Dukes advance to 2nd round of playoffs with sweep of SteepleCats
by: Michael Radomski
( NORTH ADAMS, Mass.) – With a 7-2 victory over the North Adams
SteepleCats, the Pittsfield Dukes have advanced to the semifinals of
the NECBL playoffs and will play the winner of the Newport Gulls-
Manchester Silkworms series.
Early on, both Kyle Vazquez (Franklin Pierce) and Craig Crumbly
(Florida Gulf Coast) were locked in a pitcher’s duel as both teams
were scoreless into the fourth inning.
In the top half, a two run home run from Matt Adams (Slippery Rock)
would put Pittsfield ahead and hand the lead to Vazquez. The
righthander retired the first two batters in the bottom half, but
back to back walks would put two runners on with one out. Vazquez
induced Greg Van Horn (Brookdale CC) to ground out and worked his
way out of the jam.
The Pittsfield offense would extend the lead in the fifth with a two
run triple from Chris Edmondson (Le Moyne) and an RBI double from
Matt Adams to give Pittsfield the 5-0 advantage. Vazquez would
strand two runners in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings,
and would retire the side in the seventh before leaving the game.
Vazquez allowed four hits and walked one in keeping North Adams
scoreless over seven innings. He would also pick up seven strikeouts
in his first playoff start for Pittsfield.
Jayson Langfels (Eastern Kentucky) singled in the eighth to increase
the lead to six, and the Dukes would add another run in the ninth on
an RBI fielder’s choice from Perry Silverman (Canisius).
In the bottom of the ninth, North Adams trailed 7-0 but pinch hitter
Ryan Semeniuk (Wake Forest) hit a two run home run to left field to
close the gap to just five. Jake Sabol (Central Michigan) would
strike out the final two batters he faced to end the game and
complete the sweep of North Adams.
With the 7-2 win, Pittsfield wins the best of three series two games
to none, and will await the winner of the Newport-Manchester
Southern Division series. Newport won the first game of the series
9-2 tonight at Cardines Field and Pittsfield will likely have a home
game on Wednesday night depending on the winner of the series and
the number of games it takes to do so.
Fans can listen to all Pittsfield Dukes games on the NECBL Broadcast
Network by going to the site at http://www.teamline.cc/sportpage?teamcode=6301&eventcode=5
Tickets are still available for Dukes’ games at Wahconah Park.
Tickets can be purchased at the Dukes box office at 105 Wahconah
Street or by calling 413 447 DUKE (3853).
GAME NOTES: Matt Adams grounded out in his first at bat, but picked
up a hit in each of his next four plate appearances. Adams finished
4 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs in the Dukes first playoff
series win. Adams finished 5 for 9 in the series with five runs
batted in…Jayson Langfels went three for five in the game including
an RBI single in the eighth inning…SteepleCat catcher Sean Parker (CCSU)
came into the game and pitch the eight and ninth innings for North
Adams. Parker is a three-time SteepleCat and closed out the game on
the mound for North Adams….The eight and nine hitters in the
SteepleCat lineup picked up seven of the nine strikeouts from
Pittsfield pitchers. Mike Donato (UMASS) struck out three times
while Brian Adams (Wright State) was retired four times on strikes.
