by Marshall Cherrington
With the team batting average sitting around .260 for the year, Jacob Brady knew he had to be on his A-game to secure a win for the Mustangs. In a must win game against the Woodinville Falcons, the Mustangs pulled out the bats and gave Brady some run support early.
In the first inning after two outs had already been recorded, Kyle Francis started a rally and singled to left field. Brent Firth then walked and Lucas Eliason stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second with a chance to take the lead. Eliason then blooped a single to center which scored Francis. The Mustangs knew they needed just a few runs for Brady to work with as his pitching on the mound has been solid all year.
In the fourth innning, the Mustangs gave Brady even more run support as Eliason led off the inning with a double which was followed by a Justin Moon single, scoring Eliason. Moon was moved to third after a bunt and a groundout. Steckler was then hit by a pitch, so the Mustangs had runners on first and third with two outs. In a classic play in baseball, Steckler stole second while Moon attempted to steal home. The catcher threw the ball down to second and Moon was safe at home. This gave the Mustangs a 3-0 lead and provided Brady with all of the runs he would need to secure the victory.
Throughout the game, Brady's fastball sat around the mid-80s and the Falcons could not touch it.
"Even though I fell behind in the count consistently against their hitters, I was able to battle back in the count and record the outs I needed to," Brady said. "I didn't have great control of my changeup and curveball tonight, but I threw strikes when i really needed too. I was confident with my defense behind me and this really let me attack the hitters in whatever way I wanted."
Brady carried a no-hitter into the seventh innning and with one out in the inning, he thought he was going to finish it off. However, the third hitter in the Falcon's lineup, Lee Wunderlich, stepped up to the plate and blasted a home run to right-center field.
"I was really disappointed that i gave up the no-hitter, but at the same time we were still winning and I had to settle down and record the next two outs," Brady said.
Daniel Bies came into the game to record the last out, but as Brady left the field, he knew he had pitched well throughout the game and was very pleased with his performance.
This win moves the Mustangs to 6-11 on the season and two games out of first place with two games left to play in the regular season. If the Mustangs win one of those two games, they aren't guaranteed a playoff spot, but will most likely secure one. However, if the Mustangs win both games, they will assure themselves of a playoff spot.
Putting the ball in play and playing solid defense has been a problem all year for the Mustangs. In a game where the team performed exceptionally in both of those areas, the Mustangs will look to build off their new-found momentum and make a deep run into the playoffs.
