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Griffons open 30th anniversary season with home victory
Nevada Daily Mail
The Nevada Griffons of the M.I.N.K Collegiate Summer Baseball League, opened the 2015 season Thursday night at Lyons Stadium with a 9-6 victory over Springfield's Midwest Nationals.
For the Griffons (1-0), this season is the team's 30th in existence.
The Nationals jumped out to a quick lead after Drew Tyler hit a solo home run over the right field fence off Griffons starting pitcher Juan Aguilera in the top of the first inning.
Nevada second baseman Charles Sims led off the bottom of first inning with a bloop single into left field. Austin Allison of Shippensburg University in York, Pa., followed with a line-drive off the left thigh of Nationals starting pitcher Jayme Lovelace.
Allison, who was thrown out at first base on the play, advanced Sims to second. A Lovelace wild pitch then moved Sims to third base. Hitting in the Griffons three-hole, Alex Jones out of Spring Hill College in Fort Myers, Fla., reached base via an infield error, scoring Sims from third to tie the game 1-1.
Nevada cleanup hitter Zach Daley of St. Leo University, grounded a Lovelace pitch down the first base line and into right field. Ruled an error, Jones advanced to third base while Daley reached second. Nevada right fielder Dusty Wright followed with a line-drive single into center field, scoring Jones from third base as the Griffons grabbed a 2-1 lead.
Wright's single advanced Daley to third base, however, Wright was thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double.
With two outs, Griffons first baseman Cole Johnson, out of Washington State University, doubled down the first base line scoring Daley, to put Nevada on top 3-1. Griffons shortstop Ray Hutchison reached courtesy of a Lovelace walk, putting runners on first and second for Cody Roose. Lovelace struck out Roose to end the inning.
Still leading 3-1 in the bottom of the second, Nevada center fielder Jamie Graeser led off the inning with a walk. After a Sims strikeout for the innings first out, Allison followed with a chopper to second base, advancing Graeser to third.
With two down, Jones hammered a Lovelace pitch into the right-center field gap, scoring Graeser to give the Griffons a 4-1 lead.
After a clean top of the third inning by Aguilera, Wright led off the bottom half of the inning with an infield base hit. Johnson then reached base after lining a pitch off Lovelace's right arm. Hutchison grounded into a fielders choice, as Johnson was thrown out at second for the first out of the inning.
With runners on first and third and one out, Hutchison was picked off first base for the second out. The Griffons were unable to add to their lead as Roose ended the inning with a ground out.
After recording his third consecutive strike out, Aguilera had reached his pitch limit, and was replaced by left-handed pitcher Colten Poellinger with two outs in the top of the fourth inning.
Poellinger encountered trouble in the top of the fifth inning, loading the bases with no outs. Poellinger managed to get out of the inning unscathed, as a runner was thrown out at home plate by third baseman Roose, followed by an infield fly out and then a ground out to first base ---- preserving the Griffons 4-1 advantage.
Nevada tacked on to its lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, as back-to-back two out singles courtesy of Graeser and Simms put the Griffons up 6-1. Graeser drove in Johnson who scored from second base, while Sims looper into left field plated Graeser. The hits came off Nationals relief pitcher Trent Moeller.
Griffons relief pitcher Blaine Fisher found himself in a two-out bases loaded jam in the top of the sixth inning. This time however, the Nationals made Nevada pay as Tyler sent Fisher's offering into deep right field, scoring Blake Hobbs and Adam Richardson, as the Nationals sliced the lead to 6-3.
Nevada extended its lead to 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh inning, after a bases loaded walk brought in Hutchison.
Shea Nixon of Angelo State University entered the game in the top of the eighth inning, replacing Fisher on the mound. After recording the first two outs with ease, an error by Roose at third base opened the door for the Nationals, who took full advantage, plating three runs to close the deficit to 7-6.
Nixon fanned Jacob Mitchell to end the inning. All three runs were unearned.
For Nevada, Johnson reached on a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth inning. Hutchison then stepped to the plate, coming through with a broken-bat single into shallow left field, moving Johnson over to third. Pinch-hitter Jacob Bryant notched an RBI infield-single, scoring Johnson to give Nevada an 8-6 lead.
Graeser continued the hit parade with a line drive down the right field line, scoring Hutchison as the Griffons led 9-6. With runners on first and second, Sims drew a walk, loading the bases for Allison, who flew out to center field ending the threat. All the damage came against Nationals relief pitcher Jacob Keltner.
Nevada closer Jake Kern locked down the save. The game ended on a slick double-play orchestrated by second baseman Sims, who was in the perfect spot to make the play on the hard hit grounder, after drifting towards the second base bag.
Graeser was 4-for-4 with two runs and an RBI; Johnson was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI; Jones was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run; Sims was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI; and Hutchison was 2-for-4 with a run. For the game, the Griffons pounded out 15 hits.
Even though he didn't go five innings, Aguilera was credited with the win, striking out four over 3 and 2/3 innings.