Kalamazoo Kings Advance to the Finals!

Hi Everyone!

With last night's win , Jack's team has just won the semi-finals :-)

Go Kalamazoo Kings!

Game 3- Kings 3, Gateway 2

Well, the Kings are just one win away from the Frontier League championship series. Tonight we beat Gateway 3-2 in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in our best of five series. In the closest game of the series yet, we scored first in the top of the first. Our leadoff hitter, Brandon Anderson, tripled and one out later scored on an RBI single by Joe Ramos, our second baseman. They tied it at 1-1 in the bottom of the first. Then, they went ahead 2-1 in the fifth on a triple. We, in turn, rallied to win it in dramatic fashion. Simon Williams, our left fielder, hit a home run to tie it at 2-2 in the seventh, and then, Brendan Murphy, our DH, hit a home run to put us ahead 3-2 in the top of the ninth. Our pitching tonight was outstanding. Our closer, Brandon Parillo, faced five batters and got them all out.

With one more win, we move into the championship series. Game 4 is coming up on Tuesday night. Pre-game show is on at 7:45 and the first pitch is at 8:05 PM. You can hear it live at www.espn1660.com by clicking on the LISTEN LIVE button at the top of the page.

I'll talk to you all after Game 4.

GO KINGS!!!

Jack

Game 2- Kings 6, Gateway 0

Game 2 of the first round has come and gone, and this time, in Game 2, we were the ones who played the near perfect game, beating the Gateway Grizzlies 6-0 to even up our first round series at 1-1. The story was our starting pitcher, John Brownell. He had a no-hitter going into the eighth inning tonight, and he pitched out of this world. He gave up a double in the eighth, but that was it for Gateway. We scored in the bottom of the second to go up 1-0, and then, in the bottom of the third, blew the game open when our catcher, Mike Russell, smoked a three run homer to make it 4-0. That would be all the offense Brownell would need. We added a few more runs late, and we coasted to the 6-0 win.

On Sunday, we will be on the bus headed for Sauget, Illinois, right across the river from St. Louis, to resume the series. Game 3 takes place on Monday night, with an 8:05 PM Eastern start. I'll be on the air at 7:45 PM with the pre-game show. For anyone who would like to listen, the game will be streamed live at www.espn1660.com . Just click on the LISTEN LIVE button at the top of the page to listen in.

I'll talk to you all from St. Louis on Monday night!!!

Jack

Game 1- Gateway 6, Kings 1

Welcome to my first playoff update. We lost in the first game to Gateway 6-1 at home, and we now trail in this best of five series 1-0. Our starting pitcher, Jeff Long, threw the ball very well. He only made one mistake the entire night- he gave up a 2 run homer to their best player, Mike Breyman in the 3rd inning to put them up 2-0 (Breyman went 4 for 4 on the night). Other than that, he pitched really well. We got a run back in the third, as Jeff Grose, our center fielder, got an infield hit and went up to second on a throwing error by their second baseman. He stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly by our DH, Brendan Murphy. That was the only offense we got all night. They scored again in the eighth and then scored three more in the ninth. All told, we were limited to a grand total of three hits, all singles (2 by Murphy). Their starter, Eric Ridener, was brilliant against us (again), striking out 11 hitters in 7 innings. Over the last 14 innings against him, we have a total of 3 hits and one unearned run.

Tonight is Game 2, and unless we turn things around in a hurry, I'll be packing my bags to come home sooner than expected. Start time for Game 2 tonight is 7:05 PM, and the game can be heard live at www.espn1660.com (Click on the LISTEN LIVE button at the top of the page to listen in for free).

Take care,

Jack

Starting September 5 here on the blog

Hey all,

Beginning on Friday, September 5, I will be writing recaps of our playoff games here on the blog after each game we play. We clinched home field advantage and are the # 1 seed in the Frontier League playoffs. In the first round, we will play the Gateway Grizzlies (Sauget, Ill). The first two games are in Kalamazoo on Friday and Saturday and we'll be headed to St. Louis on Sunday the 7th to play Game 3 on Monday. All the games can be heard live in their entirety at http://www.espn1660.com/. First recap is coming Friday night!!!

Pictures from Notre Dame (South Bend, IN).

Hello all,

I visited Notre Dame today on one of my rare days off from announcing baseball and took some photos on the grounds. I'd like to share them with you, and I hope you like them.

Jack

Pictures from Washington, PA. with the Kings

Here are pictures from Consol Energy Park in Washington, PA. I think this park may be my favorite of all.

Love,

Jack