Sarconi sent two more down quickly before Jacque Wilson (1-3) came through with the Beat's first hit; but just as quickly the side was retired and the Beat again took the field with the score tied at zero.

In the bottom of the second, the first 2 Glove batters went down on 3 pitches. It looked to be another quick inning, but an error on a comebacker allowed the Glove their first baserunner. A singled followed by an outfield error led to the Glove's first run, putting them up 1 to 0.

Mark Briscoe (2-3, 2b, 3b, 2 runs, RBI) started the third with a big double. Gunnar (1-3, run, RBI) followed with a 10-hopper off the first baseman's glove scoring Briscoe to tie the game at one and advancing G to second. But with a runner on second and no outs, the Beat proceeded to go down in order again with G-man getting no further than third.

Austin kept the Glove in check at one run while the Beat attempted to pull away. Brian Greenblatt (3-4, run) and Jim Colletto (2-3, 2b, RBI) connected with a single/double combo in the fourth to put the Beat up 2-1. With an assist from the Misfit Toys (helping to fill out the roster amidst multiple absences and injuries) the Beat pushed another across in the top of the fifth on singles by Charles (2-3, run), Pete Wenner (1-3, run), and Rich Reinholdt (2-3, run, RBI). Two fielders choices put Gunnar on first with 2 outs. Pete singled advancing G to second only to be mugged by the shortstop trying to end the inning. The initial call was out number three, but an appeal to the home ump resulted in a rightful 'safe' call. G then scored from second on Rich's single. Woo-hoo! The Beat was up 3-1 heading into the home half of the 5th.

As was bound to happen, Glove finally managed to get some baserunners in the bottom of the fifth and the Beat helped them out starting with a one-out walk. Two singles loaded the bases, but the runner at third was held. A chopper to short kicked off Mondo's glove and two runs scored as the ball shot out toward the third baseline. Another hit put the go-ahead run across and the Beat entered the 6th suddenly down 4-3 in this incredibly close, low-scoring game.

It's difficult to put this game into perspective. In top of the 5th we were scratching our heads wondering how in the hell we could possibly be in a 2-1 game. That just doesn't happen in this league. We scraped together a two run cushion then were suddenly down 4-3 going into the 6th! At this point both teams looked like they were in shock. A 1-run game in softball can change hands in the blink of an eye. But neither team looked comfortable at the plate.

The Beat managed two singles in the sixth but couldn't get a runner past second base while Glove was held scoreless again in the bottom of the inning. The Beat had one more chance to resurrect this game and keep the playoffs a possibility.

Charles started the inning with a solid single and Mark Briscoe capped his excellent game with an RBI triple scoring Charles to tie the game. Gunnar singled knocking in Briscoe to put the Beat ahead 5-4, no outs, runner at first. Pete forced G at second and Briscoe took first running for Pete. Rich singled and the Glove sealed their fate by not only booting the ball on the bounce but then throwing it away and out of play allowing both Mark and Rich to score; Beat 7, Glove 4. Glove managed one baserunner in the bottom of the seventh but could not score a run and the Beat pulled a rabbit out of the hat with a nice come-from-behind, 3-run rally in the 7th to win it. The win put the team in a 2-way tie for second with Flor de Cana who they meet next week at 3pm.

It goes without saying that the Beat has the most difficult schedule remaining with games against second place Flor de Cana and the undefeated Ronin. Yet both games are certainly winnable and the Beat's fate is in their hands. Flor wraps the season against the winless Black Sox and Ronin squares off next week against Il Pirata without ace Dave Powell on the mound. If ever there were must wins for the Beat, these are them.

Side Notes...
While unexpected, this was truly a pitcher's dual. For the Glove, Sarconi gave up 15 hits but only 7 runs and only 3 of those earned. The only hard-hit balls all day were the double by Colletto and the double and triple by Briscoe. Glove managed only a few bloopers against Austin who held Glove to only 2 earned runs and 5 scoreless innings (and 4 infield popups to Briscoe at third). In seven full innings, both pitchers allowed only 5 earned runs and one walk. That's pretty damn amazing for slow pitch (or just pretty damn pitiful offense).

Game ball today went to Mark Briscoe for an outstanding 2-3 performance with a double, triple, RBI, and two runs scored. Mark also turned in the play of the day when a Glove runner challenged Jacq's arm going first to third. Jacq threw the ball in high and Briscoe went well over his head to pull down the throw and drop a perfect tag in the runner's lap for the out. Nice game Mark! We're going to miss you! See you in October!!!

The 1-2 duo of Jacq Wilson and Austin came into the game with team record 35 game hit streaks but struggled all day. At a combined 0-6 in the 5th it looked like any chance to extend was gone. The rally in the 7th brought one last chance and while Jacq wasn't able to convert, Kev hit a sharp grounder through Sarconi's legs to extend the streak to 36 games. To add insult to injury, Jacq made the last out of the 5th and is hereby crowned beer bitch of the week. Sorry Jacq!