After a one-hour rain delay the Carney Pirates handled the Vienna Senators at Waters Field and stay alive after their second tournament game with a final score of 6 to 3. In the first inning the Pirates attacked with their bats. With Pirate runners at second and third Chad Morgan smacked a single to left field pushing Alex Guerra across home plate and George Piccirilli to third base. Then Rob Lamas drilled a single bringing Piccirilli home. After just a half-inning of baseball the Pirates are up 2 to zero banging out four hits. The Senators came to play, too, as they were able to pound out 2 hits  and score 1 run. Going into the top of the second inning our score is Pirates 2, Senators 1.

Inning Two felt like deja vu as Pirates found themselves with runners at second and third with just one out. George Piccirilli powered a sacrifice fly that allowed Matt Crouse, who reached first on a well executed bunt single, to score. Now with a runner on third, Chad Morgan batting average and slugging average leader, popped  a single to right field giving Zach Costello room to score. At the end of their at-bat the Pirates increased their score to 4 with 2 hits. The Pirate defense held the Senators as the league’s ERA champ, Matt Crouse catches fly in right and throws a runner out at the plate for his first of two double plays of the night, the score at the end of two,  4 to 1 (add Crouse to the list of Pirate guns, Costello and McCormick, that you don’t run on).

Third inning was a pitching duel as neither team scored and both were out of the batter’s box one-two-three. The fourth looked similar for the Pirates but very different for the Senators as the squad from Vienna was able to load the bases and score with a combination of Pirate miscues and a couple of walks — one of which scored a run for Vienna. But there wasn’t too much damage as Matt Crouse (deja vu all over again) makes a diving catch and doubles up the runner at first.  The fourth inning ends with the score Pirates 4, Senators 2.

The Pirates scored nothing in the fifth inning as the Senators continue to hammer the ball and score another run — at the end of five the score is Pirates 4, Senators 3., Torey Mancari did the job,a good solid five inning performance, now bring on the league’s best closer, Mike Manfro for one of  his longest stints of the year.

Pirates finish their at-bat in the sixth with one-two-three outs and the Senators bat, sensing a possible momentum shift. Pirates take the field showing a solid effort and with a crisp double-play by John Ralston, snagging a liner and doubling the runner at first, the Pirates end the inning holding a tense 4-3 lead.

We’ve got some base runners for the Pirates in the top of the eighth as Chad Morgan  doubles to right field and Rob Lamas singles to center. With a key  sacrifice bunt, Mike McMenamin pushes Morgan to third and Lamas to second base. Conner Mielock delivers in the clutch, hammering a single to left field and hustles to second on an error. Mielock’s hit drives in Morgan while Lamas advances to third. With one run already scored and just one out the Senators make a pitching switch while the Pirate runners at second and third take a breather. The momentum continues when John Ralston sends a clutch line drive to right field sending Lamas home and Mielock to third base. That takes care of the Pirate offensive attack, providing some invaluable insurance — now the Pirate defense is fired-up going into the bottom of the eighth. They finish the Senators after just four batters, allowing one hit and no runs. The score has now settled with the Pirates at 6 and the Senators with 3.

Everyone is taking a deep breath as we go into the ninth inning. These are both excellent nationally ranked teams and anything can happen with a three-run differential. Pirates start the inning with three batters and three outs. Nail biting begins as the Senators come up to bat. The Senators get a runner on third (Pirates proudly lead the league in balks) but the Pirate defense finish the inning strong allowing no runs with just 1 hit, Manfro records another save, one of his most impressive of the year. Pirates win the game and keep hope alive with a final score of 6 to 3. The Pirates now play the Nationals  Saturday at 3:00pm. Be there, aloha.

Some Numbers for Your Viewing Pleasure

UPDATED: The Vienna Senators now have the full box score and play-by-play action posted on their site – click here to see all the details at ViennaSenators.com.