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Four-Run Seventh Boosts Brewster Over Orleans
July 20, 2010
By Tyler Maland
After six and a half well played innings had the game knotted at two heading to the bottom of the seventh, Will Clinard (Vanderbilt) entered in relief for the Firebirds and watched the wheels fall off. Drew Martinez (Memphis) started the trouble with a one-out single, and moved to second when Clinard's pick-off throw got past first baseman Jayce Boyd (Florida St.). Martinez moved to third on a wild pitch, and scored the go-ahead run on a double by Danny Oh (Cal-Berkely). Taylor Featherston (TCU) followed with an RBI single to score Oh, and moved to second when the ball took a bad hop past right fielder Steve Selsky (Arizona) for an error. Pinch-hitter Taylor Ard (Mt. Hood CC) then singled up the middle to put runners on the corners, ending the day for Clinard.
Jack Leathersich (UMASS-Lowell) was Clinard's replacement, and after just two pitches he was called for a balk while successfully catching Ard off of first base, scoring Featherston and moving Ard to second. Leathersich proceeded to hit the first batter he faced, and induced a groundout to second to put runners on second and third. Burny Mitchem (Dayton) then came on for Orleans and walked Jeremy Schaffer (Tulane) to load the bases before allowing an RBI infield single up the middle by Kirk Singer (Long Beach St.) to make it 6-2. Mitchem finally got out of it by striking out Khayyan Norfork (Tennessee), who recorded the first and last outs of the inning.
Prior to the calamitous seventh inning, Tuesday's game had been a happy birthday outing at the plate for Selsky (pictured left). Celebrating his 21st birthday, the right fielder launched a solo homer to deep left field in the second inning to break a 1-1 tie, and nearly had another in the sixth inning with the score 2-2 when his laser to left-center bounced just before the wall for a ground rule double. Selsky moved to third on a wild pitch, but two straight popups stranded him there.
The Firebirds stranded a runner on third base in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings, and did not get anyone to third in the last three frames.
Orleans started off the scoring in the first inning when Kevin Muno (San Diego) singled through the left side and took advantage of two Austin Lubinsky (Minnesota) wild pitches to score the first run of the game. Brewster responded with its own run in the first after singles by Martinez and Oh and a sac fly by Troy Channing (Saint Mary's). The Selsky shot in the second made it 2-1, but the Whitecaps again tied the game on an RBI double by Oh in the fifth.
Martinez and Oh, the first and second hitters of the Brewster lineup, combined to go 6-for-9 on the day with three runs, including the two RBI doubles by Oh. Martinez's three hits propelled him back in front of Firebird Kolten Wong (Hawai'i) for the league lead in hitting at .349. Wong was 0-for-3, and his average dropped to .342.
Singer was 2-for-4 for Brewster, and is 8-for-16 in his last four games against the Firebirds. The Whitecaps have won all five matchups this year.
Lubinsky got a no-decision in five innings pitched, giving up five hits and two runs. Daniel Renken (CS Fullerton), who pitched three innings of one-hit ball in relief, got the win (1-1).
Matt Sisto (Hawai'i) started for Orleans and was effective in 5 1/3 innings pitched, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out three. Clinard got the loss for Orleans (0-1), and gave up four runs in one third of an inning pitched.
Unable to win a fourth straight game, Orleans drops to 14-17 on the year and remains in fourth place in the East. The Firebirds host Harwich Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. at Eldredge Park. Brewster is now 22-9, and after an off-day Wednesday will travel to Chatham for a 7:00 p.m. game Thursday night.
View Steve Selsky's Post-Game Interview