Is That All?
Schiltzberg won in a splendid comeback win last night, when they were up against elimination for only the second time in this tournament, but this time in the finals. Schiltzberg was playing at Archbishop Stadium in Nova Anglicana, and they were officially the away team in game four of the finals against The Great Pond. The scenario was that Schiltzberg was down 2-1 in this best-of-five series, and therefore up against elimination, while playing the biggest underdog that the World Baseball Classic has ever seen. Schiltzberg had already used all of their aces in the first three games, and they had to use one of their lesser pitchers, Jorge Matos, in possibly the most important game he has ever pitched in his career. Schiltzberg scored early, with a lead off home run by Mark Daly, which sent the crowd into hysterics, as it was literally the first pitch of the game. Schiltzberg quickly fell out of it though, as Matos had a sloppy second inning and let in four runs on five hits and a walk, giving up the lead. Frustrated, manager Bob Evans pulled Matos after just 1.2 innings, and put in ace William McKey as a relief pitcher, who had just pitched game one four days ago. The crowd was shocked, but went crazy when he walked out to the mound, as McKey is basically regarded as a legend in Schiltzberg, and is by far considered the greatest pitcher the nation has ever seen. He has been on fire in this tournament, and is still undefeated, going 6-0, with one no decision, which ended up in an eventual Schiltzberg victory. Evans hoped that, if nothing else, McKey would at least intimidate The Great Pond Ducks into failing, like they did in game one of the finals, where Schiltzberg won 6-3 with McKey on the mound. It worked, as McKey threw 5.1 scoreless innings, and then was relieved in the eighth by Todd Barras, who pitched the ninth as well without giving up a run. McKey still came into the game with a 4-1 deficit, so he needed the offense to get something going in order to get the win.
Schiltzberg got off to a good start with the Daly home run, but after that did a poor job of keeping up with the other team, having the next nine players retired, and losing the lead in the process. Jeff Fitzhugh broke the ice in the fourth, hitting a towering solo shot to leftfield, making the score 4-2. In the fifth inning, the bats finally came alive, as Schiltzberg got four hits, though was only able to score one run due to poor baserunning decisions, but that still increased the score to 4-3. The fans were all on the edge of their seats. Every time the opponents made contact with the ball, each fan would feel a flutter in his chest, and then a sigh of relieve as he breathed out when one of Schiltzberg's fielders made the catch. They all held their rubber duckies, which had been given out as a promotional item, and they fed off of the superstition of the Magic Duck, which seemed to be favoring every team that was associated with ducks in World Baseball Classic 35. In the top of the sixth inning, Thomas Saiz got a lead-off walk. Then, Bob Rutledge struck out for the first out. Wayne Knox reached on an error from the opposing shortstop, making it first and second with one out. After that, pitcher McKey popped out to the third baseman for out number two. Mark Daly came to the plate with two on and two out. He took a hefty cut at the first pitch, and connected. It went far, but foul. The crowd got to its feet. A swing and a miss! Stike two. The next pitch comes in high and inside. Very inside. It hits Daly in the head and he drops to the ground. The stadium goes berserk, as one of their top players has just been pegged in the head at a critical time in an elimination game of the finals. The trainer runs out, and the meanwhile the crowd begins to chant, "Throw him out!" regarding the opposing pitcher, though it seems very unlikely that the pitcher had done it on purpose, as it would be of no benefit to, and he most likely just made a mistake under all of the pressure. The umpire does not throw the pitcher out, but this just makes the crowd more angry and more interested in the game. After a minute, Daly gets up and walks to the dugout, and Don Carolan comes in to replace him.
Now Jeff Fitzhugh comes up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs, down a run in what is a potential elimination game for the Schiltz Burgers. The pitcher is seemingly intimidated, and the first pitch is far outside. The crowd receives this merrily, and at that point realizes that the game is their. The second pitch comes in and catches the outside corner for a called strike one. The crowd jeers and boos and starts chanting, "Tobit! Tobit! Tobit! Tobit!" (This is a common jeer of protest against umpires in Schiltzberg, and it refers to the biblical character of Tobit, who is known for getting shit in his eyes). The third pitch comes in on the inside corner, and Fitzhugh chops it foul into the third base-side stands. The cheering gets louder. Fans hold up their rubber duckies and start chanting, "Duck! Duck! Duck! Duck!" in anticipation. The pitcher looks down at the catcher, nods, then looks to his side and takes a moment to look to his side. He grips the ball, gulps hard, and delivers the pitch. The anticipation. The crack of the bat. All is silent for a full second as the ball goes sailing over the left field wall. And then all hell breaks loose. "Grand slam! Grand slam! Unbelievable!" is the famous call made by famous Schiltzberg announcer Buster Jockey, as fans celebrate in the stands, hugging and spilling their beers. Some break into tears, some jump for joy, as Fitzhugh and three others round the bases. Jeff Fitzhugh, who is from now on to be known by his new nickname of "Ducky" Fitzhugh, steps on home plate, removes his helmet, and takes a bow for the crowd. The fans cheer like never before. Schiltzberg goes on to score three more home runs, one of which was off of yet another Fitzhugh home run, and it was at that point that Buster Jockey said, "Unbelievable! Look what we have here, folks, Ducky Fitzhugh!" The resulting win forced a game five, which will be played tonight, and will decide the victor of the Thirty-Fifth World Baseball Classic.
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