17 August 2006

COMEBACK KIDS
Y-D's staff carries the day and the series

Picture and pitcher perfect weather greeted the overflow crowd that lined Red Wilson Field Sunday for the third and final game of the 2006 Cape League Playoffs.

Continuing a trend that carried both teams to the finals, the Wareham Gatemen and Y-D Red Sox looked to their starting pitchers to clinch their championship dreams.

Wareham's pitching prowess was on display during the Western Division series, as the Gatemen staff combined to shut out the league's top hitting club in their two-game sweep of Cotuit.

Y-D faced a more difficult task, having lost the divisional opener to Brewster before coming back to win the final two games, a pattern that played out in the championship series as well.

Facing elimination after a sloppy opening game, the Red Sox rallied in the second game, scoring four runs in the eighth inning, capped by a Luke Sommers' 2- run blast.

Y-D held off a ninth-inning rally by the Gatemen to win Saturday night, 5-4, as Playoff MVP Dave Robertson struck out Ryan Gotcher with the tying run on base, setting the stage for Sunday's heroics.

With the season on the line, Y-D starting pitcher Terry Doyle took to the mound to the clang of cowbells and chants of "Let's go Red Sox" as the Y-D fans cheered on their ace.

The hard-throwing righty looked poised and relaxed as he cruised through a 1-2-3 inning recording the first two of his game-high nine strikeouts. The Warwick, R.I. native was pitching on four days rest, as was his counterpart Jeremy Bleich.

BC players came through for Y-D

Bleich, who had baffled Cotuit with his array of off-speed pitches, had difficulties with control in the first giving up a bases-loaded walk before a spectacular play by third baseman Bradley Suttle ended the Red Sox rally.

Staked to a 1-0 lead, Doyle cruised through the next three innings, striking out four more batters, while no-hitting the Gatemen.

It was the type of effort Red Sox manager Scott Pickler had come to expect from Doyle and his Eagle teammate, Kevin Boggan.

"Both those BC guys were great all season," said Pickler.

Boggan pitched 7 1/3 innings of one-run ball Saturday in Y-D's victory, setting the stage for his teammate's effort in the deciding game.

Doyle, who had been the Red Sox' most effective starter during the season, struck out nine Gatemen with a fastball that touched the low 90s and a combination of off-speed pitches that confused the Wareham lineup throughout the game.

"It was all about location," Doyle said. "I was throwing a bunch of sliders to keep them off-balance, but I had all four pitches working."

The lanky right-hander had cruised through the first four innings, before his teammates added two more runs to their lead in the bottom of the fourth.

With runners on first and second and no outs, Pickler played small ball having the next three batters bunt.

"You try for a run an inning in this league," said the ninth-year coach.

Putting pressure on the Gatemen defense worked, as Luke Sommer's bunt was misplayed scoring Buster Posey, and Jordan Pacheco's sacrifice bunt plated Michael Taylor.

Staked to a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth, Doyle promptly gave a run back, as Suttle homered deep into the trees in right field.

Pickler praises 'team' attitude

With the tying run at the plate, and action in the Y-D bullpen, Doyle settled down to strike out Steffan Wilson and Beamer Weems to end the inning.

The Red Sox defense, which struggled in the series opener, came up big in the sixth, as Buster Posey and Brad Emus made terrific plays in the infield to keep Y-D in the lead, and preserve the win for Doyle, whose day was done.

"I was kind of pulled early," said Doyle of his six-inning performance. "But with D-Rob in the pen, it wasn't really a problem."

Doyle displayed the type of selfless attitude Pickler saw from his team throughout its up and down season.

Y-D opened the year 8-11 and was in last place as the season neared its midpoint. But an influx of talent following the College World Series, and a team-first attitude produced a nine-game winning streak and a 20-5 dash down the stretch.

"There weren't any big leaguers on the team," said Pickler. "They all bought into the system and knew their roles."

Case in point was Robertson, who went from losing his closer role at the beginning of the season to Playoff MVP.

"I had some rough outings in the beginning of the year," said the right-hander. "But I worked on my mechanics while setting up for Josh [Fields]."

"Robertson bought into setting up," continued Pickler, who had Fields close for much of the regular season. "But it is great to have two closers; you have to be good in the eighth and ninth in this league."

Robertson was more than good in the season finale, as he pitched three innings of no-hit ball striking out the sides in the last two innings to seal the game and the championship for the Red Sox.

"I set up for Fields for a long time, but when I got the chance to close I just took it," said the Alabama native.

As Robertson and his teammates celebrated with fans on the field, many players spoke of their eagerness to get home after a long summer of ball. But in the years to come the members of the 2006 Red Sox will always remember the championship season in the Cape Cod sun.

By Dave Colantuono