Tigers Ride Momentum to Take Suspended Contest
6/15/11 & 7/22/11
It had rained earlier in the day and the skies looked threatening, but Springfield and Sleepy Eye got together on Wednesday, June 15th for a ballgame. Alan Woitas and Alex Frank locked up in a great pitcher's duel, but with the score tied at one in the bottom of the ninth, the skies opened causing the game to be suspended. The teams agreed to complete the suspended game when the Indians visited Riverside Park later in the season. After notching a win in their regularly scheduled game and getting out of the two-on, two-out jam, the Tigers took advantage of the Sleepy Eye defense to win their second ballgame of the evening over the Indians in the tenth inning, 3-1.
Brady Schwab started a two-out rally in the top of the first with a base hit. Matt Baier put Springfield on top with a double, 1-0, before Sleepy Eye had a chance to bat.
Both hurlers were on their game as Frank did not even allow a Sleepy Eye base runner until the bottom of the third. Alan Woitas settled in after falling behind in the first, never facing more than four batters in any inning through the ninth.
Frank had a little hiccup when he issued a lead-off walk in the bottom of the fifth. A single by Nathan Kral, a sacrifice bunt, and a groundout made it a new ballgame, tied at one a piece.
Springfield stranded a runner at third in the top of the eighth and Sleepy Eye left a runner at second in the sixth and eighth innings, but neither team could break the tie.
Andrew Woitas started the bottom of the ninth with a single. Jake Bohnen was then hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt gave the Indians runners at second and third with one down. It was raining pretty steady as Frank struck out Kral for the second out of the inning. The already soggy field couldn't handle the heavy rain that fell and the game was suspended.
The Tigers' joy from beating the Indians at Riverside Park quickly turned to tension as the suspended contest was resumed - bottom of the ninth, tied at one, two down, runners at second and third. One pitch could win it for Sleepy Eye, but Frank was able get a strikeout to end the threat and take the game to the tenth.
Alan Woitas appeared poised to give his team another chance to win it as he quickly struck out the first two batters in the top of the tenth. Alex Fink spoiled the plan as he ripped a two-out single. A Sleepy Eye error allowed Zach Bisel to reach. Brady Schwab then tatooed a ball in the direction of the rightfielder who appeared to have a beat on the ball, but it flew past him, allowing Fink and Bisel to score and put the Tigers on top, 3-1.
After battling to pick up a save in the first game of the evening, Frank picked up where he left off in Sleepy Eye and retired the side in order in the bottom of the tenth to secure the win.
Alex Fink and Brady Schwab accounted for half of the Springfield hits with two each. Matt Baier, Jordan Milbrath, Christian Loomis, and Alex Frank made up the other half of the Tiger total with one each. No one had more than one hit for the Indians. Frank improved to 5-1 on the season with the win. He worked ten solid innings, surrendering just one run on five hits, with eight strikeouts. Alan Woitas was tagged with the tough luck loss, also working all ten innings, allowing three runs, just one earned, on eight hits, with five strikeouts.
The Tigers' fourth straight win, their third straight against the two teams with fifteen wins in the Tomahawk East, improves their record to 12-9 in the league and 13-13 overall. It also means that they will match-up against the Leavenworth Orioles in the playoffs begining on Friday, July 29th. The results of each team's final regular season game on Sunday will determine who has homefield advantage for the best-of-three game series. Springfield will travel for Redwood Falls for a 7:30pm contest against the Redbirds. Come cheer on the Tigers as they look to take a five game winning streak into the playoffs!
Linescore
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | R | H | E | LOB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Springfield | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| Sleepy Eye | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 6 |
Springfield Box
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. Fink, SS | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bisel, DH | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | SAC |
| Sather, CF | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Schwab, C | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Christensen, CR | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Baier, 2B/3B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | HP |
| Salazar, 1B | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Milbrath, RF/LF | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Loomis, 3B/2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| C. Sturm, LF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| B. Fink, RF | - | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Schmid, LF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| Frank, P | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 39 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 5 | ||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | ||
| Frank (W, 5-1) | 10 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
Pictures
