The Thunder offense came to life in game 2 and the game
was very close throughout as both teams piled up hits and
runs.
Kevin Campbell took the ball for the Redlegs in what
turned out to be a bittersweet start. Campbell has taken
plenty of hard luck losses over the years, but his
offense would work to pay him back in this one.
After the Thunder put 3 runs on the board in the top of
the 1st, the Redlegs fought back in the bottom half with
2 of their own and then took the lead in the 2nd. Jacob
Robinson reached on an error, stole 2nd, and scored on a
single by Brandon Howard. Brad Clark then drove Howard
in with a double. The bottom of the 2nd saw 6 more
Redleg runs cross home plate. Mattice got things going
with a walk, then he took 2nd base on a steal. Mike
Hartman then hit a slow grounder and the Thunder tried to
get Mattice at 3rd but he was able to beat the throw.
Jared Bradley then singled in a run. With runners on 1st
and 2nd, Matt Morrison put down a sacrifice bunt that
moved both runners into scoring position. Jacob Robinson
then singled in a run before Brandon Howard belted his
4th home run of the season.
Trailing 8-3, it looked like it would be more of the same
for the Thunder as game 1. But they were having none of
that, they scored 5 more times in the 3rd to tie things
up at 8-8.
The Redlegs regained the lead in the 5th. Kyle Arend
walked and stole 2nd and then scored on a single from
Mike Hartman. Hartman would move around the bases and
end up scoring on a wild pitch. James Robinson and Matt
Morrison both were plunked and Millard worked a walk to
load the bases. Jacob Robinson then singled in 2 more to
make it a 12-8 game. It looked like they may have
finally put the Thunder down with a 4 run lead and only 3
at bats left for the home team.
But the Thunder scored again in the 5th making it 12-9.
Brad Clark then came on for the Redlegs in a rare save
opportunity and the Thunder greeted him with another run
in the bottom of the 6th to put them within striking
distance at 12-10. The Redlegs then picked up two huge
insurance runs in the top of the 7th that would end up
being the difference in the game. James Robinson worked
a one out walk and was lifted for a pinch runner, Kevin
Campbell. Jared Bradley then doubled which put runners
on 2nd and 3rd, and Campbell would then score on a passed
ball to push the lead to 3. Matt Morrison then scored
Bradley on a ground out to make it 14-10.
The Thunder then rallied in their final at bat. The
first batter singled, but Clark retired the next batter
on a ground out to 3rd base. Three straight hits would
yield 2 runs and put runners on the corners with the
score standing at 14-12. The next batter flew out to
shallow center field. With 2 outs and the tying run on
1st, the Thunder put the runner in motion only to have
him gunned down by backstop Kyle Arend to end the game.
Kevin Campbell improved to 5-0 on the season with the win
and the Redlegs moved up to 7-2, trailing only the 2-0
Sox in the Buckeye division. They will take on another
divisional foe this Sunday in the Kettering Royals at
1:00 and 4:00 at Belmont High School.
Boxscore
| M Morrison | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| J Millard | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| J Robinson | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| B Howard | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| B Clark | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| K Arend | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| M Mattice | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| M Hartman | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| J Robinson | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| J Bradley | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| K Campbell | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
2B: Clark; Bradley
HR: Howard
| K Campbell (W) | 5 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 1 |
| B Clark (S) | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 |