Tuesday, May 06, 2014

First victory continues to elude Muckrakers

CONCORD -- Let's just call it for what it is -- the Muckrakers are the best 0-3 softball team in the known universe.

There may be some small solace in saying that, but the 'Rakers say "I got yer solace, right here" after absorbing another tauntly played defeat, this one a 17-14 setback at the hands of the Ohm Boys on Thursday on Field 2.

Slow starts have plagued the Men of Muck all season -- until Thursday, that is, when the visiting 'Rakers came out of the gate and stomped on home plate to the tune of six runs on six hits. The first four Muckrakers hit safely, and Marshall Murray, Matt Knauff and Matt Anderson all drove in runs to give the ball club the early advantage and its first lead of the season.

Better yet, starting pitcher Chris White was recording goose eggs, setting down the Ohm Boys in order the first two innings.

Alas, the opposition eventually put on its hitting shoes, tallying seven times in the third. The 'Rakers did score four times in the fourth inning and three more times in the fifth, courtesy of Murray's jolt of a home run to left field. But the Mucksters went dry in the sixth and seventh innings, just enough to doom them on this evening.

Close losses have become something of a Muckraker trademark in the early going. Does it follow that close wins are soon to follow? According to this reporter, the answer is a resounding yes.

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