The Pirates baseball season came to an end on Tuesday afternoon with a 4-0 loss to defending sectional champions Robbinsville in the semi-finals of the Central, Group 2 playoffs. With the final game in the books, the Pirates finish the season with an 18-7 record.
Robbinsville came into Cinnaminson as the five-seed and left still playing to defend their sectional crown from one year ago.
The Pirates handed the ball to senior right-hander Ryan Hanratty, who went 3.1 innings, allowing three runs, all unearned. The Pirates committed two costly errors in the game.
“Whether it’s 2-0, 3-0 or 4-0, we gotta score runs to win the game,” head coach Kevin Merrill said. “Hats off to them. They are reigning sectional champs for a reason. That kid (Michael Fischer) on the mound today was tremendous.”
Hanratty was relieved by another senior right-hander, Eddie Gore, who pitched out of damage in the top of the fourth. He allowed one earned run in the top of the sixth and pitched the final 3.2 on the day.
“Ryan did a good job of locating his fastball today,” Merrill said. “That pitch was the one he was struggling with against Point Pleasant Boro. I just think he didn’t have a feel for his secondary stuff today.”
“Eddie did a great job of picking Ryan up. Both of them are senior leaders on this team. They both competed tremendously and I’m very proud of them for that.”
Cinnaminson could muster only two hits on the day, a double in the first off the bat of senior center fielder Nick Thevanayagam and a single in the third off the bat of catcher Mike McAndrews.
With the loss, 10 seniors end their baseball careers with Cinnaminson, but Merrill is confident they left a lasting impression on the younger players who will take the field for the Pirates in 2016.
“We have got work to do for the young guys coming back. I’m proud of these seniors. They are one of the best class of seniors I’ve ever coached in terms of how hard they worked, the attitude and the camaraderie they built with the team. I’m going to miss them dearly and I wish them all the best of luck. I think they left the program in a good spot moving forward. If these younger guys take anything from this senior class in terms of how they worked and competed, we are going to be in good shape.”
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[…] baseball team hosted Robbinsville on Tuesday afternoon for a Central, Group 2 semi-final game. The Pirates were shutout 4-0 and held to just two hits in the loss, which ended their stellar season. Baseball finished with […]