Springfield Overcomes Early Errors to Defeat Fairfax
5/17/08
It was a breezy, sunny mid-May Saturday afternoon as the Tigers traveled to Fairfax to battle the Cardinals. Things didn't start out too well defensively as Springfield committed four errors in the first four innings, but even after digging the early hole, "give-up" was not in the Tiger vocabulary. Ryan Sturm made his first appearance of the season after finishing up his college baseball career at St. Cloud State University.
Jake Miesen took the hill for the visitors and surrendered single runs in each of the first four innings. Only two of the four runs were earned due to the four errors in those first four frames.
Springfield got on the scoreboard in the top of the third. Miesen was hit by a pitch and Andy Neidt reached on an error. Brandon Wilhelmi moved the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. Sturm came through with a two-out single to plate two, making the score 3-2. The Tigers got their third run of the game in the fifth with a couple two-out hits. Brent Haseleu reached on a single and Sturm followed with a blast over the centerfielder's head for a triple.
Springfield tied the game at four in their half of the sixth when Matt Baier led off with a single. Marty Brandl moved him up with a sacrifice bunt. Bryant Krebs hit a single moving Baier to third. Then Miesen helped himself out by laying down a great squeeze bunt. The Tigers took the lead in the top of the seventh, taking advantage of two batters being hit by pitches and base hits by Haseleu and Bob Fink. Miesen settled in to allow just two hits during his final three innings of work, leaving the game after seven innings with a 6-4 lead.
Neidt entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order. Springfield picked up a couple insurance runs in the top of the ninth. Wilhelmi started things with a double. Sturm drew a one-out walk. Fink drove in two more runs with a big double, pushing the lead to four, 8-4. Neidt allowed a single run in the bottom of the ninth, but earned a save since he had entered the game with just a two-run lead. Miesen notched his first win of the young season.
The Tigers will get right back at it tomorrow afternoon, continuing their league schedule with a 2pm contest in St. James. The A's come into the game with a 2-0 record. Springfield will look to hand them their first loss and earn their first win in league play during the 2008 season. We'll see you at the ballpark!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
| Springfield | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 4 | 8 |
| Fairfax | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 1 | 12 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | |||
| Wilhelmi, C/CF | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAC, HP | |
| Haseleu, 2B | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| R. Sturm, 3B | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 3B, HP | |
| Fink, DH/C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2B | |
| C. Moritz, CF | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| Baier, SS | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3B | |
| Brandl, RF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAC | |
| Krebs, LF | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Miesen, P/1B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | HP, SAC | |
| Neidt, 1B/P | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 35 | 8 | 11 | 7 | 2 | 4 | |||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||
| Miesen (W, 1-0) | 7 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | ||
| Neidt, (SV, 1) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
Pictures
