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BY RONNIE GALLAGHER
SALISBURY POST

No one left unfulfilled after the Piedmont Boll Weevils’ 2-1 victory over Charleston Tuesday night in Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. Manager Ken Oberkfell was thrown out – rather, he threw himself out – in the top of the fifth, while the only earned run by the Weevils came on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the 10th.

Uriel Casillas watched four straight balls by Nathan Ruhl go awry and trotted to first with the easiest game-winning RBI of his life.

‘‘We were patient at the plate,’’ said pitching coach Carlos Arroyo, who took over the managing chores in the fifth.

‘‘It’s a win so I’m happy,’’ said Oberkfell, who greeted each player at the clubhouse steps in his street clothes. ‘‘But as far as getting thrown out, I wasn’t going to take it anymore from the umpires. I’ve been here for three years and I don’t usually get on umpires, you know that. But they were brutal.’’

In the end, it was Piedmont which stayed in the Central Division pennant race by sweeping the two-game series. The Weevils are 29-24 and Charleston 26-27.

There was happier news on the South Atlantic League front. Columbia and Hickory both lost, giving Piedmont a half-game lead over Hickory (28-24) and leaving it 3*z12 games behind Columbia, which hosts the Weevils in a four-game series in Columbia beginning tonight.

The Oberkfell fireworks started in the fifth when Charleston scored its first run. Kevin Ryan, the No. 7 hitter, doubled off Weevils starter Justin Fenus and came around to score on Pete LaForest’s single. Oberkfell charged home plate umpire Joe Johnson and argued that catcher Jeremy Salazar had blocked the plate and Ryan hadn’t scored.

‘‘He slid into my foot,’’ insisted Salazar.

‘‘The ump told me he slid over his foot,’’ marveled Oberkfell. ‘‘I said, ‘How can he do that?’ ‘’

Oberkfell followed the diminutive Johnson all the way down the first base line, putting on a display that would have made Earl Weaver blush.

‘‘I threw myself out,’’ Oberkfell said. ‘‘(Johnson) told me I was done and I asked if that meant I was thrown out. He wouldn’t do it so I told him this is how it’s done. I gave myself the heave-ho.’’

It was the second straight inning that Oberkfell and Johnson were involved in a brouhaha. The Weevils skipper was sure Johnson and infield ump Todd Parker had botched an infield fly rule call in the fourth.

‘‘The umpires did not know the rules,’’ Oberkfell scoffed. ‘‘They were giving me forced explanations. I can deal with umpires if they’re consistent but these were consistently bad both nights.

‘‘I could’ve gotten thrown out last night too.’’

The fans enjoyed Oberkfell’s exit because it helped them wake up from the slumber party out on the field. Neither team could mount a threat, mainly due to a combined six double plays.

When Oberkfell left, he gave explicit instructions to Arroyo.

‘‘I told him,‘Whatever you do, don’t get thrown out.’|’’ he laughed.

Obie was not around to see Piedmont tie the game in the bottom of the fifth and once again, the beleaguered home plate umpire Johnson was involved. With two outs, No. 9 hitter Ambiorix Reyes was hit by a pitch, stole second and went to third on a wild pitch off RiverDog starter Ed Kofler. He then walked Jason Johnson, but ball four hit the ump in the foot, rolling away just far enough for Reyes to tie the game.

The RiverDogs were held in check by Fenus, who left after a workmanlike seven PAGE009 innings. He scattered seven hits, striking out three.

While relievers Francisco Montero and Cary Hiles never missed a beat over the last three innings, the Weevils were still stuck on two hits going into the bottom of the 10th.

That’s when things really turned topsy-turvy.

Jorge Padilla, who had walked only five times all season, worked Ruhl to a 3-2 count and took ball four. Reyes bunted in front of the plate but Ruhl and backup catcher Brian Chwan fell all over each other. Reyes was credited with a hit.

Leadoff man Johnson came to the plate but before Ruhl threw toward home, he tried to pick off Padilla at second. The ball went into center field, allowing both runners to move up. Johnson was then walked intentionally to load the bases with no outs, bringing up Casillas.

Four pitches later, Padilla trotted across with the winning run.

Both Oberkfell and Arroyo left satisfied.

‘‘I got a lot off my chest with the umpires,’’ Oberkfell said.

And Arroyo?

‘‘Managing is easy,’’ he said, tongue planted firmly in cheek.

NOTES: Fenus started for Franklin Nunez, who was out due to sickness. ... Padilla had a double and Casillas a single in the second for the only hits until the 10th. ... It was Padilla’s eighth double. ... Montero has an ERA of 0.84. ... Shayne Carnes’ nine-game hitting streak came to an end. ... Kofler got no decision, despite throwing a two-hitter over seven. ... The Weevils have left 37 runners on base in the last five games. ... Lefty Greg Kubes (6-3, 2.22) will start tonight against Columbia.