Tom celebrates after his walk-off three-run homer gave Shady Characters a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series against Guacamol-yay
Guacamol-yay was the better team for six and a half innings in game one of their best-of-five first round series, but Shady Characters hung around, stranded Guacamol-yay runners, and in the bottom of the seventh, walked off with a win when Tom hit a three-run bomb to end it. Despite getting out-hit eight to three heading into the bottom of the seventh, Shady Characters escaped game one with a win and took an early lead in the first round series.
Tom took the mound for Shady Characters, and he got out of trouble early and often. After allowing a leadoff double to Kyle, Jude hit a sacrifice fly, moving Kyle to third with one out. Tom stranded him, however, retiring Josh K to end the inning.
Josh K started for Guacamol-yay and he was in command. He retired Dylan and Mike in order in the bottom of the first.
Tom delivers a pitch to Kyle, hitting with two men on base. Kyle went 3-for-5 with two singles and a double.
Sean led off the top of the second with a single, but Tom retired the next two batters, Jan and Kyle, stranding him and ending the inning.
Josh K rolled through the bottom of the second, retiring Tom and Jason in order.
Guacamol-yay took the lead in the top of the third. Jude led off with a double, and Josh K drove him in with an RBI double, putting Guacamol-yay in front 1-0. The next batter, Sean, hit a single, putting runners on first and second with no outs. Tom got Jan to fly out for the first out of the inning, and when Kyle followed with a single, Josh K was pegged out at home, ending the inning, as Guacamol-yay managed to strand three runners in the inning.
Josh K was dominant over the first four-and-a-half innings of game one, retiring the first nine batters he faced in order
Josh K once again cruised in the bottom of the third, sending Lucas and Dylan down consecutively.
Jude led off the top of the fourth with a single, but Tom stranded his sixth runner of the game so far, retiring Josh K and Sean to end the inning, and the score remained 1-0.
Josh K retired Mike and Tom in order, and he had retired the first eight batters of the game without allowing a baserunner.
Kyle singled with one out in the top of the fifth, but Guacamol-yay couldn’t add an insurance run. Tom retired Jude to strand Kyle at first, ending the inning.
Shady Characters broke up the no-hitter and tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Lucas hit a one-out single, ending Josh K’s no-hit bit, which had made it nine hitters into the game. Dylan followed with an RBI triple, scoring Lucas, and the game was tied at 1-1. Josh K retired Mike to end the inning, stranding Dylan at third, and the game was even heading into the sixth.
Josh K delivers a pitch to Dylan, whose RBI triple in the fifth broke up a no-hit bid and tied the game at 1-1
After allowing at least one hit in each of the first five innings, Tom retired the side in order in the top of the sixth, sending Josh K and Sean down consecutively.
Jason doubled with one out in the bottom of the sixth, putting the winning run in scoring position. Josh K escaped, however, retiring Lucas to strand the runner, sending the game to extra-innings.
Tom continued to pitch effectively into the extra-innings, retiring Jan and Kyle in order in the top of the seventh.
Tom pitched the complete game win for Shady Characters, allowing a single run and stranding seven Guacamol-yay runners
Josh K remained on the mound for Guacamol-yay in the extra innings as well. He allowed a leadoff double to the first batter he faced, Dylan, putting the winning run in scoring position. Despite holding him hitless in his first three at-bats, MVP candidate Mike was intentionally walked, putting runners on first and second with outs. Tom came to the plate, and he launched a three-run homer to deep right-center field, and his walkoff shot ended the game, giving Shady Characters the 4-1 victory.
The win put Shady Characters ahead 1-0 in the best-of-five first round series with Guacamol-yay.
W: Tom (1-0)
L: Josh K (0-1)
Game Notes:
– Tom earned the win for Shady Characters, pitching the complete game while allowing one run on eight hits.
– Josh K took the loss in a complete game effort, allowing four runs on five hits in six innings.
– Tom became the first player since 2018 and the twelfth player of all-time to hit a walk-off home run in the playoffs. It was his only hit in the game.
– Dylan led Shady Characters on offense, going 2-for-4 with a double, a triple, a run scored, and an RBI.
– Kyle led Guacamol-yay in the loss, going 3-for-5 with two singles and a double.
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