Mathiowetz Takes No-Hitter Into 9th As Longhorns Roll

7/22/09

On Wednesday night the Tigers headed to Stark for a big division match-up. With just two regular season games remaining, St. James, Stark, and Springfield were all tied in the Patriot Division at 10-10 and Leavenworth was close behind at 9-10 with three games to play. Stark started veteran Brad Mathiowetz on the mound and he held the Springfield offense in check, not allowing a hit until the top of the ninth inning, as Stark cruised to a 7-2 victory.

Brandon Wilhelmi took the hill for Springfield and had a bit of a rough night. In the bottom of the first, the first two Stark batters reached on base hits. A wild pitch moved them up to second and third before a sacrifice fly gave the Longhorns a 1-0 lead. In the third, a Tiger error extended the inning and Josh Hadley hit a two-out, two-run homer to push the Stark's lead to three. In the home half of the fourth, Stark put together four hits, along with a walk and a hit batter to plate three runs and make the score 6-0.

After the rough fourth, Wilhelmi retired eight straight batters, including four straight strike-outs, before he allowed a solo home run with two down in the seventh. Jason Nachreiner worked the bottom of the eighth in relief, striking out two while allowing one hit and one walk.

Mathiowetz was effectively wild on the mound, as he walked six and hit two Tiger batters, but didn't allow a base hit until the top of the ninth. In their last at-bat, Brady Schwab got the first Springfield hit with a single up the middle. Marc Salazar traded places with Schwab as he reached on a fielder's choice. Chris Sturm worked a walk and a wild pitch moved the runners to second and third. Another wild pitch scored Salazar and got the Tigers on the board. With two outs, Ken Sather hit an infield single, driving in Sturm and making the score 7-2, which would be the final.

Brandon Wilhelmi took the loss, his first of the season, as he worked seven innings, allowing five earned runs on eight hits with seven strikeouts. At the plate, Springfield had just two hits, one each by Brady Schwab and Ken Sather. Sather reached base in every plate appearance, also working three walks. The loss gives Stark a one game lead over the Tigers in the Patriot Division of the Tomahawk East League. Springfield will look to finish the regular season with a win as they host Searles on Sunday night at 7:30pm. The game is sure to be important in the determining the final division standings and playoffs match-ups. Go Tigers!


Linescore

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E LOB
Springfield 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2 2 2 8
Stark 1 0 2 3 0 0 1 0 x 7 9 1 6

Springfield Box

AB R H RBI BB SO
B. Wilhelmi, P/C 5 0 0 0 0 1
Frank, RF 3 0 0 0 1 3
   Nachreiner, P - - - - - -
Baier, C/3B 4 0 0 0 0 1
Schwab, SS 4 0 1 0 0 1
Salazar, 3B/1B 2 1 0 0 1 0 HP
C. Sturm, 1B/RF 2 1 0 0 1 1 SAC
Milbrath, LF 3 0 0 0 0 1
   Brandl, PH 1 0 0 0 0 1
Sather, CF 1 0 1 1 3 0
Christensen, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 2 HP
28 2 2 1 6 11
IP H R ER BB SO
Wilhelmi (L, 5-1) 7    8 7 5 1 7
Nachreiner 1    1 0 0 1 2

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