By Andrew
Struckmeyer
Clark Griffith League Staff Writer
Monday, July 28, 2008
"It's about time," said Blue Caps manager John Nolan.
All season long, the Beltway Blue Caps have been undone in the late innings, losing close games in a variety of ways. Their bullpen has been razor-thin, with only Max Langford as a steady, reliable option. It has been their Achilles heel, damning them to last place in the Clark-Griffith League regular season standings. So when the Blue Caps gained reinforcements for the opening round of the Jacobs Cup, they finally had a fighting chance. The Blue Caps bullpen, led by Langford, closed out the McLean Raiders to pull the first upset of the Jacobs Cup. Nolan could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Even though the Blue Caps entered the tournament as the #6 seed, they had a quiet confidence about playing the role of underdog.
"We are the 6 seed, but we lost a lot of games late this year," said Nolan. "We blew more games in the eighth and ninth innings than I could even imagine, and we knew coming into today that we had a couple of guys coming back. I had a feeling that Jay was going to give us a chance, and that if we could scratch a few runs across we could hold on today."
Jay Joines aided the bullpen by delivering six strong innings for the Blue Caps. Joines has been the team's most effective starter all season long, and it was a no-brainer for Nolan to tab him for this start. Joines allowed three runs in his six innings, while striking out four batters.
"I was just trying to throw strikes, and make them put the ball in play," said Joines. "Coach said go out there and give us six innings, and I was able to do that."
With the Blue Caps leading 4-3 heading into the seventh inning, Nolan turned the game over to Brett Hammann. Hammann has been out since the first week of the season with an elbow strain, and just returned Friday. Hammann pitched a perfect seventh inning to hold the lead.
If it weren't for a throwing error in the eighth inning, he would have successfully bridged the gap to Langford in the ninth. But, with Dan Lopez on second base with two outs, shortstop Ryan Baione made an unwise decision to force a throw. Baione, an outstanding defensive shortstop, made a diving stop to get to the ball, but skipped the ball to first base and Lopez was able to score the tying run.
It appeared that the Blue Caps were headed for another late-inning collapse. The Raiders had their ace, Daniel Tillman, on in relief and he had set the Blue Caps down in order in the eighth inning.
However, the Blue Caps decided not to play their part in the script. Keith Morrisroe, who has only been a Blue Cap for one week, started the rally with a double down the right field line. After a Brandon Padula walk, Max Eckert came to the plate with two outs. Eckert hit a sharp grounder right at Lopez at second base, and it whistled between his legs and under his glove into left field. Morrisroe sped home from second to score the go-ahead run.
"We did the same thing we have done all year long, we keep battling back," said Nolan. "We have had a bunch of come from behind wins, we have blown a lot of leads and come back to win. We have never quit one time this year."
Langford, who has bounced back and forth between the starting rotation and the closer's role this season, came on and set the Raiders down in order to end the game. After a one-out walk, Matt Frazee grounded right back to Langford, who started a nifty 1-6-3 double play to end the game.
The Blue Caps were staked to an early lead by a three-run home run from Robert Hays in the first inning. Hays has been the most dominant hitter in the CGL this year. He won the Triple Crown, by leading the league in batting average, home runs, and RBIs. The Triple Crown is one of the more rare feats that can be accomplished at any level of baseball.
"I just try to have a plan every time I go up to the plate," said Hays. "Today, I was down 2 strikes, so I was just trying to put the ball in play. I dropped the head of the bat, and it happened to go out."
The Blue Caps will now face the Fairfax Nationals, the #2 seed in the tournament, in the next round.
As for the Raiders, the team is now eliminated from the Jacobs Cup, but still has a chance for postseason success in the AAABA tournament in August. The tournament will be held in Johnstown, Pennsylvania and will feature many top teams from around the country.
"I don't think that [this loss] will be a problem [for Johnstown]," said Raiders manager Eric Smith. "These guys just want to play baseball. We're going to play some games next week to get prepared and we'll be fine."
The Raiders' roster will be bolstered by a few players from around the CGL. It will also be paramount for Lopez to shake off his late inning error, as he has been a key contributor all season.
"He has made so many excellent plays for us throughout the year, that there is nothing you can talk to him about," said Smith. "He has turned way too many double plays, had way too many big hits. It's just one of those things where it's a physical error, he's busting his butt, and it's going to happen."