4/11/2016: Wembley Stadium, London – This is Reginald Tarquin-Smith reporting from Wembley Stadium for 5 live. Welcome to the home opener for London’s 10^th season in the PEBA. The Underground return home after a weeklong road trip to Connecticut and New Jersey in which they won five games and lost only one. Their visitors today are the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo, who have a 4-2 record after they swept Charleston in three games but lost the series in Connecticut. Chris Graves will pitch for them, while Cipriano Peña will go for the home team. Both have one win to their name, so it should be a good clash. A near-capacity crowd is expected for today’s match-up and the early birds have started to wind their way up Wembley Way already. I’ll be back to give you an update nearer first pitch, which is expected to be around 7.05…

Welcome back to Wembley. We are just about to get underway. The players were led out by the managers, while the Band of the Coldstream Guards gave a stirring rendition of “Colonel Bogey”. They were introduced to the King and Queen as a Battle of Britain squadron flew over. Now they’re all ready to go. Peña’s on the mound looking in, gets set… and the first pitch is a ball!

The score is 0-0 after the first inning. Peña looked in trouble in the top of the first when he gave up two one-out hits, but second baseman Nathan Carter rescued him with a simple 4-3 double play. Graves had no such trouble retiring Yang, Adam, and Long in a quick 1-2-3 inning…

I’m afraid it’s still scoreless after two. Peña again was in trouble, giving up a hit to José Hernández and a double to McKee to give the visitors runners at second and third with one out, but the bottom of the order couldn’t capitalize. Once more, Peña got out of the top half of the inning without giving up a run. Graves, still looking the more composed, mowed down Wen and Nathan Carter with strikeouts while getting Dennis Carter to ground out…

I welcome 5 live listeners back to Wembley with the news that, somehow, it is still scoreless here. Once more, Peña was in trouble, giving up a double to Page right away and then allowing a single to Cole, but danger was averted when Page was thrown out at the plate trying to get home on Cole’s hit. The Calzones then loaded the bases with a walk and their seventh hit. Peña once more came back strong, though, striking out Hernández and getting out of the inning when Flores hit a long high fly ball right to Yang’s glove on the warning track. Graves once more looked on top. He added two more strikeouts to his tally in between Wallace getting the Underground’s first hit with a double. The home side couldn’t do anything with that, and the bench must be looking worriedly at Peña’s performance so far…

We’ve had a run for both sides in the fourth. Peña’s luck finally ran out, as he gave up a leadoff homer to McKee. It could have been worse. Richard’s long fly ball was picked off the fence by Vélez. Page then got aboard and was almost picked off but for Adams drop of the throw before stealing second. Peña recovered his poise and the home defense held firm to get out of the top half just one behind. Adams led off the bottom half. Graves could only stand and stare as Adams deposited the ball over the left field wall to level the score. Nathan Cater also hit a double, but again the Underground failed to benefit from it. So it is 1-1 after four…

For the fifth straight inning, Peña was in trouble, he walked Rentería and gave Wright a hit but once more rallied to keep the visitors off the board. Hernández struck out, Flores was robbed at the wall by outstanding defense again by Vélez, and Mckee fanned on the high heat. No such trouble for Graves, as London’s bottom of the order went 1-2-3 with barely a whimper. Five in the books: London 1 – San Antonio 1!

We’re still tied here, but it is now 2-2. Peña looked on his game for the first time. He grabbed two quick outs but slipped back again as he gave up a double to Page, who was then driven in by Cole’s hit. That was all the Calzones could manage. Graves came up looking cool and assured as he sought to preserve the lead. He started to look a bit more harried as Yang led off with London’s fourth hit and Adam bunted him to second. Long stood in, and a moment later the Underground were tied as his line drive eluded Cole and Yang scampered home. Graves got out of the inning without any more damage by inducing Wen into a 6-4-3 double play. Six gone and it is 2-2 here in North London…

We are still tied at two, but London is into the bullpen. Peña got the Calzones leadoff hitter before he walked Hernández, his fourth walk of the day. That was enough for the dugout. Mitch Anderson came into the game in relief. Straight away, he struck out Flores and got McKee to fly out. Graves was as calm as ever. Both the Carters went quietly. Vélez scratched out an infield hit and stole second, but it all came to nothing. Three innings to go…

After eight innings, it is still all square at two. Anderson forced the 0-3 Gonglas to pop up to Adams before giving way to Alfonso Robles. He gave up the Calzones’ 12^th hit to Richards but then struck out pinch hitter Wilkinson and Cole to end the inning. Last inning coming up; it is now or never time. Looks like we could be heading for extra innings. They’ve just announced the attendance as 34,625…

It was a very quick ninth inning. Robles continued to pitch for the Underground. He got Rentería and Wright to fly out to Yang, and Hernández to ground out to short. The Calzones went to ace closer Shiro Shimizu to pitch the bottom of the ninth and he made quick work of Long, Wen, and Nathan Carter. We are going to extra innings. London’s record is 1-0 in extra-inning games. San Antonio’s record 0-0…

The excitement was all in the visitors half of the 10^th. Flores got his first hit in five AB off Robles. He stole second before McKee walked. Calzones pinch hitter Marrero bunted both runners across, but their second pinch hitter of the inning, García, struck out. London then turned to closer Luis Mora, who got them out of the jam with a fly out. Shimizu made short work of Dennis Carter, Vélez, and Burgos in his second inning of work…

Mora led off the 11^th by striking out Cole, who has three hits in six AB, and finished off Rentería and Wright without a hitch. San Antonio sent Bernado Valle to the mound, and he sent Wallace, Yang, and Adams back to the dugout in short order.

The Underground have stolen the game in the 12^th inning! Luis Mora struck out Hernández and Flores before giving way to Ken Cates, who recorded London’s third K of the inning by striking out McKee. Long led off the bottom half with a double off Valle, who then walked Wen. The danger looked to have passed when Nathan Carter grounded into a 4-5-3 double play, but Dennis Carter strode to the plate and guided the ball through the infield for his first hit of the night. It drove Long in from third. The Stadium erupted as London improved to 6-1, winning their home opener 3-2 in the 12^th. I’ll be back with the wrap and post-match interviews in a moment.

Welcome back to a rapidly emptying Wembley, where London has beaten visiting San Antonio by 3-2 in the 12^th inning. With me now, I have new London GM Nigel Laverick. What a start to your PEBA career!“

Yes, we took our time but the lads came through. Dennis Carter impressed me not just with the bat but by saving us a few runs with his glove. The crowd figure was pleasing, too, and I hope they’ll all come back for tomorrow’s game.

”Thank you, Nigel. Now we’ll have a word with Underground starter Cipriano Peña. You didn’t get the win, but you gave London six innings.

“I wasn’t too happy with my stuff out there today. My control was all over the place and I have my defense to thank for rescuing me. You can be assured that I won’t be that bad again.”

Thanks for that. Now we have Calzones pitcher Chris Graves. I thought you were really unlucky out there today, Chris.

“I felt good today. I was hitting my spots. The Adams home run, I tried to jump ahead in the count with a fastball. I left it up a bit… maybe a little too inside. I knew when he hit it, it wasn’t coming back.”

Good luck for the rest of the season, Chris. Finally, before we go, here’s San Antonio manager Taizo Sugano. Taizo, what are your feelings on the loss today?

“Tough game. No key hit. Leave too many runner. Three times, we can’t score runner from third with one out. Leave bases loaded. Frustrating day. Great thing about baseball: another game tomorrow.”

That’s it then. I’d like to thank San Antonio GM Matt Higgins for his cooperation in allowing his people to be interviewed. Thanks for listening to our updates. Tune in tomorrow for news on London’s second game of the series, which again starts at 7.05.