Heaters Advance to Championship Game

The Heaters Baseball Club defeated both Lee East and Pound in today's action in the Big Stone Gap Minor League All-Star tournament and will play in tomorrow's championship game scheduled at 4:00 at Bullitt Park.  The Heaters will play the winner of Pound and Big Stone Gap Orange.

If you have nerves of steel and/or like close games, today's Heaters opener would have been for you.  The Heaters needed two extra innings (6 total) to finally dispose of the Lee East All-Star squad.  The Heaters used three different pitchers to combine for yet another no-hit, shutout performance.  However, the Lee East pitcher was able to hold the Heaters bats at bay as well.  In the top of the 6th inning, with the bases loaded with Heaters thanks to three walks, the Heaters popped a ball up on the infield.  Alert base running by the Heaters allowed a run to score on a tag up play.  With an errant through, the Heaters were able to cross home twice on an infield fly.  The Heaters pitchers, as they had done all-season thus far, shut down the East hitters in the bottom of the 6th for the 2-0 win.

In the second game of the evening, the Heaters scored a run via a bases loaded walk in the first inning to quickly take a 1-0 lead.  In the 3rd inning inning, the Heaters offense FINALLY woke up and collected some walks, hits, and runs!  The Heaters scored 5 times in the 3rd inning to take a 6-0 lead.  The offense scored three more times in the 4th inning for a 9-0 lead.  The pitching continued it's stingy way by not allowing its opponent a base hit through three innings to run the streak to 20.  But in the bottom of the 4th, a Pound hitter fisted one down the 3rd base line and beat out the throw to snap the Heaters no-hit streak at 20 innings this season.  But the Heaters pitching buckled down and with runners at 2nd and 3rd with no outs, the Heaters pitching struck out the side and secured the shutout and the 9-0 victory.  By keeping the shutout in tact, Heaters pitching has now managed to pitch 21 consecutive scoreless innings and will carry that streak into tomorrow's Championship Game.  That scoreless streak has encompassed five games and has included five different Heaters pitchers.