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Nick Christiani pitched well for the Cardinals today

Orleans Falls Back To .500 At Hands Of Y-D

Nothing seems to go right for Cardinals this evening

July 30, 2007

By: Brett Brecheisen - Orleans Cardinals Intern

South Yarmouth, Massachusetts – It just wasn’t meant to be for the Orleans Cardinals tonight as everything came unraveled in a 9-1 loss to Yarmouth-Dennis.  Manager Kelly Nicholson was ejected and Orleans struggled to find position players to finish the game in the eight run loss.

Y-D RF Aaron Luna (Rice) led off the second inning with a solo home run to give the Red Sox an early 1-0 lead.  A sacrifice fly from 2B Gordon Beckham (Georgia) in the third made the score 2-0.

LHP Pat McAnaney (Virginia) had pitched brilliantly in the last month for Orleans but clearly struggled on the mound tonight.  The Red Sox tagged McAnaney for five more runs in the fourth, thanks in part to a three-run blast by DH Jason Castro (Stanford).  He was relieved by RHP Nick Christiani (Vanderbilt) with one out in the fourth.

“When you come in down by that many runs you’re just trying to keep it where it is.  It’s a big lead and I just wanted to try to keep it there or else the game is definitely over,” Christiani said.

Christiani pitched very well and held the Sox to just the seven runs they had already scored.  The right-hander pitched 2.2 innings without walking a batter and only allowing one hit.

“I wanted to work both sides of the plate and throw mostly fastballs.  I mixed it up a little bit but I was able to get weak contact early.  I was looking to get us back in the dugout and get things going because Y-D was hitting the ball really well,” he added.

Coach Nicholson was tossed during the second inning for arguing balls and strikes.  It was the first time he has been ejected this summer.

The game just continued in a downward spiral for the Cardinals in the bottom half of the fifth.  With two outs, SS Joey Railey (San Francisco) popped a ball up in foul ground on the right side.  Jimenez and Reese chased after it as Jimenez tried to track it down.  Reese made a great sliding catch but Jose Jimenez trampled over him and they both hit the floor. The two were on the ground for several minutes before both walking off under their own power.  Both players did not appear to be injured seriously but neither finished the game.

Utility player Kevin Muno (San Diego) entered the game for Reese and remained in the game at second base.  Muno has been utilized at several positions during his freshman year at San Diego and in high school but had not played infield for Orleans this summer.

After Jimenez played an inning in the field, he was replaced by Travis Tartamella (Pepperdine). Tartamella also played first base in the field, something he is not used to doing as he has been strictly catching for the Pepperdine Waves.

The defensive changes worked out for Orleans as neither player made an error and Tartamella recorded three put outs at first base using Jimenez’s glove.

The lone Cardinals run came in the seventh after RF Dennis Raben (Miami, FL) led off the inning with a double down the right-field line.  Raben advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and scored after a passed ball was charged to C Buster Posey (Florida State).

With a 7-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth, Yarmouth-Dennis was cruising to yet another victory for the Eastern Division leaders when Posey decided to add some finishing touches.  The Seminole catcher drove a pitch well out of the park with a runner on and gave the Red Sox a 9-1 lead.  That score went final three outs later as Y-D took the season series against Orleans five games to one.

“They just swung the bats really well.  They put the pressure on us early.  We gave them too many free passes and you can’t give a team as good as Y-D any of those and expect them not to capitalize,” Christiani said.

The loss puts the Cardinals back to .500 with a record of 19-19-0.  They will be back in action tomorrow night at Eldredge Park when they host the Harwich Mariners at 7:00pm.  Orleans is 2-1 against Harwich this season including their 11-1 thrashing of the Mariners on July 20.  The scheduled starting pitcher for Orleans is RHP Clayton Shunick (NC State).

W – Scott Green (Kentucky), 3-1

L – Pat McAnaney (Virginia), 1-3

SV – None