MWL1 Clinton LumberKings

LumberKings Crowned West Champions with 4-1 Win Over Kane County

Published on September 14, 2010 under Midwest League (MWL1)
Clinton LumberKings News Release


Clinton, IA - For the first time in 17 years, the Clinton franchise will play for the Midwest League Championship. The LumberKings claimed the West Division title with a gutty 4-1 win over the Kane County Cougars at Alliant Energy Field.

The game stayed scoreless until the sixth, when Clinton finally broke through against Cougars' right-hander Murphy Smith. Kevin Mailloux reached on a dropped pop-up by second-baseman Conner Crumbliss and stood aboard with one out for Mickey Wiswall. Wiswall, held homereless over the first five games of the postseason, lifted a massive blast that carried completely over the Lumber Lounge in right field. His epic two-run homer gave the Kings a 2-0 lead.

Smith stayed on and came further unglued. He hit Blake Ochoa in the back with a pitch and then served up a triple to Tim Morris, increasing the Clinton lead to 3-0. Morris's line drive went all the way to the 401 sign in right-center, scoring Ochoa all the way from first. Smith (L, 0-1) would finish out the sixth with three runs on five hits and six strikeouts.

Right-hander Tom Wilhelmsen (W, 1-0) pitched the best game of his already-fantastic season, limiting the Cougars to six hits over 7.0 innings while striking out six. He received sharply turned double plays from Gabriel Noriega and Mailloux in both the second and fourth innings, then went on to strand runners in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings.

Right-hander Forrest Snow emerged from the bullpen in the eighth and couldn't quite keep the shutout in tact. Jose Crisotomo reached on a one-out error by the first-baseman Morris, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a ringing two-out single to center by Rashun Dixon. Snow beared down after a walk to Myrio Richard, stranding the tying runs on base with a looking strikeout of Anthony Aliotti.

Clinton got that run right back, however, against right-hander Rob Gilliam in the eighth. Morris lined a leadoff single to left, tagged to second on a deep fly ball to right from Mario Martinez, moved to third on a single by Matt Cerione and scored on a sacrifice fly by Noriega.

Snow (S, 1) yielded singles to Leonardo Gil and pinch-hitter Mike Gilmartin in the ninth inning, but battled back to strike out Ryan Lipkin and Crumbliss. He'd again strand the runners, squeezing the final out himself on a 3-1 putout of Crisotomo.

Morris (2-for-4) and Cerione (2-for-4) each had multi-hit games for the LumberKings, but it was the one hit from Wiswall (1-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) that produced the game-winning RBI. Clinton won despite being out-hit 9-7 by the Cougars and also despite committing five errors on defense.

The LumberKings will now play the winner of the Great Lakes/Lake County series for the 2010 Midwest League Championship. The East Division Championship Series is currently tied, 1-1. Alliant Energy Field will be the site for games one and two of the series, with the exact days and times yet to be announced.

Tickets will go on sale for both games starting tomorrow at 10:00 AM. They can be purchased by visiting the Alliant Energy Field box office or by calling 563-242-0727. Playoff ticket prices remain the same, with box seats at $8, adult general admission at $7 and students/seniors general admission at $6.

Catch all the continuing playoff action for your LumberKings on AM 1390 KCLN in Clinton or live on the web at 1390kcln.com.

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Midwest League Stories from September 14, 2010


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