Hartley went 3-for-6 with 3 extra-base hits, and his 2-run homer led Eastbound & Dahn past the Ham Slams
Eastbound & Dahn rallied in the top of the sixth to take a 2-run lead, and then held on in the bottom of the sixth to top the Ham Slams 3-2.
Josh, pitching with a bandaged hand, started on the mound for the Ham Slams. Hartley, the first batter he faced, led off the game with a double, but Josh stranded him at second, retiring Helal and Ivan in order to end the top of the first. Eastbound & Dahn started Helal, and he pitched a perfect bottom of the first to maintain the 0-0 tie.
Josh breezed through the top of the second, and Helal matched him in the bottom half, retiring the side in order.
Josh retired Ivan, to start the top of the third, but Eastbound would break the scoreless tie. With one out, Harley tripled, and the next batter, Helal, followed with an RBI triple, making the score 1-0. Josh escaped further damage, retiring Ivan to end the inning. Helal continued to dominate in the bottom of the third, retiring Josh and Anthony consecutively.
Helal’s third inning triple put Eastbound & Dahn ahead 1-0
Down a run, Josh got back on track in the top of the fourth. He retired Hartley, then fanned Helal for the second out.
Hitless through three innings, the Ham Slams would draw even in the bottom of the fourth. Steve led off the inning with a solo bomb to left-center, tying the game at 1-1. Helal would retire the next to batters, avoiding further damage.
With the score tied at 1-1, Josh struck out Ivan to start the top of the fifth, the second consecutive batter he whiffed. He then retired Hartley to end the inning. Helal pitched a perfect frame in the bottom of the fifth, and the game would head to the sixth tied.
Despite playing with an injured hand, Josh pitched well for the Ham Slams, tying the single-game strikeout record
Eastbound would rally in the top of the sixth, starting with a leadoff double by Helal. He moved to third when the next batter, Ivan, grounded out to right. With one out and the go-ahead runner on third, Hartley crushed a two-run home run, putting Eastbound ahead 3-1. Josh struck out Helal for the second out of the inning, but the damage had been done.
Helal retired Charlie for the first out in the bottom of the sixth, but got into some trouble. Josh doubled off the fence, putting the tying run at the plate. Anthony hit a one-out triple, scoring Josh and cutting the deficit to 3-2. With one out and the tying run on third, Helal buckled down and got Steve to ground out to left, stranding the runner and ending the game.
The 3-2 win moved Eastbound & Dahn to 5-6 on the year and to a game within .500, while the Ham Slams dropped to 3-8 with the loss.
W: Helal (2-1)
L: Josh (0-2)
Game Notes:
– Helal picked up the win for Eastbound, scattering only 3 hits and 2 runs over 6 innings.
– Josh pitched well in the loss, allowing 5 hits and 3 runs in the complete game. He struck out 3 batters, tying a single-game record.
– Hartley led Eastbound at the plate, going 3-for-6 with a double, a triple, a home run, 2 runs scored, and 2 RBI. He was only a single short of the cycle.
– Steve, Josh, and Anthony each collected a hit for the Ham Slams.
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