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SAL1 Charleston RiverDogs

2009 Charleston RiverDogs Season Recap

September 8, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston RiverDogs News Release


Following a 2008 season which saw the RiverDogs set new franchise records for victories in a month, a season's half and tied the team mark for wins in a single season with an 80-59 record, the 2009 Charleston RiverDogs indeed had a tough act to follow. Even though the RiverDogs eluded postseason play for the fourth straight year, the events of the 2009 season should be construed as anything but disappointing.

Charleston raced to a 6-3 record to seize an early lead in the division standings, but would not regain the pole position in the circuit until May 25.

The RiverDogs notched their first sweep of the season against Savannah at Riley Park, taking three in a row from the Sand Gnats from April 25-27. After losing seven of nine from April 28-May 6, the team rebounded to rip off seven wins in eight games highlighted by three unforgettable moments.

The first two of those came on back-to-back nights (May 7-8) against the pesky Asheville Tourists. In the first contest, Asheville held a 1-0 lead with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, when Melky Mesa tied the game with a monstrous home run over the left-field wall, and Taylor Grote finished the game with a walk-off single for a 2-1 win in 11 innings. It was another walk-off win the next night on Brian Baisley's RBI single for a duplicate 2-1 victory.

Five days later in Lexington, starter Hector Noesi held the Legends hitless in seven masterful innings, and the pitching staff as a whole permitted only one knock in a 3-1 victory on May 13. The outing not only earned Noesi the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week honor, but also helped him toss 27.2 consecutive scoreless innings to start the season, the third-longest streak by a hurler since the RiverDogs became a Yankees affiliate in 2005.

Although the moments were magical, Charleston could not gain any traction and posted an 8-8 record from May 2-18. But after an off-day on May 19, the RiverDogs caught fire.

Charleston blazed its way to an 18-8 record over the next 26 games and handcuffed the Southern Division from the rest of the competition by seizing first place on May 25.

In the process, the RiverDogs took three-of-four from Savannah and five-of-six from Rome to all but knock out the team's two biggest rivals from the playoff picture.

However, the Sand Gnats got revenge on the RiverDogs in the final series of the half, taking the first two games from Charleston to again keep the team out of postseason play.

The RiverDogs were still rewarded for their efforts by having four players and two coaches named to the SAL Southern Division All-Star Team. Manager Tyson and pitching coach Jeff Ware joined pitcher Hector Noesi, outfielder Melky Mesa, designated hitter Dan Brewer and ambidextrous closer Pat Venditte for the game in West Virginia.

A litany of promotions at the start of the second half of the season not only gave Charleston quite a different appearance, but also caused the team to struggle out of the gate, much in the same fashion that the 2008 RiverDogs did after missing out on a first-half title.

While manager Tyson did collect his 200th career victory on June 29 in Savannah, Charleston was only able to put together a mediocre 10-15 mark over the first 25 games. However, back-to-back shutouts were registered over first-half Southern Division champ Greenville on July 2-3, and the Charleston faithful saw the Hickory Crawdads commit six errors in the eighth inning on July 13 culminating in a five-run frame and a 7-3 comeback win.

The following eight-game road trip was amazingly memorable on several different levels. The first four games took place against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at NewBridge Bank Park in Greensboro, N.C., where the RiverDogs lost three of four contests in July 2008. Events would transpire much differently the second time around, as the series was kickstarted by Cory Arbiso's eight no-hit innings on July 22. Although the no-hitter was lost in the ninth, Charleston hung on for an 8-2 win and took three-of-four games in that clip, ratcheting 62 hits in the set; the most hits in a four-game set in 2009.

Charleston, W. Va. was the next destination versus the West Virginia Power, whom the RiverDogs had not visited since Aug. 2007. During the series, over half the team was victimized by a version of the Norwalk virus, and play noticeably suffered as the club lost the first three games of the set, including a no-hit performance by the Power on July 27, marking the first time Charleston had been held hitless since Aug. 26, 1998. The RiverDogs were one-hit the next evening, but did rebound in the series finale for a 9-8 triumph.

A 2-7 record in the next nine games set the RiverDogs at 16-26 in the second half going into an off-day on Aug. 9. From that point, even though the team had been eliminated from playoff contention, Charleston played perhaps its best baseball all season and recorded a 20-7 record over the final 27 games.

The RiverDogs fashioned a 6-1 homestand against two of the Northern Division's best in a three-game sweep of the Delmarva Shorebirds and a 3-1 mark against the first-half Northern Division champion Lakewood BlueClaws.

Following a three-game skid, the RiverDogs mounted the largest comeback win of the year on Aug. 23 in Augusta, to that point, erasing a 10-4 deficit for an incredible 14-13 victory, and followed that the next night with a five-run 10th inning to take a three-game series at Lake Olmstead Stadium, 7-2.

On Aug. 25, Charleston would put together the largest come-from-behind win in the 13-year history of Riley Park against the Rome Braves. Trailing 9-1 after the top of the fifth, the RiverDogs touched home four times in each the fifth and seventh innings, capped off by a monstrous three-run home run from Neall French for a 9-9 score. Charleston won the game in 12th, 10-9, on Jose Pirela's RBI triple.

Aug. 29 would not fail in the drama department either, as a three-game series began against the Augusta GreenJackets, who at the time were jockeying for a second-half Southern Division title. But Charleston would sweep that Saturday doubleheader, turning that trick for the first time since July 2007. Game 1 saw yet another comeback win, turning a 2-0 hole into a 3-2 victory, after Abraham Almonte gunned down the tying run at the plate to end the game. Game 2 featured Augusta leaping to an 8-0 lead after four innings, but for the second time in the homestand, the RiverDogs came all the way back to knot the game at 8-8 and won by a 9-8 margin in 11 innings.

Charleston would take the final three games of a four-game series at Rome during the last road trip of the season, sweeping another doubleheader on Sept. 1 and keeping the Braves off the scoreboard over the final 33 innings of the series as part of three straight shutouts. Both serve as the longest streaks in the 13-year history of Riley Park.

A five-game series against Savannah ended the 2009 season, with Charleston taking four of the contests, including the 1,100th victory in franchise history on Sept. 5. Three of the victories came in walk-off fashion, including the season finale on Sept. 7. Down 6-2 in the sixth, the RiverDogs scored the final five runs to win, 7-6.

Overall, the roster had a tremendous amount of fluctuation with 16 player promotions and only 11 players remaining on the final roster that were also on the Opening Night list.

Abraham Almonte forever etched his place in RiverDogs history by collecting a career-high 26-game hitting streak from Aug. 6-Sept 5. The skein was the longest in the SAL in 2009 and the longest for a RiverDog since Mitch Hilligoss hit safely in 38 straight games in 2007. Almonte currently ranks 11th in RiverDogs history in career RBI (102) and base hits (224). The Dominican native also finished the 2009 season tied for second in triples (10), which also ranks fifth in RiverDogs single season history, and fifth in the league in stolen bases (36).

Phelps, Mesa and May addition Corban Joseph were honored with selections to the SAL Postseason All-Star Squad. Phelps finished 10-3 with a 2.80 ERA over 19 starts before a July promotion. Mesa finished tied for fourth with 20 home runs and ranked fifth with 76 runs scored, while also finding his name in the league's top 10 in terms of extra-base hits (51) and RBI (74). Joseph, a fourth-round pick by the Yankees in 2008, had a slow end to the first half before erupting in the second half by hitting .410 in the month of July with 13 multi-hit games including eight in a row, which won him the SAL's Topps Player of the Month honors. The Franklin, Tenn. native rounded out the half raking at a .337 clip to finish with an even .300 average, tied for fourth in the circuit.

While not an All-Star, middle infielder Jose Pirela, who joined the team in late May, burst onto the scene by hitting .295, primarily in the team's leadoff spot, which placed him ninth in the league.

Charleston would also have a chance to celebrate both of its closers during the season. Venditte, who was involved in the slew of late-June promotions, still finished tied for fifth in the league with 20 saves. Holy City fans also got their second chance to see 2008 SAL All-Star closer Jonathan Ortiz, who locked up the all-time Charleston saves record with 42, passing Kerry Lacy's 36 which was set in 1993 with the Charleston Rainbows.

At the box office, the RiverDogs saw the third-highest season attendance figure ever, with 268,985 fans clicking through the turnstiles, for an average of 4,015 per game.

Charleston was able to clinch its seventh straight winning season, posting a final mark of 74-65, but the playoffs were not in the cards for the Lowcountry. However, the 2009 season should not be viewed as a step back, but rather as a step to overcome in the face of constant adversity. The team proved time and time again that no deficit was too great to dethrone, making this group champions for all who had the pleasure to see them perform.

--RIVERDOGS--

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South Atlantic League Stories from September 8, 2009


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