This was a back and
fo
rth game, a “Thriller” if you will. If you came to the park looking to see some exciting plays then “You Are Not Alone.” The Jackhammers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning with some timely hitting. The
Railcats got on the board themselves and took over the lead in the fifth when a “Bad” play by the Jackhammer right fielder turned a RBI triple into a two run hit. Mike
Massaro watched a throw go wild of third and decided to “Beat It” home. He made it safely to put Gary up.
Massaro proved that he is truly “Dangerous” today. He drove in two, and scored one. The right fielder will have trouble looking at the “Man in the Mirror” tomorrow morning. As the ball sailed out of his hand he was probably thinking “I Want You Back.” Kevin Rios got things going for
Joliet in the 8
th with a triple “Off the Wall.” He scored when the next batter singled. The second
Joliet run in the 8
th scored when the pitcher throw wide of first on a routine play. The kind of throw has “Got To Be There.” The crowd in Gary was “Speechless.” The Gary first baseman thought the runner to first was out of the baseline. He walked down towards the home plate ump looking like he “Wanna Be
Startin‘
Somethin.” It is just “Human Nature” to want to argue a call like that that could potentially change the game. Every play is not always “Black or White” as far as the ump is concerned. The ump said “Leave Me Alone”, and the inning ended with a strikeout by the next batter. The
Railcats came up in the

8
th needed one to tie. They got the
leadoff man on when he was hit. He scored on a double by the next batter. As Steve
Haake was standing on second you could see him eying Jay
Pecci who had just scored, and thinking “I Wanna Be Where You Are.” You could feel the tension in the crowd. They seemed to be saying “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.” Everything seemed to “Come Together” on the next play. Jordan
Czarniecki singled in what would be the winning run, and the crowd let out a collective “Scream.” Manager Wally
Backman looked at his team and cursed them for “The Way You Make Me Feel.” After a brief rally by the Jackhammers in the ninth Eddie De La Cruz said “You Can’t Win,” and got the save despite most likely having “Butterflies” after coming in a game with inherited runners. Will I end this anytime soon? When I get on a roll “I Can’t Help It.” I think of another song, and I just “Smile.” My next game at this stadium will probably be July 13
th when
Fergie Jenkins is scheduled to make an appearance. “Will You Be There?” The game starts at 7:00
cst so be sure and “Remember the Time.” As always “Keep the Faith.”
Okay, that was not so bad. Was it? On a serious note I saw one of the most scary sites that I have seen on a ball field during the game. In the bottom of the 8
th inning Jay
Pecci fouled a ball straight back that hit the home plate

umpire in the chest. The umpire crumpled like a ton of bricks to the ground. I was close to the play, but the sound was still very awkward. Emergency crews rushed out to check him out, and he started moving around a bit. He eventually got up, and walk off the field with the help of the emergency crew. He was worked on in the Jackhammer dugout for a long time. He ended up talking with some of the players, and seemed to be fine. I was sitting right next to the dugout, and from what pitching coach Floyd
Youmans had to say the ball must have just nailed him in the heart. The way he fell tells me that he was not concious when he went down. That was scary. Both
Youmans and Wally
Backman were watching
intensely from the get go. They have seen a lot of things, and Floyd even said that he had never seen anything like that. After a delay to get the gear on for one of the other umpires the game was restarted. Below are some other pictures from today.