The night game between the San Quentin A’s and the visiting Los Angeles Dodgertown was called in the fifth inning due to institutional count time.
The Dodgers had the last at-bat and were leading, 13-9.
Dodgers Coach/player Aaron Levinson said, “This is our annual pilgrimage. We come here to compete.”
The Dodgers play in the Dodgertown West League that consists of fi ve teams and 75 players. They are in the process of their playoff run for the Men’s Senior Baseball League.
The Dodgers showed up in their multi-colored uniforms representing the different teams they played in Cuba this year. “Playing in Cuba is similar to here. You have the same factor of the unknown. The field looks the same (dried out from the drought) and the guys couldn’t even practice on the field without approval. But coming here gave me a whole different opinion on rehabilitation,” said Dodger Lance Aguila.
The game started out with both teams pitchers struggling.
Dodger Bill Moreno gave up five runs in the first inning.
The A’s Anthony Denard and Royce Rose singled.
John “Dunnie” Windham tripled to score both runners.
Bilal Coleman walked and Reggie Hunt, Anthony Redwood and Chris Marshall singled to bring in runs for the 5-0 lead.
Dodger Emiliano Love made a driving catch to end the inning.
The Dodgers put up three runs in the second.
Paul Galletti singled and Matt Demasi doubled.
A’s pitcher Isaiah Thompson-Bonilla walked Mike Gin to load the bases.
Mike Labanowski belted a double to score two runs.
Gin scored on a sacrifice fly.
The A’s got out the inning with a strikeout, for the 5-3 lead.
The A’s scored in the second for the 6-3 lead.
The Dodgers scored three runs in the third for the 6-6 tie.
ThompsonBonilla walked the first three batters to load the bases.
Singles by Levinson, Galletti and Moreno all scored runs.
The A’s got out of the inning on a double play and a pop fly. The Dodgers took a 9-6 lead in the fourth.
ThompsonBonilla once again walked the first three batters to load the base.
Next David Liptz smashed the ball for a double and two RBIs.
“Man it’s real laid back here. I don’t feel like I’m in a prison; I feel like I’m at the park,” said Liptz.
The A’s put in pitcher Gary “Cool-Aid” Townes, who gave up a single to Lewis Cohen for a run.
Townes struck out the next batter and closed with two pop flies.
“Not a lot of people get a chance to do this. We know why these guys are here. We just want to give something to people who don’t have a lot of freedom,” said Cohen.
The A’s tied the game 9-9 in the fourth.
Carlyle “Otter” Blake singled, stole second and moved to third on a sacrifice fly.
Windham singled Blake home and then stole second.
Coleman singled, leaving Hunt to smash a triple and two RBIs.
In the fifth, the Dodgers scored four runs for the 13-9 lead.
With the bases loaded, a Galletti bunt caught the A’s defense off guard to score a run.
Townes walked in a run and Labanowski doubled for two runs. As night fell on the Lower Yard, the Aug. 15 game was called.
“This is a real great moment. You feel every emotion when you come here. You feel sad, happy and some fear all balled up into one. And all of us ending this game huddled in prayer is truly memorable,” said Dodger Demasi.
–By Marcus Henderson
