Tigers Hold On To Beat Longhorns
5/26/10
Sometimes a home game is just what a team needs to get back on track. Springfield played their first home league game of the season on Wednesday night when they took on Stark. The Longhorns scored in all but two innings, however the home team avoided giving up a big inning and held on for a one run victory, 9-8.
Both defenses left something to be desired, as the teams combined for 13 errors. Stark took advantage of the Springfield defense in the top of the first to pull out to a 1-0 lead.
Brady Schwab started the bottom of the first with a walk. Alex Frank moved him into scoring position with a sac bunt. A Longhorn error allowed Schwab to reach third. A throw into centerfield when Matt Baier stole second allowed Schwab to score. Matt Tews gave the Tigers the lead with an RBI base hit. Marc Salazar was hit by a pitch. Then Chris Sturm drove in the third run of the inning with a single.
Both starters retired the side in order in the second inning. These would be the only three-up, three-down innings of the three-hour ballgame. Stark pulled within one run when they took advantage of two Springfield errors in the top of the third.
In the home half of the third, Tews reached on a wild pitch on strike three. Salazar moved him up with a sacrifice bunt. Sturm was hit by a pitch. Tews moved up to third on a wild pitch and came in to score on another wild throw into centerfield. Ken Sather worked a two-out walk. Marty Brandl drove a double to right-center field to plate two more runs, giving Springfield a 6-2 lead.
Stark kept battling, pushing across a run in the fourth, taking advantage of a lead-off base on balls. In the fifth, Tews allowed a solo homer to right field off the bat of Cody Walter, pulling Stark within two. In the bottom of the fifth, Sturm started things with a single. A sac bunt by Jesse Berg moved him up to second. Sather ripped a base hit to drive in Sturm. Two more Stark errors helped Sather move around the bases to make the score 8-4.
Springfield starter, Tews ran into trouble in the top of the sixth when he allowed three of the first four batters of the inning to reach. Jason Nachreiner came on in relief and worked his way out of the jam with Springfield still leading, 8-5. Nachreiner pitched a scoreless seventh. The Tigers added their ninth run in the bottom of the inning when Sather scorched a double to left-center field. Schwab came through with a two-out base hit to give Springfield a 9-5 lead.
The Longhorns kept chipping away, putting together back-to-back hits to make the score 9-6 in the eighth. In the top of the ninth, Nachreiner walked the first two batters before a Springfield error allowed a run to score. Another Tiger misplay got the Longhorns within one and put the trying run on at first base. Finally, a pop-out to Baier down the line in short rightfield ended the contest.
Chris Sturm and Ken Sather led the Springfield bats with two hits each. Brady Schwab, Matt Tews, and Marty Brandl each added a hit to the Tiger attack. On the mound, Matt Tews earned the win, going the first 5 1/3 innings, allowing 3 earned runs and striking out seven. Jason Nachreiner earned a save, working the final 3 2/3 innings, while striking out six. Craig Fischer took the loss for the Longhorns.
The victory for Springfield is their first in Tomahawk East League play in 2010. It moves their overall record to 2-5 and 1-4 in the Tomahawk East. The Tigers will look to continue their winning ways when they return to action on Memorial Day for a 1pm match-up against Lamberton. See you at the ballpark!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stark | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 11 |
| Springfield | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | x | 9 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwab, SS | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Frank, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | SAC |
| Nachreiner, P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Baier, 2B | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | HP |
| Tews, P/RF | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | SAC |
| Krebs, RF | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Salazar, 1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | SAC, HP |
| C. Sturm, LF | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | HP |
| Berg, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SAC |
| Sather, CF | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2B |
| Brandl, DH | 4 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2B |
| Miesen, C | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| 31 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 12 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Tews (W, 1-2) | 5 1/3 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| Nachreiner (SV, 1) | 3 2/3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
Pictures
Game Photos - 22 images
