Tuesday, July 22, 2008
HUNTINGBURG, Ind. — The Tradewater Pirates sent six players to the second annual K.I.T.-C.I.C.L. All-Star game Monday evening, but they posted mixed results in the 7-6 loss at League Stadium.
Tradewater pitcher George Hebert, with his league-best eight wins, started the game for the K.I.T. squad and turned in one of the more impressive pitching outings. Hebert made quick work of his competition and threw a seven-pitch first inning, striking out one batter.
“That’s just more of the same from Hebert,” K.I.T. All-Star and Tradewater coach Kurt Elbin said. “He just deals. He’s a little man that just does the job, and he throws strikes, that’s the biggest thing. I was pleased with his performance.”
Hebert’s only mistake came on a two-out single to right field, but he quickly recovered to retire the clean-up batter on the next pitch, a foul pop-up to the catcher.
Down 2-0, Pirate pitcher Don Pugliese took the mound in the third inning. Pugliese allowed two runs but escaped further damage in an inning that sported two defensive errors for K.I.T.
Pugliese, a typical starter, had to adjust to the reliever’s role in the all-star game.
“He’s a guy that really needs to throw a lot,” Elbin said. “He needs to get in the rhythm of the game and throwing just one inning is tough for him.”
Offensively, Nathan Wright sparked K.I.T. to its first runs in the top of the third inning. With one out, Wright walked, and the next batter, Union City Greyhound Justin Miller, belted a home run to deep left center field. The blast tied the game at 2-2. Wright finished the game 1-for-4 with a walk, and later in the third inning K.I.T. took a 3-2 lead on an error that allowed Trey Horn to score.
After a scoreless frame from each team in the fourth inning, both all-star squads struck again in the fifth.
K.I.T., the junior circuit, strung four consecutive singles together for three runs and a brief 6-4 advantage. The lead was brief because Phil Wunderlich of the DuPage Dragons hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the fifth tie the game at 6-6.
Tradewater’s last pitcher on the roster, Justin Long, entered in the seventh inning. Although Long did not allow a hit, he surrendered one hit on two walks, a hit batter, and sacrifice fly giving the C.I.C.L. a 7-6 edge after six innings.
Long stepped up to lead off the top of the seventh and sliced a sharp single to center field. With one out, however, Long’s Pirate teammate Matt Kulbacki hit a grounder that forced him out at second base.
Kulbacki rebounded during the next half-inning though when he threw a bullet to second base to knab a would-be stolen bag.
After surrendering the lead, the K.I.T. stars struggled to muster any production on the offensive side, but threatened late.
With two outs and Kulbacki at first, Hunter Dawson singled to left field. Both runners advanced to second and third on a wild pitch with Fulton Railroader Elliot Frey at the plate. Later in the at-bat, Dawson smashed the ball toward right field, but a diving second baseman tracked it down and threw to first for the final out, a 7-6 C.I.C.L. official victory.
Both teams agreed to play out the final half of the ninth inning and Tradewater took advantage by sending out its final player, Eric Faint, to the mound. Faint faced six batters and allowed two runs as C.I.C.L. led 9-6 after nine full innings.
Although some of Elbin’s pitchers struggled, he gave credit to both his players and the C.I.C.L. all-stars.
“That was a great hitting ball club,” Elbin said. “I thought for the most part we had some better arms, but they can hit. They’re a hitting league if you look at the stats.
“I was pleased with everybody. Everybody from the K.I.T. league represented the K.I.T. league well.”
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