Merchants roll Thunder
Sutton first baseman Jason Coulter (right) tags the base to force out Spartans' runner Brandon Budan in Vernon Men's Fastball League playoff action Tuesday night at Alexis Stadium.
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Jim Kelly smacked a lead-off solo home run in the sixth inning as the Vernon Merchants iced Newport Beach Thunder 3-2 in Vernon Men’s Fastball League playoff action Thursday night at Alexis Stadium.
The Merchants’ Tim Harris earned the win while Vince Lewis took the loss.
The first-place Merchants advance to the finals while the Thunder drop to the B final Wednesday night at Alexis.
Harris delivered nine strikeouts over five innings as the Merchants shelled the Rosman RV Spartans 11-1 Wednesday night.
The first inning was a problem for Spartans’ defence as they gave up 10 runs. Rookie pitcher Brandan Estabrook took the loss.
On Monday night, the second-place Thunder rolled the fifth-place Jayhoos’ Raiders 11-7.
The upstart Raiders started strong, collecting four runs in the first inning off Lewis, but could not hold the lead.
Raiders’ starter Frank Lewis was chased off the mound after giving up 11 runs in the Thunder’s half of the inning. Reliever Chris Bonneau managed to shut down the Thunder offence, but the Raiders could only muster three more runs.
In the late Monday game, the third-place Spartans used a seven-run (three home runs) first inning to stop fourth-place Sutton Realtors 10-6.
Jory Spencer was 3-for-3 while Derek Smith, Anthony Schieffer, Craig Cederholm and Toby Lachuck went 2-for-4 for the Spartans.
The winning pitcher was John Spencer while Jeff Eustache was tagged with the loss.
Playoffs resume Monday as Sutton takes on the Raiders in B side action at Alexis. The winner meets Rosman Tuesday night to see who will face the Thunder Wednesday.
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