By: Ryan Paris
JOLIET, IL – A couple of weeks ago, Ryan Daly got married. A couple of days ago, Ryan Daly turned 23. A couple of hours ago, Ryan Daly made his Frontier League debut with his hometown Joliet Slammers.
Daly tossed seven strikeouts and allowed four runs in five innings, as Joliet (25-25) cruised to a 9-4 win against the Florence Y’alls (20-29).
Dozens of his friends and family packed into the suites of Slammers Stadium as Daly took to the same mound he had countless times as a college baseball player at St. Francis.
Daly got off to a rough start when Antony Brocato launched a three run moonshot off the green roof of the pavilion in left field, but he took the punch in stride, retiring nine of his next ten batters faced, including striking out the side in the fifth.
He walked off to ovations from the crowd, in line for the win due to a Chris Davis three run homer and a Dyaln Goldstein RBI groundout.
While Daly stole the spotlight on the mound, we had perhaps the greatest picks to click match of all time going on in the batter’s box.
What you need to know is that before each game we each pick a player and they earn points for various things during their at bats. One point per base on a hit, a point for a run, stolen base, or rbi, and half a point for a hit by pitch or walk.
We have an unwritten rule to vary who you pick. In the early days of our game, I picked Braylin Marine one too many times in a row and was de facto banned from picking him again.
Today, Thomas picked Jose Contreras, Jack picked Antonio Valdez, I picked Blake Berry, and Michael picked Brandon Heidal.
Jose Contreras got hit by a pitch in the first inning to give Thomas a half point. Valdez struck out and Berry hit into a double play to keep Jack and I scoreless.
In the third inning, with things looking bleak after Florence’s Anthony Brocato hit his third home run of the series, Brandon Hedial led off with a single to catapult Michael in front.
When Chris Davis (who Thomas said he seriously considered picking) hit a home run, it gave Hedial two points on the day.
The standings after the third inning were as follows: Thomas 0.5, Jack 0, Ryan 0, Michael 2. The fourth inning shook everything up.
It started with a Jose Contreras single and an Antonio Valdez double, putting Jack and Michael in a tie for first with 2 points and Thomas right behind at 1.5.
The tie at the top was short lived. Brandon Heidal got hit by a pitch to load the bases and give Michael a half point lead.
At this point, I was shamefully rooting for a double play to keep things within reach for Blake Berry, and when Dylan Goldstein sent a dribbler at second baseman Tyler Shaneyfelt, it looked like the inning was going to end.
But he had trouble bringing the ball in, and then Hank Zeisler at first couldn’t get the ball out of his glove, allowing both Contreras and Valdez to score. That put Thomas at 2.5 and Jack in the lead with 3.
Heidal came around to score before the inning ended which put Michael back in front with 3.5.
Then came the Blake Berry inning. He singled, swiped second, and scored to give me 3 points.
Going into the sixth, the scores were Thomas 2.5, Jack 3, me 3, and Michael 3.5.
Heidal added an extra walk before the dust settled, clinching Michael one of the most back and forth picks to click games of all time.
Now that the Slammers have snapped the skid, they’ll look to win the series in the rubber match tomorrow. First pitch is at 1:05 PM.
For information on season tickets, premium suites or group outings, please visit the Slammers’ official website at www.jolietslammers.com.
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The Joliet Slammers play in downtown Joliet, Illinois, and are members of the professional, independent Frontier League. The Frontier League is the largest MLB Partner League with 16 teams spanning from the Mississippi River to the East Coast. Visit the Slammers online atwww.jolietslammers.com or call the ticket office at 815-722-2287 for more information! Don’t forget to “Like” the Slammers on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/jolietslammers, follow them on Instagram at @jolietslammersofficial or follow them on Twitter at @jolietslammers!
This game recap was written by Ryan Paris.
