On a wet Winnemac morning, the Hounds erased an early White Sox lead in game 1 of the playoff series, turning a 6 run deficit into a 7 run surplus for the 17-10 victory.

Defensively, the first two innings were unusual for the Hounds. Starting pitcher Colin French struggled with control, the left hander gifting 5 walks and 8 runs as he grappled with the home field’s mound. Providing little support, his fielders committed 3 errors resulting in more than half of those runs being unearned.

The Doggos paced the Sox in inning 1, matching their 3 runs with 2 runs, thanks to a Sells (SS) RBI triple and a Rondon nearly-safe RBI double. However, they could not keep up with a 5-run inning 2, culminating in a 8-2 disadvantage. 

Atticus “The Rainman” Conway entered in the 3rd inning for long relief. In a continuous drizzle, he managed to ebb the flow of White Sox runs, maintaining a spotless 2 half-innings. His offense decided to show up in the bottom of the fourth, starting with 3 singles (Rondon (2B)-Burch (1B)-Correa (C)) opening the scoring. Then, a couple of patient ABs garnered an additional run on a BB and HBP. Brandon “Cap” Jessee (CF) then opened the door a little more, cracking a liner for two RBIs. Kruse batted in another on a production ground out, and Sells singled in one more. All said and done, the Hounds were looking at a 8-8 new game.

After another spotless half inning, the offense tacked on two more for the lead, starting with a pair of singles by Thompson (DH/RF) and Jessee. Sells would bring them around on a line drive single. In the top of the sixth, a free pass and untimely error lead to a halving of the lead, and a follow-up single led to a nullifying of the lead. But, the Hounds knocked the wheels off in the bottom of the sixth, mounting a 7-spot. Following a pair of singles and FC/ROE, Thompson drove two in with a double. Jessee then capped his 4-for-5 day with another 2-RBI single, bringing his total to 4. Not to be outdone, Greg Sells knocked in two more on a double, bringing his total to 6. By the time the inning was finished, the score stood 17-10. Atticus closed the book and sealed the 1-0 playoff series advantage.

The Hounds were cheered on by an assortment of wet fans. They will attempt to take the momentum into the next game, which takes place tomorrow morning at ComEd field.