By Joshua Yoder
LEWISTOWN – Despite a strong start early on in the game, one big inning made all the difference as the Spike Island Pirates swept the Foxpro Predators in six innings by the final score of 14-4 in game three of five CCBL baseball playoff semi-finals Tuesday evenng.
The Pirates got on the board first in the top of the first inning. It started with a two run homer by Spike Island starting pitcher Michael Kitko that also scored Ryan Kephart making it a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Derek Fravel was driven in by an RBI single to center from Allen Myers to extend the lead to 3-0.
But Foxpro was not going to allow that to bother them as the Predators responded in the bottom half of the frame with three runs of their own. All of which can be contributed by Rylan Bailey who helped himself with a massive three run bomb over the left field fence bringing along home with him was Xavier Smith and Jaxson Pupo.
With the score even at three apiece, the Pirates came back swinging as Ike Tiracorda led off with a triple to right before being brought home by a ground out by Kephart to make it 4-3. Kitko came back to plate and did a repeat of his last at-bat and jacked another home run to make it a 5-3 lead.
Spike Island added on another run in the top of third as Parker White singled in Denny Prestash to extend the lead to 6-3.
However, the Predators closed the gap a little bit in the bottom half of the third inning where they scored a run thanks to Evan Pupo who drove in Bailey with an RBI single to right cutting the lead down to 6-4.
Then came the monster inning for the Spike Island bats. As during the top half of the sixth, the Pirates’ offense just went off scoring a grand total of seven runs in the inning. One of those big at-bats was a three run home run by McGwire Heverly which made it the third home run hit in the game for Spike Island. The score was then 13-4.
The Pirates put the finishing touches on the game with Ike Tiracorda scoring on a wild pitch to complete the ten run rule.
Spike Island was led at the plate by Kitko who went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three runs batted in. Fravel was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs, White was 3-for-4 with an RBI and Tiracorda went 2-for-3 with a triple and a double.
For Foxpro, the Predators were held to just four hits in the game with Bailey, Jaxson Pupo, Evan Pupo and Ethan Eichhorn each getting a hit.
Kitko took the mound for the Pirates and pitched the first four innings and collected seven strikeouts and three walks. White finished the final two innings of the game and had three strikeouts and two walks.
Bailey got the call to start for the Predators and went two and two-thirds innings with two strikeouts and four walks. Former Mifflin County Huskie pitcher Doug Weaver took over the next two and two-thirds innings with two strikeouts and two walks before Landon Black came on and finished the final two-third innings with a strikeout and a walk.
Foxpro’s season has come to an end and will head into the off season. Meanwhile, Spike Island will move on and will await the winner of the Howard Hawks and the Blanchard Bees.