* WALK-OFF WIN GIVES DODGERS NEW LIFE
6/14/2009
After dropping the first game of the Dodgers-Longhorns series 3-1, the sense of urgency grew with every passing minute.  

The Dodgers needed to win game two to snap a three game losing streak and start to secure a foothold in the top 5 standing slots to give themselves a good chance at a playoff berth.  

Midville sent starter Phil Spotteck to the hill in hopes of rebounding from game 1.   The Longhorns picked up right where they left off in game one, scoring a run the the first and another 2 runs in the second, capitalizing on two Midville errors.   The Dodgers answered back in the bottom of the 4th.  John Sarkis led off with a single into centerfield bringing up slugger Biaggio Governali.  With one swing of the bat, Governali put Midville on the board with a two run blast into centerfield, cutting the Longhorn lead to one.   Spotteck settled in for Midville keeping the Longhorns off the scoreboard for the next three innings. 
When the bottom of the 5th rolled around, it was time for the Dodger bats to go to work.  Arby Gega led off the inning with a walk to bring up shortstop Jeff Andersen.  Andersen lined an opposite field double down the right field line off the foul pole, scoring Gega to knot the game at 3.   John Diregorio then promptly banged a single up the middle plating Andersen, whose head first slide allowed him to just beat the tag and give the Dodgers a 4-3 lead.   That hit knocked the Longhorns lefty reliever out of the game, and the Dodgers were left to face the Longhorns closer with two outs and one on.  John Billera came up next and drove a liner into left field to give the Dodgers first and second with two outs.  Midville's hot hitting John Sarkis was up next, and delivered a two-out rocket in the left center gap for a triple scoring Billera and Digregorio to give the Dodgers a 6-3 lead going into the top of the 6th. 

The Longhorns showed why they are one of the best teams in the AA league, as their reilience showed in the top of the 6th.  The Longhorns answered back with 4 runs in the top of the inning to regain the lead at 7-6, and knocked starter Phil Spotteck out of the game after throwing 121 pitches.   The Longhorns kept the Dodgers scoreless in the home half of the 6th and tacked on another run off of Roger Pfeffer in the 7th.  With the Dodgers down 8-6 going into the bottom of the 7th, the pressure was on and the Dodgers had their work cut out for them. 

With the Dodgers 8, 9 and 10 hitter due up in the last half of the 7th, they had to make something happen.   Arby Gega led off the last of the 7th, and after battling to a 3-2 count, got hit in the back and was on first base with no out.  Bobby Thornton was up next for Midville and just got under a ball flying out to left center.   Shortstop Jeff Andersen came to the plate and got plunked and the Longhorn closer was starting to get unraveled.   The Longhorns closer regrouped, striking out John Digregorio and the Dodgers were down to their final out, still down 8-6.  John Billera came up next.  After battling some tough pitches, Billera hit a ball deep in the hole between first and second.  The secondbaseman got to the ball, but a low throw which got by the first baseman would allow Billera to go to second, Gega to score, and Andersen down to third base.  The Dodgers were now down by one run, 8-7, with one out to play with.   Once again, the hot hitting John Sarkis stepped up for Midville.

After finding himself down in the count early, 1-2, Sarkis smashed a ball into the hole between first and second.  The second baseman had range far to his left to get to the ball, but the ball boucned off his glove and slightly behind him.  Andersen scored to tie the game, and Billera was trucking from second to third and didn't show any signs of stopping, the game was already tied and it was going to take a perfect throw to keep the game that way.   The second baseman made a quick recovery on the booted ball and quickly threw home.  The throw was slightly up the first base line, and Billera saw the left side of the plate wide open.   As Billera slid to the back of the plate the catcher came down to make the swipe tag, but Billera's foot caught the edge of the plate before the tag could be applied and the Dodgers walked off winning the game 9-8.

The victory keeps the Dodgers afloat in their division with a 6-8 record.   More importantly for the Dodgers however, was the fashion in which the game was one.   "This type of win can give you a tremendous emotional lift," said Billera.   "We need to let this carry us for a while. I think we proved to ourselves that we can never give up, and battle until the last play of the game.  If you hit the ball hard and put it in play, anything can happen."