Hoboken takes game one; Marietta evens it up

Day two of the DMBL Playoffs and both lower seeded teams have effectively taken home field advantage away from the highers.

Hoboken staged a ninth inning rally to tie the game with the Sharks. After leading 6-3, the Sharks brought in closer Tom Gordon to close the door on the game. Protecting a three-run lead for one inning should be a slam dunk for a closer, but Gordon couldn't get the job done, even after retiring two of the first three batters. With a runner on second and two outs, Gordon walked the next batter and surrendered a three-run shot to Hanley Ramirez to tie the game up at six. But that wasn't enough, Gordon walked Jose Valentin and gave way to Geoff Geary, who promptly gave up a double to score Valentin. Now trailing 7-6 in the bottom of the ninth, the Sharks played some "small ball" in the bottom of the ninth and were able to tie the game up and send it to extra innings. Geary worked out of a jam in the 10th, but got into trouble again in the 11th. Jose Feliciano surrendered a double to Jose Bautista that scored two runs. Honolulu put two runners on the bases in the bottom of the 11th but left them stranded. The win was the first ever playoff win for the Hoboken Cutters.

Meanwhile in Marietta, the Mighty Men and Bushslappers once again faced off in a pitchers duel. Mike Mussina shut out D.C. for seven innings, holding the Slappers to only four hits and striking out eight. Jorge Posada homered to lead off the fifth, giving the Mighty Men a 1-0 lead. The Mighty Men scored again on a Matt Diaz single, but Diaz was thrown out trying for second to end the rally. D.C. finally scored in the ninth, but they ended up leaving runners on second and third after the final two batters failed to drive them in. The series takes a day off today and resumes on Saturday in D.C.