Despite mounting a 6 run comeback over two innings, the Hounds were defeated 8-7 in the last inning on a late Viking home run Sunday morning at the lone Walther Christian Academy game in 2022 for the club.

Atticus Conway (P) started for the Doggos and allowed 2 runs in the first, one of which came on a balk on an illegal first-third pickoff move (this was managerial error, as this was incorrectly communicated as allowed by the skipper at a previous game). Colin “Lefty” French (LF) scored Brandon Jessee (CF) as he reached on error in the second for the only Hounds run in the first half of the game. In the fourth, the game looked to be tilting in the Vikings favor for good, when they tacked on 3 additional runs due to Hounds inflicted wounds. Inefficiency was the word for the day, much to the dismay of the starting pitcher. Atticus racked up 90+ pitches before leaving the game later in the fifth. But, the Hounds did not give up. They scored 3 runs of their own in the 4th by way of the familiar French-Jessee connection for a run and a PZ ROE to score the southpaw. Phil Oweimrin (RF) smacked a line drive to tally his first RBI of the season, capping off the scoring for the inning. The Hounds tied the lead in the following inning on a straight-up manufactured run by Greg Sells, who reached on an HBP, stole second and third and scored on a single by Brandon “Socks” Jessee. The seasoned CMBA veteran went 3 for 3 on the day, leading him to say “I’m never not wearing these [non-regulation] socks.” The lead (with an exclamation point) came when rookie Pedro Rondon (2B) put a ball midway across the left field street, showing no adverse affect from being required to use a wood bat in a CMBA trial program. The Hounds looked to ride the high and cruise to victory with a relatively quiet 6th inning, but instead gave up the lead in the 7th when the Vikings #4-hitter hit a car with a home run of his own, reportedly for his first hit of 2022.

Some Hounds, with guests Laura, Tom, and Uncle and Aunt Burch, and Dean and Kay Hetrick, visited Russell’s barbecue for lunch. The Hounds look to bounce back against the Electrons on Wednesday at Winnemac in the first game of the K’s Cup series.