Tigers Come Up Short in Pitcher's Duel, Brewers Advance to Region
8/3/10
There were no secrets left on Tuesday night when Springfield traveled to Johnson Park to take on New Ulm. The teams faced off in their fifth meeting of the 2010 season and game three of their best of three Tomahawk East playoff series. Each team came in with a one-run victory in the playoffs. Expectations were for a good ballgame and they were definitely met. Both starters pitched very well with each team getting just six hits. New Ulm had half of their hits in the second to plate two runs, which would be all the support right hander Kyle Fischer would need in the Brewers 3-1 win.
Springfield's best opportunity came in the top of the first. Matt Tews reached on an error. Matt Baier followed with a single. After two were out, Bob Fink drew a walk to load the bases, but the Tigers weren't able to put anything on the board.
Jason Nachreiner made the start for the visitors. Nachreiner had been used primarily in relief during the season, but the Tigers sent the veteran to the hill in this decisive game three. He allowed a one-out triple in the bottom of the first, but worked out of the inning without allowing a run.
New Ulm got the lead-off man on base in the bottom of the second via a Springfield error, but he was erased on an attempted steal. The Brewers followed by putting together three straight hits, including an RBI single by Scott Schaefer. A pitch to the backstop allowed a second run to score and give New Ulm a 2-0 lead.
The Tigers answered in their next at-bat in the top of the third. Tews ripped a one-out double and came around to score on a base hit by Brady Schwab, cutting the New Ulm lead to one.
Both starters found a groove after the tally stood at 2-1. Nachreiner allowed just two harmless two-out singles over the next five innings. The Brewers added a third run without the help of a hit in the bottom of the eighth when Nachreiner walked three batters and got a sacrifice fly from Chris Peters. Alex Frank came on to face two batters and retire them to put out the fire.
After giving up the single run in the third, Fischer never faced more than four batters in any inning for the remaining six frames. Springfield got a two-out double in the seventh, a two-out walk in the eighth, and a one-out single in the ninth, but all three runners were not advanced, as Fischer wrapped up the complete game victory and ended the Tigers' season.
No player had more than one hit for Springfield. Alex Fink, Matt Tews, Matt Baier, Brady Schwab, Marc Salazar, and Jordan Milbrath each had one hit to give the Tigers a total of six. Kyle Fischer earned the complete game win for New Ulm, allowing just one run on six hits, while striking out five. Jason Nachreiner was tagged with the loss in a great effort, going seven and one-third innings, giving up three runs, and striking out five.
The loss ends Springfield's 2010 season with an overall record of 10-21. That record included twelve one-run losses. Best of luck to the New Ulm Brewers and all remaining teams as they battle in the Region 2C tournament with the State Tournament in their sights!
With the young roster, there is much to look forward to in the years to come, as the Tigers learn from their experiences and come together as a team. Thank you to all who supported Springfield Tiger baseball in 2010 - sponsors, spouses, family and friends. We appreciate all you do to allow us to enjoy this great game each summer! A special thanks to those who announced, ran the scoreboard, worked the concession stand, and did all it takes to have a ballgame at Riverside Park! You're awesome! Thank you! We hope to see everyone cheer on this exciting team in 2011!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| New Ulm | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | x | 3 | 6 | 1 | 6 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Fink, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Tews, RF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2B |
| Baier, 2B | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| Schwab, C | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Sather, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| B. Fink, DH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | HP |
| Nachreiner, P | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Frank, P | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Salazar, 1B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Christensen, PR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C. Sturm, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Milbrath, CF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2B |
| Loomis, 3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 33 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 5 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Nachreiner (L, 2-2) | 7 1/3 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Frank | 2/3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pictures
Game Photos - 17 images
