The Redlegs and the Ohio Mariners squared off in a non-divisional matchup on Sunday and despite hot temperatures, the Redlegs bats stayed cool throughout the afternoon. The Mariners sent newcomer Joemar Melendez to the hill for his first start of the season and he went 7 strong frames against the Redlegs allowing only 5 hits and 2 runs. Melendez struck out 5 Redleg batters but benefited from some solid defense from his teammates as the Redlegs had trouble getting any hits to fall.

Kevin Campbell started for the Redlegs and didn’t run into any trouble until the 3rd inning. The Mariners did threaten in the bottom of the 2nd, but an incredible leaping catch by Matt Redman in center field ended the inning stranding 2 Mariners baserunners. But 2 Redlegs miscues, including a potential inning ending double play, turned into a 5 run Mariner advantage in the bottom of the 3rd, capped off by a 2 run homerun off the bat of Cody Ridinger. The Mariners continued to chip away, scoring 1 in the 6th inning for a 6-0 lead, and then adding another in the 6th thanks to a solo homerun by Nic Watkins. The Mariners 3rd homerun of the afternoon came in the 7th from Matt Piskor.. TJ Lee took over on the mound and pitched the final 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing only 1 hit and striking out 1 in his first appearance as a Redleg.

The Redlegs were unable to get on the board until the 6th inning when Bobby Dempsey singled and moved to 2nd on a throwing error. Dempsey was the only Redleg hitter to record multiple hits in the contest. He was later driven in on a single by Matt Redman. In the 7th, Jacob Robinson was able to improve his hitting streak to 5 games by turning in an inside-the-park homerun off of a line drive into the right center field gap.

The Redlegs were unable to mount any sort of a comeback after Melendez exited, as Don Parrish pitched the final two frames and retired the final 6 batters of the game, getting one strikeout along the way.

Next week’s opponent will be the Springfield Indians and both teams will enter with a 2-4 record. Game 1 of the double header will begin at 1:00pm on Sunday at Howell Field.

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