OEL Championship: Extra Inning Thriller

The outstandingly competitive OEL Championship Series continued today with a classic contest between the Brooklyn Bombers and the Pittsburgh Pisces.

The starting pitching was extraordinary, as the game was scoreless through the first five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, the Pisces finally broke through when Brooklyn's Gaby Duran inexplicably lost his control. With one out, Duran walked five consecutive batters, mixing in a wild pitch for good measure. With Pittsburgh holding a 2-0 lead and having the bases loaded, Brooklyn's bullpen stepped up and coaxed a double play from Donald "Missing" Parson to end the threat.

The game remained 2-0 into the ninth inning, as Pittsburgh's Timothy Hornyak continued to shut down the Bombers' attack. Pittsburgh manager Moses Guthrie, despite having league-saves leader Ariel Santos rested and ready in the bullpen, elected to let Hornyak finish what he had started. He stuck with Hornyak despite a leadoff double by Miyatarou Takenao and was rewarded with a harmless pop up by Pio Pastrana. Unfortunately for the Pittsburgh fans, Randy McGinn then hammered a long, long home run down the left field line, travelling an estimated 420 feet, to tie the score at 2-2. Hornyak, who was still left in, managed to get out of the frame without further damage. Pittsburgh was retired in order in the bottom of the ninth and the game went to extra innings.

In the top of the tenth inning, Pittsburgh reliever Vincent Furness retired Brooklyn in order. In the bottom of the tenth, pinch-hitter Brian Caraway led off with a double for the hometown Pisces. And, one out later, phenom Gary Croce ended the game with an opposite field two-run home run off Ramon Medina. That was Croce's fifth of the postseason, and his second playoff extra-inning homer.

So, with a 4-2 victory, Pittsburgh has closed the series gap to 2-1. Game Four will be played this evening, so tune in for more drama and excitement.