Tigers Fall On Youth Night
6/20/10
Sunday night was the annual Youth Night at Riverside Park. Kids participated in pre-game, between innings, and post-games activities, as well as winning prizes in drawings throughout the game. Unfortunately, the Tigers weren't able to pull one out for the large crowd, losing their sixth one-run game of the season, 4-3, to the Essig Bluejays.
Springfield sent Alex Frank to the hill. The Bluejays got their first run in the top of the third, taking advantage of Tiger defensive struggles. The defense supplied a highlight in the inning as well, when Bryant Krebs made a great throw from right field to catcher Matt Baier, who applied a diving tag to end the inning with Essig on top 1-0.
Essig countered with Sam Hansen on the mound. He held Springfield hitless until the bottom of the fourth when Baier ripped the Tigers' first hit of the ballgame.
In the top of the sixth, Essig put together a two-out rally to plate two unearned runs on two singles and with the help of two Springfield errors.
Trailing 3-0, going into the bottom of the seventh, Baier got his second hit of the game. This time he ripped a double. Christian Loomis drew a walk before Chris Sturm drove in the Tigers' first run of the night with a single.
Frank gave up two straight hits and another run to begin the eighth before Jason Nachreiner came on in relief. Nachreiner worked his way out of the inning, stranding Bluejays at second and third.
After two were out, Frank got a base hit to start a Springfield rally in the bottom of the eighth. Baier was hit by a pitch. Marc Salazar and Loomis followed with run-scoring hits to pull the Tigers within one, 4-3. Hansen was lifted for Brad Hillesheim who got a strikeout to end the Springfield threat.
Both relievers were effective in the ninth, with Nachreiner just allowing a two-out single and Hillesheim retiring Springfield in order in the bottom of the ninth to secure the win for Essig.
Matt Baier led the Springfield offense with two hits. Brady Schwab, Alex Frank, Marc Salazar, Christian Loomis, and Chris Sturm added one hit each for the Tigers. Sam Hansen earned the win on the mound for Essig, going a solid 7 2/3 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits. Alex Frank took the loss for the home team, working seven innings, and giving up just one earned run. Brad Hillesheim worked the final 1 and 1/3 for Essig, earning the save, while striking out three.
Thanks for everyone who came out for Youth Night and to all those who helped to make it a success! The loss drops Springfield to 6-11 overall and 3-9 in league play. Springfield will continue their long homestand on Friday night when Sleepy Eye comes to town for a 7:30pm battle. Come cheer on the Tigers as they look pick up a win over their National Division rival!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essig | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 9 |
| Springfield | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schwab, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Frank, P/2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Baier, C | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B, HP |
| Salazar, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Bisel, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Loomis, 3B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
| C. Sturm, LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Brandl, DH | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Nachreiner, 2B/P | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Sather, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Krebs, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Beyer, PH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 34 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 7 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Frank (L, 1-4) | 7 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nachreiner | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Pictures
Game Photos - 23 images
