Monthly Archives: September, 2009

DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) led the charge with 4 hits and 2 RBI and CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) and 2B Daniel Descalso (Cardinals) both homered in Team USA's win over Mexico. �

The scoring started in the 2nd inning, when LF Jon Weber (Rays) walked, moved to second base on a balk, and came across the plate on C Lucas May's (Dodgers) RBI double. �After going down in order in the 3rd inning, Team USA scored in each of the next 4 innings. �Singles by RF Josh Kroeger (White Sox) and Terry Tiffee and an RBI fielder's choice by Weber brought in one run in the 4th. �Descalso's solo homer, followed by three singles --1B Justin Smoak (Rangers), Kroeger, and Tiffee -- added two more runs in the 5th. �Coats hit a solo homer in the 6th. �In the 7th, Kroeger walked, and he scored on Tiffee's double. �Tiffee advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt, and scored on 3B Pedro Alvarez's sacrifice fly. �

Trevor Reckling (Angels) pitched 5 innings in his start for Team USA. �He gave up 2 hits and 2 walks, for 3 runs (one earned). �A fielding error by Pedro Alvarez at third, followed by an RBI double and a sacrifice fly brought in 2 unearned runs in the 5th inning. �Reckling began the 6th inning with a walk and a double. �He was relieved by former Indy Indian Jason Childers, who struck out the only batter he faced, and then was relieved by Geno Espineli (Giants). �Espineli also faced one batter, who flied out for a sacrifice fly and RBI. �Ehren Wasserman (White Sox) came on to get the final out of the inning, a ground out, then went on to pitch 2 more scoreless innings. �Nate Field (Marlins) finished the game with a scoreless 9th, allowing a single, but erasing that runner with a double play. �

Pedro Alvarez went 0-for-3 with the sacrifice fly. �His batting average for the tournament is .226. �

This was Team USA's 5th win in the second round of the tournament (5-0 record), which ensures them a spot in the final round of the tournament. �There are 8 teams in each pool (F and G) for the second round, and the top 4 in each pool will go on to the final round.

The game between Team USA and Australia, which was postponed yesterday, will be made up on Monday. �

In other Pool G games (played in Italy)

Two Australian pitchers, Adam Blackley and Brendan Wise (Tigers), held Team Japan to 6 hits in this shutout game. �Blackley scattered 4 hits and a walk over his first 6 innings of work. �It the 7th inning, with one out, Blackley gave up another walk and a single, and the lead runner was out in a run-down as he tried to get to third on a hit. �He was relieved by Wise at that point. �Wise finished the 7th inning and retired the side in the 8th. �In the 9th inning, he gave up a single, but then got the next batter to bounce into a 3-6-1 double play to end the game. �

Former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling went 2-for-3 in the game, with a walk, and a solo home run, while 3B Luke Hughes (Twins) led the offense by going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, and an RBI. �The Australians scored 2 runs in the 4th inning, when Snelling led off with a walk and �moved to third base on Hughes' single. �1B Stefan Welch's (Mets) sacrifice fly scored Snelling. �Hughes stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. �He scored on C Joel Naughton's (Phillies) RBI single. �Naughton picked up another RBI in the 5th inning with a single, and Hughes also collected an RBI with a sacrifice fly, after doubles by 2B Brad Harman (Phillies) and Welch. �Snelling's solo homer came in the top of the 9th inning, to give Australia the 5-run advantage. �

Italy scored 5 runs in the top of the 1st inning, when the first 5 batters reached base safely: �double, hit batter, single, triple (3 RBI), and hit batter. �Italy�was leading 6-3 going into the 7th inning, when Canada exploded for 7 runs: double, triple, 3 singles, and a grand slam. �Italy picked up one more in the top of the 8th, but it was no match for Canada. �Team Canada had sent 11 batters to the plate in the 7th, and they sent another 11 batters up in the 8th. �Two singles, three walks, a 3-RBI double, and another double brought in 6 more runs. �Pirates' farmhand Dustin Molleken did not pitch in the game. �

In Pool F games (played in the Netherlands)

Pirates' Tom Boleska got the start for Great Britain, and pitched 5 innings, allowing 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, with 3 strikeouts. �He gave up a run in the top of the 1st inning on a sacrifice fly after he loaded the bases on a hit batter, a single, and a walk. �A triple and a passed ball gave Spain another run in the 3rd inning. �Spain got another run in the top of the 7th off the Great Britain bullpen. �

The Great Britain offense scored one run in the 3rd on a double and an RBI single. �They tied it up in the 7th. �SS Brant Ust opened the inning with a single. �Two more singles plated Ust, and an RBI grounder brought in the tying run. �The tie did not last long, though. �Spain scored two runs in the 8th inning, with a solo homer, a fielding error, and a double, and then added 5 more runs in the 9th, on 4 singles and 3 walks.

Puerto Rico scored one run in the 3rd inning and 2 more in the 4th. �Venezuela battled back with 2 runs on 5 singles in the 7th, to get within one run of Puerto Rico. �A single, a wild pitch, and an RBI single gave Puerto Rico two more insurance runs in the top of the 8th. �Venezuela scored one more in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't enough to overcome Puerto Rico. �Pirates'�did not get into the game. �

Former Pirate farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster had 2 of the Netherlands' hits and 3 of their RBI, while former Pirate 1B Randall Simon added 2 hits. �Nicaragua scored first with one run in the 2nd inn ing. �The Netherlands' team tied it up in the 3rd inning, on d e C aster's single, Simon's double, and an RBI grounder to bring in de Caster. �Two doubles gave the Netherlands another run, for a 2-1 lead in the top of the 4th, but Nicaragua came back with a 3-run homer in the bottom of the frame, to take a 4-2 lead. �But the Netherlands scored 6 unanswered runs in the last two innings to secure the win. �A solo homer by LF Curt Smith and a 3-run homer by de Caster gave the Netherlands 4 runs in the 8th. �C Sidney de Jong also had a solo homer to lead off the 9th inning, and a double and an RBI single brought in the second run in that inning. �

Today's Pool G game between Australia and the USA had to be postponed due to weather. �No makeup date has been announced yet.

Team USA will face Mexico on Saturday.

In other Pool G action (played in Italy)

Team Canada scored 19 runs on 17 hits, bringing runners across the plate in every inning except the 2nd. �3B Shawn Bowman, 1B Jimmy Van Ostrand, and 2B Brett Lawrie all homered in the game. �Canadian starter Brooks McNiven pitched all 6 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits, with 5 strikeouts. �He retired the first 9 batters he faced, before allowing a lead-off single in the 4th inning. �N.A. scored their runs in the 5th inning, on two singles and a double. Pirates' farmhand Dustin Molleken did not get into the game, since McNiven needed no help from his bullpen. �

In Pool F �(played in the Netherlands)

RJ Rodriguez earned another save with 2 scoreless innings for Puerto Rico. �The Puerto Ricans scored a run in the 3rd on a double and a single. �They scored again in the 5th on three singles, with help from a balk, a catchers' interference call, and a hit batter to force in the run. �Cuba tied it up with solo home runs in the 4th and 5th innings. �Puerto Rico took the lead again with a 3-run 8th inning. �A solo homer opened the inning, and a single and two doubles added two more runs. �Rodriguez took the mound in the bottom of the 8th, and gave up a lead-off double, then retired the next 6 batters he faced. �

The Netherlands' starter Tom Stuifbergen scattered 7 hits, no walks, over 7 shutout innings, and his bullpen pitched two more shutout innings, to keep Great Britain winless in Round Two. �The Netherlands scored 3 runs in the 2nd inning on a homer, a single, a triple, and a wild pitch. �They added another run in the 7th, on two singles. �Former Pirate Farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster�also singled in that inning, moving RF Eugene Kingsale to third base, but Kingsale was out on the third base line caught stealing to end the inning. �A double, a walk, a single, and a throwing error brought two more runs across in the 8th inning. �De Caster was 1-for-4 on the night, and former Pirate 1B Randall Simon was 1-for-3 for the Netherlands. �Former Pirate farmhand SS Brant Ust went 1-for-4 for Great Britain. �Tom Boleska did not get into the game for Great Britain. �

The Cardiac Cats, serious under-cats in the Carolina League playoffs, have won the Mills Cup Championship with a sweep of the Southern Division champion Salem Red Sox in Salem, Virginia tonight. �

Five Lynchburg pitchers worked on defeating the Red Sox, with Mike Colla earning the win, and Ronald Uviedo�earned the save. �SS Jordy Mercer went 4-for-5 in the game, marking the first time in his career that he had 4 hits in a game. �RF Jamie Romak went 3-for-4, with 3 RBI. �

The Hillcats got down to business in the top of the 1st inning. �They scored one run on a walk by 3B Josh Harrison�and an RBI double by Jordy Mercer. �Salem came right back with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning, on four singles and a sacrifice fly. �

Lynchburg broke out with 6 runs in the 2nd inning, as they sent 10 batters to the plate. �C Tony Sanchez began the fun with a single, and 1B Matt Hague walked. �Both moved up one base on LF Alex Presley's sacrifice bunt. �CF Jose De Los Santos struck out but a wild pitch on strike three allowed him to reach first base, though Sanchez was not able to score on the wild pitch. �That didn't matter, though, because 2B Chase d'Arnaud smacked a double into left field, bringing in Sanchez and Hague. �De Los Santos scored when Josh Harrison reached base on a fielding error. �Another wild pitch moved De Los Santos to second base and d'Arnaud to third base. �Another fielding error allowed Jordy Mercer to reach base and brought in d'Arnaud with the fourth run of the inning. �Jamie Romak's RBI double brought in two more runs, Harrison and Mercer. �After a pitching change, a ground out and a fly out ended the inning, with the Hillcats ahead 7-3. �

Salem scored another run in the bottom of the 2nd inning, on a walk, two singles, and a fielding error. �Starter Jeff Locke was relieved after another walk, having pitched just 1.2 innings and allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks. �Mike Colla took over to finish the 2nd inning, then pitched 3 more hitless and scoreless innings.

The Hillcats added one more run in the 4th inning. �Josh Harrison led off with a single, Jordy Mercer hit his second double of the game, and Jamie Romak brought in Harrison with an RBI single. �They threatened again in the 6th inning with back-to-back singles by Mercer and Romak, but two strikeouts ended the inning without any more runs scoring. �Mercer also singled in the 8th inning, and Matt Hague doubled in the 9th. �

Salem made it a little tighter in the 6th inning with a 2-run home run off�Matt McSwain, to bring the score to 8-6.��Ramon Aguero took the mound in the 7th inning, and retired the side in that inning. �In the 8th, he gave up a lead-off walk, but C Tony Sanchez erased that runner with a perfect throw to second base to catch him stealing. �Aguero also came out to start the 9th inning, and made it a little too interesting. �After a strikeout, a walk and two singles brought in a run, moving Salem to within one run of the Hillcats. �Ronald Uviedo came on in relief, with two runners on base ona one out. �A grounder to 1B Matt Hague, with Uviedo covering the bag, gave the Hillcats the second out, but moved the base runners to second and third bases. �Uviedo calmly got the next batter to ground to second base, where Chase d'Arnaud made the scoop and the throw to first, and the Hillcats were the Champs.

Chase d'Arnaud was named the series Most Valuable Player. �He went 4-for-13 at the plate in three games, with a double in each game and 7 RBI. �

3B Pedro Alvarez set a new World Cup record by hitting three home runs in a single World Cup tournament game, and Team USA tied the team record for homers in a game with six.

Team USA exploded for 7 runs in the top of the 1st inning, and they never let Taipei catch up. � �CF Buck Coats (Blue Jays) opened the game with a single, and stole second base. �1B Justin Smoak (Rangers) and RF Ike Davis (Mets) both walked to load the bases. �DH Terry Tiffee (Phillies) grounded to short, but a throwing error by the Taipei shortstop brought in two runs (Coats and Smoak). �LF Jon Weber (Rays) singled, scoring Davis. �Then Pedro Alvarez smacked home run #1, for 3 RBI, as Weber and Tiffee also scored. �C Lucas May (Dodgers) followed the home run with a single, and 2B Daniel Descalso (Cardinals) doubled into the left center alley. �Buck Coats, in his second plate appearance in the inning, plated May with a sacrifice fly for the 7th run of the inning. �

And they were not done yet. �In the 2nd inning, Ike Davis walked, and Jon Weber hit a 2-run homer, which was immediately followed by Pedro Alvarez's second home run. �(The first homer was to right field, and the second was to left field.) �USA 10, Taipei 0.

Terry Tiffee led off the 4th inning with a solo home run, and after Jon Weber singled, Pedro Alvarez blasted his third homer of the game, to center field. �Lucas May followed with another solo home run, Team USA's 6th of the game. �

Team USA starter Todd Redmond (Braves) pitched a total of 6 innings and allowed 5 hits, no walks, with 6 strikeouts. �After giving up back-to-back singles in the 1st inning, Redmond retired 7 straight batters. �He allowed 3 runs to score in the 4th inning, on a triple, a single, and a 2-run homer. �Then he retired the next 9 batters in order to finish the 6 innings. �BJ Rosenberg (Phillies) came on to pitch the 7th inning, and he also put Taipei down in order. �With Team USA ahead by more than 10 runs, the game ended after 7 innings. �

Team USA is now 4-0 in Pool G in the second round of the tournament. �No other Pool G team has won 4 games in round two. �In Pool F, both Cuba and the Netherlands are 4-0.

In other Pool G Games (Played in Italy):

Canada and Japan took a 1-1 tie into extra innings. �Neither team could get a run across in the 10th inning. �A sacrifice bunt , an intentional walk, and an RBI single brought in a run for Japan in the top of the 11th. �Canada did the same thing in the bottom of the inning: �a sacrifice bunt, an intentional walk, and an RBI single to tie the game again. �But, an error by the Japanese catcher on the throw in from the outfield allowed a second run to score, and gave Canada the walk-off win. �Pirate farmhand Dustin Molleken did not appear in the game. �

Team Italy took an early 4-0 lead with a run in the 1st inning and three more in the 2nd inning. �The Australians got one back in the bottom of the 2nd, on a single and an RBI double by SS James Beresford. �The Aussies scratched out another run in the 3rd inning when former Indy Indian LF Chris Snelling walked and scored on 3B Luke Hughes' RBI double. �The Australians tied the game in the 4th inning. �C Joel Naughton singled, stole second base, moved to third on a ground out, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Beresford. �CF Nicholas Kimpton homered to tie the game at 4-4. �

Australian starter Liam Hendriks pitched 2 innings, allowing the 4 runs to Italy. �Then Dushan Ruzic took over on the mound and pitched 7 shutout innings, allowing Team Italy only 2 hits and one walk over the rest of the game. �

In the bottom of the 9th, DH Daniel Berg led off with a double into right field. �James Bereford singled, moving Berg to third base, and Nicholas Kimpton was intentionally walked to load the bases. �Chris Snelling had the walk-off RBI single which scored Berg to give Australia the win. �

In Pool F Games (Played in the Netherlands):

Great Britain had a 4-run 4th inning and held the lead for a short time, but Puerto Rico came back to tie the game in the bottom of the 4th. �The go-ahead run came across on two singles and a stolen base in the 5th inning, and Puerto Rico held on to that slim lead to take the win. SS Brant Ust went 1-for-4 with a single in the 4th, and came around to score for Great Britain. �Puerto Rico's RJ Rodriguez did not get into the game. � �

The Netherlands scored in 6 consecutive innings in their win over Venezuela. �Former Pirate farmhand 3B Yurendell de Caster went 1-for-4, with a single to lead off the 3rd inning, though he was out at second base. �De Caster picked up an RBI in the 4th inning with a sacrifice fly. Former Pirate 1B Randall Simon also went 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. �

Pool G (in Italy) had two rain make-up games:

Another low-hitting game. �Taipei had 5 hits and Japan had only 4 hits. �The Taipei pitcher Chih-Lung Huang pitched all 10 innings, allowing one unearned run on those 4 hits, with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. �He threw 125 pitches (74 strikes). �Wow. �Taipei's 2-RBI single broke tie in the top of the 10th, and Japan could not respond in the bottom of the inning. �

Team Canada took a 2-run lead in the top of the 1st inning, on a single, �a double, a sacrifice fly by 2B Brett Lawrie (Brewers) and an RBI single by DH Tim Smith (Rangers). �They added a run in the 4th when C Cole Armstrong (White Sox) walked, moved to second on a wild pitch, and scored on 3B Shawn Bowman's (Mets) RBI single. �1B Jimmy Van Ostrand (Astros) doubled down the left field line to lead off the 6th inning, and Bowman produced another RBI single to give Canada a 4-0 lead. �

Canadian pitchers held the Mexican batters to just 4 hits over the first 7 innings. �A 2-run homer in the 8th inning was all the scoring that Team Mexico would do. �Pirates' farmhand Dustin Molleken took the mound for Team Canada to begin the bottom of the 9th. �He got two fly outs, then gave up a single, and was relieved by Robert Swindle (Cleveland Indians), who gave up a walk, then struck out the next batter to end the game. �

Pool F �(playing in the Netherlands)

Puerto Rico scratched out a run in the bottom of the 1st, on a single, a wild pitch, a sacrifice bunt, and an RBI ground out. �South Korea tied it up in the 4th on a throwing error and a double, but Puerto Rico took the lead again in the bottom of the inning with a single, a walk, and a 2-RBI double. �In the top of the 8th, South Korea took advantage of a walk, a fielding error, and a wild pitch to score another run, and move within one run of Puerto Rico. �With two outs and runners on the corners, RJ Rodriguez came in to pitch for Puerto Rico. �Rodriguez ended the inning with a strikeout, preserving Puerto Rico's lead. �Rodriguez came back out to pitch the bottom of the 9th. �He allowed a walk and a single, but held South Korea scoreless to earn the save. �

Nicaragua put up 3 runs in the 2nd inning, with 3 singles and a double, plus a fielding error. �Great Britain came back in the bottom of the frame with an unearned run, on a fielding error, a single, and a ground out. �A single and a double gave Nicaragua one more run in the top of the 7th. �Tom Boleska took the mound for Great Britain to pitch the last two innings. �He retired the side in the 8th, and allowed 2 hits in the 9th inning, but got a ground out to end the inning without a run scoring. �SS Brant Ust went 0-for-4 for Great Britain. �

A 7-run 2nd inning gave the Netherlands a lead they would not relinquish. �3B Yurendell de Caster�had an RBI single and then came around to score in the 1st inning, when the Netherlands scored twice. �They sent 11 batters to the plate in the 2nd inning, when the first six batters reached base safely: �single, single, double, single, walk, and a double by de Caster, accounting for 4 runs. �Another single and another double added three more runs in the inning. �Spain scored 2 runs in the 3rd and 3 more runs in the 4th, but it wasn't enough. �A single and a double added one more run for the Netherlands in the 8th. �