The Redlegs got a big win, and their 5th in a row, by
topping the Mad River Machine on Sunday 10-4. The Machine
had won 7 of their last 8 games, the only game they didn’t
win came as a tie against the Knights back on July 15th.
The offense got off to a hot start as they put 4 runs on the
board right out of the gate. Matt Morrison led off the 1st
inning with a double and moved to 3rd on an infield single
from Jackson Millard. Jacob Robinson then drove in the
first run of the game, but the Machine were able to get
Millard at 2nd to record their first out. Later with 2
outs, Kyle Arend stung a hard single up the middle which
moved Robinson to 3rd who was stealing on the pitch. Matt
Mattice then doubled to bring both runners home. James
Robinson would finish things off by singling in Mattice to
push the lead to 4-0.
The Machine chipped away at the lead in the bottom half as
they were able to work a couple of walks and get a key base
hit to bring 2 runs home. Starter Kevin Campbell settled
down after the first inning though and proceeded to turn in
an excellent outing against the hot hitting Machine.
Campbell only surrendered 2 more runs through the remaining
8 innings he pitched while scattering 7 hits and striking
out 5. He allowed only 3 earned as he picked up his 6th win
on the season, bringing him within 1 win of matching a club
record set by Taylor Guntle back in 2010.
The Redlegs added played add on in the 2nd inning by scoring
2 more runs. Zach Carroll and Jared Bradley each walked to
put runners on with no outs. Machine starter Frank Burgos
then notched his first punch out of the game followed by a
groundball out to 2nd in an attempt to kill the rally. But
Jacob Robinson then punched a line drive into center to
bring both runs home and extend the lead to 6-2.
Things got quiet for a while, due in some part to some
outstanding defensive plays for the Redlegs. In the bottom
of the 2nd Jared Bradley may have thwarted a rally before it
even began. The Machine’s first batter smacked what looked
like a definite single into left center field, but Bradley
ran it down from left field and made full speed diving catch
to record the out. In the 5h with 2 outs and a runner on,
cleanup hitter Frank Burgos drove a ball right down the 3rd
base line but Matt Morrison pounced on it just behind 3rd
base, got to his feet and gunned Burgos down at 1st in the
nick of time. In the 7th after a leadoff single, SS Jacob
Robinson fed a groundball to Brandon Howard at 2nd base who
fired on to Clark who made a great stretch at 1st for the
double play. Howard then made a leaping grab deep at 2nd
base to end the inning.
The Machine scored their final 2 runs in the 6th which made
it a 6-4 game at the time, but the Redlegs continued to push
and ended up scoring 1 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th, and 2 more
in the 9th. Jackson Millard singled to start off the 7th,
moved to 2nd when Jacob Robinson walked and moved to 3rd on
a passed ball. Brandon Howard then hit a pop up down the
first baseline in foul territory that was caught by the
first baseman. The Machine catcher was moving to the pop up
which left home plate unattended and Millard alertly tagged
up
and scored on the play. In the 8th Justin McCurdy led
things off with a single and was lifted for a pinch runner
in Matt Redman. Redman then moved to 2nd on a grounder then
advanced to 3rd and scored on passed balls. In the 9th
Millard again led off with a single followed by Kyle Breeden
getting hit by a pitch. Later with two outs Matt Mattice
singled in Millard which moved Breeden to 3rd. Mattice then
swiped his 3rd base of the game and when the throw squirted
into center field Breeden was able to score to make it a 10-
4 game. Campbell then shut the door in the 9th, recording 3
straight outs and ended the game with a strikeout.
The Redlegs will look to keep it going through this tough 4
game stretch as they take on the Fairborn Athletics on
Tuesday August 5th at Action Sports Center in Dayton.
Boxscore
M Morrison | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
J Millard | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
J Robinson | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
B Howard | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
K Arend | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
M Mattice | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
J Robinson | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
J McCurdy | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Z Carroll | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
J Bradley | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
B Clark | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
K Breeden | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2B: Morrison; Mattice