2008 Woodie Awards
River Bats roll with 5-1 week, remain in first
Travis Weldon
Issue date: 7/2/07 Section: Sports
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Could it be the River Bats going 5-1 this past week and 9-3 in the past 12 games?
Or maybe the River Bats have not allowed an earned run in the past 41 2/3 innings?
Or how about Buddy Baumann's outing against Waterloo, where he struck out 11 in six innings, including the first seven?
It can be looked at many different ways, but in the end, it is a combination of everything that has the River Bats at the top of the North Division, 1 1/2 games ahead of Duluth.
The week started off last Sunday night with a 4-1 victory earning the sweep at Eau Claire.
Steve Blevins (3-0) pitched five shutout innings striking out four. He gave up just two hits and lowered his ERA to 2.40.
All four runs were scored in the second inning for the River Bats. Eau Claire had five errors in the game.
Tim Wheeler went 2-for-4 and Jeff Hulett went 2-for-3 with a run. Sean Wideberg closed out the game with his first save of the season.
The River Bats would return to action Tuesday, starting a six-game homestand the right way with a 4-2 victory over Thunder Bay.
It did not take long for the River Bats to get on the board as Wheeler belted a two-run home run to right in the first inning. Brian Hernandez knocked in Adam Kampsen later in the inning to put the score at 3-0.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, with Wheeler on second and the score at 3-2, Wheeler stole third, his team-leading 12th steal of the season, and later scored on Matt Fanelli's single to cushion their lead.
"We have a system where we give some of our guys the green light," manager Tony Arnerich said. "I gave him the green light, he got a good jump and he made it. It's a risky play, but at the same time (Wheeler) has been pretty successful at it."
Kyle Vazquez (2-0) picked up the victory. He gave up two earned runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Robbie Weinhardt went three innings in relief giving up two hits. Things were shaky in the eighth with a runner on second and one out. But Weinhardt struck out two of the next three to end the threat.
Ryan Wrobel picked up his seventh save of the season, pitching a perfect ninth inning.
The River Bats completed the sweep of Thunder Bay Wednesday with another 4-2 victory, despite four errors.
Isaac Morales (3-1) picked up the win pitching seven innings while giving up two unearned runs on Thunder Bay's only three hits.
Morales has a unique pitching style where he will throw sidearm.
"I like to make the hitter's think," Morales said. "If you have a guy that just throws on top he can just guess. He has a 50/50 chance of off-speed or fastball. If you throw sidearm, its like a whole different pitcher, it's like there is two pitchers on the mound."
Dave Brumagin went 2-for-4 with a run and a stolen base. Kevin Gonzalez went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the River Bats. Gonzalez knocked in Brumagin in the fourth with a single to center.
The River Bats got away with four errors, but could not get away with five against Waterloo Thursday in a 6-2 loss, ending a four-game win streak.
Joe Campbell (0-1) took the loss, giving up five hits in five innings. He struck out three and only walked one and did not give up an earned run.
Friday night, the evening would belong to Baumann.
Baumann (5-0) pitched six innings, giving up only two hits and striking out 11, including the first seven of the game swinging, as the River Bats would blow by Waterloo 8-2.
Baumann did not give up a hit until the sixth when he gave up an infield single.
"I was throwing the ball the same I have been all year," Baumann said. "It's just that they were missing it."
Baumann is now tied for the league lead with 38 strikeouts and has a puny league-leading 0.53 ERA in 34 innings.
"Today was really abnormal for me because I got ahead of a lot of batters," he said. "Mostly, I just kept on challenging them with my fastball, making them think that maybe something else was coming, and bust them in with a fastball."
Kampsen and Brumagin have batted 4-5 throughout the homestand. Before the game, they were literally crossed out on the lineup sheet in the dugout and switched places.
"Before the game, Tony (Arnerich) put the lineup up and I was batting fourth," Kampsen said. "He goes, 'Well, I've got a feeling today.' You can look at our lineup sheet where are names are crossed out."
The results followed from Arnerich's feelings as Kampsen went 4-for-4 with a triple, three singles, three RBI and two runs. Brumagin also chipped in, going 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.
"Arnerich said there was no rhyme or reason to it, just felt like switching you and Kamp up," Brumagin said.
The RBI came early for Brumagin and Kampsen, as they put the River Bats up 2-0 in the first inning, both on singles.
Brumagin lead off the eighth with a triple and would score on Kampsen's single. Derek McCallum made contact later in the inning to drive in Kampsen to put the lead at 4-0.
The River Bats would double the lead in the eighth after Kampsen drove in Hulett and McCallum got his second and third RBI with a double to right center. Gonzalez would add another RBI to put the score at 8-0.
The River Bats stayed on a hot streak as they shutout Mankato Saturday night 3-0.
Michael Hill (1-1) picked up the win for the River Bats, allowing one walk in six innings giving up two hits while striking out four.
Wheeler went 2-for-4 with an RBI. T.J. Thompson also went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. The other run was scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning.
The River Bats have two games at Battle Creek and one game in Alexandria before coming back to the confines of Joe Faber Field with games Friday and Saturday against Madison.