Eagles go for series sweep|Prep baseball playoff game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson
Published 12:00 am Thursday, May 7, 2009
Beating University Christian once hasn’t been a problem for Porters Chapel.
Beating them twice in a row? That’s where it gets tricky.
Porters Chapel vs.
University Christian
PCA leads series, 1-0
Game 2: Today, 4 p.m.,
at Smith-Wills Stadium
Game 3: Friday, 6 p.m.,
at PCA (if necessary)
PCA won Game 1 of its MPSA Class A South State championship series against the Flames on Tuesday, 4-1. PCA can clinch a trip to the Class A finals — its fifth in nine seasons — by winning Game 2 today at University Christian. But the Eagles have not fared well in the second game of their series with UCS.
In 2008, University Christian won Game 2 of a first-round playoff series against PCA after dropping Game 1, only to be routed in the deciding third game. During this year’s regular season, PCA won the first game of a District 5-A doubleheader only to lose the second game 13-3.
That doubleheader split allowed the Flames (17-15) to earn a wild-card berth in the playoffs and set them on the path for a rematch. Now, one month later, they find themselves in the same situation — beat PCA (22-8) or see their season end.
“We’ve fared pretty well against people’s No. 2s. I like my No. 2. He could be my No. 1. He’s a stopper,” said University Christian coach Jonathan Broome, referring to sidearmer Caleb Kellum. Kellum held PCA to three runs on six hits in the Flames’ regular-season victory. “We split with them in the regular season. We feel we should match up well with their number two. We hit him pretty good last time.”
That was a different No. 2, however. PCA used three pitchers in its loss to UCS on April 2, only one of whom is likely to see time on the mound today. Reed Gordon has since cemented his spot in the Eagles’ rotation with three straight effective starts. In two playoff starts spanning 9 2/3 innings, Gordon has allowed only two earned runs and five hits.
“We’re real happy with Reed going in Game 2. He’s done an outstanding job for us,” PCA coach Randy Wright said.
The key for the Eagles will be to do a better job at the plate. In the April loss, they fell behind 12-0 before scratching out a few runs. In Tuesday’s Game 1, they jumped on UCS ace Mark Kaplan for four runs in the first inning, then managed only one hit the rest of the way.
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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com