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Another Hero, Another Win

June 18, 2008

Orleans, Mass. – It took 12 innings and a crucial Harwich mistake, but the Cardinals finally capitalized after a walk-off double from 1B Shaun Kort (Nevada).  The run broke a tie that had stood since the third inning without either team scoring a run.

Just a night after Cardinals SS Cole Figueroa (Florida) picked up a big base hit to score the game-winning run in the seventh, Orleans found a new hero in Kort.  This time, however, the big hit was an extra-base knock of the walk-off variety.

Although the game turned out to be very similar to others in the Cape League considering its low score and high number of strikeouts, the game was not headed down that path early.  Harwich scored both of their runs in the first inning thanks in part to a solo shot from C Andrew Giobbi (Vanderbilt) down the left-field line.

The Cardinals wasted no time fighting back and picked up a run in the bottom of the first due to some outstanding speed on the base paths by CF/2B Gary Brown (CS Fullerton).  Brown led off the game and was hit by a pitch before swiping second base.  That’s when Figueroa laid down a sacrifice bunt that he turned into a base-hit.  A miscommunication in the field led to a poor throw from the pitcher, RHP Billy Bullock (Florida), and Figueroa advanced to second while Brown came home to score on the error.

Brown took matters into his own hands in the third inning when he launched a solo blast to left-center.  It was his first home run of the season and tied the game at two.

Both starting pitchers began to settle in and turned it over to their teams’ outstanding bullpens.  Each squad had a couple of scoring opportunities in the eighth but failed to capitalize.

The Mariners had two runners aboard via walks but RHP Colin Warner (Wesley) settled down in his only inning of work and went after 1B Jeff Cusick (UC Irvine) and Giobbi.  He induced some weak contact against both hitters and fought his way out of the jam.

In the bottom half, the Cardinals had an even better opportunity.  A pair of singles by Figueroa and DH Nate Freiman (Duke) followed by a walk from RF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St.) loaded the bases for Orleans with just one out and a chance to take the lead.  Harwich brought in RHP Will Kempf (Baylor) to face Kort and 3B Kyle Spraker (Loyola Marymount) and Kempf shut down the Cardinals hitters to end the threat.

Orleans would have runners in scoring position again in the ninth and the tenth but failed to pick up a hit to win the game.  A 1-2-3 bottom of the 11^th sent the contest into another extra frame.

Kempf stayed on for a fourth inning of work and was cruising after sitting down six straight Cardinals with two outs in the 12^th.  Wheeler hit a weak groundball to the right side that somehow went off the glove of the first-baseman Cusick.  Wheeler hustled down the line and reached first without a throw on the error to keep the inning alive.

With two down, third base coach Darren Fenster (Rutgers) decided to send Wheeler on a 1-2 pitch and Kort lined the ball into left-center.  It fell in front of a diving CF D.J. Belfonte (Nebraska) and Wheeler was waved around third.  The relay throw was a little late as Wheeler slid safely into home plate and the Cardinals dugout emptied onto the field.

Both teams had several opportunities to break the tie before the Cardinals did so in the 12^th.  Harwich left seven on base while Orleans stranded 12 base-runners.

The win was made possible by another superb effort from the Cardinals pitching staff and the bullpen in particular.  LHP Elliot Glynn (UCONN), Warner, RHP Kyle Kamppi (Ga. Southern) and RHP Matt Thomson (San Diego) combined to throw seven shutout frames.  The Cardinals bullpen has now thrown 19 innings and allowed just one run on the season.

Orleans also received an outstanding start from RHP Martin Viramontes (Loyola Marymount) who made his Cape League debut tonight.  Viramontes threw five innings and allowed just one hit, the homer to Giobbi.  He surrendered two earned runs and struck out three.

The Cardinals will have the day off tomorrow before heading to McKeon Park to take on the Hyannis Mets on Friday.  First pitch under the new lights will take place at 7:00pm and the game will be broadcasted live on OrleansCardinals.com. 

(Unofficial Box Score)