Steamers Open Second Round With Hit Parade
Published on August 8, 2011 under Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Edenton Steamers News Release
WILMINGTON, NC - Edenton opened the second round with 14 hits and 14 runs in a rout of the number seven seed Wilmington Sharks to remain undefeated in the postseason and take a one game to none series lead heading home to Historic Hicks Field.
Edenton made the trip into uncharted waters for the opening game in round two of the Petitt Cup Playoffs. Their opponent, the Wilmington Sharks, were hungry fresh off their upset win over Fayetteville in the opening round.
Jonathan Sanchez got the nod to start game one of round two against Wilmington, a team the Steamers did not face all season long. Opposing Sanchez for the Sharks was Emilio Pagan.
After a scoreless first inning the Steamers cracked the scoreboard against Pagan in the top of the second inning. Joey Wendle, a driving offensive force all season for Edenton, reached on an infield single to begin the inning. Zach Stewart wasted no time, hitting a pitch from Pagan over the left field wall for a two-run home run. Stewart hit the first post season home run for Edenton in 2011 to make it 2-0 Steamers.
Edenton added a run in the top of the third against Pagan when Ryan Brenner walked. Brenner stole his way to third and came home on a throwing error by the catcher Eric Mayers on the stolen base attempt to make it 3-0 Steamers.
Wilmington finally got to Sanchez in the bottom of the third to narrow the gap. A one out walk to Aaron Preston followed by a double by Justyn Carter put runners on second and third. Jake Mayers, two batters later, hit a two-run single to right field to make it 3-2 Steamers after three innings.
A scoreless fourth inning followed for both clubs and Edenton led 3-2 heading to the fifth. With two out against Pagan, Adam Giacalone singled to bring up Wendle. Joey connected on the second two-run home run of the game for the Steamers and quickly turned it was a 5-2 lead.
Sanchez pitched a one, two, three bottom of the fifth and was lifted after the Steamers went scoreless in the top of the sixth. Sanchez pitched five innings, allowing three hits and two runs. He walked three and struck out two in the winning effort.
Emilio Pagan turned in a scoreless sixth inning and was lifted prior to the seventh for Stephen Richardson. Pagan left in line for the loss, pitching six innings and allowing five hits and five runs (four earned) on five walks and six strikeouts.
Edenton blew it open in the top of the seventh with five runs crossing the plate against the Sharks bullpen. In all, Edenton picked up four hits in the inning and brought home runs on an RBI infield single by Zach Stewart, an RBI walk issued to Nathan Burns, a wild pitch thrown by Richardson to score Wendle, an RBI single by Saunders and an RBI fielder's choice by Brett Christopher to complete the scoring for the Steamers. When the dust settled on Edenton's top of the seventh inning the scoreboard read 10-2 Steamers.
Eddie Perkins, Jordan Glover and Jordan Egan all threw shut-out innings against Wilmington to get the game into the ninth inning leading 10-2 over the Sharks.
In the top of the ninth Edenton continued the onslaught of offense against the Sharks. Richardson began his third inning of work and did not finish the ninth. Three singles in a row loaded the bases and Christopher knocked in two with a double to make 12-2 Steamers. Vinnie Mejia followed the double with an RBI single to make it 13-2 Edenton and Christopher came home on a wild pitch by Justyn Carter, the Sharks shortstop who came into to pitch in the ninth. Heading to the bottom of the ninth it was 14-2 Steamers.
Benny Mejia followed with the Steamers fourth shut-out inning by the bullpen to close out the 14-2 victory in game one and give the Steamers the 1-0 series lead over Wilmington.
The Steamers find themselves in the same position after game one of the opening round against Peninsula, coming home with a chance to close out the series in front of the home crowd at Historic Hicks Field.
Sanchez improves to 4-0 overall on the season and 1-0 in postseason play and Pagan, with the loss falls to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the postseason. Edenton improves to 3-0 in the postseason and Wilmington falls to 2-2.
Game two will be tomorrow night in Edenton with the first pitch at 7:00 pm. The gates open at 6:00 pm and tickets are on-sale now. For playoff ticket information please call (252)482-4080.
The Edenton Steamers compete during the summer at Historic Hicks Field in downtown Historic Edenton, North Carolina. Currently in its 15th season, the Coastal Plain League features 15 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. The CPL has had over 930 alumni drafted and 45 alums have made their Major League debut thus far. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league Web site at http://www.coastalplain.com. For more information on the Edenton Steamers, please visit the team website at http://www.edentonsteamers.com.
Coastal Plain League Stories from August 8, 2011
- Sharks Fall Victim To Steamers In Game One - Wilmington Sharks
- Owls Blank Grizzlies in Semifinal Opener - Forest City Owls
- Steamers Open Second Round With Hit Parade - Edenton Steamers
- Sappelt Debuts with Reds - Florence RedWolves
- SwampDogs Thank Fans for Great 2011 Season - Fayetteville SwampDogs
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