Lansing Close In on Playoff Spot

Thursday, June 18 2015 @ 09:17 AM EDT

Contributed by: Gerry

Buffalo and New Hampshire suffered bad losses with multiple blown leads. The Bisons took a lead to the bottom of the ninth and lost. New Hampshire also took a lead to the bottom of he ninth and lost, in thirteen innings. Dunedin won as Matt Dean and Mitch Nay had good games. Lansing won a rain shortened affair and are now two games ahead of Bowling Green for a playoff spot with four games to play.

Buffalo 7 Lehigh Valley 8

This was a tough loss, a walk-off loss. Buffalo led 3-1, went down 4-3. They fought back to tie the game at 4, then went down 6-4, then came back to lead 7-6 in the ninth. Bobby Korecky tried to save it but with two outs and the bases loaded he surrendered a two run walk-off single. The runs were unearned because Matt Hague booted one earlier in the inning. Randy Wolf made the start and was his usual self, lots of baserunners through five innings. Lehigh had nine hits in those five innings.

Jon Diaz got the scoring going for the Bison with a two run home run. Diaz, Hague, Josh Thole and Luke Scott led the hitters with two hits each.


New Hampshire 3 Erie 6 - 13 innings

New Hampshire broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the thirteenth inning that looked to be the game winner. In that inning Dalton Pompey doubled, for his only hit of the game, to score Shane Opitz from second. Luis Perez had finished the twelfth inning and he came back out to nail down the win. Perez put two men on and was pulled for Greg Burke. Burke walked a hitter to load the bases with no-one out. He then got ahead of the next hitter but grooved a 1-2 pitch which was dispatched over the fence in left centre for a walk-off grand slam. The Fisher Cats had previously blown a one run lead in the ninth inning when closer Blake McFarland gave up a two out single to send the game to extra innings. Joel Pineiro made the start and went 7.2 innings allowing just one run. He did record just one strikeout.

Jon Berti and Shane Opitz carried the offense, each of them had three hits while the rest of the offense had a combined four hits in 13 innings. Berti drove in both runs including a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth.


Dunedin 5 Palm Beach 1

It was like old times for Matt Dean and Mitch Nay, they were the offensive leaders on Wednesday. Between them they had five of the Jays seven hits, scored four of the five runs and drove in three runs. Dean was 3-4 with a triple, Nay 2-4 with a home run, his fifth. The second half of the season is upcoming, those two will need to pick it up in the second half.

Murphy Smith had another good start for the Jays, he went five innings, two hits, one run. Although his numbers are looking good he is 27 years old pitching in A ball. The bullpen did well, four shutout innings.


Bowling Green 3 Lansing 5 - 7+ innings

Lansing trailed 3-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth. Sean Reid-Foley started for Lansing and his command was better this time out. He just missed going five innings, he was pulled after 4.2 with 4 hits, two walks and K's on the scoresheet. Chase Mallard took over from Reid-Foley and pitched two innings.

The Lugnuts scored first, Anthony Alford and Richard Urena each singled to start the game and a run scored on a Rowdy Tellez double play ball. That was it until the sixth inning. In that inning Jason Lelblebijian and Tim Locastro each drove in two runs to tie the game and then to go ahead. The game ended somewhat fortuitously for the Lugnuts, the first three Bowling Green hitters singled to start the eighth. On the third hit the lead runner was called out at the plate on a relay from Alford to Tellez to the catcher, Mike Reeves. The tying runs were left on base when the game was called. Tellez, Lelblebijian and Chris Carlson each had two hits.


3 Stars

3rd star: Jon Berti

2nd star: Tim Locastro

1st star: Matt Dean


Boxes

15 comments



https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20150617163420963