Aftershock (2) -vs- Barracudas (3)
November 15th, 2008 @ Storm Stadium, Lake Elsinore

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One Shaky Inning Proves the Difference for Aftershock
By Scot Sweet / PCBL Staff Writer

The second game of our championship doubleheader at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore was between the visiting San Fernando Valley - based Barracudas and the 2008 PCBL Spring Champion Aftershock. The Aftershock send Chris Hill to the mound and the ‘Cudas go with Matt Stone who’s always tough in championship competition.

 Both teams go scoreless through the first 2 ®ˆ innings of play, bringing the Aftershock up in the bottom of the 3rd inning to try to get on the board first in this championship. With 1 out in the inning, Corbin Lack draws a base on balls. The next batter is leadoff hitter Daniel Nelson who hits a titanic blast over the monster in right for a 2-run homer. The Aftershock settle for 2 runs in the inning and take a 2-0 lead through 3 complete.

 The ‘Cudas come up in the top of the 4th inning still looking for their first hit of the ball game. Aftershock pitcher Chris hill helps their cause by walking the 1st three batters in the inning to load the bases for catcher Adam Geery. He singles to drive home a run. However, the next 2 batters would go down swinging for the Barracudas. They end up with 1 run on 1 hit and trail the Aftershock by a score of 2-1 through 3 ®ˆ innings of play.

 The score would remain 2-1 as we entered the top of the 6th inning with the Aftershock holding the narrow 1-run lead. The ‘Cudas Zack Dominguez draws a 1-out walk; followed by Adam Geery who goes down swinging. In the process, Zack Dominguez steals second; paving the way for center fielder Martel London who singles to get the RBI. The ‘Cudas settle for the single run in the inning and even this game up, tied 2-2.

 The Aftershock’s first batter grounds out in the bottom of the 6th inning; sending up Elvis Nelson who singles for his first hit of the game. He is followed by 3rd baseman Frank Pfister who also gets his first hit with a single of his own to put two on for catcher Tyler Heinaman. He singles to score Elvis Nelson. The Aftershock settle for the single run in the inning and re-take the lead, now up 3-2 through 6 complete innings of play.

The game would remain 3-2 Aftershock as we entered the bottom of the 8th inning. The Aftershock start things off with Elvis Nelson who doubles. The next batter is Frank Pfister who draws a walk to put 2 on and nobody out for Tyler Heinaman. He doubles to score a run. Next up is right fielder Dusty Gober who also doubles home a run. Two additional runs score on a fielding error as the Aftershock now tally 4 runs with still nobody out in the inning. The next batter is Tomio Mack, who hits a sacrifice fly to right for the 5th run of the inning. The next batter would walk, sending up Mark Paschal who hits an RBI single. The next batter would fly out to left for the 2nd out of the inning, sending up Jonathan Arana who hits a double to keep the inning alive. Center fielder Izzy Perez is the next to bat and he joins the hit parade with a 2-run single. The Aftershock really shake things up in the 8th inning; scoring 7 runs to all but put the nail in the Barracudas’ coffin; having just watched the slim 3-2 deficit quickly turn into a route.

 The Barracudas come up in the top of the 9th inning and, still obviously shell-shocked from the previous inning; are retired in order in the 9th and final inning. Congratulations to the PCBL OC AAA Division Fall Season Champion Aftershock for the huge breakout inning in the 8th to capture the title! The final score of this game did not reflect how good a game this really was; with both teams hanging tough for the vast majority of the contest right up until that fateful 8th inning for the ‘Cudas.

 MVP honors in this championship game go to the Aftershock starting pitcher Chris Hill. He goes the distance; allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, walking 4 while striking out 12! A solid performance by Hill to take control early and shut the ‘Cudas down offensively. Also worthy of note in this contest was the solid pitching performance by the Barracudas' Matt Stone. Stone went 7 complete; allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits and striking out 11. Congratulations to Matt on a great outing!   

Game Time:             1:30pm  -  4:35pm   (3 hrs, 5 min)      ???

Pitching Stats: 

(WP)  Chris Hill (Aftershock)  9 IP, Allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, 4 walks, 12 K's 

(LP)   Matt Stone ('Cudas)  7 IP, Allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, 1 walk, 11 K's

          Casey Frits ('Cudas) 1 IP, Allowed 7 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits, 0 K's 
 

Inning Breakdown:

Barracudas  0      0       0        1        0        1        0        0        0         2    4    3

Aftershock   0       0       2        0        0        1        0        7        -        10  14   0