August2014

Twins stay alive, bite Gators with 13-hit attack

August 15, 2014

Kitchener, ON

 

ORIGINAL STORY by Christine Rivest

 

Twins stay alive, bite Gators with 13-hit attack

 
By Christine Rivet

KITCHENER — Several hundred fans reported to a fastball game on Thursday only to watch a slo-pitch game break out.

The Kitchener Hallman Twins and the Toronto Gators stroked 13 hits apiece but it was the Twins who prevailed 13-10 in an elimination slugfest at the International Softball Congress world tournament, the world club team fastball championships.

The Twins move on to face the New York Swashbucklers in yet another elimination game on Friday at noon.

Should the hosts survive that encounter, they advance to meet a yet-to-be-determined opponent at 4 p.m. Friday on their march through the losers' bracket.

If the No. 3-ranked Twins hope to reach Saturday's world tournament championship game, they'll need four wins in total through the next two days.

Another loss and they are eliminated.

All games are at Peter Hallman Ball Yard.

Meanwhile, the fourth-ranked Gators head to the sidelines and settle for a 10th-place finish in this 48-team open division tournament.

If not cringe-worthy, Thursday's pitching left more than a little to be desired.

The Twins went through three hurlers — Jeremy Manley, Paul Koert and Ryan French — before they reached the finish line.

"If our pitchers would've stayed ahead in the count, we'd have been a lot better off," said Twins field manager Steve Kooser.

"You aren't going to beat world-class hitters if you are behind in the count."

Toronto didn't fare much better. The Gators also used three pitchers, Sean Cleary, Gregg Garrity and Justin Schofield.

Twins cleanup hitter Freddie Terkelsen, of Horsholm, Denmark, led the hit parade with a single and two homers.

The great Dane tied the ISC world tournament's single-game record with seven RBI on Thursday.

"I guess I had one of those days where you can hit everything. We had a lot of base runners on. My teammates are a big part of it," said the lanky 27-year-old, who grew up in a softball-playing family back home.

With a three-run homer, a two-run dinger and a two-run single under his belt Thursday, Terkelsen had a chance to set the RBI record with two runners on in the sixth.

Instead, the Gators intentionally walked Terkelsen, a special needs school assistant.

"We should've walked you four times," Gators sponsor Jack Fireman muttered to Terkelsen after the game with a wink.

Gators centrefielder Ben Enoka, of Auckland, N.Z., hit for the cycle Thursday.

"If you'd have told me before the game we would score 10 runs, I would've taken it any day of the week," said Gators manager Blair Setford.

Earlier Thursday, the Swashbucklers needed 10 innings to dispense of the pesky Circle Tap Dukes of Denmark, Wis. 3-2.

For up-to-date tournament scores, visit www.isc.fastpitch.com.

 

crivet@therecord.com

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