Black starter Anthony Ramakis, the winner in game 1, has held Cardinal to one hit through six innings - an Eric Pelletier double.  However, the junior right-hander has yielded five walks and three hit batsmen to go along with five Black errors, which led to six runs (4 unearned). Cardinal starter (and pitcher of record) Brad Franklin came back on two days rest and was as sharp as you might expect. He allowed five runs on just one hit, but walked seven and hit two in 3+ innings. Chris Francis was ineffective in relief, but Zach Morgan came on with one out in the fifth and struck out two Black hitters to end the inning.

Offensively, Nick Black has two hits and three RBI for Team Black while teammate Luke Kempton has two hits of his own. The teams' eight combined errors is not a record, but this one's not over yet. The two teams are set to resume action in game 4 at 3:45 on Wednesday. Games 5 and 6 are slated for Thursday and Friday, respectively.

Blame for the lackluster play has been placed on the return of Assistant Commissioner Adam Taylor, who has made two brief umpiring appearances while the 'real' umpires went to the bullpen.  Just back from a Florida recruiting trip, Taylor's presence evidently has a negative effect on the rotation of the Earth on its axis.

"I felt like I was falling off the mound toward third base all day," Franklin said.  Outfielders A.J. McCauley and Chris Solas both struggled when chasing down fly balls toward the leftfield line. "I don't know what happened," Solas said. "It was like one of those Bermuda Triangle things."

McCauley, who has occasional black outs that he inherited from his ex-boxer-turned-manager Dad, made a reference to the Twilight Zone. "Picture, if you will, a baseball, a small white spheroid hurtling toward you at light speed, Then 'BOOM' it's gone," McCauley said in the worst Rod Serling voice known to mankind. This is understandable, because he has no idea who Rod Serling is.

When reached for comment, Taylor was apologetic. "I'm sorry the guys struggle when I'm here. I know Coach Baker has done a great job with them and they may contend for a Division III World Series berth, but when I'm at the park, things just happen."

Black Coach Josh Wolfe seemed undisturbed. "We can overcome the Coach Taylor factor. Coach Baker may be the finest coach on the face of the Earth, and he has taught us how to overcome adversity of all kinds." Cardinal coach Eric Pelletier agreed. "As long as Coach Baker is here everything will be OK. He's guided us through problem times before and I know he has an answer the the Coach Taylor snafu. Coach Baker's the best, no doubt about it."