May 10, 2007 –The Dodgers got some sweet revenge Wednesday night in the Elmo Plaskett Little League East midweek game when they avenged an earlier one-run loss to the Reds by beating them, 11-5.
The Reds drew first blood in the bottom of the first inning, but the Dodgers took the lead in the top of the third and never looked back.
The Reds plated two runs in the bottom of the first inning on a two-run triple by Leonardo Castillo after the Dodgers failed to score in the top of the inning.
The Dodgers then rallied for five runs in the top of the second inning, helped by four walks by Reds starting pitcher Sauline Saldana and some timely hitting. Jakyl John had a base-clearing triple, J’Vaughn Charles had an RBI sac fly, and D’Ondre Simmonds drew a bases-loaded walk in the inning for the Dodgers.
The Reds came up empty in the bottom of the inning and would not score again until the bottom of the fifth, as Dodgers starting pitcher Raheem Richardson kept them in check until he got into trouble in that same inning.
Meanwhile the Dodgers continued their offensive onslaught in the top of the third, plating three more runs to extend their lead to 8-2. They scored three runs on bases-loaded walks drawn by Simmonds, John and Romani Hansen.
Another bases-loaded walk drawn by the Dodgers Reneah Guzman in the top of the fourth and they now led 9-2 after four innings.
The Reds finally showed some life in the bottom of the fifth when they plated two runs on a two-run double by Joel Belboder, which chased the Richardson, who also had a touch of wildness in the inning. Guzman, the only female pitcher in the league, came on in relief and prevented any further damage. In fact, except for an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth on an error by her second baseman, she was completely in charge on the mound.
The Dodgers would add two insurance runs in the top of the sixth on a two-run single off the bat of Conroy Samuel. The Reds could only answer with the above-mentioned unearned run against Guzman, and she went on to strike out Steven Rodriguez to end the game. That strikeout also gave her a total of four punch outs of the seven hitters she faced over two innings of relief.
Richardson went four innings to pick up the win, while Saldana, who had to hit the showers early, got the loss for the Reds.
Top hitters for the Dodgers were, John, 2-for-4 with four RBIs, Hansen, 2-for-3 with one RBI, and Guzman was 1-for-2 with one RBI. For the Reds, Belboder and Castillo were both 1-for-2 with two RBIs apiece.
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