The 5th GGSL World Series pitted two old rivals, the Lake Erie Indians against the San Francisco SeaWolves. This

would be the 3rd World Series meeting between the two clubs, with the SeaWolves winning the two previous matchups in '97 and '98.

The Indians lost the '99 Series to the San Jose Hussars, while the SeaWolves lost to the Hussars in the 1st round. Hopes were high in

the Lake Erie camp as manager Kurt Gnandt assembled his strongest team to date (a GGSL record 123 regular season wins), in the hopes of ending three straight second place finishes. Manager Rick Cantor of the SeaWolves (103 regular season wins) returns to the World

Series after a one year absence and hopes to notch their fourth title in five GGSL seasons. With Lake Erie holding the home field

advantage, game one would pit Indian phenom Pedro Martinez (26-4, 1.62 ERA) against unlikely San Francisco starter Sterling Hitchcock

(13-17, 4.56 ERA). SeaWolf ace Randy Johnson pitched game seven in the first round of the playoffs, so Cantor had to go with Hitchcock

in game one. Both starters were up to the task as they would combine to throw a game for the ages.

Both starters were set to impress. San Francisco had an early scoring chance in the first, as Jeff Bagwell's double put runners on

second and third with two out, but Martinez induced Brian Giles to ground out to end the threat. Lake Erie answered

in their half with a leadoff double by Luis Gonzalez, but Hitchcock would escape with a scoreless inning. Neither team would mount a

scoring threat until SeaWolf Pokey Reese led off the top of sixth with single. He then stole second and was sacrificed to third with one

out, with Chipper Jones and Jeff Bagwell set to follow. But Martinez showed why he racked up 365 regular season strikeouts, as

neither Jones or Bagwell could put the ball in play and San Francisco was denied. Lake Erie would mount their best scoring chance of the game in their half of the sixth, as Albert Belle worked a one-out walk. He would be followed by a Fernando Tatis double and a Roberto

Alomar HBP to load the bases off Hitchcock with only one down. However, Hitchcock induced Indian Greg Colbrunn into a groundball

double play, and the SeaWolves escaped into the seventh. With the game still scoreless into the ninth, San Francisco led off the top half

with a Brian Giles single and Indian manager Kurt Gnandt would make the call to the bullpen. Mariano Rivera would replace Martinez

and promptly surrender a single to Jeromy Burnitz, putting runners at first and third with no outs. But Rivera got Barry Bonds to

ground out, Mike DiFelice on a strikeout, and Rey Sanchez on a groundout to preserve the scoreless tie. That would close the book on

Pedro Martinez, who pitched a stellar game but could not get a decision. He finished with eight scoreless innings, allowing just 6 hits

and 2 walks, while fanning 13 SeaWolves. The Indians could not mount a threat against Hitchcock in the bottom of the ninth, and the game

went into extra innings still in a scoreless tie. Rivera would take care of San Francisco in the tenth, and would get a one-out

single from Luis Gonzalez in their half. SeaWolf manager Rick Cantor then called upon John Johnstone to keep the Indians at bay, and

Johnstone would comply by striking out both Terry Shumpert and Belle to extend the game into the 11th. This closed the book on Sterling

Hitchcok, who surprised his critics with an excellent performance. He finished with nine plus scoreless innings, allowing 7 hits and 2

walks, while striking out 6. The goose egg was to be broken by San Francisco in the 11th. After Rivera got back-to-back groundouts to start

the inning, Jeromy Burnitz launched a two-out solo homer to right to give the SeaWolves a one run lead. However, SeaWolf closer Scott

Williamson would walk pinch hitter Jim Thome to lead off the bottom half of the 11th, and wild pitch pinch-runner Preston Wilson to second.

After a sac bunt, Wilson was at third with one out and the dangerous Sean Casey at the plate. Casey would hit a two-hopper to first

baseman Jeff Bagwell, and the aggressive Wilson broke for home. Bagwell's throw would be off the mark and Wilson would score to tie the

game. After ten scoreless innings, both teams ware able to put up a run in the same inning and send the game into the 12th. However,

they both would revert back to their scoreless tendancies as the game stayed tied at one entering the bottom of the 18th inning. With

emergency reliever Mike Sirotka on the mound, the Indians would work a one-out walk by Phil Nevin. Alomar would follow with a single to

put runners at first and third with one out, with Sean Casey at the plate. Mudville was to be happy tonight, as Casey lined a single

to center to score Nevin and give Lake Erie the win, a 2-1 final in 18 innings. What a game it was. Who would have guessed that two of

the most prolific scoring teams during the regular season (Lake Erie led with 1020 runs, San Francisco was 4th with 904) could only

manage three runs in 18 innings? The monumental game would combine for 28 runners left on base and 40 strikeouts. Amazingly, both teams played errorless ball in the five hour, twenty minute marathon. The win went to Mike Hampton and Sirotka was tagged with the loss.