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Griffons ride hot bats to victory over Clarinda
After a three-day layoff the Nevada Griffons returned to the diamond with a convincing 13-5 victory over the Clarinda (Iowa) A's Tuesday night at Lyons Stadium.
With the victory, Nevada improves to 13-10 in MINK League play, moving into a first-place tie in the MINK south division with the Joplin Outlaws (12-9).
Having multiple days in a row off is a rarity for the Griffons. Because of rainouts Saturday and Sunday, Nevada found itself out of action for three consecutive days.
"You want to stay in a rhythm, so I wasn't sure how they would respond after the off days," Griffons head coach Ryan Mansfield said. "It's good to see they swung the bats well, so maybe three days off was good for them."
The fireworks started early, with Nevada leadoff hitter Kainulu Pitoy lifting off in the bottom of the first inning, as the switch-hitting Honolulu, Hawaii native crushed a Kyle McCormick pitch over the right field fence to hand the Griffons a 1-0 lead.
The round-tripper was Pitoy's third of the season, and second from the left side of the plate.
Later in the inning, a hard-hit grounder off the bat of Judah Zickafoose was misplayed by Clarinda first baseman Wells Davis, allowing Ethaniel Valdez to easily score from third base.
After swiping second base, Zickafoose was plated courtesy of a Cole Johnson double ripped down the right field line, putting the Griffons on top 3-0.
Nevada continued to rough up McCormick in the second frame. After issuing a pair of walks, Valdez made McCormick pay with an extra base hit, scoring Conner Pomering and Pity as the Griffons went in front 5-0.
With runners on first and second base, Zickafoose hammered a pitch into right-center field, scoring Valdez while advancing Tyler Pagano to third base. Nevada then increased its lead to 7-0 as a Tanner Wetrich sacrificed fly scored Pagano.
Clarinda parlayed four third inning singles into three runs, with an Eric Wagaman bases loaded base knock resulting in two of the runs scored as the A's trailed 7-3 entering the bottom of the third.
After just two innings McCormick was knocked out of the game, getting tagged for seven runs (six earned) while allowing five hits and walking two. McCormick was replaced on the hill by Luke LeBlanc, who didn't fare much better. With one-out, a Valdez single scored Trevor Peterson and Pitoy as the Griffons lead swelled to 11-3.
Nevada padded its lead in the fourth, with a Pomering sacrifice fly scoring Johnson. Later, a two-out Pitoy bases loaded single gave the Griffons a 13-3 advantage.
Aside from the third inning hiccup, Nevada starting pitcher Bryce Tassin had little trouble with the A's order. Over five innings of work Tassin allowed three earned runs, while striking out three and walking two.
Griffons relief pitcher Aaron Barteau replaced Tassin in the top of the sixth, working two innings. Barteau yielded two runs in the sixth (one earned).
For good measure the Griffons tacked on two additional runs in the bottom of the eighth. The first came on a Peterson RBI-single, scoring Wetrich, while the second run was plated when Valdez was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded.
Tassin (3-0) picked up the victory while McCormick (1-3) was saddled with the loss. Also making relief appearnces for Nevada, were Trevor Hall and Brandon Marsonek, who combined for two shut out innings.
At the plate, the red-hit Pitoy was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs, increasing his batting average to .375. With his parents making the trip from San Antonio, Texas, Valdez had a monster night at the dish, going for 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored.
Up next
The Griffons are slated for a 7 p.m. contest with the St. Joseph Mustangs tonight in St. Joe. The game however, might be moved up to an earlier start time due to power issues at the stadium.