Orleans Firebirds

Defensive Miscues Hurt Orleans

June 21, 2008

Orleans, Mass. – A day after making three costly errors and allowing six unearned runs in a loss to Hyannis, the Cardinals struggled again defensively. Three more errors tonight helped Bourne score six runs in a 6-1 defeat of the Cards.

The Braves jumped out to an early lead after a one out double by C Brandon Bantz (Dallas Baptist) in the second. A base hit by 1B Stephen Batts (East Carolina) up the middle drove him in and put Bourne on the board.

It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to fight back from the one run deficit. With one down, SS Cole Figueroa (Florida) singled up the middle. A couple of pitches later he stole second and then advanced to third after a pickoff move led to an error on the pitcher. A walk to OF Alex Hassan (Duke) and a strikeout to OF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St.) put runners on the corners with two outs for 1B Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech).

With Hassan moving on the pitch, Plagman came through and had a clutch hit a through the hole on the right side. It drove in Figueroa and tied the game at one.

The fifth inning was not friendly for the Cards, however, as four hits led to three runs and a large Braves lead. Bourne led off the frame with two bunt singles. 3B Tyler Cannon (Virginia) smacked a base hit to drive in a run and both runners advanced on the throw home. The Cardinals intentionally walked 2B Ross Wilson (Alabama) to load the bases. DH Kyle Roller (East Carolina) hit another single, again to left field that brought in two runs. It gave the Braves a 4-1 lead.

Bourne would add another run in the sixth and make it 6-1 with a run in the ninth.

The Cardinals left nine runners on base in the game and would have found themselves back in the ballgame with a couple of timely hits. They did receive another solid performance however from their bullpen.

RHP Matt Thompson (San Diego) entered the game in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. He pitched his way out of the jam and continued to toss 2.1 innings without allowing a hit. He did surrender an unearned run.

“Everyone here is a really good player. There’s not much you can do in the field, it’s just a bad hop here and a bad hop there. We’re just going to keep playing hard and hopefully we’ll pull one out here in a bit,” Thompson said on the defense.

The loss drops Orleans to 3-3 and the .500 mark for the first time since June 16^th when they were 1-1. They’ll look to rebound tomorrow afternoon when they travel to play the Cotuit Kettleers at 5:00pm.

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Home Firebirds News Game Day Central Roster Statistics Coaching Staff Sounds of the Game Clinics Volunteer Alumni Contact	Defensive Miscues Hurt Orleans June 21, 2008 Orleans, Mass. – A day after making three costly errors and allowing six unearned runs in a loss to Hyannis, the Cardinals struggled again defensively. Three more errors tonight helped Bourne score six runs in a 6-1 defeat of the Cards. The Braves jumped out to an early lead after a one out double by C Brandon Bantz (Dallas Baptist) in the second. A base hit by 1B Stephen Batts (East Carolina) up the middle drove him in and put Bourne on the board. It didn’t take long for the Cardinals to fight back from the one run deficit. With one down, SS Cole Figueroa (Florida) singled up the middle. A couple of pitches later he stole second and then advanced to third after a pickoff move led to an error on the pitcher. A walk to OF Alex Hassan (Duke) and a strikeout to OF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St.) put runners on the corners with two outs for 1B Tony Plagman (Georgia Tech). With Hassan moving on the pitch, Plagman came through and had a clutch hit a through the hole on the right side. It drove in Figueroa and tied the game at one. The fifth inning was not friendly for the Cards, however, as four hits led to three runs and a large Braves lead. Bourne led off the frame with two bunt singles. 3B Tyler Cannon (Virginia) smacked a base hit to drive in a run and both runners advanced on the throw home. The Cardinals intentionally walked 2B Ross Wilson (Alabama) to load the bases. DH Kyle Roller (East Carolina) hit another single, again to left field that brought in two runs. It gave the Braves a 4-1 lead. Bourne would add another run in the sixth and make it 6-1 with a run in the ninth. The Cardinals left nine runners on base in the game and would have found themselves back in the ballgame with a couple of timely hits. They did receive another solid performance however from their bullpen. RHP Matt Thompson (San Diego) entered the game in the fifth with the bases loaded and two outs. He pitched his way out of the jam and continued to toss 2.1 innings without allowing a hit. He did surrender an unearned run. “Everyone here is a really good player. There’s not much you can do in the field, it’s just a bad hop here and a bad hop there. We’re just going to keep playing hard and hopefully we’ll pull one out here in a bit,” Thompson said on the defense. The loss drops Orleans to 3-3 and the .500 mark for the first time since June 16^th when they were 1-1. They’ll look to rebound tomorrow afternoon when they travel to play the Cotuit Kettleers at 5:00pm. (Unofficial Box Score)