By Andrew
Struckmeyer
Clark Griffith League Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
All season long, the Fairfax Nationals and the Vienna Senators have been the class of the Clark Griffith League. They have been head and shoulders better than the other teams in the league, and the most competitive games have come when the two teams play each other. During the regular season, the Senators held a slight 4-2 series edge. However, each of those games was decided by five runs or less. So when the two teams locked horns in the Jacobs Cup tournament, it was no surprise that the best game of the tournament so far resulted.
It was a game decided by a few plays here and there. The Nationals were able to jump out to an early lead, and used the lead to dictate the style of play. Their lead negated the Senators' strong running game, and put the pressure on the Senators to make key plays in key situations. In the end, the Nationals were able to make a few more plays than the Senators, in taking a hard-fought 3-2 victory.
"Getting ahead early really helped," said Nationals manager Billy Emerson. "With the way our guys pitched tonight, it made it hard for them to get back into the game."
Senators starter Ryan Woolley had another up and down outing. For a few innings, he would show the brilliant stuff that has made him a part of the NCAA runner-up Georgia Bulldogs. At other times, he lost control of his pitches and struggled.
The Nationals took advantage of the opportunities presented when Woolley struggled. In the second inning, A.J. Kirby-Jones hit a screaming, line-drive home run to right field to open the scoring. Chris Briere also scored in the inning on a throwing error by Alfred Rodriguez. Rodriguez was attempting to turn an inning-ending double play, but threw the ball away and allowed Briere to score.
The Nationals added a run in the third inning on an RBI ground out from Ben Jurevicius.
"They did a good job of putting runs up early," said Senators manager Chris Burr. "We had to come back, and when we had opportunities to come back we made some base running blunders that shortened the game. If we don't make a couple of base running blunders, we probably get a W in the books."
Nationals starter Bret Moore then settled into a rhythm in the middle innings and shut down the Senators lineup. Moore didn't allow a run through the first five innings. Moore had pitched well previously against the Senators. On July 3rd, Moore pitched 7.1 innings, and allowed four runs in a loss.
"[Bret] has really pitched well for us down the stretch," said Emerson. "His mechanics have improved and he is learning to be a better pitcher. Being able to throw all three pitches for strikes tonight was huge for him."
The Senators finally cracked the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Martin Parra started the inning with a double to left center field. The Senators then were aided by poor Nationals' fielding. Nick Kuroczko smoked a ball right at Will Naylor in center field. It appeared to be a routine fly ball, but the ball went over Naylor's glove and fell for a hit. Parra was surprised that the ball fell in and was only able to advance to third, while Kuroczko scooted into second base.
Matt Goulas then hit a sharp grounder to shortstop John Ralston. Goulas was hustling up the line and forced a bad throw from Ralston, allowing Parra to score from third. The Senators appeared to have a rally going, with two on and one out, and one run in. However, Wes Joy grounded into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
Woolley looked sharp in the middle innings, holding the Nationals scoreless over his last three innings of work. The Senators bullpen was also a sharp, as a combination of Mason Griffin, Clint Maune, Jimmy Duggan, and Chad Johnson held the Nationals scoreless over the final three innings.
The game was decided, however, in the bottom of the eighth inning. David Harris started the inning with an infield single. Kuroczko walked, and after a passed ball, the Senators had runners at second and third with one out. They had their leading run producer, Matt Goulas, at the plate. Goulas drove a ball to the gap in left center field, which nearly went out for a three-run home run. Harris scored easily from third, but Naylor made an excellent throw to the plate and gunned out Kuroczko at the plate. Joy then struck out to end the threat.
The loss means that the Senators will have to win two games on Thursday to take home the Jacobs Cup. They will play the Beltway Blue Caps in Game 1, and then if they advance will be facing the Nationals once more.
"We earned the two games tomorrow," said Burr. "[If we advance], we are going to have to keep it close early, so we can get out running game early, so we can use our assets more, and not make every play so critical."