Tim and Adam carried the Ham Slams to victory in a back-and-forth game that was one of the league’s best in 2015
The Ham Slams, led by Adam and Tim, won their fourth consecutive game in dramatic fashion, coming from behind to take the lead in the top of the sixth and hold off Eastbound & Dahn for a 9-8 victory. Adam had four extra-base hits and 6 RBI, while Tim hit for the cycle for the second time in his EWL career.
Christian took the mound for Eastbound & Dahn, and with one out in the top of the first, Adam hit a solo shot to put the Ham Slams ahead 1-0 early.
Eastbound would make up the deficit immediately in the bottom of the first. Nate singled off the Ham Slams’ starter, Charlie, to lead off the game, and two batters later, Crustin, who was helping to round out a depleted Eastbound roster, hit a two-run blast to put his team ahead 2-1. Helal followed with a solo homer, and the back-to-back bombs gave Eastbound a 3-1 lead. Nate then doubled, but Charlie stranded him to avoid further damage.
Down 3-1, the Slams bounced right back in the top of the second. Charlie singled to start the inning and moved to third when Tim doubled two batters later. With two men on and one out, Adam crushed his second blast in as many at-bats, and the three-run jack gave the Ham Slams a 4-3 lead.
Charlie cruised through the bottom of the second, maintaining a one-run lead.
Christian retired the side in order in the top of the third, and Eastbound would regain the lead in the bottom half of the inning. Christian led off with a double and moved to third on a Crustin double. Charlie struck out Helal, but the next batter, Nate, emptied the bases with a two-RBI double, putting Eastbound ahead 5-4.
The Slams would even things up in the top of the fourth. Tim started things off with a triple, and he scored from third when Adam grounded out to left to tie the game at 4-4. Steve followed with a single, but Christian fanned Charlie to end the inning.
Charlie retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, getting Crustin to ground out to left before striking out Helal for the second consecutive inning.
The Ham Slams pulled ahead in the top of the fifth when Alan led off the with a double, and Tim drove him in with a two-run homer to deep right-center. Adam followed with a double, but Christian stranded the runner by striking out the next two batters, Charlie and Steve, to end the inning.
Christian, who tied the single-game record for pitching strikeouts with three, attempts to catch this fly ball with his foot
Down 7-5, Eastbound bounced back again in the bottom of the fifth. Nate led off the inning with a solo homer, cutting the score to 7-6. Christian followed with a double, and he moved to third on a Crustin single to put runners on the corners. Helal grounded out to center, scoring Christian to tie the game at 7-7. With one out, Nate hit a line drive off the fence. Crustin raced home from first to score the go-ahead run, making the score 8-7. Nate, being aggressive on the base paths as always, tried to score on an inside-the-park homer, but was caught out in between bases, ending the inning and the rally.
The Slams had surrendered the lead again, but as they had all game, they came out swinging yet again in the top of the sixth. Alan started the inning with a double and moved to third on a Tim single. With no outs and runners on first and third, Adam doubled, scoring Alan to tie the game at 8-8. Steve then followed with an RBI double, scoring Tim to put the Slams in front 9-8. Adam was caught in between bases on the play for the first out of the inning. Christian then retired Charlie for the second out of the inning, stranding the runner on second, and Eastbound would head into their final at-bat trailing 9-8.
Nate went a perfect 6-for-6 in the loss and hit for the cycle for the second time in his EWL career
Charlie remained on the mound to close things out for the Ham Slams, and he retired the side in order in the bottom of the sixth. He got both Christian and Crustin to fly out to Steve in left field, ending the game and giving the Ham Slams their fourth consecutive win in a tightly contested 9-8 victory.
The win moved the Slams to 5-10 on the year, and the loss dropped Eastbound & Dahn to 8-7.
W: Charlie (3-7)
L: Christian (1-4)
Game Notes:
– Charlie pitched the complete game win for the Ham Slams, allowing 8 runs on 13 hits while striking out 2 in 6 innings.
– Christian was credited with the complete game loss for Eastbound, giving up 9 runs on 13 hits and striking out 3 in 6 innings.
– Christian became only the fourth player in EWL history to strike out the side, joining Guthrie, Holly, and Dinger.
– Christian also tied the single-game record for strikeouts by punching out 3 Ham Slams. He joined Guthrie, who has struck out three twice, Mark, Josh, and Helal, as well as himself (he struck out three last season) as the only players to do this.
– Adam led the Ham Slams on offense, going 4-for-5 with 2 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 runs scored, and 6 RBI.
– Tim also had a big game for the Slams, hitting for the cycle by going 4-for-5 with a single, a double, a triple, a home run, 4 runs scored, and 2 RBI.
– Nate also hit for the cycle in the game, going a perfect 6-for-6 in the Eastbound & Dahn loss. He had a single, 3 doubles, a triple, a home run, 2 runs scored, and 4 RBI.
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