It took three innings for the Shark Club Dodgers to warm up their bats but once they did, there was no stopping them.
The Dodgers rallied from a 4-1 third-inning deficit Tuesday at Lambrick Park with seven runs in the fourth inning en route to an 11-4 victory over the Applebee's Athletics in the opening game of the best-of-three Mavericks Baseball League championship. The game was called after six innings due to darkness. The winner will receive the R.P.
Rithet Cup, which was first awarded in 1922.
"We had a very slow start to this season [2-8 record] before coming back to finish at 12-14,'' said Dodgers' manager and first baseman Kevin Seginowich. "In tonight's game after we fell behind, I was just trying to keep the guys up. I was confident that we would get some bats on the balls and score some runs.
"We have a very good rivalry with the Athletics and it feels good to win that first game.''
The A's were the regularseason champions with a 15-11 record, while the Dodgers were third at 12-14.
The Dodgers are the defending league champions, defeating the Jays in last year's final. Game 2 goes tonight at 6, and if a third game is necessary, it will be played at 6 p.m. on Thursday.
Outfielder Leighton Marshall sparked the Dodgers offensively with a two-run homer and an RBI double.
"We were a little down after falling behind but we just kept chipping away,'' said Marshall.
Marshall's fourth-inning double bounced over the fence and that was just the start of the big inning for the Dodgers. Kevin and brother Ray Seginowich each added two RBIs during the seven-run explosion.
Shawn Brand was the losing pitcher. He was replaced by Kyle Long in the fourth inning and Charlie Strandlund in the fifth. Jared Roberts pitched the six innings, scattering six hits.
