The Varsity Pirates lost a tough one on the road on Friday (3/30) to the Cardinals from Orting, 8 to 7 in eleven innings. Eric Anderson was the starting pitcher for Vashon and pitched the first five innings, striking out five batters along the way. Anderson left the game knotted at six. Micah Deibell pitched the remaining six innings of this marathon nail-biter. Deibell struck out six and held the opposition to only two runs while walking just one. The Pirates scored a run in the top of the sixth to take the lead 7-6, but Orting pushed across a score in the bottom of the seventh in their last at bats to tie the score at 7-7. The next three exciting frames would see neither team score as both pitchers tightened the noose and delivered one clutch pitch after another. Orting finally put an end to the drama in the bottom of the eleventh by bunting in the winning run from third base. The Pirate offense was led by Justin Calhoun who went 3 for 6 with a double and Micah Deibell who was 2 for 4 with two doubles. Max Bean went 2 for 5 with a double and Eric Anderson added a double as well. Chris Allman was 2 for 6 with two singles.
Vashon turned in several great defensive plays. Calhoun barehanded a bunt down the third base line and threw out the runner by mere inches. Max Bean made a nice falling down catch in short center preventing a run from scoring. And Chris Pieterick made a great run saving stop at short, flipping the ball to force the runner at second. Later in the 10th inning, Pieterick would make two more nice plays to help preserve the tie game. All in all, a pretty nice showing by the Pirates, especially in the later innings where they displayed a lot of grit and determination. Vashon faces a busy week with four games in five days (April 2, 4, 5, 6).
