Shorthanded Gamers Just Miss Out On Sweep

Hicksville, NY -

After a two year hiatus the Gamers returned to live game action when they took on "Just The Tip" at Cantiague Park in Hicksville and in game one it looked like they had never left. Game two, however, was an entirely different story.

In the first game the Gamers looked like they were in mid season form with Scott Zimmerman making a sliding catch in the first inning to set the tone. Later in the game rightfielder Dave Roll made a perfect one hop throw to second base to throw out a runner. Not to be out done leftfielder Eric Dundon also nailed a runner trying to get to second base.

The Gamers combined those great defensive plays with timely hitting as they pounded out 28 hits in an impressive 19-12 victory. Offensively, the Gamers were led by new third baseman Adam Goldberg who drove in 7 runs highlighted by a grandslam in the third inning that broke the game open. Another new addition to the team, first baseman Jon Zafonte had a perfect game going 5 for 5 with 4 rbis. With table setters Rob Roll and Craig Shames getting on base a combined ten times there were plenty of opportunities for Goldberg and Zafonte to drive runners in.

On the other hand the Gamers struggled offensively and defensively in the second game as playing with only 9 fielders seemed to catch up with them on what turned out to be a hot day. Despite that they still had a four run lead going into the 7th inning thanks to a grand slam from Greg Roll and an inside the park homerun from Zafonte but 3 errors in the inning lead to an 8 run outburst for Just The Tip. They did manage to rally impressively in the bottom of the 7th inning scoring three times but their rally fell short when Rob Roll flew out and then Craig Shames popped up to end the game.

Despite the disappointment of losing a game that they easily could have won it was still an impressive day for the Gamers as they were able to pull out a shorthanded victory in game one. If they continue to play the way that they did in game one they should be a force to be reckoned with this season.