On a night that was tailor made for baseball the RGMVM 8 Year Old Travel Team Bulldogs took to the RGMVM bus and headed to beautiful Marine Park for another match up against the Brooklyn Bonnies. This game would be a joy to watch as the game would go right down to the last pitch. The Bulldogs would once again hand the ball to their starter Chris "Big Dog" Piteo, the doggie would fire strikes and keep the Bonnie offense off balance striking out 7 along the way. The Dogs would break out early in the first with 3 runs, on timely base hits by Matt Fox and Brett Buser.
The game would stay tight with plenty of leather being flashed on both sides. The Bulldogs would call on right hander Matt Fox, who would provide a gutty performance on the mound in the 4th backed up by his infield defense. The infield would make a few stellar plays to quite a Bonnie rally, but the best was yet to come. In the fourth the dogs would get back on the board again behind the bats of Bryan Torres and John Codelia to stretch the lead to 7 - 2. With a tired Matt Fox on the mound in the fifth, the Bonnies were once again chipping away at the lead. The doggie defense was still fetching grounders and making the plays, the Bulldogs called on young righthander Robbie Hofmann to wiggle out of the jam.
Matt fox would make a slick backhanded play up the middle to grab a force at second to kill the rally. The game would move on to the sixth, and fasten your seatbelts because there are nine miles of bad road ahead. The young closer Hofmann would face the heart of the Bonnies order, the Bonnies would get the first two batters on base.
On a full count the next hitter lashed a long drive to rightfield that John Codelia would make a tremendous catch and almost double of a runner advancing. The Bonnies would load the bases and this would set the stage for the Snapple turning point of the game. On a full count and everyone in attendance holding there breathe, in John Franco fashion young Hofmann released his pitch. The Bonnie hitter lashed a hard shot up the middle, Chris The Big Doggie Piteo comes from nowhere to lunge out and stab it flipping to Matt Fox for a force at second. Fox is knocked down by the opposing runner, as the bonnie coach waves his runner furiously around third base with the tying run approaching the plate. Young Fox would spring to his feet and fire a seed to the plate were catcher Mike Guglielmi was waiting to apply the tag, in a cloud of dust the echo of "YER OUT" rang out across the field and a jubilant Bulldog team celebrated the victory.
A double play to end the game, just your routine average double play.
A true team effort, where everyone contributed and left it all on the field. This is what this team is all about..
Woof..Woof And Another Woof Go Bulldogs!!!
