Hot Chasers lose by not so much this time

CONCORD - If the Doggers thought they would dogpile 30-plus runs on the Hot Chasers such as they did in the first meeting of the two organizations, they had another think coming.

Sure, they cowboy'd up and took away a 13-0 victory over the scrappy, undermanned HC ballclub. But this one remained competitive throughout although the HC'ers never found a way to break the seal at home plate.

Certainly, this one had the makings of a worse whupping than the last time, which was a fairly solid whupping as whuppings go. For sure, the Hot Chasers sported only nine players and had some playing out of position. Neil Hayes made his season debut at shortstop, Mike Gale took over center, Joe Roderick patroled left and John Romero took the hill in his pitching bow for the Hot Chasers.

Alas, on offense, it was not to be. The closest the HC'ers came to scoring was in the second inning, when Hayes and Jon Okanes struck back-to-back singles. Hayes later made a madcap dash to the plate after a Jerry Southwick groundout, and Hayes' attempt to catch the Doggers in a catnap almost proved successful, but he was barely clipped at the plate. The HC'ers didn't get a runner past second the rest of the way.

Okanes and Roderick swung mean sticks, as both had two-hit nights. Roderick reported that his sore ribs have healed 100 percent. Indeed, the Hot Chasers wielded pretty healthy bats all night long, but the solid shots they mustered usually found their way directly into Dogger mitts.

As if to sum up the futility, the game ended on a triple play, with Southwick's grounder to short with Okanes and Hayes both on ended up with all three being retired. Now that's something you don't see every day, and it seemed to imprint the game with that frustrating Hot Chaser seal.

Next week, the search for runs, and that elusive first win, continues.