By Andrew
Struckmeyer
Clark Griffith League Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Arlington Diamonds manager Dan Hodgson trotted out to the pitcher's mound. Another Diamonds pitcher walked off of the rubber and into the dugout. At the same time, one of his compatriots jogged down from the bullpen with the unenviable task of quieting the potent Blue Caps offense. Such was the life of a Diamonds pitcher on Wednesday afternoon in the Jacobs Cup.
Both the Beltway Blue Caps and the Diamonds had used a total of five different pitchers in the first two games of the tournament. Still, both managers planned to hold nothing back in this elimination game. In the end, the Blue Caps had a little more pitching left than the Diamonds. Their offense was dominant, as they outslugged the Diamonds for a 17-5 victory.
The Blue Caps offense was geared up from the start, as the first eight batters reached base. Robert Hays delivered a loud three-run home run to right center field to start the offensive fireworks. The Blue Caps followed up their four-run first inning with a run in the second and four more in the third inning.
Diamonds starter Buddy Cipoletti couldn't make it through the second inning. He allowed five runs and five hits. Reliever Bobby Thompson didn't fare much better, as he allowed four runs in his lone inning of work.
The Diamonds appeared to be capable of similar pyrotechnics against Blue Caps starter Alex Eliopoulos. They had back-to-back-to-back hits in the first inning to force home a run. They scored another run in the third inning, and two more in the fourth to close the deficit to 9-4.
Eliopoulos could not make it through the fourth inning. He allowed four runs on six hits and six walks. Fortunately for the Blue Caps, reliever Brendan DiBari had one of his better outings of the season. DiBari pitched the final five and a third innings, allowing only a solo home run by Drew Boandl in the eighth inning.
"It was huge for him to come in a bite the bullet and pitch those extra innings," said Blue Caps manager John Nolan. "I knew that he was capable of an outing like this. He threw strikes and changed speeds. If you throw the ball in the strike zone, and you don't walk hitters, and make them hit, you tend to get guys out."
With such a big lead, DiBari was able to concentrate on throwing strikes. It allowed DiBari to use his entire repertoire, and mix in an effective slider.
"I just tried to throw strikes," said DiBari. "I was around the plate; I wasn't walking guys, and just tried to keep them off-balance. I tried to throw the ball over the plate, and let them hit it. I mean, they're not going to hit a ten-run home run off of me."
The Blue Caps kept relentlessly attacking what was left of Diamonds pitching. Andrew Clemens, who had pitched the last two days, was called on to pitch almost four innings, and he subsequently allowed three runs. Finally, Hodgson called on Joe Garrity, who started the game in right field, to mop up the game. Garrity pitched the final three innings, allowing five runs.
"It wasn't the way that we would like to go out, but we kind of hit a wall," said Diamonds manager Dan Hodgson. "We were pretty much cooked after three innings. We didn't have any arms left. We were asking guys to come back on short rest, and a couple of guys were coming off of injuries."
The loss concludes the Diamonds first season in the Clark Griffith League. The Diamonds played admirably, considering the numerous obstacles that they had to overcome. They were short on players for most of the last three weeks of the season. Some players were living out of a motel for the first three weeks of the season.
"It was a trying first season, because nothing really ran smoothly," said Hodgson. "Whenever you start a new organization, you're going to have things go not the way that you planned. But the guys did a good job of handling it. I really enjoyed the season, and I definitely look back on this as a very positive first season for the Arlington Diamonds."
The Blue Caps will play another elimination game tomorrow against the Vienna Senators. The Blue Caps may end up being in the situation that the Diamonds were in today. The Blue Caps have now used seven pitchers already in the tournament. However, Nolan said that every pitcher will be available in some capacity tomorrow.