July 26, 2006: Karma Chameleon

In a stunning reverse of the previous game's conclusion, Fleetwood had a victory in its fingers before letting slip away like yesterday's Top 40 hit.

Heading into the 9th inning, the Walkers held a 5-2 lead over Port Richey. Greg Maddux had provided the team with a great start (7.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R), and Miguel Cabrera had driven in 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk. In other words, things looked good.

When Cabrera commited a 2-base error on a Jorge Cantu grounder to lead off the 9th, though, it marked a turning point. Chris Shelton followed with a walk, bring the tying run to the plate for the Everglades. Following a groundout by Jack Wilson, Chris Duffy collected a base hit off Fleetwood closer Derrick Turnbow. One run scored, and the tying run was now on first base.

Vinny Castilla was up next, and hit a slow roller in front of home plate. Ryan Doumit forced a tough throw to 1st base, giving Castilla not only a single but also advancing him to second base on the error. A second run scored, the tying run was on third base, and the go-ahead runner on second. When Turnbow walked Bengie Molina to load the bases, his day was done.

Arthur Rhodes came in, quickly retiring Juan Encarnacion on an RBI groundout. A run had scored, though, tying the game 5-5. When Jose Cruz Jr. followed with a 2-out RBI single, Port Richey had grabbed a sudden lead.

In the bottom of the 9th inning, Fleetwood needed one run to force extra innings. Following a strikeout of pinch-hitter Barry Bonds, pinch-hitter Jermaine Dye hit a double. The tying run was now on second base.

With Bobby Crosby at the plate, Dye suddenly took off for third base. Former Fleetwood Walker Bengie Molina's throw was on target, and Dye was thrown out. Suddenly things looked bleak for the Walkers. Crosby did manage to draw a walk, but pinch-hitter Josh Phelps struck out versus Scott Linebrink. The game was over, and Port Richey had completed its comeback.

As Fleetwood fights tooth-and-nail with Maine for a division title, it may look back on this game as a very costly loss. Unlike the good fortune of the day before, perhaps karma had simply evened the slate.

---

BOXSCORE: 2006 Port Richey Everglades At 2006 Fleetwood Walkers     7/26/2006
Gm 2: Port Richey earns a comeback win, scoring 4 runs in the 9th inning.
 
  Everglades         AB  R  H RBI AVG     Walkers            AB  R  H RBI AVG
  J.Encarnacion CF    5  0  0  1 .277     D.Dejesus LF        3  1  0  0 .278  
  J.Cruz Jr RF        5  0  1  1 .212   E-J.Phelps PH         1  0  0  0 .291  
  J.Payton LF         4  0  0  0 .278     D.Wright DH         3  1  0  0 .315  
  J.Cantu 2B          5  1  0  0 .291     D.Lee 1B            3  2  1  0 .259  
  C.Shelton 1B        3  1  1  0 .315     M.Cabrera 3B        3  0  2  3 .331  
  J.Wilson SS         3  1  0  0 .281     J.Edmonds CF        4  0  1  1 .244  
  B.Boone DH          3  1  1  2 .239     M.Giles 2B          3  0  0  1 .243  
B-C.Duffy PH          1  1  1  11.000     R.Doumit C          3  0  1  0 .244  
  V.Castilla 3B       3  1  1  1 .223   C-B.Bonds PH          1  0  0  0 .238  
  B.Molina C          1  0  0  0 .302     L.Matos RF          2  0  0  0 .299  
                                        D-J.Dye PH            1  0  1  0 .281  
                                          N.Perez SS          1  0  0  0 .270  
                                        A-B.Crosby PH,SS      1  1  0  0 .308  
                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---      
         Totals      33  6  5  6                 Totals      29  5  6  5
 
A-Pinch Hit For Perez In 6th Inning
B-Pinch Hit For Boone In 9th Inning
C-Pinch Hit For Doumit In 9th Inning
D-Pinch Hit For Matos In 9th Inning
E-Pinch Hit For Dejesus In 9th Inning
 
Everglades...... 0 2 0  0 0 0  0 0 4  -  6  5  0
Walkers......... 0 0 0  0 0 3  0 2 0  -  5  6  3
 
Everglades (37-49)       IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
D.Williams                7       3   3   3   5   7   0   6.94  A1 D1
S.Linebrink WIN(4-0)      2       3   2   2   2   3   0   4.33  D2
Totals                    9       6   5   5   7  10   0
 
Walkers (67-30)          IP       H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR    ERA  SCORESHEET
G.Maddux                  7 2/3   2   2   2   2   3   1   4.52  A1 D2
D.Turnbow L(3-3) H(2nd)   0 2/3   2   4   1   2   0   0   2.77  D3 D9
A.Rhodes BS(1st)          0 2/3   1   0   0   1   0   0   0.42  E1
Totals                    9       5   6   3   5   3   1
 
ATTENDANCE- 36,726 DATE- Saturday, July 26th 2006 TIME- Night WEATHER- Bad
T- 3:28
LEFT ON BASE- Everglades: 7  Walkers: 5
DOUBLE PLAYS- Everglades: 2  Walkers: 0
ERRORS- M.Cabrera, R.Doumit, B.Crosby
DOUBLES- C.Shelton(10th), J.Dye(22nd)
HOME RUNS- B.Boone(8th)
STOLEN BASES- D.Lee(4th)
CAUGHT STEALING- J.Dye
SACRIFICE HITS- B.Molina
SACRIFICE FLIES- M.Giles
WALKS- J.Payton, C.Shelton, V.Castilla, B.Molina-2, D.Dejesus, D.Wright, D.Lee,
       M.Cabrera, L.Matos, B.Crosby-2
HIT BY PITCH- J.Wilson
STRIKE OUTS- J.Encarnacion, J.Cruz Jr, J.Payton, D.Dejesus-2, J.Phelps,
             J.Edmonds, M.Giles-2, R.Doumit-2, B.Bonds, L.Matos
GIDP- J.Edmonds, B.Crosby
WILD PITCHES- D.Williams
WEB GEMS- Bot 6th: Jack Wilson robbed David Wright of a base hit.