Orleans Firebirds

Firebirds Give Up Two in Ninth, Lose 2-1

July 24, 2009

By Tyler Maland

Orleans , Mass. - A game that had the promising looks of a shutout quickly turned into a disappointing defeat for the Orleans Firebirds Friday night at Eldridge Park. Orleans led the Wareham Gatemen 1-0 through eight innings of play, but Wareham plated two runs in the ninth inning and managed a 2-1 comeback victory.

Jordan Swagerty (Arizona St.) singled to lead off the decisive ninth inning. The following batter, Jake Lemmerman (Duke), was prepared to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but the first pitch he saw squirted away for a wild pitch and Swagerty moved to second with no outs. Two batters later, Chris Hannick (CS Northridge) hit a single back up the middle to score Swagerty and tie the game. After the inning was extended on a throwing error, Wareham plated the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Shea Vucinich (Washington St.).

Orleans had a chance in the bottom half of the ninth, which started with a single by Kevin Muno (San Diego). Muno moved to second base on a balk, and was ready to score easily when catcher Matt Koch hit a shot to the gap in left-center, but Wareham centerfielder Connor Rowe (Texas) prevented the run with a diving catch. Gatemen reliever Josh Slaats (Hawaii) retired the next two hitters to end the game.

Matt Packer (Virginia) made his first start of the year for Orleans, and was tremendous in five innings of work. He gave up thiree hits and two walks while striking out three.

Cole Cook (Pepperdine) was the long-relief man for the Firebirds, and was almost as impressive. Cook pitched four plus innings and gave up four hits while striking out five. He faced one batter in the ninth, giving up the leadoff single to Swagerty, who eventually came around to score the game-tying run.

Brett Weibley (Kent St.) was next out of the Firebirds bullpen, and got the loss. Weibley surrendered two hits and one unearned run.

The Wareham pitching, meanwhile, held the Firebirds to just three hits. Brett Eibner (Arkansas) started for the Gatemen and came out in the third inning because of an injury. Bruce Kern (St. John’s) promptly entered the game and pitched five innings of one-hit ball, striking out five. Slaats pitched 1.2 innings for the win.

Swagerty and Hannick led Wareham with two hits apiece.

Orleans scored its only run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Gary Brown (CS Fullerton). The Firebirds saw four men reach base in the inning, but scored just one run and left the bases loaded.

After an outburst of 21 runs in two games on July 17th and 18th, Orleans has scored just one run in each of its last four games.

The Firebirds are now 17-15-1, losers of four straight games. They will travel to Hyannis on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. match-up. Wareham, which started the day tied with Bourne for first place in the West with 34 points, improves to 16-13-4. The Gatemen have a double-header against Cotuit on Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m.

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Home Firebirds News Game Day Central Roster Statistics Coaching Staff Sounds of the Game Clinics Volunteer Alumni Contact	Firebirds Give Up Two in Ninth, Lose 2-1 July 24, 2009 By Tyler Maland Orleans , Mass. - A game that had the promising looks of a shutout quickly turned into a disappointing defeat for the Orleans Firebirds Friday night at Eldridge Park. Orleans led the Wareham Gatemen 1-0 through eight innings of play, but Wareham plated two runs in the ninth inning and managed a 2-1 comeback victory. Jordan Swagerty (Arizona St.) singled to lead off the decisive ninth inning. The following batter, Jake Lemmerman (Duke), was prepared to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but the first pitch he saw squirted away for a wild pitch and Swagerty moved to second with no outs. Two batters later, Chris Hannick (CS Northridge) hit a single back up the middle to score Swagerty and tie the game. After the inning was extended on a throwing error, Wareham plated the go-ahead run on an RBI single by Shea Vucinich (Washington St.). Orleans had a chance in the bottom half of the ninth, which started with a single by Kevin Muno (San Diego). Muno moved to second base on a balk, and was ready to score easily when catcher Matt Koch hit a shot to the gap in left-center, but Wareham centerfielder Connor Rowe (Texas) prevented the run with a diving catch. Gatemen reliever Josh Slaats (Hawaii) retired the next two hitters to end the game. Matt Packer (Virginia) made his first start of the year for Orleans, and was tremendous in five innings of work. He gave up thiree hits and two walks while striking out three. Cole Cook (Pepperdine) was the long-relief man for the Firebirds, and was almost as impressive. Cook pitched four plus innings and gave up four hits while striking out five. He faced one batter in the ninth, giving up the leadoff single to Swagerty, who eventually came around to score the game-tying run. Brett Weibley (Kent St.) was next out of the Firebirds bullpen, and got the loss. Weibley surrendered two hits and one unearned run. The Wareham pitching, meanwhile, held the Firebirds to just three hits. Brett Eibner (Arkansas) started for the Gatemen and came out in the third inning because of an injury. Bruce Kern (St. John’s) promptly entered the game and pitched five innings of one-hit ball, striking out five. Slaats pitched 1.2 innings for the win. Swagerty and Hannick led Wareham with two hits apiece. Orleans scored its only run in the third inning on a sacrifice fly by Gary Brown (CS Fullerton). The Firebirds saw four men reach base in the inning, but scored just one run and left the bases loaded. After an outburst of 21 runs in two games on July 17th and 18th, Orleans has scored just one run in each of its last four games. The Firebirds are now 17-15-1, losers of four straight games. They will travel to Hyannis on Saturday for a 5:30 p.m. match-up. Wareham, which started the day tied with Bourne for first place in the West with 34 points, improves to 16-13-4. The Gatemen have a double-header against Cotuit on Saturday starting at 4:30 p.m. (Box Score)