EDENTON — It took the Edenton Steamers, the top seed in the Coastal Plain League playoffs, a total of 24 innings to dispatch eight-seeded Peninsula Pilots in their first-round Petitt Cup tournament match-up.
The final 14 innings were played Friday as the Steamers walked off with a 7-6 win to sweep the best-of-three series 2-0. While the series was not pretty, Steamers coach Dirk Kinney was happy to get it behind them.
“This is what, game 57?,” Kinney said. “I’m glad we got the W. We didn’t do some things well, but we did some things great.” Edenton won Game 1 10-8 in 10 innings in Hampton, Va., on Thursday.
The hero Friday was Nathan Burns who laced a two-out double off the left field wall to plate Brian Blasik with the winning run in the bottom of the 14th inning. Blasik was on second after singling with one out and advancing on a Tim Saunders single.
“He threw me pitch on the outer half and I just went the other way with it,” the left-handed hitting Burns said. “I thought it was out, but it bounced back in. It’s all good.”
Burns’ hit was redemption for the sophomore outfielder from Florida International. Burns, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, had come up in the 10th inning with one out and the bases loaded. He jumped on the first pitch, grounding softly to the shortstop who threw the runner out at home.
“I knew I had to come back after that at-bat,” Burns said. “It makes no difference what the score is — how far down we are or how far up we are. We always play as hard as possible. That’s an extremely special thing that I’ve experience with these guys.”
Brett Christopher was 3-for-6 for the Steamers, who had 14 hits, but left 19 men on base.
Burns finished the night 2-for-3. Blasik and Joe Wendle each had two hits.
Closer Ethan Cole picked up the win, going 5 1-3 innings, allowing three hits and no walks, while striking out five. Five Steamers relievers combined to throw 10 shutout innings, giving up just five hits and one walk.
“Our bullpen was awesome,” Kinney said. “They gave up a run in 10 innings. That’s unheard of.”
Some could chalk up the close series to the pressure on Edenton being the top seed, but Kinney gives credits their opponent.
“We knew it was going to be a battle,” Kinney said. “They’re good, They’re better than an eighth seed, I’ll tell you that. They hit a bump in the second half and didn’t play as well as they should have.”
Kinney also gave thanks to the Steamers crowd. With a large contingent of vocal Pilots fans, the announced attendance was 843.
“This crowd tonight was amazing,” Kinney said. “We’ve had 1,200 here and these 850 were unbelievable. The atmosphere, the crowd, I have to give this town a lot of credit. They take so much pride in this. It’s a great atmosphere, but it’s nice to for these kids to be able to give back to them.”
The Steamers advance to the second round against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. Edenton will face either Wilmington, Gastonia or Forest City in the semifinals. Forest City, the No. 4 seed, clinched its series on Friday. Wilmington, the seventh seed, and No. 6 Gastonia play Game 3s Saturday. The Steamers will draw the highest seed of the remaining teams.
One thing is certain, Edenton will be on the road on Monday for Game 1 of that series, then return to Hicks Field for Game 2 Tuesday and, if necessary, Game 3 Wednesday.

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