Eagles Outlast Blitz 11-9

MANOTICK, OTTAWA--The Greely DNTW Eagles earned their first-ever victory on Wednesday night in Manotick. The Eagles outlasted the Ottawa Blitz 11-9, in a high-scoring Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) affair. Fastball historians will credit Ryan Cox with earning the Eagles' first pitching victory.

BLITZ TOOK CONTROL EARLY
The Eagles jumped out to an early lead when Derek Dumond led off in the top of the first inning with a single off the Blitz starting pitcher Jamie Blakely. Dumond then stole second base, and advanced to third on a passed ball. Dumond then scored on an RBI by Shannon Borho.

The Eagles' lead was short-lived, though. The Blitz answered, scoring two runs in the first and one in the second. Jamie Blakely, Andrew Bruce, and Ron Hrycak scored for the Blitz in the first two frames.

EAGLES STRIKE IN THE THIRD INNING
The Eagles went on the attack in the top of the third inning, scoring five runs. Matt Peters, Dumond, Mike Savoie and Shannon Borho led off the inning with four straight singles. Blakely then struck out Stefan Sklepowicz. Eagles' co-captain Anil Hayne then crushed a two-run triple. Hayne scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Cox. The Eagles had managed five runs in the third off Blakely, making the score 6-3.

EAGLES GET BLITZED IN THE FOURTH
The Blitz answered with their own huge rally in the fourth inning. Five straight Blitz players scored. The Blitz had moved ahead 8-6. At this point, Ryan Cox relieved Borho as pitcher. Ryan Cox allowed single to Hrycak before slamming the door on the Blitz blitz.

The Eagles clawed back with one run in the fifth when Borho reached base on a single off Blitz reliever Pierre Lalonde. Stefan Sklepowicz induced a walk, which moved Borho to second base. Steve Tsonos then drove in Borho with an RBI single. This narrowed the Blitz lead over the Eagles 8-7.

EAGLES SOAR IN THE SIXTH
The Eagles retook the lead in the sixth inning when they scored four runs. Left-hander Will Mood had come in to pitch for the Blitz. Mood got off to a shaky start when he drilled two-straight batters, Peters and Dumond. Eagles' second-baseman Peters took a pitch off the posterior, and received a lot of good-natured ribbing from his team-mates.

"Don't rub it," joked the Eagles. "Be tough!"

Peters and Dumond scored on a two-run triple by Hayne. Hayne had shown good speed by reaching third, standing up. The co-captain then showed his speed again when he scored standing up on a passed ball. The Eagles had moved ahead 11-8.

The Blitz managed one more run in the bottom of the seventh. Tony Searle reached base with a two-out single. Kevin O'Neil then reached base on an infield error, allowing Searle to advance to third base. Searle then scored on an RBI single by Blakely. Ryan Cox escaped the inning by inducing Bruce into a fielder's choice to the shortstop.

The Eagles had defeated the Bliltz 11-9. Ryan Cox had earned the Eagles' first-ever win. He talked about the satisfaction and relief felt by earning the first win.

"It feels great to get the win," said Ryan Cox. "We got the monkey off our back."

Eagles' co-captains Borho and Hayne did an excellent job of managing a somewhat depleted line-up. Derrick Lichti (business in Africa), David Millette (traveling Europe), Eric "Pedro" Sanchez (lower back), and Stéphane Vinette (family) were absent.

The Eagles do not have a home game on Monday, May 19. They will will be on the road next week in Orleans and Fitzroy Harbour on Thursday and Friday, respectively.