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Firebirds' Season Ended With Loss to Bourne
August 9, 2009
By Tyler Maland
The story of Sunday’s game may still be the Saturday night stunner, when Bourne scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to come back and beat Orleans. Now, instead of heading back to Bourne to play the third and final game of the series, the Braves move on and the Firebirds clean out the clubhouse, say their goodbyes and arrange their flights home.
Maness pitched six scoreless innings for Bourne, allowing just two base-runners on two singles while striking out five to get the win. Justin Poovey (Florida) and Kevin Munson (James Madison) combined for three shutout innings of relief and prevented the late-inning comeback that Firebirds fans had become used to at the end of the season.
Firebirds starter Jimmy Reyes (Elon) pitched with determination and grit, hoping to be the stopper of Bourne’s powerful offense. He allowed just three hits and one run in the first five innings, but got into trouble in the top of the sixth.
Pierre LePage (Connecticut) led off that sixth inning with a surprising home run to left field, his first of the year. Kyle Roller (East Carolina) was then hit by a pitch and after getting a pop-out, Reyes’s day was ended with a single by Stefen Romero (Oregon St.).
Cole Cook (Pepperdine) entered the game hoping to limit the Bourne damage. He struck out the first batter he faced, but then gave up an RBI single to Ben Klafczynski (Kent St.) to make the score 3-0. He got the next batter to pop out and end the inning.
Bourne, however, would strike again for three runs in the seventh. The first was scored on an error, the second on a sacrifice fly by Roller, and the third on an RBI single by Romero. Two of those runs were charged to Cook, and the third to Brock Stassi (Nevada), who came in to get the last out of the seventh and surrendered the single to Romero.
Bourne scored another run in each of the last two innings to extend the lead to 8-0. Zach MacPhee (Arizona St.) hit a sac fly in the eighth, and Roller a solo homer to right, his league-leading 11th, in the ninth. With a three-run, and then six-run, and then eight-run deficit, the prospect of a comeback – even for the 2009 Firebirds that won via comeback seven times in a row – was quite grim.
Orleans did finally threaten in the bottom of the seventh down 6-0, when a walk, a single and a fielder’s choice put Firbirds on the corners with just one out. But Poovey struck out the next two batters to preserve the shutout and erase the home team’s hopes.
Romero went 3-for-5 with an RBI, and Roller was 2-for-3 with the homer, three RBI, and two runs scored.
The Firebirds finish the 2009 season with a regular season record of 27-15-2, and a playoff record of 1-2. Bourne will face either Y-D or Cotuit in the championship, depending on who wins the third game of their best-of-three series tomorrow.
The Orleans Firebirds would like to extend a special thanks to everyone that made the strong 2009 season possible, despite its early ending. The tireless work put in day after day from general manager Sue Horton, to the host parents and dozens of volunteers, all the way down the line to the bat boys and bat girls, is what allows the team to operate effectively without charging admission.
Of course, there is no season without a team, and there is no team without a coach. Field manager Kelly Nicholson is a constant fixture of leadership, and his expertise again helped produce the best pitching staff in the league. His lead was followed by an impressive staff of assistant coaches, and, of course, the 30-or-so players that took the field day after day with skill and class.
Finally, thank you to the hordes of fans that gave the Firebirds unwavering support. They again led the league in attendance, setting out chairs and blankets hours before games and digging deep into pockets to help cover costs. Without any of these crucial components, Orleans Firebirds baseball simply would not be the same.