EDENTON –  Teal ribbons adorned every tree and storefront downtown. A banner proclaiming the presence of the Petitt Cup championship  round hung across Broad Street. Hundreds of Edenton Steamers fans started pouring into Historic Hicks Field a half hour before the start of Game 2.

Eventually, 1,043 of them were in the seats.

“Oh, Canada” blared from the loudspeaker above the grandstand, a tune chosen to inspire the Steamers’ starting pitcher, Jordan Glover, a native of Toronto, Ontario.

Yes, the town of Edenton was ready Saturday to see the Steamers win their first Petitt Cup since 2005  after compiling the best record in the Coastal Plain League during the regular season.

But the Steamers couldn't deliver.

Plagued by poor starting pitching and an inability to hit Gastonia Grizzlies pitching, the Steamers lost Game 2 by a 4-2 score, then dropped the third game of the best-of-3 title series, 2-0, later Saturday night.

While Edenton, the best-hitting and highest-scoring team in the Coastal Plain League, managed only five hits in the first game and three in the second, the Steamers still had a chance to win the title in the final inning of the final game when they had the tying run at the plate with two outs.

Nathan Burns, a hero of several playoff wins, was called out on strikes to end the game, however.

It was the opinion of most Steamers, especially head coach Dirk Kinney, that Burns was robbed by home plate umpire Randy Rosenberg.

"It's absurd to open up the strike zone the way he did in that situation, two of those pitches weren't even close," said Kinney, who charged after Rosenberg while Gastonia celebrated on the infield. "It should be an embarrassment to the Coastal Plain League. That third strike was really ridiculous. You're telling me a kid isn't going to swing if the pitch is that close?"

Burns agreed that at least two of the pitches were not in the strike zone.

"The first pitch was a strike, but the second one bounced up there and the third one was at least six inches outside," he said. "That's part of baseball, I guess.

"I don't think we lost the game because of it. In a game like this, there are so many variables. The game didn't come down to that moment."

No, the game came down to the Steamers' inability to create any offense against Gastonia starter Michael Meesch, who just might be the best pitcher in the league, and four Grizzlies relievers.

Meesch a 6-foot-6, 250-pound lefty who went 8-0 this season and did not allow a run in 23 playoff innings covering three starts, held the Steamers hitless until the there was one out in the sixth when Ryan Brenner hit a linedrive off Meesch's glove.

"Best pitcher we saw all year," Burns said. "You have to give him credit."

The Steamers fared little better when Meesch was pulled after the sixth inning. Brian Blasik and Zach Stewart got singles in the seventh and eighth innings, but neither advanced past second base.

Edenton managed to make it exciting in the ninth when Vinnie Mejia was hit by a pitch with one out and Joe Wendle followed with a walk, but closer Derek Epps fanned Kevin Whitehead and Burns to secure Gastonia's first Petitt Cup title.

The Grizzlies got their two runs in the third inning when Steamers starter Jordan Moore faltered. He gave up three hits, walked two batters and threw a wild pitch in that inning.

He was the second Steamer starter to self-destruct. Glover did it in the first game when he yielded three runs in the first inning  on three walks and three singles.

"Our starting pitching was terrible," Kinney said. "We got 6 2-3 innings out of two guys. Our bullpen was amazing, though. It gave up only one run in 13 innings."
 
By the time Glover left the mound in the first game, the top-seeded Steamers had closed to within 3-2 after  Stewart hit a solo home run in the second and Wendle singled in a run in the third.

But reliever Brock Hudgens and catcher Kevin Whitehead combined for several miscues that enabled Gastonia to take a 4-2 lead in the fifth. With one out, Justin Vasquez struck out, but the ball got by Whitehead and Vasquez made it safely to first. Hudgens then uncorked a wild pitch that sent Vasquez to second. He came home when Dylan Nasiatka drilled a single.

The Steamers were unable to capitalize on several opportunities and finished with just five hits against three Gastonia pitchers.

One potential rally was thwarted in the first inning when Adam Giacalone’s vicious line drive went straight to Gastonia pitcher Tyler Ware, who turned it into an inning-ending double play with runners on first and second.

In the sixth, Wendle and Giacalone opened the frame with singles, but Burns fanned and Stewart hit into a double play.

While there were more than two dozen disappointed Steamers exchanging sad hugs after the game, Kinney said the team shouldn't lose sight of the spectacular season it had crafted, one that included a franchise-record 44 victories in the regular season, first- and second-half titles in the North Division and a host of team records.

"It just goes to show the best team doesn't always win in the playoffs, the hottest team does," he said. "Gastonia played well and deserved to win. But we had a great season, broke a lot of records, and, more important, they all got better as players.

"That's what I'm going to remember."