Pirate baseball goes to the quarter finals in second

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On the Friday afternoon of Melon Days the Manila Mustang baseball team rode into Green River without a win for the 2008 season and they left the same way.
The Mustangs jumped out to a quick three run lead in the top of the first inning on some not so stellar defense. The wake up call got the Pirate’s attention but were unable to get anything going in the bottom of the first.
The next two innings the Pirates held Manila scoreless while they were able to cut the lead with one run each inning. It was in the fourth inning that Green River was able to get things going and play like they knew they could.
Green River took the lead with four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
The fifth inning got interesting with the Mustangs tying the score with three quick runs but Green River went back to what has been a main stay in their recent win streak; patience, perseverance and pitching.
Brennan Bigelow found the spot and Manila was held scoreless after that while the bats began to sing for the Pirates. Sarah Swalberg had a break out game when the left fielder must have thought that a girl couldn’t hit one over his head and Sarah smashed one deep into left field allowing her to easily reach second base.
On her next at bat the same fielder must not have had much of a memory because Sarah again pounded one deep into left field just off the foul line catching a shallow Mustang fielder off guard and Sarah again made it to second base. Sarah went four for five with two doubles.
The final score was 14-6 and Green River had the confidence it needed as it started the next game.
The second game of the double header saw a pitching change for both teams and this time Elias Polito was on the mound for Green River. ‘E’ found the strike zone early as the Mustangs were not able to hit off him. Elias ended the game with a shutout.
The bats carried over from the previous game with Brennan Bigelow and Justin Johnson each pounding doubles. The inning ended with Green River posting a 10 run lead and the game was called.
Green River is now tied with Dugway in Region 18 play with eight wins each and they play each other next.
The Green River Pirates and the Dugway Mustangs met on Sept. 26 to determine who would be the champs of Region 18. Both teams had a 12-3 record going into the double header.
Brennan Bigelow took the mound for the Pirates, he threw 13 strike-outs in the win for Green River. Jason Johnson and Justin Johnson both hit two for four to help with the win. In the bottom of the seventh inning, the score was tied 6-6 the Pirates had Justin on third base and Sarah Swalberg at the plate, Sarah hit a double scoring Justin and winning the game.
In the second game of the double header the Pirates couldn’t get their bats going and the Mustangs won 9-3.
Both teams now have a record of 13-4, they flipped a coin to see who would go into the state tournament in first and who would go in second. The Pirates lost the toss, so they will play Panguitch in the quarterfinals on Oct. 7 in Spanish Fork. Dugway will play Westridge Academy or Tabiona.