MESA, Ariz. - Brad Buchan and Jay Hayner turned in gutsy performances Friday morning in the opening playoff round of the MSBL World Series, but their Tucson Golden Aces fell to the third-seed El Paso Diablos, 6-1, in being eliminated from the tournament's 60 and over Division.
The sixth-seeded Aces took a 1-0 lead into the 7th behind the arm of Buchan, who entered the game having already gone the distance in winning two of his team's three victories.
But the grueling schedule of 7 games in 5 days caught up to Buchan as the Diablos struck for four runs in knocking the Aces ace out of the game. "I just lost the command of my pitches," Buchan said. The Diablos added two more in the eighth enroute to the 6-1 victory. The Aces finished 3-3-1 in the tournament.
Jay Hayner hit .296 in the Series, hitting safely in all 7 games in going 8 for 27 while playing 2nd base and 3rd base.
