by Scott Chiusano, Embrach Mustangs
Despite strong outings from starting pitchers Roger Savoldelli and Tim Jones, the Mustangs could not outlast the first place Flyers on Sunday, dropping the double header by scores of 9-3 and 5-1.
Game one remained scoreless until the top of the fourth, when the Flyers finally struck first. After a walk and a hit by pitch, the Flyers scored their first run on a wild pitch.
The Mustangs continued to get runners on base against Flyers starter L. Croton, but were unable to get on the scoreboard until the bottom of the sixth. With two outs, shortstop Josh Crouse walked and stole second. Then a deep fly ball by Christian Klarer into right center field scored him, and Klarer found his way to third for a triple, cutting the Flyers lead in half. However, his RBI triple would be the only source of offense for the Mustangs until the bottom of the ninth, when they found themselves in a 9-1 hole.
The home team fought back valiantly, though, putting two more runs up in the final frame. After two straight outs, DH Stephan Pribitzer singled and centerfielder Harry Wischnewski drew a walk. Left fielder Bruno Albrecht then brought Pribitzer home with an RBI single, and Crouse followed suit with another single, before Klarer struck out swinging to end the threat.
Game two was a matchup between two hard throwing Americans in Tim Jones and Dan Levine. Though Jones was brilliant, striking out thirteen and allowing four earned runs, the Mustangs hitters had no answer for Levine, who was consistently throwing three different pitches for strikes. Levine struck out ten in eight innings, allowing only two hits. The Mustangs lone run came in the bottom of the second, when Klarer walked, stole second and third, and then came home on a bunt single by Pribitzer.
Though this gave Embrach the lead, it was shortlived. In the next frame, Jones gave up a leadoff single and then a two run homerun to shortstop Josh Tamba. The Mustangs could not recover after that, putting only one runner in scoring position for the rest of the game.