Muckrakers show true character in 2nd straight win

WALNUT CREEK -- It's hard to decide which is the most impressive: the Muckrakers winning their second game in a row -- a first -- or the manner in which they accomplished it.

In the "wow" dept., pick your poison: winning a ballgame with two outs in the bottom of the last inning, or winning the darned ballgame at all with just eight players.

Yes, the Muckrakers defied both forfeiting again, then slipping into the loss column again in a thrilling, one-for-the-ages 10-9 scraping by of the Skyway Smashers at Heather Farm Park.

To nitty-gritty it, the Smashers rallied in the top of the seventh to tie it at 9-all. In the bottom half, the Muckies got a leadoff bloop single from Dave Taxier, a belted base hit by Dave (The Hit Man) Belli, a hit from Mike Gale, and then, with two outs, a solid single to left from Darby MacEacheron to send the fans home happy. Whoops, there were no fans. Whatever.

But the contributions were numerous and team-wide. Each Mucker collected at least two hits. Matt Petersen again was solid on the mound, as a defender, and at the plate. Joe Roderick, making his Muckraker debut, had his hands full patrolling left, with Gale in center and Belli in right, all having to defend a lot of green in shorthanded style.

Add in game-long solidness from infielders Chase Bryson and Bob Leal, and you've got the very meaning of "team victory."

And let us not forget the effort made by Manager Chris Wagnon, who made it to the game despite his injured wing. And the Muckrakers can thank the mojo supplied by "Mr. 2-0," the full-fledged Muckraker who would rather not be on the blog.

That's OK. The Muckrakers are in the win column for the second-straight game, and that counts for a lot.

"Everyone wrote us off, but I've been saying all along, we're contenders not pretenders," Gale exhorted regarding the 'Rakers' midseason surge. "And to all the haters - Skip Blogless I'm talking to you - all y'all can kiss my shiny white ass."