POMEROY––The Pirates lost two games to league-leading DeSales on April 26 and defeated Touchet April 30 as the season winds down with the play-offs at stake.
A pair of wins in the Tuesday, May 3 home double-bill against Sunnyside Christian, played after this edition’s deadline, will be crucial for the Buccaneers in their quest to secure the District 9 No. 3 berth in the D7/D9 tournament. DeSales has the No. 1 berth locked up and Liberty Christian appears firmly in the second berth with the squads from Pomeroy, Colton and Sunnyside Christian vying for the third and last D9 spot in the tourney.
If Pomeroy sweeps Sunnyside Christian and Colton loses both of its games to DeSales, the Pirates are in good shape to get the third berth.
The Pirates beat the Touchet Indians 8-4 last Saturday, and the second game was rained out. Until the dust clears to settle the D9 No. 3 spot, according to Athletic Director Toddette McGreevy, the make-up game with Touchet may either be necessary or optional.
Should the Pirates clinch the No. 3 berth, they will go against District 7 No. 4 team in a loser-out contest on Monday, May 9, at 4 p.m. in Pomeroy.
The Pirates downed the Indians 8-4 there Saturday. “This was a must win for us to keep our season alive, these players were up to the task and got the job done,” commented Head Coach Kyler Lovgren
Pomeroy took a 2-0 lead in the first two innings and held the Indians off the scoreboard until the fifth inning. “We did pretty well hitting the ball and Touchet made some great plays,” he said, “robbing a couple of our great hitters from some potential hits.”
In the top of the fifth, the Pirates chalked up six runs, but that’s when the light drizzle falling on the diamond came into play. “We had a light rain throughout the game and by about the fourth inning,” Lovgren said, “it was having an impact on ball grip, which I felt gave the advantage to Touchet. Up to that point, we were lights out on defense and pitching.”
The Indians managed two runs in the fifth bottom frame, and another two in the bottom of the sixth. From there the Pirates held on for the win.
Lovgren praised Trevin Kimble for pitching well.
In the first game of the April 26 twin bill against DeSales, the Irish played errorless baseball while counting 12 hits and 14 runs in the five-inning, 14-1 win, Pomeroy’s sole run thanks to a Kimble in-the-park home run.
“DeSales played very well and didn’t make any errors,” Lovgren noted. “They have a very good pitcher in Ryan Chase that we had a tough time with.
“I thought Brodie Magill relieved very well in the fourth and fifth innings. DeSales is a very good hitting team and Brodie was able to make five strike-outs in two innings,” Lovgren said.
In the nightcap, Pomeroy lost but had more success at the plate, 13-7. The Pirates racked up 10 hits and were errorless on defense but the Irish were also smacking the ball with 11 hits and one error.
“We were able to get the bat on the ball pretty well in this game,” Lovgren said. “Seven of our guys got base hits. That’s really what we want to see with contributions up and down the line up.”
After the Irish opened with two runs, Pomeroy tied the game in the bottom of the third. Then DeSales jumped on relief pitcher Ollie Severs and the Pirates with seven runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth.
The Bucs managed five more runs but couldn’t sustain the rally in the bottom of the seventh.
Game 1
Pomeroy 8, Touchet 4 (4/30)
R H E
Pom 110 060 0-8 6 2
Tou 000 022 0-4 2 1
Battery: Pomeroy-Kimble, Roberts (5) and Severs, Kimble (5). Touchet-Orosco, Bergevin (4) and Kincaid.
Hits: Pomeroy-Magill, Kimble 2, Severs, Ledgerwood, Lemont. Touchet-Godinez, Kincaid.
Game 2
Rained out.
Game 1
DeSales 14, Pomeroy 1 (4/26)
R H E
DeS 607 01-14 12 0
Pom 100 00-1 1 5
Battery: DeSales-Chase and Doohan. Pomeroy-Kimble, Magill (4) and Severs, Kimble (4).
Hits: DeSales-Baffney 2, Chase 3 (3b), Worden (3b), Sisk 2, Balot, Doohan 2, Caso. Pomeroy-Kimble.
Home Run: Pomeroy-Kimble.
Game 2
DeSales 13, Pomeroy 7 (4/26)
R H E
Des 200 740 0-13 11 1
Pom 002 023 0-7 10 0
Battery: DeSales-Sisk, Holtzinger (6) and Chase. Pomeroy-Roberts, Severs (4) and Kimble.
Hits: DeSales-Nunes, Chase 2, Ayres 2, Sisk 2, Doohan 3, Caso. Pomeroy-Magill, Kimble 2, Vecchio, Severs, Ledgerwood, Lemont, Magill 2.