Tigers Clinch First-Round Bye in Searles
7/13/08
Springfield's first game of the day on Sunday was an important one. A win would mean clinching at least second place in the National Division of the Tomahawk East League and a first round bye in the playoffs. Brandon Wilhelmi and Bob Fink went a combined 8-for-9 at the plate to lead the Tigers to a 3-2 win.
Wilhelmi started things with a bang as he led off the game with a home run into the corn field beyond the left field fence to give himself a 1-0 lead. Wilhelmi was on the hill for the Tigers and surrendered a run in the bottom of the third when Searles put together a double and a single to tie the game at one.
Andy Moritz started the Tiger half of the forth with a walk. He stole second and moved to third on a base hit by Wilhelmi. Matt Baier put Springfield back in the lead when he hit a sacrifice fly to left, allowing Moritz to score. Fink launched a homer to start the top of the fifth, giving the Tigers a 3-1 lead.
The Tiger offense had many opportunities, but were unable to break the game open. During the game, eleven runners were stranded by the visitors. Ten runners were left in scoring position.
Wilhelmi hit the leadoff batter in the bottom of the seventh. A walk and a single moved the runner around to score, cutting the Springfield lead to one. Jon Diede came on in relief in the eighth and shut down the Grizzlies while striking out three to earn a two inning save in the 3-2 victory.
Brandon Wilhelmi earned the win, his seventh of the season. Jon Diede picked up his third save of the year, pitching the final two innings. Brandon Wilhelmi and Bob Fink lead the Springfield offense with four hits each.
With the win, Springfield clinched a first round bye in the Tomahawk East playoffs. After the game, the Tigers traveled just down the road to take on the Stark Longhorns in their final regular season game of the year.
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
| Springfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| Searles | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 8 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | |||
| Wilhelmi, P/CF | 5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | HR | |
| Baier, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | SAC | |
| Schwab, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAC | |
| Fink, RF | 4 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | HR | |
| Krebs, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Beers, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SAC | |
| Groebner, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| Tews, 2B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SAC | |
| A. Moritz, C | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Diede, DH/P | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| C. Moritz, CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 32 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 2 | |||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | |||
| Wilhelmi (W, 7-2) | 7 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | ||
| Diede (SV, 3) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
Pictures
