Battle of the Bats Game 2: 919 Nationals 8, Clippers 3

After a sleepy first inning that saw the Clippers take a 3-2 lead at the end of the frame, 919 responded by outscoring them 6-0 the rest of the way to earn an 8-3 victory in the second game of pool play Saturday at Walnut Creek.

The Clippers got four of their five hits in the first inning, quickly erasing what had been a 2-0 Nationals lead. But Andrew and Asher combined to retire 13 of the final 14 batters to slam the door and allow the offense to work.

Once again, the story offensively was two-out hitting. This time, seven of the eight runs scored with two outs. The victory moved 919 to 2-0 in pool play and they now await Sunday game times, which will likely be in the morning.

Game 2 919 Nationals scoring plays

First inning

Banks doubled, stole third and scored on an error. Andrew walked, stole second and scored on an error.

Score after one-half inning: 919 Nationals 2, Clippers 0

Third inning

Banks singled and stole second and third before scoring on a wild pitch.

Score after two and a half innings: 919 Nationals 3, Clippers 3

Fourth inning

Ben crushed a one-out double. He moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on Asher’s two-out single. Asher went to second on a wild pitch, then scored on Eli’s single.

Score after three and a half innings: 919 Nationals 5, Clippers 3

Fifth inning

Bryce led off with a single. Gavin coaxed a one-out walk. Both runners stole a base. Andrew walked. Brady plated a pair with an RBI fielder’s choice, as Gavin hustled all the way around from second. Ben reached on an error, scoring Brady.

Score after four and a half innings: 919 Nationals 8, Clippers 3




Pitching Performances

Ben started and got a couple of outs in the middle infield.

Andrew struck out the side in the second and retired seven of the eight batters he faced.

Asher closed it out with two perfect innings.

Dugout wisdom

This one once again involved Gavin. He was hitting in the fifth inning and facing a pitcher who dropped in the occasional curveball. With a 1-2 count, the pitcher delivered a curve clearly high. The Clipper catcher and coaches chirped a little about the call, apparently believing the umpire’s clearly infallible strike zone had made a mistake. While digging in and getting ready for the next pitch—and still in the batter’s box—Gavin laughed and said, “It’s where it crosses the plate, guys.” He eventually walked.

Game 2 Web Gems

•   It was yet another solid defensive game, as for the second straight contest 919 had a completely error-free performance.

•   The highlight came with two outs in the fourth. The batter lined a grounder to the right side. Brady ranged to his right and deflected it…where it went straight to Colin, who picked it out of the air and fired to first…where Asher was covering first base (“RIGHT SIDE GET OVER”) to receive the throw and step on the bag.

Game 2 line score	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H
919 Nationals	2	0	1	2	3	X	8	6
Clippers	3	0	0	0	0	X	3	5