Dark skies loom over Kings’ rivalry

By Ryan Loren

With a stubborn determination befitting that of a grizzled war veteran, the Kalamazoo Kings refused to lose a 10-inning stunner at Homer Stryker Field in Kalamazoo on Wednesday night.

As far as rivalries go, the animosity between the Kings and the Windy City ThunderBolts ranks among the best. Last season, the Bolts swept the Kings out of the Frontier League Championship Series with the final blow coming in a 6-5 heartbreaker in Crestwood, Ill. Two weeks ago, the Bolts pulled out the brooms for another three-game sweep of the beleaguered Kings.

For the Kings, enough was enough.

On Monday night, the Kings dominated from the start, winning a 14-6 blowout. Tuesday night was more of the same as the Kings rode a five-run third inning to an eventual 9-4 victory.

The setting of Wednesday night’s game, the final meeting between the teams this season, fit perfectly with the ominous mood of the game. Dark skies and the threat of rain may have weakened the size of the crowd, but certainly not the drama.

Carson Bryant started his first game for the Kings after being signed on July 10. The former Kansas City Royals prospect made his first start one to remember. He allowed one run on eight hits with four walks and six strikeouts over nine strong innings.

“I still felt like it was the first inning,” Bryant said. “My arm was going really well for me. It was still loose and I wanted to go out for the 10th but they said, ‘no, we don’t want to take that chance of you throwing too many pitches.’”

Bryant left the game after throwing 133 pitches.

On the other side of the diamond, Bolts’ starting pitcher Dylan Axelrod held strong, scattering eight hits and one walk over eight shutout innings. He struck out six.

Up 1-0 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Bolts sent relief pitcher Nicholas Hall to the mound to close out the game.

Kings’ outfielder Josh Short struck out to lead off the inning before designated hitter Brendan Murphy doubled to deep centerfield to send the diminutive crowd into a frenzy.

Hall did his best to quiet the roar after catcher Jett Ruiz hit a groundball to second base for the second out of the inning.

The Kings then sent pinch hitter Destan Makonnen to the plate, drawing a walk on just five pitches. That sent Bolts’ catcher Dan Jordan to the mound to calm the nerves of the prospective closer.

Kings’ third baseman Amos Ramon wasted no time, sending Hall’s first pitch looping and curving into shallow right field to tie the game at 1-1.

“That felt good,” Ramon said. “That guy throws really hard and Fran [manager Fran Riordan] told me to have fun and don’t try to do too much.”

The final moments of the game in the bottom of the 10th inning felt like they came straight off the page of a Hollywood script: bases load, two outs, and Kings’ pinch hitter Steve Malavagna stepped to the plate.

In eight at bats scattered over four games, Malavagna had yet to record a hit for the Kings, but felt confident in his moment to shine.

“I knew it was coming because I knew we didn’t have anybody left on the bench,” Malavagna said. “I was mentally preparing myself— getting ready for it.”

Malavagna wasted no time, attacking the first pitch from relief pitcher Adam Dominick.

“I was looking for a fastball. I definitely thought a fastball was coming somewhere out over the plate and sure enough there it was,” Malavagna said. “I was aggressive, took a swing, and it paid off.”

As the ball dropped to the grass in right field and Ramon crossed home plate, the Kings dugout emptied as the players stormed onto the field in celebration.

“To have an impact like that, sweep the series, game-winning hit. It feels good, it does,” Malavagna said.

“The whole game we were hitting the ball right at people and we weren’t coming up with that one hit we needed just to get the run in. To win this one was big for the team,” Ramon said.

The Kings improved their record to 34-20 while the ThunderBolts dropped to 29-25, dropping their sixth straight game after last week’s All-Star break.

Short URL: http://www.westernherald.com/?p=6771

Posted by heraldstaff on Jul 23 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

http://HeraldStaff