Green Hope sleep-walked through today's game against Chapel Hill, as they seemed unable or unwilling to turn the momentum of the game back to their favor. Very little went right for the Falcons today as Chapel Hill easily advanced to the championship game of the Hilltop Tourney (National divison).

Russell Parks, who doesn't normally pitch for Chapel Hill, wasn't over-powering but held Green Hope to just 3 hits in 5 innings. Green Hope had base runners in every inning, but 2 double plays kept the Falcons from any big innings.

Chapel Hill turned two double plays in the game to stop any big Green Hope innings

Green Hope started the game with Grant Shambley hitting a grounder up the middle which was booted by the SS, and followed by Adam Boghosian's line single to left, had runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. But a 5-4-3 double play and a strikeout ended the inning for Green Hope with no score. Daniel Sondag started for Green Hope and was greeted by a single from Chapel Hill's leadoff Peter Owens, but Sondag picked off Owens from 1st, and fanned the next two batters to end the inning with no score.

Sondag picks off the CH's Owens after a leadoff single, but CH's Gilliam also ledoff the second with a single

However Chapel Hill's Lee Gilliam, who had a big day going 3-3 with a grand slam and 6 RBIs, ledoff the second with a single. The next batter was hit by a pitch, and a double steal was successful as on the throw, the ball slipped from Green Hope catcher Joe Pistacchio's hand, and had runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs. A single to center scored one, but Shambley made a good throw home which looked like it was going to get the second runner, but a slow cutoff and subsequent high throw home let the runner score, Chapel Hill up 2-0 after 2 innings.

CH scores it's 2nd run (left) as the relay throw is high, Boghosian (right) can't make the catch on Elefonte's fly

Chapel Hill broke the game open in the 3rd, Owens ledoff with a single, Parks walked, Michael Elefonte hit a high fly to rightfield which Boghosian dove for but couldn't catch to load the bases for Gilliam, who ripped one over the left field wall for a grand slam home run, and had Chapel Hill up 6-0 after 3 innings.

CH's Gilliam hit a grand slam to left made the score 6-0 after 3 innings

Green Hope tried to respond in the 4th, Pistacchio was hit by a pitch to start the inning, followed by a line single to right from Will Yoder. David Josam laid down a good sacrifice bunt which he almost beat out, moving the runners to 2nd and 3rd. Max Povse hit a grounder to 2nd which was booted to score 1 run with runners now at the corners, but a double play ended the inning with Green Hope down 6-1. Jonathan Grudee had relieved in the 3rd to end the inning with 2 strikeouts, but in the 4th pitching to the top of the Chapel Hill order, he got Owens to hit a grounder to short, but a high throw to first had Povse jumping high and off the base, putting Owens on. A flyout, followed by a walk to Elefonte and a wild pitch had runners at 2nd and 3rd for Gilliam, who singled to drive in both runners, Chapel Hill up 8-1 after 4 innings.

CH's Gilliam's third hit scores 2 giving him 6 RBIs for the game

Green Hope's Boghosian hit a solo home run in the 5th, but that was immediately answered in the bottom of the inning by Chapel Hill's Cam Visser who also homered, and led to 3 Chapel Hill baserunners, a walk and two Green Hope errors, to all be driven in by Elefonte's double off the left-center field wall to end the game 12-2.

Elefonte's double of the wall cleared the bases, scoring 3, and ending the game in the 5th inning

Sondag (1-3) took the loss, not pitching that badly, but couldn't get the close strike call today, and got very little support offensively or defensively from his teammates. The only Green Hope hits were collected by Boghosian and Yoder, also the only Falcons batting over .300 with both batting over .400, exposing a big offensive weakness so far for Green Hope this season.