Then came Game 2. Drawkland was now playing from behind in a series for the first time all tournament. The importance of not falling back to 0-2 was absolute paramount. But you probably don't need me to explain the importance of winning playoffs games, do you? Claire Kirkland had been spotty in these playoffs. Not as bad as last cycle, but not totally reliable. She had two quality starts, but no decisions in her two appearances so far. To make matters worse, she had to duel with Banija's ace in Odongo Lutaakome. Run support would be infrequent at best. Mistakes had to be limited.
For four innings, the two aces went band for band. Both teams were hitless the first time through the order. Both pitchers gave up their first hits in the fourth inning, but nobody made it to scoring position. To the dismay of Drawkian fans (including the ones whose cheers were being drowned out in-person), Kirkland blinked first. Just like Game 1, hometown boy Ugonna Akachi was the one to crack open the scoring. Kirkland missed with a fastball that was supposed to be above the zone but instead zipped just below the numbers. Akachi got his bat around quick enough and pounded the fastball over the fence. 1-0 Banija.
On the other side of the ball, it was clear that the Base Corps was suffering. Banija's pitching staff as a whole had been tossing nothing but gems for a week. By the time Lutaakome trotted off the mound in the sixth by striking out Ted Honeycutt, the Corps was sitting with a solid 6 hits and 2 walks in the series. That scoreless sixth inning meant that Banija had only allowed 2 runs in a fifty-seven inning span. After giving up a 6-spot in the 4th inning against Zwangzug in Game 2, the only runs they'd given up were the two runs in a failed comeback bid by the Zebras in Game 3. Lutaakome would come back to the mound carrying a 33-inning scoreless streak on his back. Surely he could keep it going for one more inning?
Claire Kirkland had given up a couple more hits, but still nobody had reached scoring position (unless you count a homer for those purposes). Still only losing 1-0, Claire was motivated to stay in the game, if nothing else, to maybe actually get a win on her playoff record for this cycle. Things seemed bleak on that front, but at least the Corps had gotten a man on base each of the last three innings, though only one reached second base before the inning ended. Kirkland was still fired up, digging deep to find the willpower to keep firing. On her 90th pitch of the evening, she struck out Mutebi Nvunyi to end a clean seventh inning. Based on how she was received in the dugout with handshakes and assclaps, it was clear that her night was over, no matter what happened after the stretch.
Odongo Lutaakome came back out for the seventh inning as well, drawing power from the home crowd to get the job done. The Banijan bullpen had gotten things done for the last week, but it felt like a ticking time bomb. Both fanbases in the stadium could relate to that pain. Lutaakome was going to keep throwing until he was no longer effective. He did get Alexander Gates to ground out for the first out of the inning, but his next pitch was absolutely pissed on by Tyler Silvanus. A double into the gap put the two-way star on the board for the game and on second base with still a couple outs to play with. The writing was on the wall, and Kingston Jassey came out to collect his starter before Aaron Frost could come to bat. Like Vunaana in Game 1, Lutaakome exited the mound to a standing ovation from the Banijan crowd. He had pitched well, and though he was still responsible for the runner on first, he had pitched 7+ masterful innings.
With two righties coming up in the lineup, Nakisisa Buwuuyo was summoned from the bullpen. Buwuuyo is the normal closer for the Busukuma Rhinos, so he felt right at home as he trotted from the pen to the mound. The scary parts of Drawkland's lineup were already past. A couple outs here keeps Banija ahead and saps any momentum before the Base Corps can capitalize. Unfortunately for Buwuuyo, the back end of the Corps lineup had other plans. Aaron Frost came up to the plate standing, but as Buwooyo began his delivery, Frost dropped down into a bunt position. With the Banijan infield not fully prepared, Aaron managed to tap a picture-perfect bunt down the third base line. It was enough for the aging speedster to beat the throw at first, while Silvanus easily slid into third base. Now there were runners at the corners, tying and go-ahead runs on base.
Buwuuyo was really sweating now. Aaron's wife Richelle came to the plate now, and she was just looking to drive the ball somewhere into the outfield. Anything not resulting in a double play would be perfect. Of course, that's no easy task against a Banijan pitcher. Buwuuyo tried to tempt Richelle with the low sinkers and soft stuff, but she didn't bite. She worked a full count walk, and suddenly the bases were loaded with still just one out in the inning. Oh yeah, and now you have the arguably best pure hitter in Drawkland at the plate with platoon advantage. There was nowhere to put him without tying the game. Buwuuyo had to pitch to him.
Lane knew he'd be getting low stuff, and thought to how he'd modified his approach to the low pitch in the last couple PBL seasons. There'd be no scooping the ball into the air this time. He surveyed the Banijan infield carefully, eyes narrowing as he picked his target. He took a few pitches from Buwuuyo, fouled a couple off, waiting for the one he wanted. On a 2-2 count, Lane pounced. Buwuuyo thought he had Kavana with a down-and-in sinker, but Lane timed it perfectly and shot it down the first base line. Gouta Rehana dove for the screaming grounder but couldn't get in the way in time. The umpire clearly signaled fair as the ball spun and skittered down into the foul ground of right field. The crowd groaned, and the Corps was off to the races. Silvanus and Mr. Frost made it around easily, with Mrs. Frost taking up the rear and beating Wasa Malo's throw home by a hair as Lane slid into second. Bases clearing double. Potential series-saving double, at that. Drawkland leads 3-1, and nobody was happier than Kirkland in the dugout, now in line for the win.
Buwuuyo was obviously yanked immediately after the play ended. Tshikala Bakika came in and gave up a couple singles, the one from Elizabeth Houston scoring Kavana to increase the lead. She finally got that desperately-needed double play ball off the bat of Zac MacBay, but the damage (as they say) had been done.
Now with a 3-run lead, Sutton called upon the big arms in the back of the bullpen to clean things out and even the series. Trevor Bell came on the eighth, got two outs from the bottom of Banija's lineup, then promptly allowed back-to-back doubles. His Jaffro teammate Lolong Fadiya was ecstatic to get that second double, getting Atla Gadifele to score and bringing Sadiiq Xoosh, representing the tying run, to the plate.
Glenn Sutton wasn't having that shit. Trevor Bell was pulled off the mound at mach speed and sent to the dugout for immediate application of the Heimlich maneuver. In his place came Lorraine Lockwood to attempt the 4-out save for the first time in this playoff run. Having to immediately face the best Banijan hitter with a runner already in scoring position is not exactly ideal work, but Lorraine had been spotless throughout her five postseason saves this year. Xoosh was looking for a ball to drive, maybe not take deep, but hit hard to at least get Fadiya home. Lorraine wouldn't give it to him. First pitch was paint, fastball high and outside for strike one. Second pitch was another fastball, this one touching triple digits, just a tad inside. The home plate umpire called it strike two, much to the displeasure of Xoosh and 85% of The Capitol Proving Grounds. Lorraine had been given a gift, and she wasn't going to waste it. With Xoosh now begrudgingly in protect mode, Lorraine dropped the hammer with a nasty curveball at the knees. Xoosh wouldn't be caught looking, but his emergency hack and tip went right into the glove of Cooper Calebs. Caught foul tip strikeout to end the inning.
With no Drawkian insurance forthcoming in the eighth (despite a pair of singles to lead off the inning), Lockwood came back out to close the ninth. She locked down the middle of the Banijan order with another strikeout and a couple shallow flyouts. The series was even. Drawkland had signs of life on offense. We have some ballgames coming up, folks.
SF, Game 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Banija 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 5 0
Drawkland 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 X 4 8 0
W: C. Kirkland (1-0)
L: N. Buwuuyo (0-1)
Sv: L. Lockwood (6)
Game MVP: Claire Kirkland (7.0 IP, 1 ER, 9 K, 1 BB)
Now here comes the real spicy parts of the series. Tyler Silvanus will be on the hill for Game 3, which is a best possible case for the Base Corps unless he implodes in dramatic fashion. Similarly, Banijan fans are saying that regression to the mean is inevitable and that Silvanus will be having a blowup start at any moment. Why not here to put Banija back ahead? The other major key is that Silvanus naturally won't be in the lineup for Game 4. Obviously the Drawkian lineup is good, but Silvanus is a real difference maker. His associated fear factor is worth more than just the raw stats he puts on the scoresheet.
PROJECTED STARTERSGAME 3 LINEUP AVG OPS
2B E. Houston (S).250 .611
CF Z. MacBay (R).242 .726
1B T. Honeycutt (L).212 .706
3B A. Gates (S).222 .546
DH T. Silvanus (L).400 1.121
RF L. Kavana (S).333 .821
C J. Todd (R).167 .417
LF R. Frost (R).241 .680
SS A. Frost (R).286 .485GAME 4 LINEUP AVG OPS
2B E. Houston (S).250 .611
CF Z. MacBay (R).242 .726
DH T. Honeycutt (L).212 .706
3B A. Gates (S).222 .546
RF L. Kavana (S).333 .821
1B H. Braddock (R).500 1.000
C J. Todd (R).167 .417
LF R. Frost (R).241 .680
SS A. Frost (R).286 .485
Game 3: T. Silvanus (3-0, 1.35 ERA) R vs B. Kutate (R)
Game 4 (if Game 3 loss): A. Boone (2-1, 2.25) L vs K. Namatiwa (L)
Game 4 (if Game 3 win): J. Shrubbin (1-1, 5.73) R vs K. Namatiwa (L)
Game 5 (if Boone pitches G4): C. Kirkland (1-0, 2.33) R vs O. Lutaakome (R)
Game 5 (if Shrubbin pitches G4): A. Boone (2-1, 2.25) L vs O. Lutaakome (R)
Is Glenn Sutton insane for refusing to break up the classic Skyhawk Core Four configuration at the top of the lineup despite the fact that all four have been pretty mediocre all postseason? Is pitching Boone in a must-win Game 4 on short rest after a questionable Game 1 performance really the best idea? Is bringing Jimmy Todd who hasn't played since the TJUN-ia series to catch a couple games really necessary, considering that Cooper Calebs has been relatively fine for catcher production at the plate? All a bunch of questions to ask Glenn, to which he'll reply with a gruff grunt or something. I guess the proof will be in the pudding, whether or not Drawkland is alive for a Game 5.
