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Firebirds Walk-Off Winners in Wild 12-Inning Game
July 29, 2009
By Tyler Maland
Brett Weibley (Kent St.), started the ninth for Orleans and quickly retired the first two batters. He then gave up four straight singles – the third of which was the game-tying RBI by Todd Cunningham (Jacksonville St.), and the fourth the go-ahead RBI on a bunt single by Josh Adams (Florida).
Catcher Matt Koch (Loyola Marymount) was the hero in the bottom of the ninth for Orleans. He stepped to the plate with the Firebirds down 5-4, with two outs and a runner on third base. Down to his last strike against Falmouth reliever Mark Pope (Georgia Tech), Koch pulled a sharp single to left field to score the run and give his team new life.
After a scoreless 10th and 11th and with a 12-inning curfew in effect, Orleans made the most of its final chance at the plate. Brothers Kevin Muno (San Diego) and Danny Muno (Fresno St.) led off with a single and walk respectively, and moved to second and third on a gutsy double-steal. Jarren Matthews (Rutgers) came up two batters later with one out and the bases loaded, and hit a ground ball to second base. The Commodores attempted the 4-2-3 double play to end the inning, but the throw from home to first was wild, allowing Michael Olt (Connecticut) to come from second base and score the game-winning run.
Rob Rasmussen (UCLA), came in 3-0 with a 1.48 ERA and started for Orleans, while Jordan Cooper (Wichita St.), 1-1 with a 1.67 ERA, started for Falmouth. Both starting pitchers had easy first innings, and a routine pitchers’ duel appeared inevitable.
After three and a half hours, eleven pitchers, five errors, two home runs, a slow-motion collision at the plate, several diving catches, three Falmouth runners caught stealing and one more picked off at second, Wednesday’s game could be called anything but routine.
The scoring started in the second inning when Orleans plated three runs on home runs from two unlikely sources. The first was a solo parking-lot-shot to left field by Steve Selsky (Arizona), his first of the year, that gave Orleans a 1-0 lead. The second came three batters later when Devin Lohman (Long Beach St.) went opposite field for his second of the year, a two-run homer.
Falmouth came right back in the top of the third to tie the game 3-3. After two walked and one reached on an error to load the bases, Falmouth got three straight RBI’s from the middle of its lineup. Adams and Brian Fletcher (Auburn) hit back-to-back RBI singles before Hunter Morris (Auburn) finished the inning’s scoring with a sac fly.
From the third to eighth inning, the game went scoreless aside from one run by Orleans in the fifth. That run came on perhaps the strangest play of the night.
With runners on first and second and two outs, Olt hit a shallow popup to center field. Cunningham, Falmouth’s center fielder, got under the ball but dropped it, allowing Ross Heffley (Western Carolina) to score from second. Danny Muno was on first base and reached third, but as the frenzy of an unexpected error ensued, he tried to sneak in the back door with the defense sleeping. The ball was delivered to home in plenty of time, and the 175-pound Muno, left with few options, collided with Falmouth catcher John Nester (Clemson) in an effort to force the ball free. It was not much of a hit and Nester made the tag to end the inning.
Danny Muno, Selsky, and Koch were most outstanding for Orleans. Muno went 4-for-5 with a walk, reaching base in five of his six plate appearances.
Selsky was 2-for-6 with the solo home run and a single in the tenth. His defense, however, was perhaps even more impressive. Selsky made two diving catches, both late in the game, and the second of which denied extra bases for Falmouth’s leadoff hitter in the 11th inning.
Koch was 1-for-4 for with the biggest hit of the night in the bottom of the ninth, and was also stellar in the field. He threw out three Falmouth baserunners, including two in the 12th inning as the Commodores desperately tried to get a runner into scoring position.
Tommy Kahnle (Lynn) pitched the 12th for Orleans and picked up the win. He let one runner reach with a hit and another after an error, but got Koch’s help to erase both from the base paths.
Falmouth’s Cunningham came into the game atop the league in hitting at .397 and did not disappoint, going 3-for-5 with a run scored and the game-tying RBI in the ninth. Adams and Fletcher also each had two hits.
Orleans was able to pick up a game off of the Y-D Red Sox, who lost for the first time in ten games. The Firebirds are now 20-16-1, eight points behind Y-D at the top of the East. They will take on Harwich at home Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Falmouth drops to 15-20-1 and will host Bourne Friday night at 7:00 p.m. All teams have Thursday off for Cape League All-Star Player Recognition Day at Fenway Park.