19 August, 2005

Cardinals claim second title in three years

With the game over and the championship won Sunday night, the crowd of more than 6,000 at Eldredge Field cheered and chanted for their beloved Orleans Cardinals.

Children and adults mobbed the field, seeking to meet their favorite Cardinal during the presentation of the championship trophy to General Manager Sue Horton and manager Kelly Nicholson.

"Winning this title is just great, and we really wanted to do it in front of our home fans," pitcher Brad Meyers said. "This is a great league with a lot of great players, so to be the last team standing at the end is something to be really proud of."

After only scoring two runs in the first two games of the championship series combined - a 1-0 home win Aug. 12 and a 10-1 loss at Coady Field in Bourne the next day - the Cardinals made the necessary adjustments to pound out 18 hits in a 13-1 victory over Bourne Sunday night.

The championship was the Cardinals second in three years. They beat Bourne in two games in 2003.

"This is really such a tight group of guys," said Nicholson. "I really think that the biggest reason for our success was how close this group was. They seemed to enjoy each other, and they really had a great time together during this whole experience. A lot will tell you that they'll miss the fans and the town most of all, and although that is true, they'll really miss each other too."

With the offense finally firing on all cylinders Sunday, it was up to Meyers to hold the Bourne bats in check after the Braves scored 10 runs on 14 hits in Game 2.

Meyers was given an early lead in the first inning after a two-run double to left field by Brett Pill, scoring Manny Burriss and David Uribes.

The offense continued for the Cardinals. After an infield single by Robert Perry, Chris Pettit launched his fifth home run of the season, a three-run blast over the left-field wall off Bourne starter Forrest Cory III that made the score 5-0 after just one inning.

"I was looking for something soft and away, but he tried coming inside with a fastball and I was able to get into it," said Pettit. "After (Saturday's) game, we really wanted to come out and be more aggressive and score some runs."

Meyers made quick work of the Braves hitters, scattering nine hits and giving up only one run before being pulled in the seventh. Meyers was named series co-MVP after pitching 12 2/3 innings and giving up only one run.

Also earning MVP honors was Burriss, who went 5-12 against Bourne pitching and scored the winning run in Game 1. He also made some key defensive plays at third.

"I'm gonna miss the everyday aspect of it," Burriss said. "The fans are tremendous and very supportive. We're all going to miss the fans and our host families most of all."

Orleans added four more runs in the bottom of the third on two sacrifice flies by Matt Camp and Jason Jacobs and a two-run, two-out single up the middle by Burriss, who fought off pitch after pitch until getting one he could hit.

With the game in hand, Meyers seemed to go into cruise control, working off his changeup and keeping the Bourne hitters off balance.

"I had some success with my changeup today. I was able to get a lot of movement on some of my pitches and really hit my spots," he said. "Even though we had a good-size lead, I just went out there every inning thinking the game was tied."

Bourne seemed rattled by the offensive explosion by the Cardinals, committing four errors in the field that led to three Orleans runs.

In the bottom of the seventh, with the score already 9-1 and the bases loaded after an error and a couple of singles, Bourne pitcher Dave Preziosi hit two consecutive Cardinals, forcing in two more runs.

Orleans finished its scoring in the bottom of the eighth, when Pill, who pitched the final inning in mop-up duty in Game 2, came through with his fourth hit of the night, an RBI single to make the score 13-1.

Burriss' fleet feet win Game 1 
The final game of the series was a complete turnaround for the Cardinals. Even in winning the first game, Orleans managed only a fourth-inning single by Uribes in and scored the winning run in the bottom of the ninth without getting a hit.

The run came about thanks to a case of "Manny being Manny," although no one would confuse it with a certain Red Sox left fielder's flights of whimsy. With one out, Burriss earned a walk after a lengthy at bat, and with the league leader in steals at first, Bourne pitcher Romas Hicks couldn't keep his eyes off the speedy Burriss, checking on him numerous times.

With all the attention on Burriss, Uribes earned a walk on five pitches. After a wild pitch moved the runners up with only one out, the Braves decided to intentionally walk Colin Curtis to load the bases and hopefully set up an inning-ending double play.

With the game on the line, Pill stepped to the plate looking for a pitch to hit.

"I was looking for something off-speed that I could get into the air," he said. "The main thing I didn't want to do was hit it on the ground for a double play."

While trying to get the ball into the air, Pill popped a 2-1 pitch foul off first base, but Burriss tagged at third and easily beat the throw to the unguarded home plate to score the winning run.

"I was just hoping that I could get a chance to score," said Burriss. "I knew if I was going to try it, I had to be completely committed to getting to the plate. Once I saw that ball in his glove, I knew I had to try."

Burriss' dash made a hard-luck loser of Bourne's Greg Reynolds, who only gave up one hit with four strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings of work. Orleans' Andy Graham gave up six hits and struck out seven in 7 1/3 innings. David Coulon was the winner in relief.