Pirates to play for championship

Friday, August 01, 2008

The Tradewater Pirates defeated the Marion Bobcats 4-3 in a six-inning, rain-shortened contest Wednesday night to advance to the K.I.T. League championship series, which begins tonight.

Tradewater trailed early against Marion, but a four-run third inning spurred the Pirates to victory and they will now face the Owensboro Oilers at 7 p.m. at Chautauqua Park.

Although the third-seed Oilers are a talented bunch, Pirates coach Kurt Elbin said he thinks Tradewater holds an advantage when it comes to pitching.

“I think we’re in a real good situation when it comes to our staff,” Elbin said. “If we play the way we’ve been playing I’m sure we’ll be alright. Our pitching is going to hold up. I’m sure and confident of that.”

Tradewater’s starters have pitched deep in the game, so its relievers have pitched just 22⁄3 innings in the playoffs thus far.

Starting pitcher Justin Long went seven innings in Tradewater’s Game One victory and pitcher Sean Mahley threw 51⁄3 innings Wednesday to spare the bullpen an unbearable load.

“I thought (Mahley) threw well,” Elbin said. “He didn’t have his stuff, but he threw well enough to win.

“His velocity was there, he just didn’t have his breaking stuff. I thought he gave us a chance to win and that’s what happened.”

Reliever Kevin Belk tossed 2⁄3 innings to earn the save before the rains came and brought the game to an early end.

Belk shut the Bobcats down, but the game did not begin in the Pirates’ favor because Marion scored single runs in each of the first two innings to take a 2-0 lead.

Tradewater rebounded in the third inning with a two-out, four-run outburst. The Pirates recorded five consecutive base hits to take the lead. Jason Cramer hit an RBI single and Tanner Hall laced a two-run double. Another run scored when Mike Finigan hit a ball to the shortstop, who made an errant throw to first base.

Neither team scored again until the sixth inning as Marion threatened to take the lead with runners on first and third and one run already home. Belk and the Pirates got quite a scare on a deep fly ball to right field, but the ball was caught and the comeback ended.

The rain began to fall as the teams moved to the top of the seventh and prevented play from resuming, ending in the Tradewater win.

Now, with the regular season title in hand and the playoff championship in sight, Tradewater must stay within itself, Elbin said.

“I think the biggest thing — and it’s been this way all summer — is we just don’t beat ourselves,” he noted. “I feel we’ve always had a chance to win every game.

“The ballgames we’ve lost, we beat ourselves by either playing bad defense or just not scoring when we had guys in scoring position.”

If the Pirates take the series, Tradewater will finish with 39 wins on the season, eclipsing the 2006 squad by one win.

Before Tradewater can think of records though, the players must execute and take care of business, especially with runners on base.

“That’s all it is, that’s the key, and that’s usually what it is in every game,” Elbin said. “With Owensboro, it’s cut and dry. They’re going to play good defense, they’re going to hit when they have to, we’ve just got to do a better job.”

Pitcher George Hebert will take the mound tonight when Tradewater begins the first of a best-of-three series at Owensboro. Game Two is set for 7 p.m. Saturday at Riverside Park with Game Three, if necessary, at the same site and time Sunday.