In the first Winnemac game of the season on Tuesday afternoon, the Hounds erased an early deficit and held on long enough for a 6-5 win against the White Sox.

Colin French (P) made his season debut, and allowed one run an inning for a total of 4 runs, although only half of them earned. The young lefty notched 7 strikeouts on the 19 batters faced.

Scoreless in the first two innings, the Hounds had a big fifth, starting with Greg Sells (SS/EH) who reached on an error identical to the one that allowed him to reach in the first inning, followed by a BB by BJ Brandon Jessee (EH/C). Returning stud Garrett Eddy (CF) would knock one in and Burch (DH) would knock in another, his hit nearly identical to his lineout in the first inning except this time a few feet higher ensuring a hit. Japheth Bandi (1B) contributed 2 RBIs and Cole Thompson (LF) gave a groundout to notch the last run of the inning, making the score 5-2.

Going into the 5th, the White Sox had clawed the score 5-4. Thompson, batting with bases loaded, produced a single scoring an insurance run. Heading to what would be the final half of the inning due to the darkness, rookie Kameron Miller needed to face the top of the order to seal the game. He allowed a walk and a single before recoding a strike out. With batters on second and third, a ground ball to the first baseman looked to be the second out; however, a bobbled ball led to a safe-at-first call. This was immediately followed up with an out-at-home call as a scoring attempt was snuffed out with a heads up throw and tag completed by replacement catcher Jessee. The next batter whacked a long drive to the outfield, causing the manager’s heartbeat to momentarily stop before a gliding Garret Eddy appeared and squeezed the out to end the game and restart his manager’s heart.

The Sox clamored for the game to continue, but it was just simply too dark and the Hounds were awarded the win. Familiar friends in the crowd included Susie, Emma, Laura, and the wee baby Ian. The Hounds will take on the Vikings Sunday morning back at Winnemac. Let’s all hope for warmer weather.