Game Summaries
May 4th, 2003
The Sac

Opening Doubleheader
Playerz versus Holy Whites

Game 1
The return of Keith Carlson did occur Sunday, but probably a tad too late.

Carlson did not make his debut until after the first game, which the Playerz lost 6-0 to the Holy Whites. The Whites, fielded by just Deatrick and Carmichael for a second straight week, were both held in check through two innings, but in both Matt Smith and John Robins' second inning of the day, they got their licks. Deatrick hit a grandslam off Robins in the third and Carmichael added a two-run bomb in the fourth to account for all the scoring.

Even in defeat, and against top-notch pitching, the rookies Smith and Robins did okay, combining for four hits between them, about 3-4 more than most would expect against Deatrick and Carmichael. However, all four hits were spread evenly over the four innings, allowing no runners to score.

Final Score: 6-0, Holy Whites

Game 2
Carlson finally makes his debut, but first he has to go through the traditional "initiation" as a rookie. And who better than Carmichael and Deatrick to enforce it?

The Whites ruined Carlson's long-awaited debut Sunday in Game 2, scoring every inning en route to a 9-0 whipping. Carlson struggled at the plate, as most rookies do in their formative games, going 0-6 with 3 Ks. Matt Smith and John Robins again combined for four hits, but still could not score a run.

The Whites got two homers apiece from Deatrick and Carmichael, as well as two doubles from Carmichael, giving him the league lead in the category. They scored one in the first, off Carlson, two in the second, off Smith, and then erupted for six in the third, off Robins.

Despite going 0-6 in his first game, teammate and fellow rookie Matt Smith was heard remarking that he was impressed with Carlson's talent, and that he "looks like he will eventually be pretty good." They wouldn't have to wait long.

Final Score: 9-0, Playerz

Nitecap
Horsemen versus Playerz

Carlson quickly found his stroke, but the Horsemen's bats were just too much, leaving the Playerz 0-3 on the day with a 13-6 slugfest.

Keith Carlson, after a rough debut game (0-6), went 5-7 with a 2B, a HR, and 3 RBIs, but it wasn't enough as the Playerz' pitching once again got rocked.

The Horsemen came straight from the Byrd House, where the wind was fiercely blowing in and rookie Matt Plummer was seeming to be throwing about 95 mph. The first thing that happened at The Sac was during Joey's BP session, when he hit the roof in right center, a never-before-seen shot. Couple that with the fact that no one on the Playerz can throw as hard as Matt Plummer, and you could see the Horsemen licking their chops after being held to two runs on five hits their previous two games.

The Playerz jumped out first, hanging Ian Byrd for four runs. Carlson doubled home a run, and then Robins followed with a three run shot that Eric Christensen (of all people) nearly robbed.

The Horsemen chipped away (they picked up one in the top of the first and one in the second), before getting to face John Robins in the third. They torched Robins for seven runs on nine hits and all but secured the game, as the only two left to pitch were Yoder and Creighton.

Carlson however, would take Yoder deep in the bottom of the inning, making it 9-5, Horsemen. It was Carlson's first career homerun. The Horsemen though would respond in their inning, buoyed by a solo shot by Creighton and two bombs by Byrd.

The Playerz would pick up one more in the bottom of the fourth off Creighton (a Carlson single), capping off an impressive 9-hit game for them, but the Horsemen (an amazing 18 hits) were just too much. While it may sound odd to find positives after an 0-3 day, the Playerz can take solace in the fact that:
1. Keith Carlson showed, and hit very well.
2. Both Matt Smith and John Robins improved their batting averages, despite facing tough pitching.
3. They likely would have been in all three games had their captain been there.

Final Score: 13-6, Horsemen

Boxscores