TIMMINS - The top of the Whiskey Jacks' batting order — including starting pitcher Jamie Dallaire — came up big on Thursday as the 13-time defending champs downed the Moneta Pub & Grub Brewers 10-5 to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their Timmins Men's Baseball League best-of-five semifinal series.
Dallaire pitched six strong innings in the victory, also driving in one run and scoring two himself as the team's leadoff batter. Catcher Jamie Dagenais went 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored in the second spot in the lineup, while Chris Greer went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored in the three-hole. To top it off, cleanup man Cid Bradette also drove in a pair of runs, finishing 1-for-4 at the plate.
In total, Bradette, Greer and Dagenais accounted for five of the Whiskey Jacks' six hits against Brewers' hard-throwing starter Dave Quachegan, with Mat Vachon recording the other on an RBI single in the second inning.
After Dallaire retired the Brewers' own strong top of the lineup in order to start the game, the Whiskey Jacks' pitcher didn't waste time on offence, drawing a leadoff walk against Quachegan. He'd come around to score on Greer's RBI single to make it 1-0.
The Jacks added two more in the second inning as Corey Numainville reached on an error to Brewers second-baseman Kevin Furtney. Michael Duciaume drew a walk, and Vachon made it 3-0 with his single to drive both his teammates in.
But the Brewers showed they're a far cry from their tough days as the former Expos, exploding for four runs against Dallaire in the third.
Jacob Ashamock drew a one-out walk, advanced on Dave Chantigny's single and was plated by Stephen Morgan's RBI single. Furtney followed that up with an RBI single of his own, and eventually scored on a wild pitch after Morgan touched home on a pass ball to tie the game 4-4.
Dallaire settled down in a big way for the rest of the game. He only allowed two hits the rest of the way, both to Benjamin Aubé. His only other significant blemish came in the fifth when he plunked Ashamock. The latter stole second and eventually scored on a pass ball to plate the Brewers' fifth and final run of the night at Fred Salvador Field. It would have been a far more important one if the Brewers hadn't given up three more runs to the Whiskey Jacks a half-inning inning before.
Quachegan walked Vandal, Numainville and Duciaume in succession to open the bottom of the fourth, setting up Vachon's RBI ground-out, his second run driven in of the night.
