Round 1 Playoffs - Hillsborough Regulators (100-62) vs. Toronto Towers (89-73) The Hillsborough Regulators triumphantly return to the playoffs after an 8 year absence, and as the Koufax division pennant winner. Jason Giambi had an amazing season, hitting 46 homers, scoring 162 runs and drove in 136. Not to mention a new walks record, with 169. Cliff Floyd bashed 35 homers and drove in 115, while outfielder Al Martin hit .335 with 108 RBI's. Matt Lawton had a .392 on base average with 121 runs scored. Reliever Danny Graves pitched well this year, and the Regs hitters rewarded him in bushels with his 17-1 win record. That wins mark was good enough to place him third in the league, tied with Regulators staff ace Rick Helling, who went 17-6. Closer Trevor Hoffman saved 29 games with a 3.21 ERA. The Toronto Towers have been survivors, now entering their third series of the season. They beat the Seattle Moshers in 5 games, and the Somerville Sluggers in 6. The Towers hitters have been phenominal, hitting .311 with a .554 slugging percentage in their 11 games. Edgardo Alfonzo has 13 RBI, while Miguel Tejada is slugging .750 with 12 RBI's. Ryan Klesko is hitting .364 with 13 runs scored and 9 RBI. The pitching has been through some rock 'em, sock 'em battles, but Masato Yoshii is 2-0 in 2 starts with a 2.87 ERA, and Jose Mercedes is 2-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 4 starts. The Regulators had their way with the Towers in the regular season, winning their series 7 games to 2. Furthermore, the Regulators have home field advantage. But that hasn't stopped the Toronto Towers yet, winning both of their series without home field advantage. ********************************************************************* GAME ONE -- Towers (Mercedes) at Regulators (Helling) The Regulators were the first team to score in the game with 3 in the bottom of the 1st, capped by a Mitch Melusky 2-run homer. The Towers tied it all up in the 2nd on a 3-run blast by Rich Becker. The Towers got the go-ahead run in the 3rd on a Carlos Lee solo homer. 4-3 Towers. The Regulators took back the lead in the bottom of the 4th when Matt Lawton hit an RBI triple, and scored himself on a Mitch Melusky single. 5-4 Hillsborough. The Regulators would score another run in the 6th on a Jason Giambi double. Trevor Hoffman came on board in the 9th to notch the save as the Regulators take game one by a score of 6-4. REGULATORS LEAD 1-0. 10/27/2000, TOR00-HIL00, Cinergy Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2000 Towers 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 9 0 6 1 2000 Regulators 3 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 x 6 10 1 9 3 Towers AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Becker rf 5 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 0 0 0 0 Alfonzo 2b 4 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .294 2 2 0 0 Klesko lf 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .362 1 0 0 0 Lee 1b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .256 5 1 0 0 Rodriguez c 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .408 5 0 0 0 Tejada ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .354 1 0 0 0 Ventura 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .295 2 2 0 0 Lofton cf 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .268 7 0 0 0 Hocking ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 0 0 0 0 Mercedes p 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .154 1 2 0 0 Creek p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Johnson,C ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 33 4 9 4 3 0 2 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 24 7 0 0 Regulators AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Lawton cf 4 3 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 2 0 0 0 Meluskey c 4 1 3 3 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .750 7 0 0 0 Fordyce ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Giambi,Ja 1b 5 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .400 7 1 0 0 Floyd rf 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Pratt c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Martin lf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Wall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 McMillon rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Larkin,B ss 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 4 5 0 0 Knoblauch 2b 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 2 2 1 0 Sheldon ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Perry 3b 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Wunsch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Piatt lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Curtis ph 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 1 0 0 0 Helling p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Hansen 3b 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Merloni 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 33 6 10 6 2 1 1 5 5 0 0 1 1 0 0 27 10 1 0 Towers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Mercedes L 2-2 5.2 9 6 6 4 4 109 60 30 1 0 1 0 1 5.34 Creek 2.1 1 0 0 1 1 35 21 9 0 1 0 0 0 11.05 8.0 10 6 6 5 5 144 81 39 1 1 1 0 1 Regulators INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Helling W 1-0 5.2 8 4 4 2 5 118 79 27 2 0 0 0 1 6.35 Wunsch H 1 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 5 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Wall H 1 2.0 0 0 0 2 1 25 13 6 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Hoffman S 1 1.0 1 0 0 0 1 12 9 3 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 9.0 9 4 4 4 8 160 104 37 2 0 0 0 3 TOR: Hocking batted for Lofton in the 9th Johnson,C batted for Creek in the 9th HIL: Hansen inserted at 3b in the 6th Piatt inserted at lf in the 7th Sheldon batted for Knoblauch in the 7th Curtis batted for Piatt in the 7th Merloni inserted at 3b in the 8th Curtis moved to lf in the 8th Sheldon moved to 2b in the 8th Fordyce batted for Meluskey in the 8th Pratt inserted at c in the 9th McMillon inserted at rf in the 9th GWRBI: Meluskey Temperature: 49, Sky: clear, Wind: none. ********************************************************************* GAME TWO -- Towers (Fassero) at Regulators (Stephenson) Already down 1 game in the series, Toronto got into trouble early in game two. In teh bottom fo the 1st, the bases were loaded with 0 outs. Jason Giambi walked, driving in the 1st run of the game. Albert Belle hits a sacrifice fly for run #2, and Piatt tries to go to third, but was thrown out. That was too bad for Hillsborough, as the next batter, Brook Fordyce, hit one out of the park, for only a 2-run homer. 4-0 Regs after 1. In the 3rd inning, runners at 1st & 3rd, Albert Belle got another RBI with a single. 1st & 3rd with 1 out, Chad Curtis hit an RBI single, and a runner advanced to third, giving us .. runners at 1st & 3rd, when Matt Lawton hit an RBI single. 7-0 Regulators after 3. Down 0-7, the Towers decided to make their move in the 4th. Edgardo Alfonzo hit a solo homer for the first Toronto Ryan Klesko doubled, and was doubled in by Ivan Rodriguez. 7-2. Miguel Tejada hit an RBI single for a 7-3 game in the 4th. In the 6th inning, Tejada came through again with a 2-run homer. Ventura followed with a back-to-back solo homer. 7-6 Regulators after 6. Garrett Stephenson was done for the day. In the top of the 7th inning, Alfonzo hit a 2-RBI double, giving Toronto the lead. What once was a 7 run deficit now is a 1-run lead. 8-7 Toronto. In the bottom of the 9th, Hillsborough needed to score at least one run to stay in the game. Jose Santiago was on the mound for Toronto. The first batter up, Scott Sheldon, hit a 0 out double. Frank Catalanotto became the pinch runner. Piatt grounded out, letting Catalanotto move to 3rd with 1 out. Jason Giambi hit a weak grounder to Alfonzo, who threw the ball home to catch Catalanotto. No runner scores, 2 outs, and Herbert Perry replaces Giambi at first. Next batter was Albert Belle, who singled, and moved Perry to 3rd. Runners at 1st & 3rd with 2 outs. Next up was Brook Fordyce, who previously hit a 2-run homer in the game. But there would be no more magic in Brook's bat today. Fordyce grounds out, ending the game. Toronto amazingly comes back from a 7 run deficit to win game two 8-7, tying up the series. SERIES TIED 1-1. 10/28/2000, TOR00-HIL00, Cinergy Field 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2000 Towers 0 0 0 3 0 3 2 0 0 8 9 0 6 1 2000 Regulators 4 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 13 1 8 1 Towers AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Becker rf 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275 4 0 0 0 Guillen,J rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Alfonzo 2b 4 1 3 3 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .327 2 2 0 0 Klesko lf 5 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .346 1 1 0 0 Lee 1b 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239 6 1 0 0 Rodriguez c 4 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .396 7 0 0 0 Patterson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Santiago p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 1 0 0 Tejada ss 4 1 2 3 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .365 0 2 0 0 Ventura 3b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .298 1 0 0 0 Lofton cf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .244 2 0 0 0 Fassero p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .182 0 1 0 0 Hatteberg ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 Creek p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hocking ph 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 0 0 0 0 Johnson,C c 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 3 1 0 0 36 8 9 8 4 0 3 5 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 9 0 0 Regulators AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Boone ss 5 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 1 0 0 Sheldon 2b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 2 5 1 0 Catalan'to pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Piatt 3b 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .333 1 3 0 0 Giambi,Ja 1b 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 10 1 0 0 Perry pr 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Belle rf 4 1 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .500 1 0 0 0 Fordyce c 5 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .167 8 0 0 0 Curtis lf 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 3 0 0 0 Wunsch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Wall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Graves p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Hansen ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Fyhrie p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Lawton cf 4 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .625 0 0 0 0 Stephenson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Floyd lf 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 0 0 0 35 7 13 7 1 0 1 3 9 0 0 0 0 3 1 27 10 1 0 Towers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Fassero 4.0 8 7 7 3 3 79 52 22 1 0 0 0 0 8.18 Creek W 1-0 2.0 1 0 0 0 4 39 23 7 0 0 0 0 0 8.68 Patterson H 2 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 1.50 Santiago S 2 2.0 4 0 0 0 1 30 21 10 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 13 7 7 3 9 157 104 42 1 0 0 0 0 Regulators INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Stephenson 5.2 6 6 6 3 4 99 59 25 3 0 0 0 0 9.53 Wunsch H 2 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Wall BS 1, L 0-1 0.0 2 2 2 1 0 13 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 9.00 Graves 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 25 17 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Fyhrie 1.0 1 0 0 1 1 22 11 6 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 9 8 8 5 8 162 94 41 3 0 0 0 0 TOR: Hatteberg batted for Fassero in the 5th Hocking batted for Creek in the 7th Johnson,C inserted at c in the 7th Guillen,J inserted at rf in the 9th HIL: Floyd inserted at lf in the 6th Hansen batted for Graves in the 8th Catalan'to ran for Sheldon in the 9th Perry ran for Giambi,Ja in the 9th GWRBI: Alfonzo Temperature: 50, Sky: clear, Wind: right to left at 5 MPH. ********************************************************************* GAME THREE -- Regulators (Sirotka) at Towers (Benes) Once again, the Regulators got to the Tower pitching early. In the bottom of the first, Cliff Floyd hit a 3-run homer. In the 3rd inning, Cliff Floyd hit a 2-run homer. 5-0 Regulators. Herbert Perry added an RBI double to make it 6-0 in the 3rd. In the 5th, the Regulators onslaught continued. With runners at 1st & 3rd, Chuck Knoblauch hit an RBI single. 7-0. Same inning, same situation, runners at 1st & 3rd, Herbert Perry hit an RBI single. In the 6th inning, Jason Giambi hit an RBI single to make it 9-0 Regulators. Would a 9 run lead be enough? We were about to find out. In the bottom of the 6th inning, the Towers made their move. Edgardo Alfonzo started things off with a solo homer. 9-1. Later, Carlos Lee hit an RBI double. 9-2. Yet later in the inning, Miguel Tejada hit a 2-run homer. 9-4, and Toronto is on a roll. The Regulators would go into the bottom of the 9th inning still leading 9 to 4, and got 2 outs in the 9th before Trevor Hoffman was brought on with 2 on and Kenny Lofton on the mound. Could Lofton keep the Towers in the game? You bet. Lofton triple, driving in 2 runs and making it a 3-run game. But that's as far as the Towers comeback would go. Hillsborough hangs on to win game 3 by a score of 9-6. REGULATORS LEAD 2-1. 10/29/2000, HIL00-TOR00, Dodger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2000 Regulators 3 0 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 9 18 1 13 1 2000 Towers 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 2 6 7 0 5 1 Regulators AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Lawton cf 5 2 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .538 0 0 0 0 Meluskey c 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .625 3 0 1 0 Merloni 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Giambi,Ja 1b 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 15 0 0 0 Floyd rf 4 2 3 5 0 0 2 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 2 0 0 0 McMillon rf 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Martin lf 4 2 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .375 3 1 0 0 Curtis lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 0 0 0 Larkin,B ss 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 2 6 0 0 Graves p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Knoblauch 2b 5 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 1 0 0 Sheldon 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 1 0 0 Perry 3b 5 0 2 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .429 0 3 0 0 Pratt c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Sirotka p 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Boone ss 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 1 3 0 0 42 9 18 9 1 0 2 7 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 17 1 0 Towers AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Lofton cf 3 0 1 2 0 1 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 1 0 0 Hocking 3b 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 1 1 0 0 Alfonzo 2b 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .328 1 4 0 0 Johnson,C c 4 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .364 9 0 0 1 Lee 1b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .240 7 0 0 0 Tejada ss 4 1 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .357 3 4 0 0 Guillen,J rf 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 3 1 0 0 Javier lf 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 2 0 0 0 Benes,An p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Bush ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Olivares p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Allen,C ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Kline p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Patterson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Ramirez,Ar ph 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 33 6 7 5 1 1 2 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 12 0 1 Regulators INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Sirotka W 1-0 5.2 4 4 1 3 3 84 51 24 2 0 0 0 0 1.59 Graves H 1 3.0 2 2 2 2 0 46 27 12 0 0 0 0 1 3.60 Hoffman 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 4 4 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 9.0 7 6 3 5 3 134 82 38 2 0 0 0 1 Towers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Benes,An L 1-2 3.0 7 6 6 2 1 67 36 17 2 0 0 0 0 7.47 Olivares 4.0 8 3 3 1 4 70 41 20 0 0 0 0 0 7.00 Kline 0.2 2 0 0 2 0 14 5 5 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 Patterson 1.1 1 0 0 2 1 28 15 7 0 0 0 0 0 1.23 9.0 18 9 9 7 6 179 97 49 2 0 0 0 1 HIL: Boone inserted at ss in the 6th McMillon inserted at rf in the 8th Curtis inserted at lf in the 8th Sheldon inserted at 2b in the 8th Pratt inserted at c in the 9th Merloni inserted at 3b in the 9th TOR: Bush batted for Benes,An in the 3rd Allen,C batted for Olivares in the 7th Ramirez,Ar batted for Patterson in the 9th GWRBI: Floyd Temperature: 66, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 4 MPH. ********************************************************************* GAME FOUR -- Regulators (Loaiza) at Towers (Yoshii) Once again, the Regulators scored first. With runners at 1st & 3rd in the 2nd, Dave Hansen hit a sacrifice fly, scoring Floyd from 3rd. 1-0. With runners at 2nd & 3rd, same inning, Esteban Loaiza hit a 2-out, 2-RBI single, making it a 3-0 Hillsborough game. The Towers got a run in the bottom of the 2nd with an Ivan Rodriguez solo homer. The Regulators piled it on again in the 3rd, when Mitch Melusky hit a homer and Dave Hanson hit a 2-out RBI single. 5-1. Wouldn't you know it, an early Regulators lead just didn't hold...again. In the 4th inning, Ryan Klesko closed the lead to 3 with a solo shot. In the 6th, Klesko singled, Carlos Lee reached 2nd thanks to Frank Catalanotto's 2nd error of the game, and were driven in by RBI singles from Tejada and Lofton. 5-4 Regulators. The Regulators did get some breathing room in the 8th when Hansen came through yet again with an RBI single, but they'd go into the bottom of the 9th leading by only two runs. In the bottom of the 9th, Regulators closer Trevor Hoffman came on board to save the game. Jose Guillen flied out for out #1. The next batter, Edgardo Alfonzo (AKA the rally king), took Hoffman out of the park. 6-5 Regulators. Next batter up, Ryan Klesko. But Klesko couldn't get it done, flying out for out #2. Up next was Carlos Lee. It was all up to Lee now, but Lee couldn't continue the rally. He strikes out, ending the game. Hillsborough survives another Toronto rally to win game four by a score of 6-5. The Regulators are 1 game away from the MK conference finals. REGULATORS LEAD 3-1. 10/30/2000, HIL00-TOR00, Dodger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2000 Regulators 0 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 6 10 2 5 1 2000 Towers 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 1 5 10 0 8 2 Regulators AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Lawton cf 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .471 2 0 0 0 Meluskey c 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .462 3 0 0 0 Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Giambi,Ja 1b 4 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 10 1 0 0 Floyd rf 4 2 2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 3 0 0 0 Martin lf 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .455 3 0 0 0 Merloni 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hansen 3b 3 0 2 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 .400 0 0 0 0 Curtis lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Larkin,B ss 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 1 6 0 0 Catalan'to 2b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 2 2 0 Sheldon 2b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 1 1 0 0 Loaiza p 3 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 1 0 0 0 Wunsch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Wall p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 McMillon ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Pratt c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 2 0 0 0 33 6 10 6 3 0 1 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 27 10 2 0 Towers AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Becker rf 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .279 2 0 0 0 Guillen,J ph 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Alfonzo 2b 5 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .317 0 5 0 0 Klesko lf 5 2 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .368 2 0 0 0 Lee 1b 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .218 14 1 0 0 Rodriguez c 4 1 2 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .404 3 0 0 0 Tejada ss 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .356 1 3 0 0 Ventura 3b 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275 2 0 0 0 Lofton cf 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .275 2 1 0 0 Yoshii p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 0 2 0 0 Hatteberg ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Creek p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Johnson,C ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 Patterson p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 1 1 0 0 Hocking ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Hawkins p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 38 5 10 5 1 0 3 2 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 27 13 0 0 Regulators INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Loaiza W 1-0 5.1 6 4 2 0 2 87 61 24 2 0 0 0 0 3.38 Wunsch H 3 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 15 8 3 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Wall H 2 2.0 2 0 0 2 0 28 17 9 0 0 0 0 1 4.50 Hoffman S 2 1.0 1 1 1 0 2 19 11 4 1 0 0 0 0 3.86 9.0 10 5 3 2 5 149 97 40 3 0 0 0 1 Towers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Yoshii L 2-1 5.0 7 5 5 3 1 104 63 24 1 0 0 1 0 4.35 Creek 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 15 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 7.84 Patterson 2.0 3 1 1 0 0 15 11 8 0 0 0 0 0 1.93 Hawkins 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 9 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 6.30 9.0 10 6 6 4 3 143 87 38 1 0 0 1 1 HIL: Merloni inserted at 3b in the 8th Curtis inserted at lf in the 8th Sheldon inserted at 2b in the 8th McMillon batted for Wall in the 9th Pratt inserted at c in the 9th TOR: Hatteberg batted for Yoshii in the 5th Johnson,C batted for Creek in the 6th Guillen,J batted for Becker in the 7th Guillen,J moved to rf in the 8th Hocking batted for Patterson in the 8th GWRBI: Hansen Temperature: 80, Sky: cloudy, Wind: right to left at 10 MPH. ********************************************************************* GAME FIVE -- Regulators (Helling) at Towers (Mercedes) The Towers were against the wall. If they wanted to continue in the series, they'd have to stage the mother of all comebacks. In the top of the first, the Regulators did their usual: Tag the starting pitcher early. Mitch Melusky started things off with a a solo home run. Later in the inning, with runners at 1st & 3rd, Barry Larkin got into the the spirit of things, bashing a 3-run dinger. 4-0 Regulators. The Towers responded in the bottom of the inning, when Miguel Tejada hit a 2 out home run .. with the bases loaded. Game tied at 4 in the 1st. In the 3rd inning, Edgardo Alfonzo hit a solo home run, giving Toronto the 5-4 lead. The Regulators took the lead again in the 5th inning when Floyd tripled in a pair. 6-5 Hillsborough. Floyd scored on an Al Martin single. 7-5. In the 8th inning, 2 on, score still 7-5, Matt Lawton singled, scoring the first runner. Lofton throws the ball home, but it sails over Rodriguez's head, allowing another runner to score. 9-5 Regulators. They piled on another pair in the 9th. By the time the bottom of the 9th came around, the 6 run lead was too much for Toronto to overcome. Hillsborough wins game five by a score of 11-5, and take the series 4 games to 1. The Regulators advance to the MK conference finals. 10/31/2000, HIL00-TOR00, Dodger Stadium 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB DP 2000 Regulators 4 0 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 11 12 0 7 1 2000 Towers 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 6 1 6 0 Regulators AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Lawton cf 3 1 1 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .450 1 0 0 0 Meluskey c 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .412 8 0 0 0 Wunsch p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Wall p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hoffman p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Giambi,Ja 1b 3 1 1 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286 6 1 0 0 Floyd rf 3 2 2 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .533 0 0 0 0 Belle ph 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .333 0 0 0 0 McMillon rf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Martin lf 5 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .438 4 0 0 0 Pratt c 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 1 0 0 0 Larkin,B ss 3 1 1 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 1 1 0 0 Graves p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Kreuter c 1 2 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 2 0 0 0 Merloni 3b 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Hansen 3b 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .300 1 2 0 0 Curtis lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0 0 0 Knoblauch 2b 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .385 2 1 0 0 Helling p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 1 0 0 Sheldon ss 2 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 .286 1 3 0 0 39 11 12 10 2 1 2 6 7 0 0 1 0 0 0 27 10 0 0 Towers AB R H BI D T HR BB K SB CS IW HP SH SF AVG PO A E PB Becker rf 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .267 2 0 0 0 Johnson,C ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 0 0 0 0 Hocking lf 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .250 0 0 0 0 Alfonzo 2b 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .313 1 3 0 0 Klesko lf 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .350 3 0 0 0 Lee 1b 3 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .207 11 0 0 0 Rodriguez c 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .410 7 0 0 0 Tejada ss 4 1 1 4 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .349 0 0 0 0 Ventura 3b 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .278 1 6 0 0 Olivares p 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 2 0 0 Lofton cf 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .264 2 0 1 0 Hatteberg ph 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .200 0 0 0 0 Mercedes p 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .133 0 0 0 0 Creek p 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0 0 0 Ramirez,Ar 3b 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1.000 0 0 0 0 31 5 6 5 1 1 2 6 10 0 0 0 0 1 0 27 11 1 0 Regulators INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Helling 4.0 4 5 5 4 5 79 46 20 2 0 0 0 0 8.38 Graves W 1-0 1.1 0 0 0 1 2 23 12 5 0 0 0 0 0 2.84 Wunsch H 4 0.2 0 0 0 0 0 4 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.00 Wall H 3 1.1 1 0 0 0 2 14 9 5 0 0 0 0 0 3.38 Hoffman 1.2 1 0 0 1 1 18 13 6 0 0 0 0 1 2.25 9.0 6 5 5 6 10 138 82 38 2 0 0 0 1 Towers INN H R ER BB K PCH STR BF HR IW HP WP DP ERA Mercedes L 2-3 4.1 7 7 7 3 2 78 45 23 2 0 0 0 0 6.49 Creek 3.2 2 2 1 2 4 55 37 15 0 1 0 0 0 6.43 Olivares 1.0 3 2 2 1 1 23 13 7 0 0 0 0 0 8.10 9.0 12 11 10 6 7 156 95 45 2 1 0 0 0 HIL: Sheldon inserted at ss in the 5th Kreuter inserted at c in the 6th Belle batted for Floyd in the 7th Belle moved to rf in the 7th McMillon inserted at rf in the 9th Pratt inserted at c in the 9th Merloni inserted at 3b in the 9th Curtis inserted at lf in the 9th TOR: Johnson,C batted for Becker in the 7th Hocking inserted at lf in the 8th Klesko moved to rf in the 8th Ramirez,Ar inserted at 3b in the 9th Hatteberg batted for Lofton in the 9th GWRBI: Floyd Temperature: 79, Sky: clear, Wind: left to right at 15 MPH.