The #6 Pirates baseball team will travel to #1 West Deptford today at 4pm for the South, Group 2 sectional final. Here is our playoff preview.
When: Friday, June 3 at 4pm.
Where: Union Field on Grove Road in West Deptford.
#6 Cinnaminson: 14-12
#1 West Deptford: 22-5
The #6 Cinnaminson Pirates will play for their second sectional title in four years today when they visit #1 West Deptford at 4pm at Union Field.
Cinnaminson defeated #11 Sterling 6-2 in the opening round, #14 Collingswood 10-9 in the second round and #10 Manchester Township 7-3 in the semifinals to get here.
The last time the Pirates played in a sectional final was 2013, en route to a state championship, and their opponent was West Deptford on the road.
That year the Pirates were the #4 seed and the Eagles were the #3 seed. Cinnaminson took down West Deptford 8-1. The Pirates banged out 15 hits and held the Eagles to just one hit.
Obviously, three years later, these are two very different teams.
Cinnaminson has won its first three playoff games on the strength of the offense, scoring 23 runs on 35 hits to begin the tournament.
Jake Perkins has hit .750, Joe Cody has hit .667 and Mike McAndrews has hit .600 so far in the postseason. Christian Massara has driven in four runs and Mike Bednarek has plated three.
McAndrews exploded for three hits against Collingswood including a double and a home run in the 10-9 victory.
Staff ace Brandon Staub threw six innings for his seventh win of the year in the 7-3 win over Manchester Township on Tuesday.
Staub picked up the save in the opener against Sterling and the win against Collingswood. He has allowed three runs, two of them earned, in 11 innings this postseason and is 2-0 with the save.
Jack Conville, who emerged as the second starter for the Pirates this season, will likely get the start on the mound today. He comes in with a 3-3 record.
Conville was the winning pitcher against Sterling in the first round. He threw four innings and allowed just two unearned runs.
West Deptford has reached the sectional final for the first time since the 2013 meeting with Cinnaminson.
The Eagles defeated #16 Pennsauken Tech 9-0 in the first round, #8 Barnegat and MLB draft prospect Jason Groome 2-1 in the second round and #4 Audubon 8-0 in the semifinals.
West Deptford will likely use a combination of Derek Wakeley and Drew Wilden in today’s game, which they did against Barnegat in the second round and Audubon in the semifinals.
Wilden threw four innings in that game. He gave up just two hits, walked four and struck out nine en route to the win. Wakeley threw three innings of one-run ball. He allowed two hits, walked three and struck out two.
Both of these pitchers have had control issues this year, each walking 16 hitters on the season.
Wakeley threw two innings in the win over Audubon. He allowed just one hit and struck out two. Wilden tossed five innings of shutout ball. He struck out 11 and walked five, while allowing two hits.
Cinn City Sports will have coverage of baseball at West Deptford today at 4pm. Be sure to follow us on Twitter for live updates throughout the game.
Directions to Union Field in West Deptford:
295 Southbound to Exit 21. Make a left at the light onto Route 44. Turn right at the next light (Grove) and fields are on the left.
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