2014 AMERICAN LEAGUE WILD CARD

VirginiaCoconut Creek Crushers @  Virginia Sluggers

The Wildcards from the AL came from the always tough West Division. The Virginia Sluggers finished the regular season with a record of 102-60. They played host to the Coconut Creek Crushers who were 96-66. Both teams had similar stats for the year as evidenced by their team ERA’s (VIR-3.03, CCC-3.04) team BAvg (VIR- .251, CCC- .242) and Team runs scored (VIR- 771, CCC- 715).

Game #1:
B.Colon (6-1 1.76) against M.Scherzer (24-4 2.10)

You just knew runs would be scarce. VIR broke through first in the 3rd. After one out, N. Markakis (.278-23-71) doubled to the gap in right. R.Flaherty (.164-10-25), playing due to an injury to A.Ramirez, lofted a drive that rattled the wall and easily brought Markakis home with the first run of the game. Colon settled down to retire the side and held VIR scoreless in the 4th as well. In the meantime, M.Scherzer was keeping the Crushers off the base paths, allowing only 1 hit in the first 5 innings. In the bottom of the 5th the Sluggers got to Colon again. Markakis singled to right, went to second on Flaherty’s ground out and scored on a single to center by M.Bourn (.279-5-46).
With VIR up 2-0 in the 6th, A.Ellis (.224-6-28) got the second hit for CCC when he simply turned on a Scherzer fastball and deposited it in the bleachers to narrow the score to 2-1. The Crushers came alive. But Scherzer was still sharp and quickly returned to form and squashed the rally. To make matters worse for CCC, in the bottom of the 6th, N.Schierholtz (.253-24-89) connected with his own solo blast to make the score 3-1 VIR. The Crushers scored again off Scherzer in the 7th on a sharp single by C.Pennington (.) that scored M.Napoli (.248-15-49) who had doubled. Once again, Scherzer rose to the challenge and got out of the inning. Scherzer left after the 8th having allowed only 4 hits while striking out 7. D.Carpenter (3-1, 1.13) and C.Breslow (2-3, 1.81) faced three batters in the 9th and the game was over,…VIR 3 CCC 2.

CCC 2 -4 -0 L- B.Colon
VIR 3 -6 -0 W- M.Scherzer SV- Breslow
HR- CCC Ellis
VIR Schierholtz

Game #2:
T.Cingrani (12-3, 2.30) against C.Tillman (14-13, 3.54)

Another game with very few runs. Cingrani was masterful,…7 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 9 K’s. Both pitchers put goose eggs on the board for 5 innings. The Crushers, knowing they needed a win, finally got to Tillman in the 6th after a double by D.Brown (.234-23-54). M.Holliday (.292-23-79)split the gap with his own double and Brown raced home to give CCC a 1-0 lead,… First time CCC had led in the series. Was it an omen?
G.Stanton (.226-19-59) didn’t think so. Stanton showed off his power in the bottom of the 7th by launching a ball so high and far that fans are still looking for the ball. Cingrani’s second hit allowed in the game had tied it for VIR. Could they pull out a victory and with it a series victory?
In the 8th, the Crushers J.Tabata (.213-1-4) reached on a rare and costly error by J.Segura. Immediately, Tabata was pulled for pinch runner J.Danks (.230-7-16), who promptly stole second. Brown’s ground out put Danks at 3rd and brought M.Holliday to the plate. With the infield in, Holliday launched a high fly ball that allowed Danks to waltz home with what would eventually be the deciding run. Relievers M.Reynolds (3-1, 1.24) and J.Henderson (4-3, 1.71) shut down the Sluggers with little trouble and the Crushers had forced a final and deciding third game.

CCC 2 -6 -0 W- T.Cingrani SV- Henderson
VIR 1 -4 -1 L- C.Tillman
HR- VIR Stanton

Game #3:
E.Santana (13-12, 3.50) against C.Archer (13-3, 2.80)

Hate to ruin the suspense, but this was the Chris Archer show. CG, 4 hits (singles), 0 runs, 1 BB, 6 K’s. The young man followed up his rookie year with a wild card clinching performance. His counterpart, Santana, pitched well and didn’t allow any runs until the 7th, but Archer was just a little better. Facing only 30 batters in the game, Archer was never in trouble. But for a while, he thought it might not be a winning effort. Fortunately, N.Walker (.263-28-78) helped Archer out in the 7th by sending a ball deep over the wall for his 3rd hit of the game. N.Markakis (.278-23-71) followed with a walk and went to 2nd when Santana’s pick-off attempt was wild. M.Bourn (.279-5-46) singled home Markakis and scored all the way from first on a triple by J.Segura (.255-13-46). When the smoke cleared, VIR 3 CCC 0. Archer coasted from there and the Virginia Gentleman became the wild card entry for the AL.

CCC 0- 4- 2
VIR 3 -9 -0
HR- VIR Walker

Virginia wins wild card in low scoring series 2 games to 1.

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WEDNESDAY 07/24/2024
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