After two longtime pitching staples toed the rubber for
the Redlegs in game one, the nightcap saw three rookie
pitchers make their MVABL debuts. First up was Zhelun
Wang who was claimed from waivers by the Redlegs earlier
this year. Wang has electric stuff and is working his
way back into the fold after taking a few years off from
playing semi-professional baseball in China.
The Knights took the lead in the bottom of the first but
the Redlegs tied things up in the top of the 2nd when
James Robinson drove Mike Hartman in with an RBI single
(Hartman was running for Joey Watson who had doubled
earlier in the inning).
The Knights answered right back in the 2nd, using 3
walks, a double and a sacrifice fly to score 3 more times
in the second. They scored again in the third to make it
a 5-1 game.
In the top of the 4th the Redlegs chipped away at the
lead. Joey Watson started the inning with a single.
Brandon Howard moved the runner around to third with a
single before James Robinson knocked him in with a
groundball out to the right side of the infield to cut
the lead to 5-2.
Luke Campbell, a former first team all SWBL pitcher for
Madison High School, entered the game for the Redlegs in
the bottom of the fourth and made a fancy defensive play
right out of the gate. Thomas Hughes hit a hard
comebacker to the mound and Campbell snared it with his
bare hand and made the easy throw to first for the first
out. Jerel Bristol then knocked his first home run of
the 2018 season over the left field fence before Campbell
cruised through the remainder of the inning.
The game changed in the 5th when the Redlegs put up a
nine spot to take a commanding 11-6 lead. Matt Morrison
started the rally with a walk, Matt Redman singled, and
Matt Mattice drove in Morrison with a base hit. Later,
Mike Hartman drove both runners in with a one out single.
Joey Watson then walked before Nick Davis recorded his
first hit of the season with a two run double that he
snuck just inside the third base bag. Brandon Howard
then walked and later Ryan Gross walked to load up the
bases. Matt Morrison then strolled back to the plate for
his second at bat of the inning and proceeded to break
the game wide open with his first career home run, a
grand slam that sailed over the left field fence and put
the Redlegs up 11-6.
The Knights tried to scratch their way back into it by
putting some runners on in the bottom of the 5th via a
Redleg error and a couple of walks. Garrett Copas then
delivered a 2-run single to cut the lead back to 11-8.
Luke then struck the next two batters out to end the
threat.
Joey Watson provided some insurance in the top of the 6th
with a 2 run single driving in Matt Mattice who had
walked and Kyle Arend who singled earlier in the frame.
Luke then tossed a scoreless 6th with the help of a nice
6-4-3 double play between Matt Morrison and Nick Davis in
the middle infield.
Randy Davis then came on for the Redlegs to finish things
off in the seventh. Davis, also a Madison grad, was a
former first team all SWBL and second team all-area in
2014. Randy struck out the first batter he faced, and
then was the beneficiary of a nice diving catch by Matt
Mattice in right field near foul territory for the second
out of the inning. A walk and a single gave the Knights
some life, but Davis was able to induce a grounder to
shortstop to end the game and seal the opening day
double-header sweep.
Boxscore
| M Redman | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| M Mattice | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| K Arend | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| M Hartman | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| J Watson | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| N Davis | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| B Howard | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| J Robinson | 4 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| J Gross | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| M Morrison | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| A Parks | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| J Bradley | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2B: Watson; Davis
HR: Morrison
| Z Wang | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| L Campbell (W) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| R Davis | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
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