Ligers Maul Orchard Park Mallers 14-6 in Home Opener

Well the message must have gotten through.  Last week Enquiro Ligers manager Tracy Nimetz stated that the Ligeres stranded too many runners on base.  In the teams home opener, the Ligers generates a season high 14 runs in a 14-6 rop over the Orchard Park Mallers.  "One thing we wanted to see was more agressive base running…" said Tracy.  "It appears that the message was well received."  With pitcher Chris Pinkerton making his first start of the season, the Ligers got off to a 10-0 lead on the strength of two home runs from Ligers left fielder Jody Nimetz..  In fact everyone was hitting well for the Ligers who advanced through the batting order quickly in the first few innings of the game.

 Ligers RF, Doug Moore gets ready to crank one to the outfield.

After dropping the first two games of the season, the Ligers played solid defensively and were strong with the bats.  Julie Stork had a tremendous game at second base making many outs and almost turning multiple double plays in addition to some timely hits.  As a result she was named the "Mrs. Big" player of the game for the Ligers.  In fact there were great efforts from the entire team.  In addition to his two homeruns, Ligers veteran Jody Nimetz wowed the sold out crowd with a behind the back catch robbing one of the Mallers from extra bases.  Nimetz said that he was inspired by the efforts of right fielder Dougie Moore who in the previous inning made a diving attempt to snag a catch hit deep into right field.  "I knew that I had to step it up when I saw Doug diving to make the catch… I had been practicing the behind the back catch for a while but hadn’t made one in an actual game since high school…"  The catch prompted third baseman Amanda Lock to say "..oh no he didn’t just make that catch..".  Probably the most surprised person was Nimetz himself who admitted that he had overran the ball and the behind the back attempt was a desperation move.  "I thought that it was going over my head, so at the last second I just decided to go for the catch…".  The catch landed Nimetz the "Big Hunk" award a rarity presented only after exceptional games.  As the team lined up to shake hands after the game, Ligers center fielder Steve Herrington whispered to Jody that he "had his back" thinking that the Mallers would be upset with the grandstanding of Nimetz.  Fortunately cooler heads prevailed and a few of the Maller players actually complimented the catch.

Chris Pinkerton also homered for the Ligers as he went 3 for 4 in his season debut.  Chris threw a couple of strikeouts and made a number of key throws to first and second base with a stellar defensive performane prompting consideation for the "Mr. Big" award.  Ian Everdell faced a lot of action at shortstop making a number of great plays.   He did manage to take one hard hit ball off of the right knee but stayed in the game with some clutch hits including a deep drive to center field.  Overall there were very few breakdowns as the Ligers dominated the Orchard Park Mallers. 

The Ligers were without Bill Barnes (Rockets commitment), Chris Davies (illness), and Andrew Spoeth.  Look for a spirited effort next week as the Ligers continue their homestand.

Liger photo courtesy of liger.org