Springfield Opens Tomahawk Play With Win

5/5/13

An early May chill was in the air as Springfield hosted Leavenworth at Riverside Park on Sunday afternoon. Tiger hurlers Brandon Wilhelmi and Jason Nachreiner combined to allow just three hits as Springfield picked up a 7-1 victory.

The Orioles' best chances came in the second and third innings when they got two on with no one out. However, they were not able to move the runners around, hitting into a double play in the second, and getting thrown out at third in the third attempting to advance on a flyout to center.

The home team started scoring in the bottom of the third when Ryan Sturm drove in Wilhelmi and Christian Loomis with a base hit. This came after they had both reached via walks and advanced to second and third on a wild pitch by Leavenworth starter Derek Skovbroten.

Leavenworth went to the bullpen in the bottom of the fourth to bring on left-hander John Cook. He retired the side in order in his first inning of work. It was the only time that would be accomplished by the visitors in the ballgame.

Springfield added a single run in the fifth to take a 3-0 lead. Dale McMullen took over the mound duties in the bottom of the sixth. Marty Brandl greeted him with a double down the first base line. A pair of walks loaded the bases before Zach Bisel pushed across the Tigers' fourth run with his second hit of the day. A sacrifice fly by Loomis made the score 5-0.

Jason Nachreiner took the mound in the seventh and struck out the side. The Tigers padded his lead with single runs in the home halves of the seventh and eighth. A pair of Springfield errors ruined the shutout in the top of the ninth and made the final, 7-1.

Zach Bisel, Christian Loomis, and Ryan Sturm led the Tiger bats with two hits each. Brandon Wilhelmi, Marc Salazar, Marty Brandl, and Cole Milbrath each added a hit to the ten hit attack. Chad Armbruster, Derek Skovbroten, and John Cook accounted for the three Leavenworth hits. Wilhelmi earned the win with a solid six innings, allowing just three hits, while striking out four. Skovbroten took the loss, going three innings, surrendering two runs, both earned, on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Jason Nachreiner earned the three inning save, facing just one batter over the minimum in the final three frames, while striking out three.

The win moves the Tigers' record to 2-0 overall and 1-0 in the Tomahawk East. Springfield will travel to Essig for their traditional Mother's Day matchup against the Bluejays at 2:00pm. See you in Essig!

NOTES: Wilhelmi and Nachreiner never faced more than four batters in an inning during Sunday's entire contest, retiring the side in order in five innings...Danny Christensen made the start at second base for Leavenworth after signing with them this week. Christensen had played for the Tigers since 2009 until last weekend's exhibition game against Lake Crystal...Cole Milbrath started his amateur career with a base hit in his first at-bat for the Tigers...Since 2005, Springfield has played in Essig on the second or third Sunday in May every year, including five matchups on Mother's Day. The Tigers are 3-2 in those games in Essig on Mother's Day.

Scorecard

• Sunday, May 5, 2013 - Leavenworth at Springfield (PDF)

Linescore

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E	LOB
Leavenworth	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	3	3	3
Springfield	0	0	2	0	1	2	1	1	x	7	10	3	11

Springfield Box

	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	SO
Wilhelmi, P/SS	2	3	1	0	3	0
Bisel, C	5	0	2	1	0	0
Loomis, 2B	3	1	2	1	1	0	SAC
Sturm, 3B	4	0	2	4	0	0	SAC
Vogel, LF	4	1	0	0	1	0
Ma. Salazar, 1B	5	0	1	0	0	3
Brandl, DH	3	1	1	0	0	1	2B, SAC
Haseleu, SS	-	-	-	-	-	-
Nachreiner, P	-	-	-	-	-	-
C. Milbrath, CF	3	0	1	1	0	1	SAC
Mx. Salazar, RF	3	1	0	0	1	0
	32	7	10	7	6	5
	IP	H	R	ER	BB	SO
Wilhelmi (W, 1-0)	6	3	0	0	1	4
Nachreiner (SV, 1)	3	0	1	0	0	3

Pictures