CTABL

Recap

Rockville Royals win epic battle over Expos in 12 innings.

The Royals squeaked by the Expos 4-1 in a true battle of attrition, which included a meeting between managers to discuss calling the game at some point due to safety concerns after some three and a half hours of play. The pitching was absolutely lights-out for both sides. For the winning Royals, Shane Legare started and “only” went 4 innings. Bill Riggieri relieved him and pitched 8 more! Legare gave up only one earned run on three hits, and struck out 5 while only walking 1. Riggieri held the Expos the rest of the way, giving up only 4 hits, walking none while striking out an incredible 14! Not to be outdone, Joe Turcotte of the Expos also struck out 14, in a ridiculous 11 INNINGS PITCHED! Turcotte was on top of his game, throwing gas until the very end, walking only 1 and giving up 4 hits. The offense started in the second inning with a long RBI double by I. Adlestein for the Expos. However, the Royals mounted a rally in the top of the 7th with a leadoff triple by Bill Riggieri, and soon after a clutch RBI single by Shane Legare to tie things up. Things held 1-1 until the top of the 12th when Mike Musumeci came in for the Expos, but could not find his groove on the mound, understandably after 11 innings behind the plate! Jay Botti led off with a walk, followed by a single by Riggieri. Scott Clouser worked a walk to load the bases, and Jay Botti scored on a wild pitch, holding a fist high in the air with a mixture of excitement and relief. Dan Copes knocked in two more to seal the game. This game was a tremendously hard battle fought by both sides, and the game ended with a mutual sharing of respect.