2004 IIBL Conference Playoffs
Mystic vs Nashua, Kiev vs Maui
[History]

Nashua scored early and often against Ben Sheets. David Ortiz and Melvin Mora homered in the first, JD Drew homered in the second, and Nomar homered in the third. It was 13-1 before Frank Thomas hit a pinchhit grand slam for the losers in the 6th.

              123 456 789    R  H  E
Sea Horses    100 004 000    5 10  0
Nonames       421 242 01x   16 18  2
MYS - Sheets (L,0-1), Estes (3), Cerda (4), Riske (5), Miller (6); NAS - Schilling (W,1-0), Ledezma (9). HR- MYS: Thomas(1); NAS: Drew,JD(1), Rivera(1), Ortiz(1), Mora(1), Garciaparra(1).

Game 2 - Mystic at Nashua
Tim Wakefield vs Pedro Martinez

A much better game than the first, as the teams were tied 5-5 in the middle going. Gary Sheffield homered twice and hit the grounder that Melvin Mora booted to allow the Sea Horses to tie. Nashua went ahead 7-5 on David Ortiz's second homer. Mystic fought back, scoring a run and loading the bases before Joe Nathan got Lou Merloni to end the inning.

              123 456 789   r  h  e
Sea Horses    010 220 010   6 11  1 
Nonames       221 000 20x   7  8  2
MYS -  Wakefield, Mahay (7)(L,0-1), Alfonseca (8); NAS - Martinez, Harikkala (6), Gordon (7)(W,1-0), Romero (8)(H,1), Nathan (8)(S,1). HR- MYS: Sheffield 2(2);
NAS: Ortiz 2(3).

Game 3 - Nashua at Mystic
Al Leiter vs Tom Glavine

Glavine, who leads IIBL in lifetime shutouts, combined with two relievers on another. Though the Nonames were limited to only 4 hits, there were 6 Glavine walks, and Nashua in the end stranded 11. Bonds hit into a DP with the bases loaded to end the 4th; Ron Mahay got Keith Ginter with two on and two outs in the 8th; and Shingo Takatsu came on to strike out Melvin Mora in the 9th for the save. Mystic, who had only 5 hits themselves, added key runs on Javy Lopez double which greeted reliever Tim Harikkala in the 6th.

               123 456 789     r  h  e
Nonames        000 000 000     0  4  0
Sea Horses     100 003 00x     4  5  0
NAS - Leiter (L,0-1), Herikkala (6), King (6), Ledezma (7); MYS - Glavine (W,1-0), Mahay (8)(H,1), Takatsu (9)(S,1).

Game 4 - Nashua at Mystic
Orlando Hernandez vs Mike Mussina

Mussina kept the game close at 2-1 through the 6th, when David Ortiz doubled and Keith Ginter followed shortly with a 3RHR. Aside from a first inning Luis Pujols home run, Mystic had no answers for El Duque. Bonds opened and closed the scoring with home runs.

              123 456 789     r  h  e
Nonames       200 004 100     7  8  2
Sea Horses    100 000 000     1  5  0
NAS - Hernandez (W,1-0), Rauch (8), King (9); MYS - Mussina (L,0-1), Miller (6), Riske (7), Estes (9). HR- NAS: Bonds 2(2), Ginter(1); MYS: Pujols(1).

Game 5 - Nashua at Mystic
Curt Schilling vs Ben Sheets

Game tied 1-1 in the 6th, Sheets strikes out the first two, then Adam Melhuse homers. Somebody named Smith doubles, and then Schilling doubles. It's 4-1 by the end of the frame, and Mystic still hasn't figured out Nashua pitching, and goes down meekly 5-1, losing the series rather pointedly, 4 games to 1.

                123 456 789     r  h  e
Nonames         000 103 000     5 11  0
Sea Horses      000 100 000     1  7  0
NAS - Schilling (W,2-0), Gordon (8)(H,1), Nathan (9); MYS - Sheets (L,0-2), Mahay (7), Alfonseca (9). HR- NAS: Ortiz(4), Melhuse(1); MYS: Sheffield(3).

MVP - David Ortiz, 7-16 with 4 HRs, is the obvious choice. Overall, Nashua had an O+S of .981, much better than their .810 performance in the first round against Dresden. Bonds and Drew also had OB% of .500, as Mystic didn't have much luck containing the Nashua bats. On the other side of the ledger, Nashua held Mystic to a .632 O+S. Curt Schilling won twice, with outstanding run support.

Carpenter matched Johnson two runs apiece through six. Aaron Rowand singled with two outs in the seventh, stole second, and scored on a single by Julio Lugo. Paul Konerko hit a solo homer in the 8th (his second of the game) for an insurance run as the Maui bullpen was solid.

               123 456 789    R  H  E
Stingrays      000 200 110    4 10  0
Cossacks       000 010 000    2  6  1
MAU - Carpenter (W,1-0), Martin (7)(H,1), Mecir (8)(H,1), Benitez (9)(S,1); KIE - Johnson (L,0-1), Timlin (8), Julio (9), Rusch (9). HR - MAU: Konerko 2(2); KIE: Furcal (1), Damon (1).

Game 2 - Maui at Kiev
Mark Buehrle vs Wilson Alvarez

Buehrle, pitching for the third straight time on three days rest, pitched into the sixth inning with a 4-1 lead but left in favor of the bullpen. It wasn't a success, as Jesus Colome allowed a run scoring triple to Javy Valentin, who scored later in the inning. Maui, nursing a 4-3 lead in the 8th, couldn't hold it. With the bases loaded and one out, Armando Benitez came in. Mark Bellhorn dropped a safety bunt which Benitez could only go to first with, tying the score. David Newhan then hit a gapper for the win.

              123 456 789    R  H  E
Stingrays     120 001 000    4 11  0
Cossacks      100 002 03x    6  9  0
MAU - Buehrle, Colome (6), Kieschnick (6)(H,1), Qualls (8)(L,0-1), Martin (8)(H,2), Mecir (8), Benitez (8)(BS,1); KIE- Alvarez, Carrera (8)(W,1-0), Linebrink (9)(S,1). HR - MAU: Rowand(1).

Game 3 - Kiev at Maui
Glendon Rusch vs Kelvim Escobar

Adam Dunn broke open a 1-1 tie in the 6th inning with a three run homer, his second of the game, as Kiev took a 2 games to 1 series lead. Johnny Damon and David Newhan homered to pad the lead to 7-1, which they needed when Maui rallied with 4 in the bottom of the 8th. Mike Timlin's appearance was 2 batters, two hit batters, including injuring Jeff Conine for the remainder of the year.

             123 456 789    R  H  E
Cossacks     000 103 210    7 10  0
Stingrays    000 100 040    5 10  0
KIE - Rusch (W,1-0), Timlin (8), Mendoza (8), Linebrink (9)(S,2); MAU - Escobar (L,0-1), Hermanson (7), Ginter (8), Qualls (9). HR - KIE: Dunn 2 (2), Damon (1), Newhan (1).

Game 4 - Kiev at Maui
Johan Santana vs Chris Carpenter

An uninspiring performance by Kiev, as Chris Carpenter threw 7 shutout innings besting Johan Santana. Craig Biggio was the offensive star, homering in the first, doubling home a run in the sixth, and scoring another. Jim Mecir endured a hoary eighth, but the Stingrays got two more insurance runs in the bottom of the frame.

             123 456 789   R  H  E
Cossacks     000 000 010   1  8  0
Stingrays    110 020 02x   6 10  1
KIE - Santana (L,0-1), Julio (7), Timlin (9); MAU - Carpenter (W,2-0), Mecir (8), Kieschnick (9). HR - KIE: Vidro (1); MAU: Biggio (1), Guillen (1).

Game 5 - Kiev at Maui
Johnson vs Dustin Hermanson

Maui had to go to their #4 starter for the first time in the playoffs, and Hermanson had to face the Unit. Konerko and Biggio powered the offense for the Stingrays in the early going, but Hermanson coughed up a 2 run blast to Jose Vidro to knot the score at 3. The Maui bullpen came on the 6th with two outs and a run in scoring position. Tom Martin got David Segui with two on and two outs. It remained tied until the 9th. Hee Seop Choi tripled to lead off the inning, and Jesus Colome walked Raffy Furcal intentionally. Miguel Olivo then bunted, but Choi ill advised tried to score and was out. Furcal then stole 3rd, but Armando Benitez came in, struck out pinchhitter Augie Ojeda on another bunt attempt, walked Damon intentionally, and got Vidro to fly out. In the bottom of the inning, a fly ball went off Adam Dunn's glove, and Damien Easley doubled home pinchrunner Charles Thomas for the win.

             123 456 789   R  H  E
Cossacks     100 020 000   3  6  1
Stingrays    210 000 001   4  7  0
KIE - Johnson, Carrera (9)(L,1-1); MAU - Hermanson, Martin (6), Mecir (8), Colome (9), Benitez (9)(W,1-0). HR -  KIE: Vidro (2); MAU: Konerko (3).

Game 6 - Maui at Kiev
Mark Buehrle vs Woody Williams

Williams has had a history of coming up big in big games and did so again. Though his pitching was merely proficient, it was his hitting that really made the difference. He singled and scored a run in the third, and doubled and scored a run in the fifth. He held a 4-1 lead into the seventh, leaving after a homer, double, and walk. Giovanni Carrera came in and got Greene and Rowand on strikes with the bases loaded, and the Kiev offense feasted on the underbelly of the Maui bullpen, adding 4 insurance runs en route to an 8-4 win.

              123 456 789    R  H  E
Stingrays     000 100 102    4  9  2
Cossacks      102 010 40x    8 10  1
MAU - Buehrle (L,0-1), Colome (5), Ginter (7), Martin (7), Kieschnick (7), Hermanson (8); KIE- Williams (W,1-0), Carrera (7)(H,1), Timlin (8), Alvarez (8). HR - MAU: Guillen(2); KIE: Menechino(1).

Game 7 - Maui at Kiev
Kelvim Escobar vs Johan Santana

Both game 7 starters came up big, but Maui didn't have the bullpen available when it mattered. Kiev relieved for Santana in the 6th, and got good performances from their relievers. Tied nothing-nothing in the 7th, Escobar batted with a runner on second and two outs, and ended the inning. Escobar then gave up two singles to start the 7th, and one out later, walked Javier Valentin to load the bases. 106 pitches was then enough, and the matchup turned out to be David Segui vs Tom Martin (see, not much depth there), and he lined a double for two runs, with Johnny Damon lining another double. Kiev advances.

              123 456 789    R  H  E
Stingrays     000 000 001    1  6  0
Cossacks      000 000 40x    4  8  0
MAU - Escobar (L,0-1), Martin (7), Mecir (7), Benitez (8); KIE- Santana, Mendoza (6), Carrera (7)(W,2-1), Timlin (8), Linebrink (9). HR - MAU: A.Ramirez (1).

MVP - There weren't too many individual heroes for the Cossacks. Adam Dunn had the best stats, but they were mostly compiled in game 3. He was even pinchhit for in a key situation in game 6. David Segui had the series winning hit, but only batted 5 times. And Giovanni Carrera managed 2 wins and a save (and a loss) but only pitched 2.1 innings. Instead, the stars were Maui's: Craig Biggio and Paul Konerko on offense, and Chris Carpenter on the mound. Chris won his two games, going 7 shutout innings in game 4 and beating Johan Santana. He gets the MVP.