Game 4-05

Mark Link took the mound for the 'Throats and he wouldn't disappoint. He would retire nine batters in a row and 13 out of 14 to start the game. At the bottom of the 5th inning, Jones would get the first hit for the Hops, snapping the no-hitter. Link would persevere and would continue to the ninth inning without giving up a run.

The Cutthroats bats are still slowly waking up from the winter break. Numbers are way down from last year, but that doesn't matter if the pitchers aren't giving up runs. The 'Throats didn't get anything done in the first four innings but they came alive in the 5th. Andy Daub, who lead off five innings in the game, got on by an error by the third baseman. Wes Sconce then bunted for a base hit. Ken Reichelt then laid down a perfect "swing bunt" to load the bases. Jon Bielecki then hit a sacrifice fly to left field to bring in Daub. Joe Cordo then hit a single to bring in Sconce to make it 2-0. While at first, Cordo left early to force a commotion, and it worked; the pitcher jumped off the mound without throwing to a base, which resulted in a balk. Reichelt would score from third and Cordo would take 2nd. Jimmy Herold would walk and then Kellen Sorauf hit a double to bring in Cordo. While the ball was thrown to second, Herold ran home to make it 5-0.

The Cutthroats would tack on two more runs to make it 7-0 going into the bottom of the 9th.

In a desperate attempt, the Hops showed some life in the bottom half of the 9th. Henry Ziebarth would get on with a walk. Steve Mathews would get a hit and Jones would walk. With the bases loaded, Cole Waldron would hit a slow chopper that could not be fielded for an out. A wild pitch would bring in Mathews and then an error would bring in Jones making it 7-3. With runners on first and third, Erik Sevier would fly out to Link to end the game.

The Hops made it close at the end, but the Cutthroats prevailed. The Cutthroats move to (4-1) on the season, the best start in franchise history.