Baseball holds fall intersquad world series

Bobbi Otis

Senior Eric Pettepher delivers a pitch in game 4 of the series.

Ammo’s Army tops MoCats in annual Steak Series; fall practice concludes

The GCSU baseball team put bragging rights and a steak dinner on the line Nov. 5 to 14, as it held its annual fall inter-squad World Series.

In the end, student assistant coaches Jamie Ammons and Paul Bordon led their team, Ammo’s Army to its second consecutive Steak Series title, four games to two over graduate assistant coach Steve Moritz’s MoCats.

The series marked the end of fall practice for the Bobcats and has been going on since 2004. As head coach of the losing team, Moritz served Ammo’s Army with a steak dinner.

“It’s a big thing for us. The guys embrace it really well,” Head Coach Tom Carty said. “We started practice on Oct. 6, and our guys have been tired out a little bit and are anxious to get out there after finals and play in the spring.”

In the series opener on Nov. 5, Ammo’s Army won 8-5 behind senior All-American outfielder Shawn Ward’s three-hit performance. Senior right-hander Eric Pettepher picked up the victory, surrendering only two hits while striking out four in six innings and a third. Junior right-hander Blake Snyder picked up the save.

The MoCats bounced back with a pair of victories Nov. 6. Senior All-Peach Belt Conference catcher Richard Pirkle drove in the winning run in game two with a two-out single in the ninth, capping a five-run rally in the inning and a 10-9 victory. The MoCats took a 2-1 series lead, winning game three 5-4. Redshirt-junior Chris George picked up the win, going seven innings and allowing two runs on seven innings. Freshman righty Matthew Robinson picked up the save.

Ammo’s Army knotted the series up at two games a piece Nov. 12, when Pettepher scattered 10 hits and allowed three runs in a 6-3, complete game victory, his second of the series. Junior outfielder Jim Moreland had a hit and a pair of walks with two RBI in the win. Sophomore infielder Cody Maas was 2-3 with an RBI double in the first for the MoCats.

Ammo’s Army regained the series lead at 3-2 Nov. 13, cruising to a 13-2 blowout victory. Senior right-hander Ryan Parson went seven innings and allowed only one earned run on five hits in the mercy rule victory. Meanwhile, Ward four hits and four RBI, while junior outfielder Patrick Daugherty added three hits including the first home run of the series

Ammo’s Army closed out the series with a 2-0 shutout victory Nov. 14. Junior righty Matt Lamothe threw all seven innings of the shortened game, as he out-dueled senior lefty Jason Nicholas. Daugherty was voted the series MVP.

Carty said that as the series went on, the pitching improved.

“The guys struggled early on, but towards the end, we got some really good pitching outings, and things looked a little brighter for us,” he said.

Carty said the team’s fall practice went well.

“It’s a chance for guys to improve themselves. The returning starters have a chance to stake their claim to return to their position, and the new guys get a chance to stake their claim to a starting spot,” he said. “The main goal of fall practice is to leave it with more questions answered than unanswered.”

And so far, Carty feels his team is moving in the right direction.

“We’re close,” he said. “We have a couple of unresolved issues in our infield defense and pitching rotation, but our lineup is looking pretty solid. We’re just looking forward to getting out there in the spring.”

Posted by Scotty Thompson on Nov 18 2010. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.