It could be a Hollywood script.
Baseball team returns to fire ravaged city in first ever real home game in franchise history. Mounts a late come from behind win with the game tying run scored by a local, the winning pitcher is a local and the man who caught the ninth and decisive inning a local as well.
Matt McPherson scored that tying run, Ryan Dunn was the winning pitcher and Josh Iannetti is the man who called the shots from behind the plate in the ninth inning, all three from Fort McMurray as the Giants knocked off the Regina Red Sox 6-4 Wednesday night.
It was the first ever game in franchise history at Shell Place, over a full month after the Giants were supposed to host the Lethbridge Bulls to open the Western Major Baseball League season on May. 27.
“I really didn’t think there’d be a lot of emotion for the guys not from Fort McMurray but our team came together today, at the end we had a chance to win it with Ryan Dunn on the mound and Josh [Iannetti] on the plate,” said Interim Manager Kellen Camus on the Country 93.3 post-game show. “We had a big enough lead which was huge from our guys getting some more runs in that eighth inning where we could just leave Dunn out there and let him go and just enjoy that moment. Now they can forever in their lifetime remember that the first game for the Fort McMurray Giants at Shell [Place] those two were on the mound and behind the plate.”
The Giants got on the board first with single runs scored in the third and fifth innings. Adam Kimmel was excellent through most of his 5.1 innings of work, only faltering in the sixth inning allowing three runs. He struck out six batters while allowing six hits.
When Conyal Cody took the mound in relief of Kimmel in the sixth the Giants saw their 2-0 lead evaporate to a 3-2 deficit. Cody struggled to find the plate, walking three batters in a little over an inning of work.
Offensively, the Giants made quick work of Seth Sorensen who got the yank after three innings pitched allowing two runs. Ben Schweinfurth would pitch the next three innings allowing a run on five hits. He was followed by Allan Sanchez, the hard throwing righty from Puerto Rico.
Fort McMurray had a field day with Sanchez in the eighth inning when the game was tied 3-3 thanks to some good pinch hitting by McPherson. The Giants scored three runs in the eighth, first from Dustin Braun then Chase Hager and finally Tyler Flores.
Both teams left nine runners on base.
The game ended on an odd-play, with bases loaded Dunn was caught in a jam with just a single out in the top of the ninth. He managed to get DH Jake Howard on a sacrifice fly that allowed Justin Erlandson to score the Red Sox’s fourth run, but Ryan Lambrecht got caught in a run-down trying to advance and was eventually tagged for the third out.
With the win the Giants moved to 8-15 on the season, the Red Sox who have been dominant in the eastern division fell to 12-9.
The two teams meet again at 7:35 p.m., Thursday night at Shell Place.
