On Monday, the Dazzlers faced off against Raiders Red at Finsbury in a match which would either enable or prematurely end a late season push for promotion. Up against the team with the best defensive record in the division, could the Dazzlers avenge the one-run defeat to the Raiders earlier in the season? Read on to find out.
The game started poorly for the Dazzlers as they were unable to make inroads against the Raiders batting or fielding. After the first innings Dazzlerfans were disheartened as the Raiders took an 8-run lead, but some inspired re-jigging of the infield by stand-in captain Maggie strengthened the defence before the Dazzler batting battery opened fire. Some smart base-hits by the home team and two homers apiece for Steve and the returning Isaac resulted in the Raiders conceding more runs than they had in any other game this year. Complemented by some much improved fielding, notably with some big catches being held in the outfield, against the Raiders’ big hitting line-up the Dazzlers in fact took the lead and by the bottom of the fifth the score was 18-17 to the Dazzlers.
Regular readers will know that the Dazzlers like to keep the tension going, so after conceding 3 in the top of the 6th, the calculators were out as our batters calculated the number of runs required. “Two runs... that’s what we need, two runs” the whispers went round. Sure enough, the Dazzlers delivered and the scores were tied at 20-20 with an innings to play. It was at this point that the Raiders’ nitro kicked in and they racked up a 6-run cushion in their final at-bat, the Dazzlers paying the price for failing to take chances to close down the innings early on. The Dazzler bottom order could not muster a reply, and so having run the Raiders close for the second time this season, the Dazzlers were again left to rue the runners stranded on base, misfields and overthrows that cost them the game.
Nevertheless this was an encouraging performance, and despite Caesar Isaac’s triumphant return, Steve was awarded a well-deserved maiden MVP ball.
Where was Don Tona? My guess would be in Vegas, taking care of the new business.
Raiders 26
Dazzlers 20
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