a passed ball, and then came around to score when the throw from short on a ground ball skipped past the first baseman.

A tight, mostly well-played game for the first 6 innings, the final 2 1/2 innings was, to extend this boxing metaphor a little further, two heavyweights in the center of the ring throwing and absorbing thunderous blows.

The Goats scored four in the 7th on a barrage of singles by Steve Gargon, Mike O'Donnell, Jerold Duquette, and Ed Webb go up 9-5.

The Grays responded with a barrage of their own in the bottom of the inning to tie it up. Matt Boulanger doubled and Mike "Knuckles" Whately singled. Three walks in the inning did not help the Goats.

For the Goats, Rick Stacy went 6 innings and left with a 9-5 lead. He struck out 3, had no walks and got a ton of ground ball outs. Two of his 5 runs were unearned.

Tom Sebastyn was 2-3 with a walk and a run. Paddy Johnson was 2-3 with a double, a walk and 2 runs scored, and Steve Gargon had a double, single and drove in 2.

For the Grays, Whately pitched a 9-inning complete game, no easy feat on a hot day, Clark was 3-3 with a walk, a double and 3 runs scored.

With the win, the Grays go on to meet the first-ranked Wonderboys Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at MacKenzie Field in Holyoke.