Snap judgement
Koski leads SF/SL to sweep in Twilight playoff seriesBy Brandon Veale - DMG Sports Editor
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HANCOCK - For Snap Fitness/Superior Lube pitcher Jason Koski, less was more on the mound.
He fanned seven, walked none and homered to lead his team into the second round of the Twilight League playoffs in an 8-2 win over Pat's Foods, clinching a 2-0 series sweep.
"We played them a week ago, and I felt I needed to change speeds more to be effective," Koski said.
Snap Fitness/Superior Lube, the No. 4 seed, will play at Stanton or Wolverine-Luigi's starting Tuesday in the semifinals.
SF/SL staked Koski to the early lead, scoring twice in the first inning. Mark Nordstrom scored from first base as Blake Hietala's single was bobbled in the outfield, then Hietala came in on Brian Juopperi's RBI groundout.
The home team clawed a run back on Clint Heikkila's RBI triple, but surrendered two more in the third and one in the fourth. Hietala singled to center and Nordstrom scored on an outfield error, then came around on Juopperi's one-hop double over the centerfield fence. In the fifth, Koski reached on a fielder's choice, stole second and scored on Nordstrom's single.
Koski then put his signature on the game by clubbing a two-out home run to left-center in the sixth to make it 6-1. His teammates call him "Rob Deer" in reference to the all-or-nothing Tigers and Brewers slugger of the late 1980s and early 90s, but Koski, the No. 9 hitter, was modest about his clout.
"I just got lucky. I swung hard and I hit it," he said.
Pat's pulled to within four when Joe Giddings' sacrifice fly plated Lee Naugle, but SF/SL recorded two more runs in the top of the seventh before Koski finished his complete game.
Pat's ends its season 4-12. Second baseman Marco Guidotti said SF/SL did a better job of capitalizing on opportunities.
"They were just tagging the right pitches. We had a few miscues in the field that they took advantage of, which led to a few runs."
He said Koski's multi-speed approach kept Pat's off balance.
"I think we were a little impatient tonight. We didn't sit back on his pitches," he said.
Hietala was the offensive leader for SF/SL, going 3-for-4, scoring three times and knocking in two. Juopperi went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Jared Monticello took the loss to Pat's. He also went the distance, allowing 10 hits, striking out five and walking five.
The SF/SL squad is confident it can make a deep tournament run in the team's first postseason.
"After we won that Leo Durocher tournament, it gave us some confidence that we can beat anybody if we play good," Koski said.
Brandon Veale can be reached at bveale@mininggazette.com.
