Christ Church Wins Third Series

Christ Church won their third series in as many tries this season over visiting Immanuel UCC Church.

Christ Church scored in the first inning for the fourth game in a row on a single by Jerry Hinton and an RBI triple by Mike Peak.  After Immanuel took a 2-1 lead with a run in the third and a run in the sixth, Christ Church responded with five runs in the bottom of the inning.  Jerry led off with a single (his third after a third inning single) and David Stierle tripled (RBI). Then after two were out, Dick Lutz singled (RBI); Mike Thompson tripled (RBI); Charles Smith singled (RBI); and Leah Bennett tripled (RBI) for a 6-2 lead.  With what looked like a secure lead, Immanuel opened the seventh inning with three home runs to cut the lead to 6-5.  Christ Church increased the lead to 8-5 on a lead-off single by Jerry, an RBI triple by Tom Bennett and an RBI triple by Dick.  Immanuel put a runner on in both the eighth and ninth innings but failed to score.  Kay Peak added an eighth inning double in the 8-5 final.

Game Two started slowly.  Through three and a half innings, Immanuel could muster only a double while Christ Church could manage only lead-off singles in the first by Jerry and the second by Tom and a two out single by Jerry in the third.  Mike T. led off the fourth with a home run for a 1-0 lead, only to have Immanuel tie it with a home run in the fifth.  Christ Church restored their lead at 2-1 when, with two outs, Jerry tripled and scored on a single by Mike P.That score held up until the ninth.  Immanuel led off with a triple and and a two out double.  Christ Church failed to get a hit the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and eleventh innings.  A lead-off double by Mike T. left the score tied after twelve.  In the thirteenth, neither team scored.  In the fourteenth, a two out home run gave Immanuel a 3-2 lead and, when Christ Church went three up and three down, the Game Two win.

Game Three saw the teams combine for only four hits and one run.  Immanuel led off the fourth with a triple but failed to advance the runner to home.   Mike P. led off thefourth with a single but he died there.  But, fortunately for Christ Church, all the damage necessary was done in the third when Frank Preston singled and scored the sole and game winning run on Jerry's two out triple for a 1-0 Game Three win and a 2-1 series win.

For the night, Christ Church had thirty-nine chances to drive in runners and was successful only ten times.  Three times in the Game Two loss, Christ Church put the lead-off batter on (two singles and a double) and another time put runner on with only one out.  Success in scoring the runner once out of eleven tries would have resulted in a sweep.