November 23, 2002 Salem Takes 2-0 Series Lead Thanks to Helton SALEM, NH - Salem Cowtippers manager Mike Glander received an unpleasant surprise when he arrived at the clubhouse this morning when today's scheduled starter, Rolando Arrojo, announced that he was still tired from his last outing in Game Six of the OLCS. "I no can go today," said Arrojo. "I only have three days to rest. Not enough." "He only worked six innings in that game," said Glander, "but he did throw 98 pitches. I guess we just pushed him a little too hard." With no other options available, Salem was forced to turn to scheduled Game Four starter John Thomson, who is limited to just five innings in this series due to league rules. Steve Sparks, who won 15 games for Salem this past season, but has sat out the entire post-season, was left off the roster once again prior to the BDBL World Series. "Good," said Sparks, from his home in Walla Walla, Washington. "I hope those guys live to regret the decision to leave me off the roster again. I can pitch, dammit. I know no one in this league respects me, but I won 15 games this year and posted an ERA under 4.00. I'm a good pitcher. I'm a good pitcher." "By starting Thomson today, we have no one to go with in Game Six," said Glander. "Our only hope is to get a win from Johnny today, then take two of the next three so we don't have to have a Game Six. At this point, we really don't have a choice as to what we can do." With Thomson available to pitch only five innings, Salem needed to jump out to an early lead today. They did just that in the first inning when Todd Helton hit a two-run home run off Allentown starter Curt Schilling. Helton followed up that blast with another two-run shot in the third, giving Salem a 4-0 lead. No lead is safe, however, when it comes to the Ridgebacks. The first two batters of the fourth inning, Edgar Martinez and Barry Bonds, reached base via a triple and a walk. Former Cowtipper star Ellis Burks singled home a run to put Allentown on the board, and Tyler Houston followed with an RBI fielder's choice that cut Salem's lead in half. Schilling retired the side in order in the fifth and sixth innings, then ended with seventh by inducing a ground ball double play. Meanwhile, the Salem bullpen was working feverishly to hold their slim lead. Steve Karsay took over for Thomson in the sixth and escaped the inning unscathed despite putting two runners on base. Karsay then retired the side in order in the seventh. In the eighth, Randy Choate allowed a base hit to Barry Bonds to lead off the inning. David Weathers then walked a runner into scoring position, but escaped further damage by retiring Houston and Fick with some clutch pitching. In the ninth, Helton struck for the third time, adding a solo home run off Schilling to give the Cowtippers an insurance run. Chad Fox then closed out the ninth by striking out Martinez with a runner on first. "A real clutch effort from our bullpen today," said Glander. "We really needed it. Now we're two games up, and we've got Brad (Penny) going next game. If you had told me we'd be in this position heading into Game Three, I wouldn't have believed you."