July 31, 2008 12:16 am
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From staff reports
BROKEN ARROW — The mental game weighed heavily for the Muskogee Titans in the National Baseball Congress’ 16-under World Series on Wednesday.
The pressure was enough to knock loose the Tulsa Lugnuts from the winner’s bracket of the tournament and put the Titans within one victory of their sixth national championship since 2001 as they beat the Lugnuts, 3-2 with only one hit.
A wild pitch in the seventh allowed Trey Wiley of Sallisaw, courtesy-running for Blake Blakeley, to score the winning run. Blakeley left the game with leg cramps and Wiley moved up a base on Mike Oberste’s fielder’s choice groundout and then to third on a wild pitch. Cam’Ron Summers drew a walk and stole second before the second and costliest wild pitch brought home the winning run.
Blakeley also scored the tying run in the fifth on a throwing error by the Lugnuts shortstop. He reached third on the only hit of the game, a ground-rule double by Andrew Arnold.
“We’ve played them forever and 99 percent of the time we’ve been fortunate to come out on top,” Titans coach James Parnell said. “This was one of those times. It was a pressure-cooker. An extremely mental game for both teams.”
The Titans have won two NBC and three Super Series national titles. They were second in the only ones they didn’t win, a Super Series in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2001 and a CABA tourney in Nashville, Tenn.
Archie Bradley was the winning pitcher, giving up five hits and striking out 11 in seven innings of work.
The Titans, 10-1 on an abbreviated season this year, will play at noon today against the survivor between the Oklahoma Rivercats, McKinney, Texas, Mavericks and Tulsa Lugnuts in the consolation bracket. The Rivercats and Mavericks were playing a late game with the winner meeting the Lugnuts to decide the other finals team. Should the Titans lose, they’d have to lose again at 2 p.m. to be denied the title.
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