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Tobs' season ends in classic playoff battle in Fayetteville
August 7, 2009
Fayetteville, NC — The Wilson Tobs historic season came to an unfortunate end in a classic battle with their biggest rival in the Coastal Plain League Thursday night at J.P. Riddle Stadium as they fell to the Fayetteville SwampDogs by a score of 3-2 in 11 innings.
It was Fayetteville center-fielder Michael Niemann, whose 11th inning walk-off RBI-single gave Fayetteville the victory, but whose incredible diving catch in the ninth to rob Bobby Leeper of extra bases, and possibly an inside-the-park home run made the real difference in the ballgame.
The loss ends the Tobs' 2009 season, a season that saw the Tobs finish with a regular-season record of 35-21, the best record of any Tobs team in their 13 seasons in the Coastal Plain League. The Tobs also won their second straight second-half southern division championship, a feat they also accomplished under head coach Jeff Steele in 2008.
It was a former Tob, Tanner Biagini who cranked a two-run homer to open the scoring in the second inning off of Tobs starter Trent Howard to give the SwampDogs their 2-0 lead.
After allowing the home run, Howard went on to get out of a jam in the inning, and set down 11 of the next 12 batters he faced. Meanwhile, Fayetteville starter Matt McGovern was pitching into the seventh inning with a no-hitter still intact before a leadoff single by Jake Astor broke it up.
It was in the ninth when the Tobs attemped to mount one last rally in 2009. Bobby Leeper came within inches of possibly an inside-the-park home run, and would of gotten it had his line drive to the right-center field gap not been caught by a diving Niemann, a game-saving catch considering what took place after. Astor reached on a fielding error by Fayetteville second baseman Austin Lasprilla to bring the tying run to the plate. Matt Zeblo, the newest force in the Tobs lineup for the better part of the past two weeks, smashed a line-drive, two-run, game-tying home run to narrowly clear the left-center field wall off All-Star closer Lee Zerrusen to send the Tobs team and their fans sitting behind the third base dugout into a wild, and maybe unexpected celebration.
The Tobs pitched out of some big time threats in nearly every single one of the late innings in the contest, but in the eleventh, Niemann would bounce a seeing-eye single through the left side of a drawn-in infield to score pinch-runner Shawn Lovette from third to give the SwampDogs the victory.
All-Star Trent Howard pitched 6.1 strong innings, walking no batters and striking out eight in the contest before Tobs pitcher of the Year Jason Sullivan kept the SwampDogs at bay for another 2.2 innings. Brennan Dobbins allowed the game-winning run in the eleventh after pitching 1.1 innings and picked up the loss for the Tobs. Lee Zerrusen of Fayetteville picked up the win after pitching three innings in relief.
Fayetteville (31-23) moves on to the second round of the CPL playoffs, where they will face the Forest City Owls (46-9) in a three-game series begining Saturday night in Fayetteville.
The 2009 season may be over, but don’t forget, it's not too early to reserve your 2010 season tickets for Wilson Tobs baseball. Get yours by calling (252)-291-TOBS. In a summer that saw the winningest Tobs team in their 13-year Coastal Plain League history, the Wilson Tobs thank you for a wonderful 2009 season.
The Wilson Tobs are a member of the Coastal Plain League, the nation's hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its thirteenth season, the Coastal Plain League features 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at www.coastalplain.com.
Contact:
Dan Hasty
252-291-8627
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