The Pirates are long-standing members of the MSBL of Southern Colorado providing baseball opporotunities to players 28 and over in the Colorado Springs region.
Swabbies Sink Twins Ship; Seize Division Crown
Rodger Tipton picked up the W
Ryan Welch gets an out from 2nd
Jerry Brunson catches a popup at first
The Pirates faced the Twins in the Rec Division Championship Game on Thursday, 27 August at Spurgeon Field @ Memorial Park. In the double elimination tourney, the Black and Gold were undefeated whereas the Twins had lost a nail-biter 13 – 15 to the Pirates earlier in the week. The Twins sent the 2009 MVP Jeremiah Ahrens to the bump and the Bucs gave Rodger Tipton the start.
Like cannons shot from the starboard, the Bucs exploded out of the gates. They scored 5 in the 1st; thanks in part to a 2-run blast by Gabe Gutierrez that sailed over the wall in right center. They then added 6 in the 3rd, 9 in the 4th, 5 in the 5th to gain a commanding 6 – 25 lead. Tipton pitched 5 2/3 innings before tiring and surrendered the ball to Gutierrez; who went an additional 2 1/3 innings before the game was stopped in the 8th on the 15-run mercy rule. Final Score: Twins 13 – Pirates 28. In his first start, Tipton earned his first win on the season with no losses and 1 save. Gutierrez got the no decision.
The Player of the Game was Gutierrez who exploded offensively with a 3-for-4 performance. He had a HR, 2 doubles, a walk, 4 runs and 4 RBI. Honorable mention goes out to Bud Maison, Ryan Welch, and Rick Forge’t who each had impressive games themselves. Maison was 3-for-5 with a double, 4 runs and 3 RBI; Welch went 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, 4 runs and 3 RBI; and Forge’t was 3-for-4 with a double, a walk, 2 RBI and 3 runs (each scored by JR Salinas who was the courtesy runner in all instances).
With the win, the Pirates earned the right to play another game at Security Services Field (home of the Triple A Sky Sox). They will be matched against the Comp Division Champion Bombers in the MSBL Title game on Saturday, September 5th. See you there. Congrats Swabbies!!!!
Next Game:
Saturday, 5 September '09 at 12:30 @ Security Service Field vs. Bombers
