The Redlegs got their first shot at the perennial
powerhouse Beavercreek Sox on Thursday night, and the
game was a nail biter throughout. Matt Mattice got the
ball for his first career MVABL start and despite a rocky
first inning, turned in a great performance that kept his
team in it until the end.
The Redlegs struck first in the top of the 1st inning
when Jackson Millard hammered a 1 out home run over the
left field fence. But the Sox answered in the bottom of
the 1st as the first five batters reached base. The
leadoff batter was hit by a pitch and then scored on a
triple. Ian Huss then drove in a run with a double, but
Mattice then picked him off at 2nd for the first out.
Back to back doubles scored another run before Mattice
recorded a strikeout. The next batter drove a hard
grounder between first and 2nd that looked like would get
through to the outfield and score another run. But
Brandon Howard made a highlight reel diving snag and was
able to deliver a perfect throw to a sprinting Mattice
who was able to get to the bag in front of the runner to
end the inning.
Trailing 3-1, the Redlegs inched closer in the top of the
2nd. Mike Hartman led off with a walk. Matt Redman
later singled with 2 outs which put runners on the
corners. Redman then stole 2nd and Hartman alertly took
home on the throw down.
The Sox scored another run in the bottom of the 2nd to
make it a 4-2 game and the Redlegs answered immediately
in the 3rd. Millard started the inning with a double and
moved to 3rd on a single from Jacob Robinson. Brandon
Howard then singled to score Millard and Robinson moved
over to 3rd. Mike Hartman then hit a groundball to first
and Robinson went for the score, but the Sox were able to
get the out at the plate on an extremely close play. A
Sox fielding error would yield the 2nd run of the inning
for the Redlegs.
The Sox tied took a 5-4 lead after the 3rd and that’s how
the score stood until the 5th. Jacob Robinson singled
and made it to 3rd on a single by Kyle Arend. Mike
Hartman then hit a ground ball to 3rd and Robinson again
took off for home, this time the Sox elected to go for
the double play but Hartman beat it out and Robinson
scored to make it 5-5.
The heartbreaker for the Redlegs came in the bottom of
the 5th inning. A walk, strikeout, single, flyout, and
hit batter led to a bases loaded with 2 out situation.
Robinson made the call to bring in Millard to try and
work out of the jam, and he did his job by getting a
ground ball, but an error led to 2 runs scoring on the
play. Millard would then end the inning with a
strikeout. The Redlegs brought the tying run to the
plate in the top of the 7th when Howard doubled to deep
right center but Ryan Carter, who pitched the final 4
frames for the Sox, was able to get a fly out and
strikeout to end the game.
Boxscore
| M Mattice | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J Millard | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| J Robinson | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| B Howard | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| K Arend | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M Hartman | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| J Bradley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Z Carroll | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| M Redman | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2B: Millard; Howard
HR: Millard
| M Mattice (L) | 4.67 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
| J Millard | 1.33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |