Carp beats Stittsville 4-3 in Game 1

from Eric Rosenquist

Carp I4C Victory spotted the Stittsville 56ers an early 3-0 lead, but then chipped away to end up with a 4-3 win in game #1 of their GOFL best of five playoff series. Neil Cooke went the distance to earn the win for Carp while Dan Konkle took the loss in relief of Darren Featherstone.

Stittsville got off to a quick start when John Craig reached on a 1-out error and was brought home by a Scott Herriot double. Stittsville catcher Scott Jessiman then hit an infield grounder that brought home Herriot when the throw to first sailed wide.

The 56ers added another run in the 2nd. Second baseman Scott Parsons singled and advanced to second on a sac bunt by RF Ben Gigliotti. Left fielder Mike Barrett then hit what looked to be an RBI single, but Carp SS Curtis Scurr made a terrific diving stop to keep the ball from getting to the outfield and holding Parsons at third base. Stittsville would not be denied the run however as the next batter - pitcher Darren Featherstone - lifted a fly ball to centre field that was more than deep enough to score Parsons from 3B.

Carp got on the board in the 3rd inning when Scurr took a 1-out walk, advanced to second on a groundout by second baseman Adam Purdy, then came home on a single by centre fielder Dan Loney.

The Victory squad narrowed the lead to 3-2 in the 4th. Third baseman Kevin McGuire hit a 1-out single then stole second. Designated player Al Read then walked and catcher Bobby Jack Hart hit an infield spinner that loaded the bases with just one out. Featherstone managed to get left fielder Shawn Simzer to fly out to right field, but it was deep enough to score McGuire from 3B. Right fielder Mike Money then lined out to third to end the threat with the score 3-2 Stittsville.

The score remained 3-2 until the bottom of the 6th inning when Stittsville made a pitching change and brought in Dan Konkle for Featherstone. Konkle took a few batters to find the stike zone, walking the first three hitters he faced before getting Hart to strike out with the bases loaded and no outs. However, the next Carp batter - Shawn Simzer - ripped a ground ball off the second baseman's glove to knock in two runs and put Carp on top 4-3. Konkle managed to limit the damage by getting an out courtesy of a run-down out after a wild pitch and then a strike out to end the inning.

The 56ers threatened to tie the game in the top of the 7th when their leadoff hitter reached on an error and took 2nd on a passed ball, but Cooke struck out the next three Stittsville batters to earn the 4-3 victory.

Carp I4C Victory

Neil Cooke: W 7IP 3R 1ER 10K 1BB

Kevin McGuire: 1-2 BB SB 2R

Shawn Simzer: 0-2 2RBI ROE

Al Read: 0-1 2BB

Stittsville 56ers

Darren Featherstone: 5IP 2R 1ER 3K 2BB

Dan Konkle: L 1IP 2R 1ER 2K 3BB

John Craig: 1-2 R BB

Mike Barrett: 1-2

Scott Herriot: 1-3 2B R RBI