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August 13, 2007

Tom Neale stellar on the mound as Plattsburgh wins two

By CLIFF CONNERS The Press Republican Mon Aug 13, 2007, 12:00 AM EDT

PLATTSBURGH "" Pitching wins baseball games.

More importantly, though, it wins championships.

That's something the Plattsburgh Cardinals can vouch for.

Tom Neale picked up two victories as the Cardinals completed a sweep of the Hockey Plus Padres, 2-1 and 8-1, to win their second straight Champlain Valley Baseball League championship Sunday at Lefty Wilson Field.

Neale went the distance in the first game Sunday and came in to throw 423 innings of relief in Game 2.

"Tom has been one of the top, if the not the best pitcher in the league over the last 15 years," Cardinals manager Gary Duquette said. "Today (Sunday), he was at his best for us."

The Cardinals suffered a tough 4-3 loss to the Padres last week in Game 1 of the three-game series.

Just like the first game of the series, the second was a pitcher's duel at its best.

Neale and Craig Bujold went toe-to-toe once again in a game that took less than two hours to complete.

After the Padres squandered a golden opportunity in the top of the first inning when they had runners on first and second with nobody out, the Cardinals used one pitch in the bottom of the inning to gain the upper hand.

Matt Duquette hit the first pitch out of Bujold's hand over the center-field fence to give the Cardinals a 1-0 lead.

Bujold, however, settled down and kept a potent Cardinals' lineup silent over the next four innings.

The only problem for Hockey Plus, though, was that Neale, who battled through numerous Padres' threats, wasn't about to let another game slip through the Cardinals' hands.

"Hockey Plus is a good team, and they worked hard to get here," Neale said. "No one expected this much from them, but if you're good enough to get this far, respect is deserved. They made it tough on me at times, but (Sunday) was a day that I was able to battle through the tough innings."

The Cardinals added to their lead in the fifth inning. Once again, Duquette got things started. This time, though, he was the benefactor of the Padres lone error of the contest.

Leading off the inning, Duquette drilled a ball up the middle into center field. The center fielder, let the ball through his legs, which allowed Duquette to motor all the way around to third base.

Rob Malloy then delivered an RBI single to put the Cardinals ahead, 2-0.

"This is the way our team has been all year long," Gary Duquette said. "If it isn't one guy to step up for us, it's someone else. That's what's nice about this group of guys. Everyone can produce."

The Padres, just like in Game 1 last week, weren't about to go down easily.

After Zach Welch reached on an error with one out in the top of the sixth, Jeff Norton came through with a two-out RBI single to cut the Cardinals' lead in half.

When Bujold retired the side in the bottom half of the inning, the Padres then put runners on first and third with just one out, it looked as though there might be a repeat of the dramatic walk-off victory a week ago.

But Neale came back to strike the next batter out and induce a ground-out to short that ended the game.

"We couldn't hit and we couldn't field in the first game, but we could pitch," Duquette said. "And Tommy deserves all the credit."

Matt Duquette was the lone Cardinals player with two hits, while five other players added a hit apiece.

Joel Siskavich and Norton each had two hits for the Padres.

With the momentum riding square on their shoulders, the Cardinals showed why they were the defending league champions.

Neale was again the centerpiece of the victory in Game 2.

After throwing a complete game, Neale relieved Gary Duquette to pick up the final two outs of the third inning and went on to throw scoreless ball the rest of the way.

Neale who was chosen as the Most Valuable Pitcher and Most Valuable Player of the playoffs.

"It means a lot," Neale said of the two awards. "Every year it's tougher and tougher on my body, but days like this make it worth it."

The Cardinals erased a 1-0 deficit in the second inning when Adam Porter homered.

In the third inning, the Cardinals scored three times, which took the wind from the Padres sails.

Brandon Barcomb and Porter each had RBI singles and another run scored on an error.

The Cardinals scored once in the fifth and three times in the sixth to put the finishing touches on an excellent season.

"This was the easiest group of guys I have ever coached," Gary Duquette said. "Everyone was supportive of each other. It was a great year."

Plattsburgh 2, Hockey Plus 1

Padres000 001 0 "" 1 8 1

Cardinals100 010 x "" 2 7 3

Bujold and Norton. Neale and Perry. WP- Neale. LP- Bujold. 2B- B. Barcomb (C), M. Siskavich (P). HR- M. Duquette (C).

Plattsburgh 8, Hockey Plus 1

Padres010 000 0 "" 1 5 2

Cardinals013 013 x "" 8 10 2

Bergman and Norton. G. Duquette, Neale (3) and Perry. WP- Neale. LP- Bergman. 2B- Malloy (C), Rock (P), Bergman (P). HR- Porter (C).

cconners@pressrepublican.com