GAME 1 VS Cubs

Posted on August 26, 2015 by BMilinkovich

The Battalion limped into the playoffs, going 1-6-1 in the final 8 games of the regular season and finishing 7th. They have the Cubs in Round 1, who bolstered a 13-9-2 record in the regular season, good enough for 2nd place in the NCBL.

The Battalion were going to be in tough against the Cubs, especially with perennial Pitcher of the Year candidate, Bobby Brooks on the mound. The Battalion answered with their own ace in Josh Soffer, who came in half way during the season but owned a 0.88ERA over 24.0IP down the stretch.

The game started well for the Battalion as Kyle Craig took the first pitch of the game for a hard single to left. Craig then stole second before Steve Renaud advanced him to 3rd with a single. Matt MacIntyre was able to get both runs home on a throwing error by the Cubs shortstop. After 1 it was 2-0 Battalion.

The game stayed that way until the top of the 5th where once again Craig started the inning off with a single and once again stole second. Renaud then cashed him on an RBI double that hit off the first base bag. Renaud then advanced to third on a wild pitch before Alex Baldock hit a sac-fly to score him. Battalion led 4-0 after 5.

Josh Soffer was dealing the entire game and still had not given up a hit. His lone blemish was a 2nd inning walk to Rob Lay.

The Battalion put it out of reach in the 6th. With Sam McIntosh on 3rd and Musashi Takara on 1st with 2 outs, Kyle Craig hit a single up the middle to score McIntosh. That was followed with another 2 out RBI single by Evan Hammond to make the score 6-0.

All that was left was to see if Soffer could finish off the no-no.

It was not to be, as Chad Keohane broke up the no-hit bid with no out in the 7th. The Cubs managed to have runners at 1st and 3rd with no outs before Soffer got Rob Lay to fly out to rightfield, and the induced a perfect 6-4-3 double play to end it. Soffer’s final line was 7.0IP, 8K, 1H, 1BB, 0R.

The first playoff win in Battalion franchise history gives them a 1-0 lead in the series with game 2 slated for Thursday night.

WP: Soffer (1-0)
LP: Brooks (0-1)

May 22nd VS RiverHawks

Posted on May 23, 2015 by BMilinkovich

The Battalion had a tough draw, playing on back-to-back nights and couldn’t find a groove in the sub-zero degree weather. Once again they fell behind early, this time allowing 2 runs in the bottom of the first. The RiverHawks used their home field advantage in the first to plate two after an RBI triple from Steve Spooner. Spooner would later score on a RBI single from Francis Meyrand.

Wil McIntyre got his second start of the season. His final line was 5IP, 5R, 4ER, 6H, 6K, and 6BB. Brent Daviault came in relief, throwing 1 inning, allowing 1 earned run. Battalion pitchers have now combined to walk 42 batters in 24 innings this season.

The Battalion were able to keep it close all game and actually tied it up at 3 after a Sam McIntosh, 2 run single with 2 outs in the 5th. Evan Hammond led the way offensively going 3-for-3 with a walk. Battalion hitters struck out 12 times throughout the game.

The Battalion couldnt keep the game tied as the RiverHawks scored 2 in the 5th and 3 in the 6th to come out on top 8-3.

The Battalion are back at it on Tuesday where they meet the Capital City Cubs in hopefully some nice weather for a change.

WP: Beauchamp (1-0)
LP: McIntyre (1-1)

May 21st VS Ponies

Posted on May 21, 2015 by BMilinkovich

The Bytown Battalion came into the game with a all time record of 0-2-1 against the Ponies. Things did not start off great for the Battalion, as their first inning woes continued, as they allowed another 4 in the first, pushing their yearly total up to 11 runs in the first 3 games. However, the bats bailed out the slow start, outscoring Kingston 16-2 over the final 6 innings on a cold and rainy night.

Braden McGinnis got his first career Tier 1 start on the mound, allowing 6 runs (2 earned), over 3IP, only allowing 1 hit. Joey Moskwa made his NCBL debut in the top of the 4th. Moskwa pitched 2 scoreless innings before walking the first 3 of the 6th inning. Moskwa finished his 2IP with 3Ks and 0 hits allowed. Eitan Maoz came in with the bases loaded and 0 out and struck out the 2nd hitter he faced before getting a double play ball up the middle to limit the damage to 1 run.

Heading into the bottom of the 6th the Battalion were down 7-6. At the end of the 6th they were ahead 16-7. A massive 10 run inning was led off by an infield single by Battalion newcomer, Sam McIntosh. McIntosh went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs in his Battalion debut. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Evan Hammond who came up clutch, dumping a single into rightfield, scoring the tying run. Defending MVP Steve Renaud came up next and promptly scored 2 more on a line drive single.

Veteran Ryan Dillon got his 10th career NCBL home run in the bottom of the 4th, sparking a 4 run rally.

The Battalion and Ponies combined to use 33 players and 8 pitchers.

The Battalion are right back at it Friday night as they take on the newcomers in the RiverHawks.

WP: Maoz (1-0)
LP: Burch (0-1)

HR: Dillon (1)