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	<b>News Item: : Mariners V Black Sox   1st Round Playoff Game 2009</b>
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	(Category: Misc)
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	Posted by <br />
	Saturday 26 September 2009 - 17:14:52
	<br /><br />This was the kind of game that could give ulcers to the players and supporters of both teams, but makes watching baseball so much fun.  It was nine innings of swings and roundabouts in Shankill, with each at-bat in the last three innings being a potential game winner.  <br />
From a Mariner viewpoint it started calmly enough. 3 runs were on the board after their half of the opening inning, followed by another run in the 2nd, before leaving the bases loaded in the 3rd. The hits and walks came up and down the order and a really good offensive day looked imminent.  All of this was backed up by strikes from pitcher Dennis Donnelly and some stellar fielding by the defense behind him.<br />
But then the wheels came off, temporarily. A throwing error lead off the bottom of the 3rd inning, allowing a Black Sox runner aboard 2nd base.  There then followed a series of walks, and those, combined with a sac fly, allowed the Black Sox claw back three runs.  Donnelly did manage to pitch out of the inning, and amazingly, hadn't allowed a hit in the game yet.<br />
Clinging to their lead, the Mariners added another run in the 4th inning and now led 5-3.   But then both teams changed their pitcher, with Cian O'Riordan taking the mound for Greystones, and a whole new ball game ensued.  Despite neither line-up adding to the score through the 5th and 6th innings, the Black Sox were posing more of a threat.  The Mariners tried for that insurance run they felt might be necessary but none was forthcoming. This was only to set up a tense and exciting 7th inning.  <br />
The Mariner offensive half of the 7th inning followed the pattern of the previous 2 innings as they went scoreless, and they were now down to needing just 3 outs to defend their 2 run lead.  But the resilient Black Sox got the reward that failed them in innings 5 and 6. They started to see the pitched ball like a beach ball and hit several shots deep into the Mariner outfield.  The 2 runs the Black Sox needed to tie the game scored.  But only two runs; the Mariners were still in this game as it entered extra innings.  <br />
The 8th was scoreless, but the tension was rising. Each at-bat meant something now. A double or a triple might lead to the winning run, and with the Black Sox playing at home a run for them meant the end of the Mariner's season.  But it was Greystones who scored, in the top of the 9th, twice, to return that 2 run lead they had going into the 7th. It was now a question of nerves and character and this team held both.  Cian pitched his way through the heart of the Black Sox order to record a magnificent win.  <br />
While the relief was palpable, it was a deserved victory against a very game and tough to beat Black Sox team.  Everyone who wore a Mariner shirt today, played their part, with the team showing some excellent offensive and defensive skills throughout the game.<br />
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WELL DONE MARINERS!!<br />
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Final Score:<br />
Greystones Mariners 7    Black Sox 5<br />
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Next up for the Mariners in the playoffs are the Hurricanes. This game will be next Saturday, October 3rd, at O'Malley Field in Corkagh Park, Clondalkin. First pitch 11am.<br /><br /><hr />This news item is from Greystones Mariners Baseball Club
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	( http://www.baseballireland.org/comment.php?169 )
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