It was an intermittently rainy day, for the first time in a loooong time, when the first place Sand Crabs visited the second place Rangers in the 45+ division of MSBL of Southern Wisconsin.  The venue? EMLL.  The wind?  Blowing out.  Foreshadowing?  Why yes, how literarily knowledgeable of you!

Randy Gaber got the start for the Crabs, Jeff Kunkle for the Rangers. Battery mates were Tim McInernay and Dale Doebert, respectively. The Sand Crabs went down silently in the first, but the Rangers did not.  Kunkle led off and smashed a double to the left field fence.  He was followed by Chris Gustaf who deposited a pitch beyond the second fence, just right of centerfield to put the Rangers up 2-zip. In the second, the Crabs got 3, but the Rangers got 4, highlighted by a Doebert double, to go up 6-3. The Crabs scratched another across in the third, when Troy Galston doubled and was able to score on a single by Tom Scalissi.  Then, the rains came, and delayed the action for about 10 minutes, making the game seem like it took about 6 hours.  When the skies cleared, the Rangers were retired, having scored 2 more on a Pete Olsen single and some less than stellar Crabs D.

Reliever Mike Wallace entered in the 4th and kept the Rangers quiet until the bottom of 7.  Jason Witt relieved Kunkle in the 6th with one out, as the Crabs managed to load the bases.  They had chipped 3 runs across when Scalissi stepped up with 3 men on, and deposited a Witt pitch onto the bike path in left center, and earned his second consecutive SPOG. 12-8 Crabs.  The Rangers went peacefully in their half of the 6th.

In the top of 7, SPOG 2, a.k.a. Mazomanian Menace Brian Buol restored his love for the game by yanking one out to right center, and two more runs were plated on a ground-out by Mike Kauffman, and a solid single by the Mazomanian Marvel, Dewey Walz. 15-8 Crabs.  In their half of the 7th, the Rangers got two off Wally in the 7th when Bill Nolan and Kunkle singled, stole a coupla bags and advanced on an error, and scored on a Mark Tyler single. 15-10 Crabs.

Would this see-saw battle ever end?  It would. With the clock ticking in the bottom of the 8th, the conclusion came down to a Wally versus Willie Wilde war. Wally willed Willie to whiff, and this marathon came to close.

Thirsty, the Sand Crabs reminisced at Slice’s with some chocolate milk.  Its good for you, ya know.