|
River Bats sweep Mallards
By Ryan Sibinski
Ryan Sibinski
Contributing writer
The Saint Cloud River Bats completed a two game sweep against the Madison Mallards Tuesday night.
The River Bats went into Tuesday's game fresh off a 5-2 victory on Monday night. Saint Cloud was able to hang on for the victory 14-13 in a game that came down to the wire.
It was definitely a hitter's night for both squads as a run was scored in nearly every inning for a combined total of 27.
The River Bats started the offensive display early with a big second inning scoring five runs. Saint Cloud starting pitcher Jason King struggled as the Mallards scored six earned runs in his three innings of play.
It seemed as though Saint Cloud wouldn't need good pitching this night as they racked up 12 runs by the seventh inning to make the score 12-7.
However the Mallards wouldn't give up, despite the five run deficit, and added two runs of their own in the bottom of the seventh to pull within three runs.
The River Bats continued to be hot at the plate in the top of the eighth inning, as infielder Ben Quinto drove in runs and increased the lead to five, once again, at 14-9. Quinto had a great game going three for five, with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Chris Jensen also had a big game with three hits, three RBIs, and two runs scored.
Madison once again came back with runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Madison batter Erik Johnson drove in two runs with a single and one more run was scored on a sacrifice grounder to make the score a 14-12. With runners on second and third base, Thomas Diamond stuck out a Madison batter to end the inning and get out of the jam.
The Bats were held scoreless in the top half of the ninth inning and would need to rely on right handed pitcher David Sharfstein to close the game against Madison's best part of the lineup.
Sharfstein got into some trouble as a base hit scored a runner to tighten the score at 14-13. With runners on first and third, and two outs, Sharfstein got the Madison batter to pop up behind the plate for the final out and complete the save in a nail bitter for Bats fans.
"That was a big win for us. We were able to get two [wins] from them there and get back to .500. It's important we win the North division," said Sharfstein. It was Sharfstein's sixth save of the year.
The River Bats had 15 hits and 11 RBIs in the 14-13 victory. The game lasted four hours and ten minutes of intense baseball.
The River Bats record for the second half of the season is now an even 6-6. They are 22-22 on the year, which is good for second best in the North division.
Manager Ron Rakowski likes the Bats chances of winning the division and entering the playoffs despite being down three games to first place Brainerd.
"We have a lot of games versus teams in our division coming up, which should allow us to make up a lot of ground," said Rakowski.
The River Bats play a three-game series against the first place Brainerd Mighty Gulls next. Wednesday and Thursday are played in Brainerd and then the third game will be at home.
"We treat every game as a must win situation. We're serious about winning the division" said Rakowski.
|
|
|
|
Privacy Policy Network Advertising Article Syndication
|
|
