Surrey Indians 8 @ Langley Padres 5

Indians Alive in the Nick of Time

The Indians traveled to Langley City Ballpark to engage in battle with the Langley Padres, formerly known as the groovy Langley Playaz. If ya’ll remember former Indian B.J. Woelders, he is now a mentor and player for the Langley Padres.

Once again, the Indians did not have a complete squad and it seems to be starting to hinder the development of this club. For the second straight game the Indians were lethargic out of the gate. It’s like not having the entire baseball family at the park brings the energy level down a bushel.

And for the second consecutive game, the Indians could not mount a productive attack against some very hitable pitching during the first five frames of the game. The top of the third looked promising. E. Roblero walked to start the inning and C. Ren and B. Tonogai each followed with singles. At this point there were no outs; but would you believe it if I told you that somehow, we managed not to score a single run? C. Edger went down looking and J. Karls bounced into the inning ending 6-2-3 double play.

K. Neidert got the ball for this contest and once again proved why he’s the leading arm of the pitching staff. Although there was no much offensive help to back up his pitching, Neidert kept the ballgame within reach by maneuvering out of difficult situations and minimizing the damage caused by the Padres to just 4 runs in 5 innings of work. Neidert allowed 5 hits, walked 2 batters and K’d 3.

Every lucky bounce and every questionable call by the umpires seemed to be going the Padres’ way the entire ballgame. Then finally with one out, Edger singled and promptly, in road runner fashion, stole 2nd and 3rd on consecutive pitches. The Indians went on to once again load the bases on a Kalrs free pass and a K. Grace infield single. Neidert pushed across the first Indian run by grounding out to 1st. That was all the Indians would score as the offensive chaos continued.

O. Matsubara relieved Neidert in the 6th and contained the Padres to just 3 hits over 4 innings of work. Matsubara allowed just one run while walking 3 and striking out 1. This was probably Matsubara’s best pitching performance of the season and could be a sign of more great things to come.

With the score 5-1 in favor of the Padres, the Indians pressured in the top of the 7th. A. McBoyle and Matsubara started it off with consecutive walks. After seeing the pitcher struggle, Roblero swung at the first pitch he saw and nearly ripped off the pitcher’s spikes as the ball traveled right up the middle, but wait, the Padres’ 2nd baseman inexplicably well positioned right over the 2nd base bag quickly double off any hopes of an Indians big rally. This was the 3rd double play turned by the Padres in the ball game.

In the top of the eight, Tonogai reached base after taking one in the back. With one out, Karls sent a line drive into left centre field scoring Tonogai. After Grace reached base on a free pass, Neidert ripped a run scoring single to right to make the score 5-3 heading into the Indians’ last at bat.

For consecutives at bats, MCBoyle and Matsubara once again reached base on walks to start the ninth and deciding frame. And once again, Roblero, after witnessing two more walks, swung at the first pitch he saw and sent a grounder between short and 3rd; the shortstop forced Matsubara at 2nd to record the first out of the inning. However, the energy at the Indians’ bench was finally visible. As Ren grounded to the short stop, the throw to second base sailed into foul territory on the right side of the field. McBoyle plated the Indians’ 4th run and the few fans that made it out to Langley were going crazy. On the play, Roblero moved to 3rd to keep runners are 1st and 3rd and one out. Then Tonogai stepped up to the plate and quickly got nailed for the second time in a row. With the bases loaded, Edger hit an infield single to score Roblero and tie the game at 5. Karls put the Indians ahead by grounding to short and plating Tonogai. The Indians could not believe it, they had fought their way back from oblivion and now led by one run. Veteran Grace wanted to make sure that the elation continued, he made sure of that by ripping a run scoring single to right. With runners on the corners and two outs, Grace took off for second but the Padres’ hurler stepped off the mound and had Grace served on a platter; however, time and time again this season, we’ve seen Karls beat throws home when he’s starting from 3rd. It happened again, as the Padres chased Grace back and forth on the base path, Karls took off for home and beat the throw by merely inches. Another great scoring play by the speedy Karls. Grace would eventually be tagged out anyways but the Indians’ work was nearly complete.

Matsubara took care of the Padres in the ninth to complete the comeback and award the Indians their most exciting win of the year.
Way to go tribe, way to battle ‘till the end.

Next up for the tribe, a date with the Newton Royals at Central Park in Burnaby. Game time 1:30pm, be there or be squared.

Here are this week’s player of the game nominations:

Breydan Tonogai 1 for 2, 1B, 2RS
Clay Edger 2 for 5, 1B(2), 1RS, 1RBI , 2 SB
Josh Karls 1 for 4, 2B, 2RS, 2RBI, 1BB, 1SB (home)
Kelly Grace 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RBI
Kris Neidert 2 for 4, 1B(2), 1RBI , 1SB * 5IP, 4R 3ER, 5H, 2BB, 3K
Orien Matsubara 1 for 2, 2BB * 4IP, 1R, 3H, 3BB, 1K