Border Cats one-up the Mallards in game one
Gabriel Shaw pitched his heart out for the Madison Mallards Friday night, but all he and the team got out of it was a heartbreaking loss.
Shaw was locked in pitchers' duel with Thunder Bay's Nate Woods for seven scoreless innings before the Border Cats broke through with a run in the eighth and went on to defeat the Mallards, 1-0, in the opening game of the 2008 Northwoods League Championship Series at the Duck Pond.
Thunder Bay center fielder Mike O'Neill's one-out double to left-center field drove in Ryan Terry with the game's only run.
"Two freshman arms, one from Belmont (Woods), the other from Louisville (Shaw) and they went at it pitch to pitch," Mallards manager CJ Thieleke said. "It was a classic playoff game, a pitcher's battle, one mistake."
Shaw, who pitched out of several jams during his eight innings, allowed seven hits while striking out one. He didn't walk anybody. But Woods was even stingier, giving up just four hits in his eight innings. Jimmy Stanley pitched a perfect ninth to record the save.
The teams will meet in Game 2 Saturday night at Thunder Bay. Joe Yermal (4-0) will pitch for the Mallards. In Yermal's only appearance against Thunder Bay this season, he pitched six innings and got a no-decision.
"It's fun to be in such a tight-locked series, a 1-nothing game, going up there and maybe beating them 1-nothing to set up game three," Yermal said. "We know we're going to have to go in and play tough to beat them.
"You gotta give them (Woods and Shaw) credit. They went out and you can't say one was much better than the other. They both got big-time outs when they needed them."
The Mallards were 2-0 in the regular season at Thunder Bay. Thieleke believes there is a simple solution for the Mallards to bounce back from a tough loss.
"We just gotta win," Thieleke said. "We gotta get some more two-out hits and try to pressure them a little bit more. You get some opportunities. Sometimes you're going to get to hit and sometimes you're not. You just have to present yourself with as many opportunities as you can and hopefully in the end you'll get a few to drop."
After pitching the opening game of the series, Shaw had some advice for his teammates taking the hill the rest of the way.
"All it is, is keep challenging the hitters. That's what I tried to do all night -- keep 'em honest and keep them off-balance and everything. Just go right at them," Shaw said. "That's the important thing -- just go after every batter like they're your last."
Following the loss, the Mallards boarded the
bus and headed north. Shaw did not make the trip with the team up
to Thunder Bay, as his season came to a close with Friday's
loss.
Overall, Shaw was 2-1 in 11 starts, fanning 36 batters in 58 2/3 innings. He believes the summer with the Mallards will further his baseball career, and he was honored that he was chosen to pitch in Game 1 of the series.
"Of course it's a learning process. These leagues are to get people better, to get your innings, get your at-bats, that type of thing," Shaw said. "It just helps everyone to improve on their skills and learn how to pitch to college batters. It meant a lot to me for them to throw me out there in a championship game."
Yermal will pitch Saturday night after riding in a bus for 10 hours.
"All in all, I think that's what Tylenol PM is for," Yermal said. "I'll take some of that and I'll sleep and get some rest."
Game two will begin Saturday at 6:05 p.m. The Mallards will face Danny Rosenbaum, who was 3-1 during the regular season with a 1.64 ERA. In a June start against Madison, Rosenbaum gave up just three hits and an unearned run in six innings.
If necessary, game three will be played Sunday at 6:05 p.m. at Thunder Bay.
Final score: Thunder Bay 1, Mallards 0
At the gate: 2,443. Season total at the Duck Pond 213,046.
Player of the game: Thunder Bay pitcher Nate Woods pitched eight shutout innings, while only giving up four hits.
Turning point: In the eighth inning, Thunder Bay center fielder Mike O'Neill hit a double into left-center field that drove in right fielder Ryan Terry from second to score the game's only run.
The verdict: Win -- Nate Woods, 1-0. Loss -- Gabriel Shaw, 0-1. Save -- Jimmy Stanley, 1.
Up next: Madison at Thunder Bay, Saturday at 6:05 p.m. (WTLX-FM/100.5)
Greg Dixon
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The Mallards' Gabriel Shaw pitched eight innings Friday night, giving up one run as the Mallards lost to Thunder Bay in game one of the Northwoods League Championship Series.
