World Championship Game 3

K. Fields
2006-11-08T19:19:57-05:00
Baseball

The World Championship Series was tied 1-1 as it moved to Richmond for Game 3. For the three games in Richmond, the designated hitter was out and pitchers were in the lineup. A big point of discussion was who would start at first base for the Brooklyn Knights. Would it be super-slugger Jeff Castino, the Knights' DH who led the team in home runs, RBIs, and runs scored? Would it be Dan Kelley, the team's leading hitter who was red hot in September (.361 BA) and in the playoffs (.536 BA)? The Knights gave the nod to Castino, the team's starting first baseman from 2000-2004. The pitching matchup was Brooklyn's Fred Millard (27-2, 2.48 ERA) versus Richmond's Mario Fisher (6-9, 5.17 ERA).

The Knights wasted no time getting on the board. After a Detherage base on balls, Jeff Castino went deep to right field for a two-run home run. The very next batter, Hooks Goetz, followed up with a 435 foot blast to make the score 3-0. Ted Pollet drove in Kid Detherage in the third inning to extend the lead to 4-0. The Knights added three more runs in the fourth and it was a 7-0 game. In the bottom of the sixth, the Slam started to show some life. Erik Regalado drove in two runs and cut the lead to 7-2. The Knights scored two more runs in the seventh to make it a seven run lead once again. Brooklyn's bats were not done for the game. Castino drove in another run and Goetz came to the plate with the bases loaded. He responded with a grand slam to left-center. The game was now a 14-2 blowout. The Slam put up two more runs on the scoreboard in the bottom of the eighth but it was too little, too late. Adding insult to injury, Brooklyn scored yet again in the ninth with two more runs to make it 16-4.

Jeff Castino was the right choice to start at first base in Game 3. He stepped into the batter's box six times and delivered six hits. He hit a two-run home run in the first, singled in the third, hit an RBI double in the fourth, singled in the seventh, hit an RBI single in the eighth, and another RBI single in the ninth. Castino's incredible performance earned him player of the game honors.

Final score: Brooklyn 16, Richmond 4