WPCNR PRESSBOX. From Kristen Zimmerman (Edited) June 22, 2004: On May 1, 1920, Joe Oeschger of the Boston Braves and Leon Cadore of the Brooklyn Dodgers dueled each other for 26 innings at Boston's old Braves Field on the banks of the Charles River to a 1-1 tie.
Monday night, National Pro Fastpitch teams New England Riptide and the NY-NJ Juggernaut played 27 innings until Venus Taylor's single ended the historic fastpitch marathon, 3-2, at 1: 00 AM Tuesday morning.
The longest professional ballgame, the Baseball Hall of Fame Library reports to WPCNR, was 33 innings between the Rochester Red Wings and the Pawtucket PawSox April 18, 1981. The Nauts-Riptide game is the second longest professional game...and the longest major league game.
Kaci Clark, Juggernaut righty pitched 21 innings for the Nauts, throwing 218 pitches, 167 for strikes, and fanning 20 batters. She joins baseball immortals Bob Smith of the Braves (22 Innings), and Babe Adams of Pittsburgh (21), Rube Marquard of the Giants(21), Art Nehf of the Braves (21), Ted Lyons of the White Sox (21) Rube Waddell of the A's (20), Cy Young of the Red Sox (20) and Brooklyn's Burleigh Grimes(20), who have pitched 20 innings or more in a start before giving way to relief. Gina Oaks notched the win for the Nauts with 6 innings of scoreless relief. Photo by WPCNR Sports
In the bottom of the 27th inning, Juggernaut centerfielder Venus Taylor scored shortstop Lyndsey Klein with a single to right for the 3-2 win against the New England Riptide. Klein went 4-for-10 on the night. The game that took place at Montclair State University lasted six hours and ten minutes. Gina Oaks earned the win going five innings, giving up no runs on four hits, and one walk, while Dana Sorenson took the extra-inning loss, pitching 13.2 innings, giving up 11 hits and one earned run.
New England took the lead in the 13th inning when left fielder Ashley Moore scored on an error by Taylor. However, the lead didn’t hold as Juggernaut first baseman Kellie Wilkerson singled to center to score Oaks and even the tie at two in the bottom of the inning. Wilkerson led the Juggernaut offensively with six hits in 11 at bats and two RBI. The game would go 14 more innings before another run would score.
The Nauts jumped on the board right away when first baseman Wilkerson scored second baseman Carri Leto with a single to right in the first inning. Leto led off the inning with a single up the middle.
The Riptide scored their first run when right fielder Sara Jewett answered the Juggernaut’s offense in the first with a lead off solo homerun that cleared the scoreboard in left center. Second baseman Nicole Thompson led the Riptide at the plate, with four hits on the night.
Pitcher Kaci Clark started the game for the Juggernaut and pitched 22 full innings, giving up 10 hits, just one earned run and one walk, while striking out 20. Riptide starter Leigh Ann Ellis went 13 innings, giving up 12 hits, two earned runs, and one walk, while striking out five.
The Juggernaut is sleeping in this morning according to G.M. Ricard Perotty, but will be back in action tonight at 7:35 at Montclair State University Softball Stadium against the Riptide, before heading to Lowell for three more games with the Riptide in a home-and-home.
Nauts President and GM Richard Perrotty told WPCNR both ball clubs had numerous chances to win the classic. He reported that only 30 fans were left to see Venus Taylor's winning hit that moved the Nauts to 11-6 in the National Pro Fastpitch standings 1 game back of the Texas Thunder. Perrotty said they had "No Doz Specials" in between innings, and had contests for fans who guessed the inning when the game would be over.
