Ducks starter Brian Strom (w, 2-1) scattered 8 hits, walking 3 and beaning 4 batters over six strong innings of 2-run ball Sunday night in Moore Park, helping South Oakland (4-2) diffuse the Allegheny offense en route to an 8-2 Ducks victory.

Playing without the strong-bearded veteran leadership of the Commish, the Bombers (3-1) looked flustered out of the gate.

This guy took the hill for Allegheny*.

He allowed back to back doubles to Gwin and Culp and the Ducks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Culp stole third, Strom drew a walk. Matt Swetz collected his unofficial, team-leading 7th RBI of the season with a single to right.

 one at a time. sometimes two at a time

Sorosky, formerly of the militia has been waiting for a chance to take out the Bombers for three years. He delivered a single to left to put the Ducks up 3-0.

Garrett Moore drove in a run with a single up the middle. 4-0 Ducks.

This is the best exclaimer image I could find.

With one out and runners on first and second, Alex Riley hit a ground ball to the shortstop who got the force at second. Moore sacrificed his pants with a hard slide and forced an arrant throw. Sorosky tried to score from second on the play, but the ball bounced hard off the wall behind first and came right back to the first baseman who blew up Sorosky at the plate. Classic 6-4-3-2 Double play.

Who’s laughing now? Those communion pants were durable.

Strom faced 5 batters in the first and stranded runners on second and third after striking out some guy to end the inning.

The Bombers scored 2 in the second, but Strom pitched out of another jam and the Bombers left the bases loaded.

The Bombers third baseman can hit a little.

Meanwhile, the Bombers pitcher had settled in and was in the process of retiring 9 straight Ducks with the help of a 4-6-3 double play. Judging by the Allegheny reaction, it was the first good play their infield ever made.

Fetter singled to lead off the fifth. He actually defused bombs in the military. After a Casale sac bunt, Gwin singled in pinch runner Shawn Dorsek to make the score 5-2 in the fifth.

In the bottom of the fifth, Strom allowed a triple a walk and struck out the side.  The Bombers could not get a big hit.

In the bottom of the sixth, with Bombers on first and second, Tony Casale made a sick diving play in the hole between third and short to get the force at third. Best play by a shortstop made in the game. Two groundouts later, the Bombers again left two men on base with nothing to show for it.

In the top of the seventh, The Ducks scored three runs on five hits to put it out of reach. Strom, Sorosky and Moore had RBI.

Fetter pitched the bottom of the 7th and struck out the Bomber’s 3rd baseman looking, then induced a double play to end the game.

***

• Big early season win for the Ducks, missing a handful of regulars.
• That ump called strikes a foot off the plate.
• I love playing at Moore Park.
• I think there will be 3 more good games between the Ducks and Bombers.
• For a bunch of kids who have no idea how cruel and grim the world after college will be, the Bombers carry themselves well, and are probably laughing at my dated references on some weird, next-level social media platform that I will never understand.
• I found an orange and gray hoodie someone left after the game.
• Stanley Kubrick.
• Don’t google “suicide bomber images.” It will make you sick.

South Oakland’s next game is Wednsday night 8pm at Springview Field vs. the Senators.

quack.