The Pirates prevailed in a tight contest, breaking it open in the bottom of the 5th a strike out/wild pitch dealio that landed our leadoff hitter on first base. Two sac bunts (Berger, Yakatan), some errors, and key hits by Kane and Smaka helped us bring four across the plate.
Richie Knaupp took the bump and went the distance. He scuffled through the first three innings, seemingly falling behind every hitter 2-0. After that he started flowing, throwing first-pitch strikes, and recorded 4 K's in the last three innings (five overall).
Mike Kane in LF made two outstanding plays when the game was deadlocked at 3: A diving catch after a long run with two runners on, one out; and he caught a baserunner making a wide turn around second with only one out and, again, two runners on. Those two plays snuffed rallies and made the difference.
For the Highlanders, Kevin Jackson yielded only 4 hits in 5 innings. He struggled with his control at times, and his defense let him down in some key spots. Scorsone, Reed, Dunham and Rebhun (sp?) all hit well for the Highlanders.
