The Bandits parents may have been freezing in the stands, but the Batavia Bandits 9u players got fired up in the last inning of Thursday's game to fight back and earn a tie.
The game time tempature was listed as 46 degrees. The 20 mph winds and overcast skies made it feel like a Chicagoland January cold spell. The Bandits lost a player at the start of the game due to illness and called strikes from the umpire where hard to come by for our pitching staff. At the end of the 1st inning the Bandits were down 7-0. Not the start the players, parents, and coaching staff where hoping to see.
The Bandits scored 7 runs of their own in the top of the 2nd inning to get back into the mix of things. Oswego scored to in the bottom half of the 2nd to retake the lead 7-9. The Bandits scored one run in the top of the 3rd. Bryson Mitchell lead the inning off with a hit and was later driven in by Charlie Grimm's RBI single bringing the Bandits within a run (8-9).
The Bandits gave up two more runs in the bottom half of the 3rd, and two in the bottom of the 4th while scoring one themselves during the top of the 4th. The score at the start of the 5th was 9-11.
Ryan Ingold and Bryson Mitchell lead off in the 5th inning with walks and Charlie Grimm and Adam Bendoraitis got on base and with a hit and an error. Eventually all four Bandits scored tying the game 13 all.
With only a few minutes of sunlight remaining, Ethan Taylor retired Oswego's batters in order to close out the 5th inning. The game was called due to darkness and will officially be scored a tie. Each team will be awarded two points in the KCBL standings.
