Despite Loss, Cards Clinch Playoff Spot
August 3, 2008
Bourne, Mass. – It has not been a kind month to the Cardinals. After going 17-5-2 in July, the Cardinals have lost all three games they have played in August and are mired in a five-game losing streak. Today wasn’t any better as Orleans dropped a 9-4 decision to the Bourne Braves.
Later in the evening, however, the Cardinals received the first positive news they’ve had in awhile. With losses from both Harwich and Chatham, Orleans has now clinched a playoff spot and will be playing in the Cape Cod Baseball League Divisional Series.
The Cardinals jumped out to an early start, something unfamiliar to them during the skid. OF Gary Brown (Cal State Fullerton), hitting in the leadoff position for the first time since the month of June, led the game off with a triple. OF Tim Wheeler (Sacramento St.) followed with an infield single that scored Brown and made it 1-0.
The lead didn’t last long, however, as the Cardinals struggled again both on the mound and in the field. Two errors in the bottom of the first led to an unearned Braves run and tied the game.
After picking up the first two outs in the second, LHP Rob Rasmussen (UCLA) walked two and allowed an infield single to load the bases. C Brandon Bantz (Dallas Baptist) singled through the left side to score two. A single from DH Ross Wilson (Alabama) drove in another Brave and gave Bourne a 4-1 lead.
The Braves picked up another in the third but OF Angelo Songco (Loyola Marymount) answered with a two-run homer in the fourth to cut the four-run Bourne lead in half.
The bottom of the fourth was when it began to get out of hand for Orleans. The Braves had four hits, drew a walk and took advantage of a Cardinals error to hang up four more runs. It gave them a 9-3 lead and put Orleans in a deep hole that they could not recover from.
The only threat the Cardinals mustered late was when they loaded the bases with nobody out in the seventh. OF Alex Hassan (Duke) grounded into a double play that scored a run but Orleans was unable to score anymore in the frame.
There were some positives in the game for Orleans; most noticeably, the back end of the bullpen. LHP Elliot Glynn (UCONN), LHP Quinn Haselhorst (Dayton) and LHP Adam Wilk (Long Beach St.) combined to throw four shutout innings and keep the Cardinals in the ballgame. The trio surrendered just three hits and struck out three.
Orleans has now committed eight errors in their last two games and 10 in their past three. The defensive play is reminiscent of the four-game losing streak in June where the Cardinals committed eight errors in those games.
The next step for the Cardinals is to clinch the Eastern Division title. They can do so with one win or with losses from both Harwich and Chatham. Orleans has four games remaining including contests with both the Mariners and the Athletics.
The first-place Cards will return to action tomorrow evening with a makeup game against Falmouth. The contest was originally scheduled for July 17th but a power outage postponed the event to tomorrow evening. Orleans will try to stop the streak with RHP Matt Thomson (San Diego) on the hill. Thomson was the starting pitcher for the Eastern Division in the All-Star Game and is 3-0 with a 1.99 ERA this year.
(Unofficial Box Score)
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