1B Emilio Lima

Couldn’t ask for a better storybook ending, could you?

On Friday night, the Peoria Pedestrians played host to the Sioux Falls Uber Giraffes in the first home game for the franchise.  7,500 hundred fans recieved a limited-edition Emilio Lima bobblehead as a giveaway, hoping to draw more fans for the teams home opener.  More than 44,000 stayed to witness history.

Going to the bottom of the 9th, the Peds were down 4-3, having to face the Giraffes fire-balling closer, Robert Ochoa.  He initially walked 2B Arnaude Lamarche, but he was able to get LF Jose Garcia to ground into a double play on one pitch.  Things were looking up for the Giraffes, but they still had to get through Lima, the man of the night.  Lima was able to get ahead of Ochoa though and with 2 outs and a 2-1 count, he smashed a solo shot to left field that JUST cleared the fence tying the game at 4-4 a piece, sending the game to extra innings.

Sammy Olmstead and Felix Amarat shut down the Giraffes over the next two innings, but the Peds offense didn’t produce anything either. Until the bottom of the 11th.  Again with two outs and a runner on third, Lima strode to the plate. Getting ahead of the count again, Lima lined a 2-1 pitch from David Taylor, knocking in the winning run from third.  While mobbed at home plate by his teammates, 7,500 fans were seen and heard rattling their Lima bobbles from Caterpillar Park.

To put the icing on the cake, Lima won the Landis League Player of the Week award with 8 hits in 19 at-bats, 4 home runs and 6 RBIs while hitting .421.  I’m sure the league knows about him now.