LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – There were three doubleheaders at The Hideaway on Monday night, and the Bombers would need one win against the Sandvipers in the first series to clinch a playoff berth. The Tomahawks and Stone Men would also play two games that could decide which team will go into relegation without a wild card game, and The Ones faced off with the Calicos in the final series of the night.
Brandon Maio got the start for the Bombers in game one, and he struck out the side in the first inning. Sandvipers starter Casey Herzog would walk a batter in the bottom of the inning, but retired the other three batters he faced. In the second Maio sat the vipers down 1-2-3 again, and in the bottom of the inning manager TJ Brown and Hollis “Hollywood” Hale both hit home runs, putting the Bombers up 3-0. Tom Gannon would hit a solo shot to lead off the third, but that’s all they would get. In the bottom of the third, Brown, CJ Peterson, and Hollywood would go back-to-back-to-back off Herzog, who didn’t have a walk to give. Sandvipers manager Adam Tanic hit a two-run double to make the score 6-3, but the Bombers tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth, and went on to win 7-3. Maio struck out ten in a complete game effort.
The Bombers were all over Tom Gannon in game two. Peterson hit two home runs in the first inning, and he went back-to-back-to-back with Hollywood and Maio after his second, giving Maio an eight run lead before he even took the rubber. He would sit the vipers down 1-2-3 to start the game yet again, and in the top of the second Hollywood hit another home run, his fourth of the series, to put the Bombers up 11-0. With two outs in the bottom of the second, Adam Tanic hit a solo home run to try to keep the game alive, but Maio struck Gannon out to secure the 11-1 mercy rule win.
The Tomahawks were one win behind the Stone Men coming into their series on Monday night. In the bottom of the first inning, Nick Sansone hit a leadoff homer to put the Tomahawks up 1-0. The Stone Men would tie the game in the top of the second thanks to an RBI triple from Stone Men manager Levi Lawrence, and the game would remain tied until the fifth inning. In the bottom of the fifth, Billy Osgood hit a walk-off two-run homer, and just like that the Tomahawks and Stone Men were tied in the win column with eight apiece.
Levi Lawrence took the ball for his Stone Men in game two, and he threw a gem. Jimmy Talamantez hit a two-run shot in the bottom of the first, and that’s all Lawrence would need. He allowed just one hit, but that hit was an opposite field solo homer from Brad Ogden in the second. In the bottom of the inning Lawrence hit a two-run shot to put the Stone Men up 4-1, and they would tack on a few more in the fourth inning for the 7-1 win.
The Calicos were without James Stein in their doubleheader vs. The Ones, but AJ Petrovsky made his debut, going 2-4 with an RBI in the first game of the series. The Calicos would jump out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second, powered by a two-run shot from Matty Levine, his second of the season, and capped off by an RBI single from Petrovsky. They would score two more on an RBI double from manager Nick DiVella in the third, and pushed another run across in the fourth to take a commanding 7-0 lead. Adam “AK” Koutz and Cody Schmidt each hit solo shots in the bottom of the fifth, but it was a case of too little, too late, as the Calicos would get the 7-2 win in game one.
In game two Petrovsky hit an opposite field homer to put the Calicos up 1-0, but Ones manager Ryan Chen hit a two-run double in the second to give his team a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the third Alex Carrasco hit another solo shot to tie the game, but Chen and Scottez Dobbins would both hit home runs in the fourth to give The Ones a 5-2 lead. Chen would tack on another run with an RBI triple in the fifth, and he was a single shy of the cycle in the 6-2 win, but he was 4-5 with two doubles.
There will be five games at The Hideaway on Thursday night. The Snappers (22-16) play a doubleheader against the Warbirds (19-18) at 6pm PDT, followed by one game between the Warbirds and Sandvipers (29-10) to finish out their season series around 7:30pm. The Calicos (22-16) and The Ones (19-18-1) finish off the night with a doubleheader at 8:15pm. These games will be critical because after Thursday’s games each team will have two games remaining this season, and it looks like it’s going to come down to the final day of the season. The Sandvipers and Bombers are the only two teams to clinch a playoff spot, so there are still four teams fighting for the last three spots. Tune in LIVE on Twitch!
