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River Bat lose series
By Ryan Sibinski
Ryan Sibinski
Contributing writer
The St. Cloud River Bats lost the second game of a two-game home set against the Waterloo Bucks Tuesday night. The Bucks defeated the Bats in the first game of the series 8-3 on Monday night.
Tuesday night's match-up was the final game of the season's first half and had no playoff implications as both teams had already been eliminated from winning their respective divisions.
The River Bats sent right-handed hurler Dan Konecny of Northwestern University to the mound against Buck's right hander Justin Allred.
The Bats got off the board first in the bottom of the third inning with a little "infield baseball." The Bucks committed three infield errors and Allred gave up one infield hit as the Bats chalked up three runs.
"Its good to see some of the bats come alive, " said outfielder Jake Smith.
The 3-0 lead didn't last long though. The Bucks were able to capitalize on some errors by the River Bats in the top of the fifth inning. By the end of the inning they would add three runs of their own to tie the score at 3-3.
Waterloo struck again in the top of the sixth inning scoring two earned runs off two hits. Konecny was removed in this inning after five two-thirds innings pitched, five runs, two earned, five K, and five BB.
Second baseman Chris Jensen continued his hot streak by leading off the sixth inning with a base hit. Jensen entered the game with an amazing ten hits in his last ten at bats. Jensen went 2-5 in Tuesday's game lowering his percentage to, a still outstanding, .800 over his last 15 at bats of the first half.
With Jensen on, shortstop Ben Quinto drew a walk stirring up the River Bats fans. Jake Smith came in as a pinch hitter for Joe Pitro and answered the call with a clutch hit, scoring Jensen to tighten the game at 5-4 after six.
The top of the seventh inning brought more Waterloo offense as Jeff Cammann's RBI single scored two more runs. Cammann entered the game with a .352 batting average, which is second best in the league.
St. Cloud, down 7-4, threatened to once again return fire on the Bucks in the bottom half. Outfielder Joe Gaetti drew a lead off walk and first baseman Chris Kinsey followed with a base hit. A sacrifice bunt by catcher Jason Jaramillo advanced runners to second and third with only one out. Jensen hit a fly ball to center and Gaeitti tagged and bogeyed home. Gaetti was called out at the plate to end the scoring threat.
The Bucks added two more runs in the eighth. A questionable call in this inning caused River Bats Coach Ron Rakowski to come onto the field to protest. Luckily, this argument was on the grass infield or there may have been some dirt kicking onto the umpire. Dirt kicking or not, Rakowski was ejected from the game as the fans got rowdy over the call in the stands.
Down 9-4 in the bottom of the eighth, the River Bats loaded the bases up for Evan Howard who drew a walk to score a run. Joe Gaetti then grounded out which scored another River Bat runner making the score 9-6. The inning would end that way as the Bats stranded some runners.
The Bats were finally able to hold the Bucks scoreless in the ninth inning for the first time in five innings. Unfortunately, they didn't generate any offense in the bottom half and lost a tough battle 9-6.
The River Bats first half record is an even 16-16. They were unable to win the North Division, which would have secured a spot in the playoffs. The champions of North Division, the Brainerd Mighty Gulls, will receive the automatic bid into the playoffs. St. Cloud finished in third place.
"We need to keep on pushing, and keep the errors down (in the second half)," said Smith.
The River Bats need to win the North Division title in the second half for a chance to compete in the playoffs August 14th.
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