By:
Barry Mabry – November 3, 2012

-Pirates
(SC 14’s) vs Cardinals (Mid-Atlantic 14’s)-

Grant Holmes (right) received the nod
for the Pirates and came out of the gate strong with an arsenal of pitches. He
threw up a quick zero in top of the first and his offense gave the South
Carolina juniors a four run cushion in the bottom half as Holmes would help his
own cause. KiJana Madden drew a leadoff
walk and USC’s Jared Williams
reached on an error. Clemson’s Adam
Renwick got the Pirates on the board with his oppo-double and Citadel’s Phillip Watcher made it a 2-0 game with
his fielder’s choice to second. A walk was issued to USC’s O’Kevius Conway to load the bases once again and Holmes delivered a
two-RBI single over the first baseman’s head helping his own cause. The inning
was ‘rolled over’ with one out and Pirates up 4-0.

Holmes
was light’s out in his second inning as he gave way to Thomas Durant in the third. Durant surrendered an infield single
and drilled the next hitter. He then punched out the next two before allowing a
run to cross on a passed ball. The Pirates got that run back in the bottom half
which was led by USC’s KJ Bryant’s
leadoff triple. A wild pitch followed making it a 5-1 game.

Durant
allowed another runner to plate in the fourth frame. After giving up a single
and a double with one out, a wild pitch made it a 5-2 affair. The Pirates
bounced right back in the bottom half and pushed the lead back to four once
again on a passed ball.

C
of C commit Linc Powell relieved
Durant of his duties in the top of the fifth and allowed the Cardinals to get
back to a three run game. After surrendering a triple, a wild pitch allowed the
runner to score. The Pirates, staying consistent, moved it back once again to a
four run lead in the bottom half. Robert
Jolly reached on an error and scored on a fielder’s choice to second by Trace Witt giving us a 7-3 ballgame.

USC’s
and 2015 LT Tolbert relieved Powell
in the sixth and threw up a zero after running into some trouble. The Pirates
went scoreless in the bottom half as well and Brandon Justice took over for Tolbert in the seventh. Justice
struggled to throw strikes (walking four straight) which resulted over to three
runs pulling the Cardinals within a run. The inning was ‘rolled over’ which
sealed the deal for the Pirates giving them a 7-6 victory.

Final Score: Pirates 7
Cardinals 6; WP: Grant Holmes; 3B: Trace Witt, KJ Bryant 2B: Adam Renwick