Pirates had season to remember

Thursday, August 14, 2008

The KIT League playoffs ended nearly two weeks ago, but since the conclusion of the season, fans have had time to gain more perspective on one of the greatest years in Tradewater Pirate history.

Tradewater battled with the Fulton Railroaders and Owensboro Oilers much of the first half of the season, but made a strong push in the final weeks to pull away and capture the regular-season pennant.

After a first-round playoff bye, the Pirates swept the Marion Bobcats in the second round. Tradewater’s dream season came to an end, however, when the Pirates were swept at the hands of the Oilers in the championship series.

“We didn’t finish up like we wanted to,” coach Kurt Elbin said. “I still feel like we were the best team in the league. We just weren’t playing our best at the right time.

“Owensboro, they were playing real well. They were clicking on all cylinders offensively. They had two good arms to throw at us and things lined up in their favor.”

After combining for a 15-0 record during the regular season, Pirate starters George Hebert and Don Pugliese ran into a tenacious Oiler offense. Hebert allowed six runs in four innings in game one, and Pugliese took the mound in game two, giving up five runs in three innings pitched.

The Oilers defeated the Pirates on back-to-back days, 9-4 and 11-1.

“You can’t take away the job George Hebert and Pugliese did for us all season,” Elbin said. “George just didn’t have his stuff. He didn’t have the velocity on his fastball. Usually when we scored four, five runs we win a ballgame.

“Donny put us in position to win all year. He just didn’t have his best stuff that first inning, and we just couldn’t come back from it.”

Despite the lackluster performance in the playoffs, Elbin undoubtedly pronounced Hebert the team’s Cy Young.

Elbin’s MVP award was a little harder to determine though.

“I think it would be a toss-up between Sean Mahley and Justin Long,” he said. “They were two-way guys. Justin Long did so much for us on the mound.”

Mahley ended the season with a .296 batting average and drove in 21 runs in 47 games while turning in a 1-2 record and 2.21 earned-run average on the mound. Long finished with a .289 average and 16 RBIs in 41 games. As a pitcher, Long posted a 4-4 record and 1.40 ERA.

The team’s pitching staff continued to produce solid efforts throughout the year, but Elbin said it was the Pirates’ ability to hit that allowed Tradewater to distance itself from the pack.

“I knew it was going to take guys a while to get adjusted to wooden bats and by the time they did it our pitching was there and it maintained,” he said. “(Our pitchers) remained to be the best pitching in the league and then when we started hitting the ball we started separating ourselves.”

The Pirates also boasted a pair of golden gloves in the field, helping the team pull away down the stretch.

Andy Gerhartz was solid up the middle all year and Logan Bawcom played a tremendous third base defensively, Elbin said.

Elbin said he also wanted to make note of another defensive player, catcher Matt Kulbacki, by awarding him the “Tough As Nails” honor.

“For catching all those games, he caught about 10 or 15 games in a row,” he said. “He was a staple behind the plate.”

While the Pirate players racked up the stats and provided great effort throughout the season, it was Elbin at the helm directing the team.

Despite Tradewater’s success, he refused to take credit, except for bringing the players together on the same team.

“The biggest thing is working with kids from the D-I level to D-III to junior college and being able to mix and match and mesh them into a team,” he said. “That was what I was most happy with.”

Elbin said he enjoyed his time as Tradewater coach, but entering his final season as an assistant at Thiel College (Pa.), he does not yet know what part of the country he will find himself in next year.

“Right now it’s looking like I will be coming back,” he added. “That’s what I want to do, but I can’t really say for sure.”

Next season’s lineup may not be the same, but Pirate fans will no doubt remember the 2008 team as one of the greatest all-time.