We Got Wood - 40.23 - Unacceptable!

[7teen]

The first series in the new Portland-Vancouver rivalry is in the books and round 1 of the rivalry goes to the Mounties. Vancouver ventured into The Trail at Multnomah for the first series between these new heated rivals, a rivalry kindled by Lumberjacks General Manager Chris Wilson, and took 2 of the 3 games of the series. The Mounties took a 5-0 lead in game 1 and never looked back, taking the game 5-2. Game 2 saw the Lumberjacks offense turn inept as they were unable to push a run across home plate in a 4-0 shutout defeat. But game 3, by far the most exciting and best game of the series, saw the Mounties wilt under the Lumberjacks pressure.

Up 3-1 after 6.5 innings, the Mounties "choked" away a chance at a sweep. The Lumberjacks scored runs in the 7th and 8th innings to tie the game up at 3-3. The game went to extras and things looked bleak for Portland fans when Vancouver scored in the 10th to take another 1 run lead. But with 2 outs in the 10th, Lumberjacks captain Jon Mick tied the game up yet again with his solo blast in the 10th. Mick would turn into the hero yet again when he led the 13th inning off with a single. He advanced to second following a walk to Tucker York III. After Jaime Ramirez was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Mick would score the winning run after Jorge Reyes dribbled an infield single down the 1B line to secure the victory.

Mick, the game's hero, spoke to reporters after the game. He spoke about how he knew they'd win the game, stating he knew the Mounties would "choke".

"It's what they do" said Mick. "We knew they weren't going to sweep us. We just knew it."

While the clubhouse was upbeat following the win, Lumberjacks GM Chris Wilson was less enthusiastic.

"I've been in a sour mood the last few days" stated Wilson. "Heads would have rolled had we lost today. Losing a single game to that bunch is unacceptable. Had we lost today things would have gone real bad real fast around here."

When asked about the comments Mounties GM Taylor Bettencourt made in a recent broadcast, Wilson responded "I haven't gotten around to listening to that nonsense yet. I may listen at some point. I'll have to bring in an interpreter to decipher between all the 'ehs' and syrup globbed dialect. I'm not sure anyone up there can even form a rational sentence worthy of my time. I"m sure he talked while sipping on some sort of maple bourbon."

Portland and Vancouver meet again in early July just prior to the All-Star break at The Trail.

Fans Got the Message
The fans in Portland definitely got the message that this was a rivalry worth watching. Over 39,000 fans showed up for the opener and over 37,000 showed up for game 2. The Monday night finale saw just under 30,000 fans in attendance on a work and school night. So for the 2nd consecutive home series against divisional foes, the Lumberjacks have had close to 100,000 fans for each series.

So while some nights see under 10,000 fans in attendance, fans have shown that the close division rivals will pack the stadium. The Seattle series and now Vancouver series have drawn 200,000 fans to The Trail.

[HoosierVic]

“Syrup-globbed dialect.”

Outstanding.

[bschr682]

yes!

[shoeless.db]

Fantastic stuff.