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West City use team effort to tally win
Wildcats rally to top Skyrangers in 9 innings
TE ATATU - Key contributions from unlikely sources sprinkled in among costly Skyrangers errors propelled the Wildcats to one of their most improbable, and perhaps most satisfying, wins of the season Sunday afternoon.
Not only did the Wildcats rally from four runs down against Auckland Premier League pitching MVP candidate Jamie Wilson in their 7-6 win, they also came through with a peculiar two-run rally in the bottom of the 8th inning after it seemed like the air had been taken out of their sails just one-half inning earlier.
"That is a great game to win," Wildcats manager Ken Sommers said. "That game, in my opinion, showed a tremendous amount of character and a tremendous amount of growth."
Daniel Tan brought the Skyrangers within one run in the bottom of the 8th, but it wasn't enough to put the Wildcats away.
That's when West City buttoned down and showed the confidence, hustle, and intensity that was lacking last weekend against the Cyclones to secure the win for the West City.
With one out Jun Kim hit into what should have been the second out of the inning, but replacement second baseman Martin Williams could not handle the groundball and Kim reached first on the error. Williams shook it off and at the next at Hayden Patterson repeated the dose, but this time Williams was up to the challenge, gloving the groundball, making the transfer to shortstop Owen Reid who made the throw to first for the game-ending double play.
"When you win a game like that and you start looking at this [score]card, you realize how many different people - basically the entire team - contributed in some form or the other," Sommers said.
Through the first five innings, though, it didn't seem likely that extra innings would be necessary.
Staked to an early lead, Skyrangers ace Wilson held the Wildcats hitless and appeared to be primed for his 5th win.
"The way their starter was pitching in the early part of the game, it appeared to be no-hit-type stuff," said Sommers. "That's how well he was throwing the ball. It was as one-sided a game for the first five innings as you can possibly get."
"We've got a scrappy team," left-fielder Sam Tucker said. "We knew it was only a matter of time. It's not like this is the first time we've ever faced [Wilson]. Once we got a few hits off of him, it seemed like the floodgates just opened up.
"We were down, but we were never out."
The teams traded runs in the seventh inning, with NL batting leader Freddy Sanchez delivering a clutch, two-out single off Wilson to pull West City even once again.
"It's a great effort," Sommers said. "I am extremely proud of them. To have the game be as one-sided as it was and to keep grinding, to keep battling and win the game, it's a great effort."
West City overcame a shaky start from starting pitcher Gordon Niemann, who was beset by control problems but pulled it out when he needed in a gutsy nine innings of work.
Niemann, who had won three of his previous four decisions, gave the Skyrangers their first run by walking the first three batters he faced in the second inning and uncorking a wild pitch. In all, he allowed six runs - five earned - on nine hits and five walks and five striekouts.
With the win, the Wildcats pulled out to a 1 1/2 game lead in the Auckland Premier League, and look on track for the Summer Series final on February the 21st.
