It's Like Kissing Your Sister

They say that tying a game is like kissing your sister. For the San Mateo Toyonaka Baseball exchange team, ending game two in a best of five series with teams from Toyonaka Japan, 7-7, should be considered a win. Trailing 6-1 after four innings, San Mateo plated a pair of runs in the fifth and four more in the sixth, giving them seven runs on the day. The game was called after sis innings due to a two-hour time limit.

Toyonaka took the early lead in the first inning with a single run. That lead remained until San Mateo scored their first run in the series in the third inning. Sulim Bartok singled on a line-drive to center field to open the inning and scored one batter later when Kyle Herminghaus took the first offering and sent it over the center fielders head for a double. Herminghaus was stranded at third when San Mateo failed to bring him in.



Down 6-1 to start the fifth inning, San Mateo’s Michael Camel doubled to right-center field. With two outs, Curtis Ota reached base after being hit by a pitch. Devin Gilmore drove in both Camel and Ota when he doubled to right center as well.

Still down 6-3, San Mateo had more fire left in the tank. Aldo Severson led off sixth with a base hit and advanced to second on an Eric Fallon hit ball that the second baseman could not handle properly for an error. Connor Ching executed a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance both Severson and Fallon. With runners on second and third, Michael Sweeney singled to bring home Severson and Fallon. Sweeney scored one batter later when Camel sent his second double on the day to left-center field and then advanced to third on an error by the left fielder. Camel was replaced with pinch-runner Michael Rafello who scored when Ian Barrie singled through the right side of the field for San Mateo’s seventh and final run.

Bartok started on the hill for San Mateo and went 3 2/3 strong innings. He was replaced by Nick Toomey who pitched the remaining 2 1/3 innings.

San Mateo takes the field again on Sunday at 10:30 AM for game one of a doubleheader.

1 2 3 4 5 6 R H E
San Mateo 0 0 1 0 2 4 7 11 2
Toyonaka West 1 0 0 5 1 0 7 14 2
San Mateo Pitchers: Bartok, Toomey (4)
San Mateo Hits:
Singles: Bartok (2), Helbig, Severson, Sweeney, Barrie
Doubles: Herminghaus, Gilmore, Peters, Camel (2)