The Hounds spin-off out-hit their progenitor 14 hits to 8 on Saturday afternoon to grab the win by a final score of 11-7.

The Hounds were cheered on at Maywood by the families of Tony Correa (Mel, “Big T”, and Linda), Burch (Thomas “Big” “T”, Laura), Riggenbach (Anne and bycyclist Aunt, Gloria), Reinke (Dad + Bumper), some clad in blankets to keep warm in the chilly May air. Rookie Jules Cantor (#34, P) got the start and was relieved by veteran Alec Reinke (#14, P), the second such appearance for the duo. The Trojan hits were small but effective with only 2 of the 11 hits being of the extra base variety.

The Hounds offensive star of the game was Brent Fukushima (#27, SS), who led the team with a double and a triple, combining for 3 RBI. He was closely followed by Arron Kruse (#11, 3B) with a double and RBI of his own. On defense, despite having garnered a reputation in past seasons for being unable to catch fly balls, Matt Burch (#6, 1B) recorded two caught-on-the-fly outs, one a line drive turned double play and the second, a high, high pop fly which was followed by raucous applause by the Hounds dugout.

The Hounds were outpaced offensively and a late comeback was prematurely extinguished in the top half of the seventh to cap the game. For post game drinks and food, the decision was made to try a new Forest Park eatery. Eventually, after an eight minute walk through an alley, three rookies (Jules, Joe, and Brandon Jessee (CF, #3 also technically not a CMBA rookie)) and three veterans (Correa (+1), Burch (+1), and Kiefer (#99, DH)) made it to Old School Tavern & Grill. As Joe Malafronte (#17, RF) put it, “Post game beers just hit better.”

Due to schedule conflicts with high schools catching up on COVID delayed games, the Hounds will have 8 days off with play continuing May 16th, when the Hounds take on the Marlins at Southwest Park.