Harwich Takes Game One
August 9, 2008
Orleans, Mass. – Eight solid innings was not enough for the Cardinals as a poor first frame did them in. Harwich survived a late Cards rally to take Game One of the Eastern Divisional Series 4-3.
RHP Brad Stillings (Kent State) was on the mound for Orleans and struggled early. He allowed four runs, three of them earned, thanks in part to a three-run opposite field homer by 3B Joe Sanders (Auburn) that put the Mariners up 4-0 in the first. C Tommy Medica (Santa Clara) also singled in a run.
Despite the ugly start, it did not take Stillings long to settle in. Harwich managed just one hit the rest of the game. The right-hander left after six innings, allowing five hits and striking out three.
Orleans started to chip away with a solo home run from 3B Mike Murphy (Maryland) in the sixth. It was his second shot in as many games and put the Cardinals on the board to cut the deficit to three.
A solid effort from the Cardinals bullpen allowed Orleans to battle back. LHP Elliot Glynn (UCONN) and LHP Adam Wilk (Long Beach St.) combined to pitch the final three innings without allowing a hit or run.
It granted Orleans an opportunity in the eighth. With RHP J.J. Hoover (West Virginia) exiting after he faced just one hitter, the Cardinals finally started to piece together some hits. The victim was Harwich RHP Willie Kempf (Baylor).
1B Nate Freiman (Duke) and OF Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) spoiled his playoff welcome with a pair of singles to score a run. SS Kyle Spraker (Loyola Marymount) followed with a sacrifice fly to drive in Freiman and make it a one-run game. Kempf got the best of Murphy and PH Shaun Kort (Nevada) though, as he retired the two and ended the inning with the tying run on the bases.
The Mariners sent RHP Steve Kalush (Santa Clara) in to save the game in the ninth and he did just that. Orleans went down 1-2-3 as Kalush picked up his third save of the season against them.
Hoover turned out one of the best pitching performances of the summer. He tossed 7.0+ innings, threw 122 pitches and struck out a whopping 12 hitters to pick up the victory.
The Harwich win gives them a 1-0 edge in the best-of-three series. Both squads will return to the diamond tomorrow, this time in Harwich, as the Mariners look to make their first Championship Series appearance since 1997. The Cardinals will have their backs to the wall as they face a “win or go home” scenario.
The Mariners will have a tough task ahead of them as they will try to advance against RHP Matt Thomson (San Diego), the starting pitcher for the Eastern Division in the All-Star Game. Thomson is 4-0 on the year with a 1.66 ERA and tossed eight scoreless innings in his last outing to clinch the Eastern Division for Orleans.
The coverage will begin from Whitehouse Field beginning at 6:20pm EDT on the Orleans Cardinals Baseball Network. Access to the game can be found on OrleansCardinals.com and the first pitch is scheduled to be thrown at 7:00pm.
(Unofficial Box Score)
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