Jah Energy 14, Loan Sharks 13

Loan Sharks	6	4	3	0	0	0	0	0	13	19	0
Jah Energy	0	1	0	1	9	0	2	1	14	22	1

You are able to say to yourself, 'I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'

- Eleanor Roosevelt

A tough loss greeted the Loan Sharks on Monday night as they entered the 2005 Jamaica Plain League semifinals against Jah Energy. Tough because the game started so well, with the Sharks jumping out to a 13-2 lead after four innings. Tough because that lead all-too-quickly evaporated, with Jah coming back with nine runs in the fifth to turn a blowout into a close game again. Tough because in the last four innings the Sharks left seven runners on base and failed to score.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, however, if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

- Maya Angelou

But there were plenty of bright spots for the Sharks, particularly on defense. The Sharks committed zero errors in the field and turned in some dandy defensive plays. Once again, Don Bianchi snared everything within a five-mile radius of left field. Pitcher Alan Fein teamed with second baseman Randy Divinski to turn a 1-4-3 double play to end the second. Divinski then made an over-the-shoulder catch with two on and two out to kill a Jah rally in the third. Again at second base, Eric Johnson made a tough play to force a runner in the sixth -- that play helped keep Jah from building on their 9-run fifth and preserved the lead for the Sharks, at least momentarily.

In victory be not proud; in defeat be not depressed.

- Chinese proverb

Another key defensive stop came in the bottom of the seventh inning, after Jah had tied the game at 13 with a single and a home run to lead off the inning. With heavy hitters still due, Jah had three outs to bang out just one run to win the game, but they could manage only a single and we went into extra innings.

What is defeat? Nothing but education; nothing but the first step to something better.

- Wendell Phillips

In the top of the eighth, Marshall Hawkins came to bat with two on and two out. He hit the ball through the right side, where it was misplayed in the outfield, sending both Shark runners to the plate. But on appeal, the umpires ruled that one of the Shark baserunners had failed to touch third base, resulting in the third out and the disallowal of both Shark runs. In the bottom of the eighth, a Jah single up the middle with two on and two out sent the runner from second to home and the Sharks home to defeat.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.

- Wilma Rudolph, athlete currently on the 23-cent stamp

The Sharks take comfort in the fact that they are familiar with do-or-die situations in the playoffs. The Sharks came back from a 0-1 deficit to defeat Jah in a best-of-three series in 2001. And just this year the Sharks came out of sixth place to survive two back-to-back sudden death games and advance to the semifinals.

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.

- Winston Churchill

On Thursday, August 11, the series resumes, this time with the Sharks the home team for the first time in the postseason. Game Three will be next Tuesday, August 16, also at Shattuck.

We are not interested in the possibilities of defeat; they do not exist.

- Queen Victoria

LOAN SHARKS	POS	AB	R	H	BB
Bianchi	lf	3	3	2	1
K Whalen	cf/1b	4	3	3	0
M Whalen	dh	5	3	3	0
Murray	1b	3	1	1	0
Henzy	ss	3	1	1	1
Fein	p	4	1	1	0
Lapham	rf	2	0	1	1
Divinski	2b	1	0	1	2
Epstein	sf/3b	4	0	1	0
Shelton	c	2	0	0	0
Marie	3b/c	4	0	2	0
Spack	1b	1	0	0	0
Kriesberg	cf	1	0	1	0
Hawkins	lf	2	0	1	0
Cowan	rf	1	0	1	0
Johnson	2b	1	0	0	0
M Maffei	c/sf	2	0	0	0
TOTALS		43	13	19	5

JAH ENERGY	AB	R	H	BB
Pat	5	0	1	0
Brian	4	2	2	0
Ronnie	4	2	4	0
Seth	4	2	2	0
Jeremy	4	1	1	0
Kenny	4	1	4	0
Carol	4	1	1	0
Jim	3	2	2	1
Beth	4	1	3	0
Liz	4	1	1	0
Zach	4	1	1	0
TOTALS	44	14	22	1

LOAN SHARKS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	ERA-playoffs
Fein (L, 2-1)	8.0	22	14	1	0	7.64
JAH ENERGY
Rueben	1.2	9	10	5	0	42.00
Jim (W, 1-0)	6.1	10	3	0	0	3.32

Umpires - John Dearn, Ed Baszkiewicz. T - 1:32. A - 9.

LOB - Loan Sharks 13, Jah Energy 6. 2B - K Whalen. 3B - M Whalen, Seth, Kenny. HR - M Whalen, Ronnie (2), Brian. GIDP - Epstein, Carol. Runners left in scoring position - Loan Sharks 7, Jah Energy 1. DP - Loan Sharks 1, Jah Energy 1.

HOW THE RUNS SCORED

FIRST INNING
LOAN SHARKS - Bianchi walked. K Whalen doubled, Bianchi to third. M Whalen homered, socring Bianchi and K Whalen. Murray singled. Henzy singled, Murray to second. Fein singled, scoring Murray, Henzy to second. Lapham singled, scoring Henzy, Fein to second. Divinski walked, Fein to third, Lapham to second. Epstein grounded to short, scoring Fein and forcing Lapham at third. Shelton popped to third. Marie flied out to short field. SIX RUNS, SIX HITS, TWO LEFT.

SECOND INNING
LOAN SHARKS- Bianchi singled. K Whalen singled, Bianchi to third. M Whalen singled, scoring Bianchi, K Whalen to third. Murray sacrificed to right, scoring K Whalen. Henzy walked, M Whalen to second. Fein sacrificed to center, M Whalen to third. Lapham walked, Henzy to second. Divinski walked, scoring M Whalen, Henzy to third, Lapham to second. Epstein singled, scoring Henzy, Lapham to third, Divinski to second. Shelton grounded to short. FOUR RUNS, FOUR HITS, THREE LEFT.
JAH ENERGY - Seth tripled. Jeremy grounded to second, scoring Seth. Kenny singled. Carol grounded into double play, pitcher to second to first. ONE RUN, TWO HITS, NONE LEFT.

THIRD INNING
LOAN SHARKS- Marie singled. Bianchi grounded to third, forcing Marie at second. K Whalen singled, Bianchi to third. M Whalen tripled, scoring Bianchi and K Whalen. Murray sacrificed to center, scoring M Whalen. Henzy flied out to center. THREE RUNS, THREE HITS, NONE LEFT.

FOURTH INNING
JAH ENERGY - Pat popped to short. Brian flied out to left. Ronnie homered. Seth singled. Jeremy popped to second. ONE RUN, TWO HITS, ONE LEFT.

FIFTH INNING
JAH ENERGY - Kenny singled. Carol singled, Kenny to second. Jim singled, Kenny to third, Carol to second. Beth singled, scoring Kenny, Carol to third, Jim to second. Liz singled, scoring Carol, Jim to third, Beth to second. Zach singled, scoring Jim, Beth to third, Liz to second. Pat sacrificed to center, scoring Beth. Brian homered, scoring Liz and Jack. Ronnie singled. Seth grounded to pitcher, forcing Ronnie at second. Jeremy singled, Seth to second. Kenny tripled, scoring Jeremy and Seth. Carol grounded to pitcher. NINE RUNS, TEN HITS, ONE LEFT.

SEVENTH INNING
JAH ENERGY - Brian singled. Ronnie homered, scoring Brian. Seth flied out to center. Jeremy flied out to left. Kenny singled. Carol grounded to short, forcing Kenny at second. TWO RUNS, THREE HITS, ONE LEFT.

EIGHTH INNING
JAH ENERGY - Jim singled. Beth singled, Jim to second. Liz popped to short. Zach popped to the pitcher. Pat singled, scoring Jim as the winning run. ONE RUN, THREE HITS.