Tigers Snatch Win in Extra Inning Triller
7/8/12
Springfield hosted their annual Youth Night on Sunday night. All youth in attendance received a free hot dog, drawings were held to participate in games between innings, and many prizes were given away. The large crowd saw a thrilling game against Redwood Falls with the Tigers battling back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth and then get a walk-off win in the bottom of the tenth.
Manager Steve Helget sent Matt Vogel to the mound for the home team. Vogel had a rough first inning with the first four batters reaching via one hit and three walks. A hit from Andy Plotz drove in two runs to put the Redbirds on top, 3-0.
Jesse Berg was Vogel's mound opponent. Alex Fink and Ryan Sturm put together back-to-back hits to get the Tigers their first run of the night in the bottom of the first.
Vogel settled in after the rough first with a one, two, three second. Marc Salazar drew a walk to start the home half of the second. A base hit from Adam Schmid gave the Tigers two on with no one out. A fielder's choice on an attempted sacrifice bunt put runners on the corners. Springfield then executed a double steal. Salazar came in to make the score 3-2.
Alex Frank took over on the hill in the top of the fourth due to a high pitch count by Vogel. Berg and Frank exchanged zeros through the middle innings.
Vogel drew a walk to start the bottom of the seventh. Fink's third hit of the night moved him over to third and spelled the end of the night for Berg. Redwood Falls went to John Jenniges who coaxed a double-play on the second pitch he threw. However, Vogel came in to score the tying run while the Redbirds were turning two to even things at three.
Redwood Falls bunched together three hits in the top of the eighth to get the lead back. With Erich Panitzke squeezing in a two-out hit into short right field to drive in a run, putting the Redbirds back on top, 4-3.
After two were retired in the bottom of the eighth, Jacob Menage and Frank put together two straight hits giving Springfield runners at the corners. Again, the Tigers pulled off a double steal with Menage scoring the tying run this time.
Frank held the Redbirds without scoring in the ninth and tenth. In the bottom of the tenth, a Redbird miscue put Menage on second. A sac bunt moved him over to third and Zach Bisel drove a two-out single into left for the walk-off winner, making the final 5-4.
Alex Fink led the Springfield offense with three hits. Zach Bisel and Adam Schmid added a pair of hits each. Ryan Sturm, Jacob Menage, and Alex Frank rounded out the Tiger attack. For Redwood Falls, Logan Swann and John Jenniges led the way with two hits each. Frank evened his record at 4-4 on the year with the win, going seven innings in relief, allowing just one run on six hits with seven strikeouts. Jenniges took the tough loss for the Redbirds, working three and two-thirds innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with one strikeout and a walk.
The victory improves the Tigers' record to 9-7 and 9-11 in league play and overall, respectively. The Tigers would like to thank everyone who made Youth Night a great success! Next, Springfield will head over to Lamberton to take on the Long Sox on Wednesday night at 8pm. Come cheer on the Tigers!
NOTES: The Tigers were not retired in order in any inning on Sunday night...Youth Night has grown into a tradition at Riverside Park after the first Youth Night that was held in 2001. About 70 free hot dogs were served to youth in attendance...Springfield will take on Lamberton on the next two Wednesday nights. First in Lamberton, then hosting the Long Sox the following week...Special guest announcer Dick Jonckowski, who has been the PA voice of the Minnesota Gophers since 1986, will headline Merchant's Night when the Tigers return home on Friday night.
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redwood Falls | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 5 | 12 |
| Springfield | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 3 | 13 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bisel, C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Haseleu, CR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vogel, P/LF/3B | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| A. Fink, SS | 5 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| R. Sturm, 3B/1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Loomis, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| M. Salazar, 1B | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Brandl, RF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Schmid, DH | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Beyer, CF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Menage, RF/LF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAC |
| Mx. Salazar, LF | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Frank, P | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | SAC |
| 37 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 3 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Vogel | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
| Frank (W, 4-4) | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
Pictures
