The Chicago Hounds clinched a 2016 CMBA playoff spot in fine fashion today, behind a perfect game. No walks, no hits, no runs, no errors, no hit by pitches allowed. Nada. Nunca. Nein.
Cy Young candidate Tim Riggenbach (#8, P) was 100% perfect on the mound at Winnemac today, likely inspired by his trip down memory lane with Anne and Tony at the Cork & Kerry in Beverly last night after the Hounds lost 8-3 to the Browns at the Kroc Center (yes, that is the extent of the writeup for last night, except we are sorry that Tony’s dad finally saw a loss). Riggenbach was simply masterful with his pitches, and his calling of the pitches frankly, as he gently guided Tony Correa (#13, C) to the offering he preferred on many occasions, often cycling through all 4 possible choices. His perfect game is temporarily memorialized on the CMBA webpage–please see here: home.earthlink.net/~rmarko/index.html.
A new ump helped the cause, as he literally had the largest strike zone we have seen this year (maybe ever?), and Riggenbach took advantage, as he struck out 10 Pirates on the day. The opposing pitcher was quite good too, striking out 11 Hounds and giving up only 3 hits. But he was bested by Mr. Riggenbach, who knew from the first pitch that today was something special. Riggenbach started and ended the game the same way–striking out the first 2 men he faced, and striking out the side in the 7th and final inning.
The Hounds only needed 1 run to win, and that is all they got, crossing the plate for their only time in the 5th inning with 2 outs. Max Kiefer (#21, LF/EH) drew one of the 2 walks on the day, then moved to second after Matthew Steffens (#5, SS) reached on an error. Both runners advanced on a passed ball, and then Keith Richardson (#17, 3B), who really, really wanted to win the game, and really, really wants to win the championship this year, singled, driving in Kiefer for the winning run. RIchardson also had a double on the day, and Garrett Eddy (#22, RF) had the only other Hound hit. #perfectforrichardson
The Hounds are now 17-10 on the year and clinched the playoff spot thanks to the win combined with a loss by the Red Sox today (the Hounds have 34 points and the max the Red Sox can get is 33). The Hounds lost on Friday to the Browns, beat the Pirates today, and were granted a forfeit victory against the Yankees for the game scheduled on 7/17, due to the Yankees forfeiting two games on the year (the Yankees are done for the season, possibly forever, and all remaining games are forfeits to their opponents). This means the Hounds have only 3 games remaining before the playoffs begin on Saturday July 30, still giving them a shot at a 20-win season.
Final 3 games:
Sunday 7/10 – Marlins – SW Park – 10 am Tuesday 7/19 – Browns – Winnemac – 5:50 pm Saturday 7/23 – Pirates – Winnemac – 12:15 pm