Dogs Fall in Game 3, Are Eliminated by Pilots
August 8, 2014 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Fayetteville SwampDogs News Release
HAMPTON, Va. - Throughout their 2014 Coastal Plain League season, the Fayetteville SwampDogs were a scrappy team that performed their best when their backs were up against the wall. Unfortunately that came to an end on Friday night at War Memorial Stadium as the Peninsula Pilots defeated the SwampDogs 8-1, eliminating them from the playoffs.
Clayton Freimuth (Trinity) and Ryan Lenaburg matched wits on the mound for the first few frames, with Lenaburg surrendering a run in the third, and Freimuth one in the fourth.
In that third inning, Brandon Metoyer (Menlo) led off with a double, then was sacrificed to third by Tyler Tew (Methodist). A sacrifice fly from Jason Blum (Southeast Missouri State) would bring home Metoyer with the first run of the game.
The game was tied 1-1 until the bottom of the sixth inning, when Freimuth allowed a one-out hit to Kyle Johnson, then a triple to right-centerfield from Will Shepherd, which broke the tie and knocked Freimuth out of the box. Bennett Schiltz (Midland) came in and allowed a single to Brandon Stephens to drive in Shepherd and make it 3-1. Two more would come in against Schiltz in the seventh inning, to make the score 5-1 in favor of Peninsula.
The Pilots would tack on a few insurance runs in the eighth off of Hunter Barnett (Mount Olive). Stephens led off the inning with a long home run, then Nick Lustrino singled, and two batters later Garrett Brooks singled as well to put runners on first and third with one out. A sacrifice fly from P.J. Higgins brought in Lustrino, and a series of wild pitches scored Brooks, to make it 8-1 Pilots.
The SwampDogs gave it a valiant try in the ninth, but were unable to muster a comeback against the Pilots closer Jordan Brooks. With one out, Kam Stewart (Frostburg State) would triple off the wall in left field, but he would be stranded on third.
Freimuth took the loss for the SwampDogs, going 5.1 innings, allowing three runs on four hits, walking six and striking out six. Lenaburg got the win for Peninsula, hurling 7.2 innings, allowing one run on four hits, walking two and striking out seven.
Despite being eliminated from the playoffs, the SwampDogs players have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about. This is a team that battled adversity, never gave up, and left it all out on the field. The way that they were able to battle through adversity and win eight of their last 13 contests to make the playoffs was a testament to the character of the individuals on the field, and the leadership in the dugout from David Tufo, Mark Acker, Chris Beck and J.D. Jackson.
The SwampDogs would like to thank all of their fans for their support in this 2014 season, they truly are the best fans in the Coastal Plain League.
• Discuss this story on the Coastal Plain League message board...
Coastal Plain League Stories from August 8, 2014
- Dogs Fall in Game 3, Are Eliminated by Pilots - Fayetteville SwampDogs
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
