Game #4
The Kanata Selects looked to win game 4 on this night and the series while the Panthers wanted to extend the series to a 5th game. Kanata came out strong in the first inning once again as Mike Watters and Hugh Kellam each hit bloop singles to lead it off. After Watters advanced to third on a fly ball to right field, Joe Kenny, the Panthers starter threw the ball away trying to pick off Kellam thus allowing a run to score. Jeff Rawson then promptly hit an RBI single to score Kellam and give Kanata a 2-0 lead. Kenny though rebounded and stranded runners on 2nd and 3rd.
Kanata's starter, Dave Pennie, working with the lead walked Keith Bray to lead off the bottom of the inning and then he to threw the ball away trying to pick Bray off of first base. The Panthers threat ended though when Bray attempted to score on a foul out to 3rd basemen Watters, who threw a strike to home plate to get Bray.
After holding Kanata to no runs in the 2nd, the Panthers got their own rally going in the bottom of the frame as Nate Thompson was hit by a pitch and then Marc Charbonneau singled. Chris Kohli then hit an RBI double with one out to score Thompson. Steve Smith then hit an RBI grounder to tie the game at 2.
With the game now tied, Kanata looked to take the lead again in the 3rd, and Panthers obliged by making 3 errors, hitting a batter, and giving up 2 hits as Kanata scored 4 un-earned runs to take command of the game at 6-2. Kelly Doell came in to pitch with a runner on in the 4th inning and stranded runners on 1st and 3rd. In the bottom of the 4th, the Panthers struck with 2 outs as Dan Altherr hit a 2 RBI single with the bases loaded. The inning ended when Al Kohli got thrown out trying to score from second on an infield single by Nate Thompson.
With the score now 6-4, Doell stranded runners on 1st and 3rd once again in the 5th. Watters came in to pitch for Kanata in the bottom of the 5th, and Charbonneau greeted him by hitting a triple to right field to lead off the bottom of the 5th. He would score on a wild pitch later in the inning and the game went to the 6th with Kanata holding on to a 6-5 lead.
Neither team was able to manage a hit in the 6th or 7th as Charbonneau came in to shut down Kanata's bats while Watters did the same. In the 6th, Phil Muller was able to make a great catch on the warning track in left center off the bat of Altherr. The Panthers went down in order in the 7th as Kanata won the tier 1 Championshiop for the 1st time since 1996.
Player of the Game : Mike Watters....batting : 2/4, double, run, walk..pitching
: 3 IP, 2 hits, 3 K's, 1 run, 0 walks.
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