Pirates squeak past Riverbend with late 'D'

CHARLESTON, Mo. -- Defense was expected to be critical for the SEMO Pirates in their game against the Riverbend Ducks on Thursday at Hillhouse Park in the first round of the Senior Babe Ruth state tournament, which was a battle between Ducks pitcher Jashawn McDaniel and Pirates pitcher Joe Elfrink.

So when an error in the third inning allowed the Ducks to plate their second run of the game, it concerned Pirates coach Jeremy McCain.

"Anytime you play against Jashawn you know it's going to be tight," McCain said. "We were playing to keep it close there. That's a great pitching matchup right there with Jashawn and Joe. We were just trying to keep it close and not make mistakes in the field, and that's what cost us one of those runs right there. That one run we thought was going to get us."

That one run didn't sink the Pirates as they came from behind to win 3-2 and sealed that victory when catcher Logan Carter threw a runner out at second to end it.

Before Carter's defense ended the game, it also kept the inning alive for the Ducks in the third.

Elfrink issued a one-out walk to McDaniel in the third before left fielder Kiel Causey reached first when Carter slipped attempting to field Causey's bunt.

"Logan's great back there," McCain said. "He's one of the best catchers around here. He's a leader on our team. He comes up, slips right there -- he makes that play 99 out of 100 [times]. That's baseball. That's why you play the game."

Second baseman Dylan Milisits singled in the first run before Elfrink struck out center fielder Jake Reed.

Causey scored when second baseman Garrett Potts was unable to field a ground ball near second base. Potts responded with the next batter by making a diving stop to his left and throwing to first for the final out of the inning.

"The guy shouldn't have been on first -- they shouldn't have been in the position to bunt there," Elfrink said. "I got behind and walked him on a full count after he'd fouled off a couple. ... I've got to be able to get out of jams like that. Then the next guy I left one up in the middle and he put a good swing on it. I need to control and make better pitches in those situations and work out of it when the plays maybe aren't happening the way we want them to."

Elfrink, who struck out five batters over five innings, said he tried to limit any damage the rest of the game and allow his teammates to put up some runs, which he did, allowing only one hit and walking one batter over his final two innings of work. "I thought early on that I was relying on my fastball a little bit too much and sometimes I've got to catch myself from doing that," Elfrink said. "I told Logan to call whatever he wanted. I trust him there. He's a great catcher, he knows what he's doing, he knows what he's calling. We started working in some of my offspeed pitches and throwing a few different pitches for strikes and I thought that kind of helped us. We started working ahead better."

Pirates center fielder Austin Bucher singled to left field, stole second and scored on a single by Carter in the third to make it 2-1.

Third baseman Dustin Houart and shortstop Kyle Moore singled and pinch hitter Casey Graham drew a walk in the fifth to load the bases for Bucher.

Houart scored the tying run when McDaniel's high pitch skipped past the catcher's glove. Bucher then singled up the middle to plate the winning run.

"I was just looking for a fastball and looking to hit it hard, and I found the hole," Bucher said.

The SEMO Pirates advance to face the Leadville Pirates, who had a first-round bye, at 10 a.m. today at Hillhouse Park. South Pemiscot graduate Jacob Trammel will be on the mound for the SEMO Pirates.

"We played them earlier in the year and I don't think we got their best game," McCain said. "It's going to be a good game. They're a good team. We know coming in playing a team with a bye, we're going to get their number one [pitcher], so it's going to be a close one. Another tight one."

Riverbend 002 000 0 -- 2 3 0

Pirates 001 020 x -- 3 8 2

WP -- Joe Elfrink. LP -- Jashawn McDaniel. Multiple Hits -- SEMO Pirates: Austin Bucher 2-3, Dustin Houart 2-3.