Please Note:Early next week I will post a 2007 season review for the Ottawa Lynx.

Ottawa finished up the 2007 season with a four game home stand against the Syracuse Chiefs, four games which typified this hugely disappointing season for the Lynx, (at least in the won-lost column). There was a walk off win, a couple of blown leads, mental errors and sloppy defence and the Lynx lost the final three games of the season. Ottawa began this final series of the 2007 season with a 5-4 extra inning victory over the Chiefs with the unlikely hero being Danny Sandoval. Lynx starter Landon Jacobsen lasted six innings and allowed four runs, only one of which was earned. Wayne Lydon tripled to lead off the game for Syracuse and scored one batter later on a single. Ottawa would take the lead two innings later on a one out, three run home run by Joe Thurston, his fifth of the year, hit deep over the right field wall. Sloppy Ottawa defence and a questionable choice of where to throw the ball allowed Syracuse to retake the lead in the top of the fifth. Jacobsen made a bad throw to first, well over the head of Dusty Wathan on a very routine ground ball. The next batter, Al Quintana, hit a fly ball to right, not routine but very catchable which Matt Padgett got turned around on and let drop for a double. With one out and runners on second and third, a routine grounder to third baseman Brennan King would have had Quintana at the plate but King inexplicably threw to first, allowing the tying run to score. A single by John-Ford Griffin gave Syracuse a one run lead. Ottawa tied the game in the fifth on a long Matt Padgett home run, had a chance for more but Sandoval was caught stealing second and Gookie Dawkins struck out leaving two runners on. The game remained tied at 4-4 until the bottom of the tenth. In the Syracuse half of the tenth inning Joe Besinius, (3-4), had relieved Ryan Cameron and had worked his way out of a two on and one out jam, Jason Jaramillo picking off John-Ford Griffin at first and then Besinius struck out Chad Mottola to end the inning. King walked to lead off the Lynx tenth but was forced at second on a poor sacrifice bunt attempt by Wathan. But Wathan would redeem himself one out later, scoring all the way from first on the double by Sandoval, sliding in just ahead of the throw from right and giving Ottawa a 5-4 win in what would turn out to be their final victory of the season.

Syracuse won the next day, 5-1, as Ottawa scored in the first and might have had more but Joe Thurston was thrown out at third on an ill advised attempted advance. The Lynx were shut out for the final eight innings. J.A. Happ, (4-6), was the loser in this, his final start of the season, giving up all five Syracuse runs in six innings of work. Josh Banks, (12-10), held the Lynx to six hits over his 7.2 innings of work and the Chiefs counted four runs in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie as John-Ford Griffin and Kevin Barker did most of the damage for Syracuse.

The Lynx defence hurt them, or rather killed them, the next afternoon and Syracuse won this one 8-6 in twelve innings. Pedro Swann turned a fly ball off the bat of Al Quintana into a double in the third inning and Quintana eventually scored on a two out single by Ryan Roberts. Still, Ottawa held a four run lead going into the ninth thanks to a Matt Padgett two run home run in the sixth and a Brennan King two run single in the eighth. Matt Childers had started the game for Ottawa and pitched seven strong innings, striking out seven and allowing only two runs. Jason Anderson and Anderson Garcia, (1-5), couldn’t hold the Lynx lead but the Lynx defence was the real culprit in this game. Another misplayed fly ball by Pedro Swann led to another Syracuse double but the real damage was done by Joe Thurston. A routine ground ball which should have easily been turned into as game saving double play was dropped by Thurston. Although Ottawa managed the force at second, another Syracuse run scored as a result. Instead of the game being over and a resulting Lynx victory, Ryan Roberts hit a game tying two out double. In the twelfth, Swann misplayed a ground ball single which eventually lead to two Syracuse runs, John Hattig getting the tying two run single. Matt Roney allowed a walk in the twelfth but ended the game striking out Gookie Dawkins, recording his third save of the year.

“It’s a shame we blew a four run lead,” offered John Russell. “We had a chance with the double play ball in the ninth but we made too many mistakes. We didn’t give the bullpen much of a chance today. We thought after Padgett’s home run that we had the game.”

Padgett added, “They kept battling all day-they didn’t give up.”

The final game of this series and the final game of the 2007 Ottawa Lynx season resulted in another Ottawa loss. Gary Knotts, (1-2), got the call for this Labour Day contest and lasted only 5.1 innings, allowing seven runs on eight hits. Syracuse won this one 8-5, scoring six runs in the sixth and opening up an 8-3 lead. Ottawa got two runs back in their half of the season but could get no more. Pat Mahomes,(1-1), started for Syracuse and despite giving up eleven hits and five runs, (four earned), in 5.1 innings, managed to get the win. The big blow for Syracuse was a three run home run in the sixth by Wayne Lydon, capping the six run inning. Brennan King went 4-5 and Ottawa banged out fifteen hits but couldn’t get the job done sending home the largest crowd of the season home disappointed.

Lynx Notes: Chris Roberson was the first of the September call ups by Philadelphia followed shortly by Eude Brito. Kane Davis had been recalled to Philadelphia August 31^st. Gary Burnham was voted Lynx player of the year by the Lynx Booster Club and J.A. Happ was voted pitcher of the year.