Mineral Area splits a pair with Maple Woods

By DONN ADAMSON / Daily Journal Sports Editor

PARK HILLS - The Mineral Area College Cardinals have had a rough start to their baseball season. Going into Sunday's game with the Maple Woods Centaurs, the Cardinals had won only one of their last 14 ball games, the latest being two games to Jeffco on Saturday by one run each, giving MAC all the more reason to give up on Sunday when they fell behind 6-0 to the Centaurs in the first game, but they didn't.

The Cardinals buckled down on defense and took advantage of anything they could get on offense to make a ball game out of it before losing 8-5. Their momentum, however, carried into the second game and the Cardinals controlled things all the way behind pitcher Jeremy Marler for a 5-3 win in game two.

“After losing two heartbreakers yesterday, they could have laid down and took it, but they played hard all day,” said Coach Jim Gerwitz of the Cardinals' effort. “If a few things had gone our way there at the end of game one, it would have been a different ball game.”

In game one, the Cardinals had trouble coming up with clutch hitting, leaving 12 men on base with eight in scoring position. Maple Woods left only five men on base.

Centaur pitcher Joey Haug, had the Cardinals' hitters buffaloed as he struck out six batters in his five innings of work and gave up only two runs. It wasn't until he left the mound that the Cardinals struck back with three runs in the sixth off of reliever Derrick McKinney.

McKinney lasted only 2/3 of an inning, giving up three runs, three hits and two walks, before being yanked by Maple Woods coach Marty Kilgore. Michael Barbosa gave up a single by Joaby Sikes, his third single in the game, before stilling the uprising by the Cardinals for the save.

The Cardinals outhit the Centaurs 11-8, but all 11 hits were singles. The Centaurs had three extra-base hits, two doubles and a home run.

Blake Jones started the game for the Cardinals, and with his left-hand advantage, Jones picked off runners at first in both the first and second innings. Jones had picked off Maple Woods speedster Chris Martin in the first inning, but it would be the left-hander's undoing in the third.

Throwing over three times to try and get Martin again, Jones finally threw his first pitch to Jake Blackwood. Hoping to give MAC catcher Aaron Miller a chance to throw out the stealing Martin, Jones fired a fastball, which Blackwood had figured on, and the power hitter sent Mr. Rawlings over the leftfield fence for a two-run homer.

It spelled a dam break for the Centaurs offensively as they would go on to score three more runs in the inning to gain the 6-0 lead. Relief pitcher Marshall Macormic was roughed up as he came to the mound to start the sixth. Macormic hit the first batter he faced and then a double by John Moudy and a single by Chris Evans plated two more runs.

Maple Woods 015 002 0 - 8 8 1

Mineral Area 000 113 0 - 5 11 3

Hitting:

Maple Woods - Blackwood 2, Moudy 2, Morrison, Roblez, Ramatowski, Evans.

Mineral Area - Sikes 3, Crook 3, Stahl 2, Spencer, Miller, Bard.

HR- Blackwood, 2b- Moudy, Ramatowski.

Pitching: WP- Haug 5i 2r 6h 6k 2bb 1hb, McKinney 2/3i 3r 3h 0k 2bb, Barbosa 1 1/3i 0r 1h 0k 0bb 1hb. LP- Jones 5i 6r 5h 2k 3bb, Macormic 2i 2r 3h 0k 1bb 2hb.

Mineral Area 5, Maple Woods 3

Warren had a little shaky start with an opening walk issued to Pete Peters. Maple Woods generated a run out of it. Peters was sacrificed to second, moved to third on a wild pitch, and then scored on a sacrifice fly to right field.

The Cardinals would have their first lead of the day in the bottom of the inning. Maple Woods pitcher also started out a little shaky as he also gave up a lead-off walk to Tony Spencer. A good sacrifice by Brandon Crook advanced Spencer and a single by Stahl scored Crook from second. Sikes would drive in Spencer with a single for a 2-1 lead.

Maple Woods would tie it at two in the top of the second, but MAC struck back again and scored three in the bottom of the second. Another lead-off walk, this time issued to Seth Kimrey, was backed up with what possibly could have been a double play, but an anxious shortstop dropped the ball and both runners were safe.

Mineral Area would make the Centaurs pay for the mistake, but not before they made another. A sacrifice bunt by Spencer was fielded by Centaurs pitcher Ryan Gillihan, who rushed the play and promptly flung the ball over the first baseman's head into right field. Both runners were able to score on the play.

It would be the Cardinals last runs, but it was enough as Warren shut down Maple Woods' batters, giving up one run in the top of the third and only allowing three runners to reach base in the last four innings. The Cardinals were shut down by relief pitcher Darryl Kelley for their last four innings.

Mineral Area will play next at home on Tuesday when they entertain Forest Park at 1 p.m.

Maple Woods 111 000 0 - 3 4 2

Mineral Area 230 000 x - 5 3 1

Hitting:

Maple Woods - Moudy, Peters, Garcia, Evans.

Mineral Area - Stahl, Sikes, Eckl.

2b- Moudy.

Pitching: WP- Warren 7i 3r 4h 6k 2bb 1hb, LP- Gillihan 1i 5r 2h 0k 3bb, Kelley 6i 0r 1h 3k 3bb 1hb.