Hanska Prevails In The Bottom Of The Ninth
6/2/10
Springfield traveled to Hanska to take on the Lakers in a contest beginning at 8:30pm. Alex Frank gave the Tigers a great effort on the mound, but it was not enough, as Springfield lost their second straight game in the ninth inning.
Both pitchers put zeros on the board until the top of the third when Brady Schwab smashed a one-out double to deep right-center field. Matt Baier came through with an extra base hit into the left field corner to drive in Springfield's first run of the game.
As the game was about to go to the bottom of the third inning, the lights behind the Hanska dugout and down the left field line went out. Lighting was restored and the game resumed after a twenty minute delay. Frank proceeded to retire the next six batters he faced in the third and fourth innings.
The Lakers started the bottom of the fifth with a bunt base hit. A sacrifice bunt moved the runner to second and catcher Jeremy Drexler drove in the tying run with a hit to right field. A great relay throw, Ken Sather to Alex Fink to Christian Loomis cut down a Hanska runner attempting to leg out a triple in the bottom of the sixth.
Springfield was able to take the lead in the top of the seventh without the aid of a hit. Alex Fink and Matt Baier worked back-to-back two-out walks. A couple stolen bases combined with a Laker error put Springfield on top, 2-1.
Hanska took advantage of two two-out Springfield errors to tie the game at two in the bottom of the seventh. A lead-off single in the bottom of the eighth, along with a sac bunt and another two-out Tiger error gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead going into the ninth.
Bob Fink ripped a pinch-hit double to the left-center gap to start the top of the ninth. Sather reentered the game running for Fink at second. Marty Brandl moved Sather to third with a sacrifice bunt. Schwab came up big with a base hit, scoring Sather and tying the game at three.
Frank started the bottom of the ninth by hitting the first batter. He was lifted for Jordan Milbrath after a sacrifice bunt. Milbrath wasn't able to record an out as Hanska used their thick infield grass to get an infield single. Then with runners at first and third, a perfectly executed squeeze bunt brought in the winning run to give the Lakers the win, 4-3.
Brady Schwab led the Tiger bats with two hits. Alex Fink, Matt Baier, Jordan Milbrath and Bob Fink contributed one hit each to the Springfield total. Brady Mosenden earned the win for Hanska, pitching the final two innings in relief of starter, Gary Wilfahrt. Alex Frank dropped to 0-3 on the year, going a solid 8 1/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs on six hits.
Going forward the Tigers will look to improve their batting with runners in scoring position. Of the ten runners left on base, nine were stranded on second or third base. The loss drops Springfield to 2-7 overall and to 1-6 in the Tomahawk East. The Tigers will take a break from league play this weekend as they head to St. Stephen and Sartell for their third appearance in the Omann Insurance Invitational. They'll play three games over the weekend, beginning on Saturday morning in St. Stephen against Bay City at 11:30am. Go Tigers!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| Hanska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwab, 2B | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Christensen, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| A. Fink, SS | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Baier, C | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3B |
| Salazar, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | HP |
| Loomis, 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Milbrath, RF/P | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| C. Sturm, LF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Krebs, LF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| Sather, CF | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| B. Fink, PH | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Brandl, DH | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | SAC |
| Frank, P/RF | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 32 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 13 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Frank (L, 0-3) | 8 1/3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 5 | |
| Milbrath | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pictures
Game Photos - 17 images
