NALB 2012 Playoffs - League 2 Series

K. Fields
2013-09-13T22:16:14-04:00
Baseball

2012 League 2 Series - Richmond Slam (92-70) vs. Key West Corals (97-65)

Game 1: Key West 5, Richmond 4
Game 2: Richmond 1, Key West 0
Game 3: Richmond 8, Key West 2
Game 4: Richmond 6, Key West 5
Game 5: Richmond 4, Key West 0

Last season, the Richmond Slam won their division by a single game. They had subpar pitching and counted on a fearsome lineup to outscore their opponents. That formula served them well as they defeated the favored Stade Maples in the 2011 League 2 Series. This season, the Slam looked like an even more extreme version of the 2011 team. Despite two 19-game winners, they were dead last in League 2 pitching with a 5.00 ERA. Richmond was League 2’s top scoring team, however, with 983 runs. The Key West Corals were a more balanced team with a good offense (900 runs scored) to go along with good pitching (4.48 ERA). Would the Slam be able to pull off an upset two years in a row?

The 2012 League 2 Series opened in Key West with two veteran starting pitchers. The Slam named Hap Bedford (19-5, 3.69 ERA) the starter. Bedford was a long time star for the Cornfield Axemen. Richmond signed the free agent in 2012 and they were glad they did. The Corals started 38-year old Ray Cruz (15-10, 4.44 ERA), now in his 13th season with Key West. Hap Bedford helped his own cause when he hit a single to score the game’s first run in the second inning. Richmond’s superstar left-fielder Tony Rodarte made it 2-0 Slam when he hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth. With Rip Sukeforth pitching in relief of Ray Cruz, the Slam added two more runs in the seventh. The Corals finally broke through against Bedford in the bottom half of the inning. Adelmo Porcayo, Keith Boris, and Tulio Morrles hit a single, a double, and a triple respectively. The score was tied 4-4 after seven innings. Good bullpen pitching forced the game into extra innings. Keith Boris was the hero as he drove in the winning run in the 12th inning for a 5-4 win at home.

Game two was a good old-fashioned pitchers’ duel between Richmond’s Katamor Eizan (19-2, 3.95 ERA) and Key West’s Whitney Sanders (10-10, 4.58 ERA). Eizan pitched seven innings of two-hit ball while Sanders gave up just five hits in eight innings. The game’s only run came in the top of the fourth. Edmundo Ovelha led off the inning with a triple. He scored on a ground out and that was enough to give the Slam a 1-0 shutout victory.

The Slam felt good returning to Richmond for game three after getting a split in Key West. The Corals starter was William Constable (8-7, 4.82 ERA). The Slam started Joe Lehr (9-19, 6.34 ERA), a 33-year old who had the worst season of his career. Lehr surprised everyone, including his teammates and the Richmond fans. He pitched eight innings and surrendered only two runs. Constable was not so fortunate. He lasted only three innings and gave up five runs. The Corals bullpen wasn’t much better, giving up three runs over the next two innings. Richmond’s bats gave Lehr all he needed. They scored two in the second, three in the third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth. A two RBI double by Porcayo was too little, too late for the Corals. The Slam won easily, 8-2.

Going into game four, Key West felt the series slipping away. They hoped Mario Torralbo (16-6, 3.50 ERA), their most reliable starter this season, would get them back on track. They had to like their chances against Adney Buntain (6-12, 5.30), another Slam pitcher who had a less than stellar season. Richmond scored first with a run in the second but Key West evened the score with a run in the top of the third. The bottom of the third determined the outcome of the game, however. A couple of walks got Torralbo into trouble. Yuan Li and Héctor De Echevarría added a double and a single, respectively. Ángel Jirnénez then hit a two run line drive homer to right field. Richmond had a comfortable 6-1 lead. Lou Woodman’s RBI in the fourth inning brought the Corals a run closer. Martin Trujillo scored on a ground out in the sixth inning to make it a 6-3 game. Woodman and Dave Groot drove in two more runs for the Corals in the eighth. Key West staged a nice comeback but it was insufficient. Richmond prevailed 6-5.

Down three games to one, the Corals needed to win every remaining game in the series. Before returning to Key West, they would have to win game five in Richmond. The pitching matchup was Cruz vs. Bedford, as it was in game one. The Corals hoped for a similar outcome. Key West’s dreams were dashed by Bedford. He was masterful, pitching eight and two-thirds shutout innings. Cruz pitched very well until the sixth inning. The Slam hit two homers to put four runs on the board: a solo shot by Ovelha followed by a three run blast by Nub Spade. Bedford took it from there and cruised to a series-clinching 4-0 win.

The story of the 2012 League 2 Series had to be Richmond’s pitching. Their much-maligned pitching staff was surprisingly effective, giving up only twelve runs in five games. They also had two shutouts against a very good Corals team. Having the Slam pitchers outshine the Slam hitters was quite unexpected.