From The Dugout: Duck Trio Win 2009 NWL Title With Rochester
Monday, August 17, 2009
On Sunday, Oregon’s Danny Pulfer, Scott McGough and Mitch Karraker won a piece of summer hardware when their Rochester Honkers defeated the La Crosse Loggers, 7-4, in game three of the 2009 Northwoods League Championship series.
The Honkers won their fifth title in club history in front of a playoff-record 1,194 fans at Mayo Field in Rochester, Minn.
Below is a recap of the three-game series.
2009 NORTHWOODS LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
Game One • Mayo Field • Rochester, Minn. • 1,053 • Aug. 14, 2009
Rochester Honkers 7, La Crosse Loggers 2
Danny Brock’s (St. Louis) grand slam in the sixth led Rochester to a 7-2 victory over La Crosse in front of a then playoff-record crowd of 1,053 at Mayo Field. Oregon’s Scott McGough pitched the final two innings for victorious Rochester, dealing three strikeouts. He tossed a quiet eighth before a hit batter, walk and single loaded the bases with one out. An RBI single allowed La Crosse’s second run to come in, but McGough regrouped and coaxed a fly out and strikeout from the Loggers’ final two batters. Oregon’s Danny Pulfer scored a run during the game.
Game Two • Copeland Park • La Crosse, Wisc. • 2,588 • Aug. 15, 2009
La Crosse Loggers 5, Rochester Honkers 4
Entering the top of the ninth trailing La Crosse 5-3, Oregon starting third baseman Danny Pulfer led off the inning for Rochester with a single and would later score. But the Honkers stranded the game-tying run just 90 feet away as La Crosse reliever Steve Gruver (Tennessee) struck out Chris Auten (New Mexico State) to end the game.
Oregon right-hander Scott McGough again made a second straight relief appearance for Rochester pitching the eighth and taking the loss after surrendering two unearned runs.
Game Three • Mayo Field • Rochester, Minn. • 1,194 • Aug. 16, 2009
Rochester Honkers 7, La Crosse Loggers 4
Oregon right-hander Scott McGough made his third straight relief appearance in the title series on Sunday, entering the final game with Rochester nursing a 4-2 lead in the seventh inning with the bases loaded and one out. McGough surrendered an RBI single, cutting Rochester’s lead to one run, but helped the Honkers escape the jam by striking out the next batter and coaxing a fly out for the final out of the inning. In the eighth, Rochester’s Aaron Dunsmore hit a three-run homer to cushion the Honkers’ lead. Starting third baseman Danny Pulfer had a single and scored a run in the game for Rochester.
McGough ends his summer season with a 5-4 record and 2.54 ERA. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native made 29 relief appearances pitching a total of 46 innings. He walked just 17 batters while striking out 37.
Pulfer ended his season hitting .257 with 12 RBIs and 14 runs scored.
IN OTHER NEWS:
Oregon second baseman and Eugene native Josh Hogan is in search of another West Coast League title with the Corvallis Knights.
The Knights are in the midst of defending their 2008 WCL title and have a must-win game in Corvallis tonight against the Wenatchee AppleSox after dropping the first game of the championship series, 4-1, in front of a Paul Thomas Field postseason-record crowd of 1,297 fans in Wenatchee, Wash., on Saturday night.
Hogan started the first game of the series at second base for Corvallis and drew two walks in his four trips to the plate, but Wenatchee starting pitcher Zach Gallagher allowed just one unearned run in six innings of action.
Corvallis defeated the Bend Elks in the WCL West Divisional series 2 games to 1, setting up a three-game tilt with the Wenatchee AppleSox – a rematch from last year’s WCL championship.
MORE HARDWARE:
Karraker, McGough and Pulfer weren’t the only Oregon players to win some hardware this summer. Oregon senior-to-be right-hander Geoff Nichols and the Newport Gulls won the 2009 New England Collegiate Baseball League Title with a 12-6 victory over the Vermont Mountaineers last Monday.
It was the Gulls fourth NECBL title since 2001.
The Gulls needed three games to take the series. The Gulls were victorious by the score of 7-2 in game one, with Nichols pitching the final two innings of relief and allowing just one hit. Vermont responded in game two with a 4-3 win, before Newport clinched the series with its 12-6 victory last Monday.
SUMMING IT UP
Oregon soon-to-be sophomore right-hander Madison Boer saw his Duck teammates win the 2009 Northwoods League Championship title when his La Crosse Loggers suffered a 7-4 defeat in game three of the series on Sunday.
Boer finished his season with a 4-3 record in eight starts and a total of 10 appearances. He tossed a total of 51 and 2/3 innings and managed a 4.01 ERA, while holding opposing batters to a .235 average and dealing 29 strikeouts.
Oregon soon-to-be sophomores KC Serna and Chris Garrison also were victim to the Rochester Honkers when their Mankato Moondogs were swept in the NWL North Divisional series.
Serna , Oregon’s starting shortstop, ended his summer by breaking Mankato’s single-season record for stolen bases with 25 swipes. The old record of 21 had been held by Donnell Boyer (Minnesota State) since 2002. Serna hit .314 (55-for-175) over the summer with 30 runs scored, 16 RBIs, 16 walks, seven doubles and two triples.
Garrison ended his summer having appeared in 15 games and pitching a total of 31 innings. The righty reliever had a 1-1 record with one save and a 2.03 ERA. He held opposing batters to a .193 average and struck out 19.
