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Griffons ascend to first place in MINK League south division
The Nevada Griffons have had an eventful couple of days, winning three of four contests to open up their eight game road swing.
Nevada's victories coupled with recent Joplin Outlaw struggles, have Nevada sitting in first place in the Mink League south division at 17-11, a game up on the Ozark Generals (17-13). Meanwhile, the Outlaws (16-13), losers of four consecutive contests, have dropped one and a half games back of Nevada.
Griffons 6, Mustangs 1
Griffons starting pitcher Doug Molzahn lifted Nevada to a 6-1 victory over the St. Joseph Mustangs Saturday at Jack Welch Stadium in St. Joe's. Molzahn dominated, tossing a complete game while yielding only three hits and striking out seven.
Nevada jumped on top 1-0 in the top of the second when Jaxxon Fagg scored from third on a passed ball. Nevada added a second run in the inning courtesy of a Cole Johnson fielder's choice, scoring Trevor Peterson.
The only blemish on Molzahn's pitching line came in the bottom of the sixth when leadoff hitter Orecnio Fisher doubled, was sacrificed to third, and scored on a Davey Casciola fielder's choice groundout, trimming the Griffons lead to 2-1.
Mustangs starting pitcher John Millan worked six innings, allowing two earned runs while walking three and striking out a batter before being replaced by reliever Jonathan Lynch.
Nevada hitters most likely approved of the move made by Mustangs manager Matt Johnson, as the Griffons had pummeled Lynch July 6 in a forgettable outing that culminated in an epic ninth inning Mustangs meltdown.
Nevada picked up right were they left off tagging Lynch for two runs right out of the gate. After inducing a ground out of Jake McPhail, Lynch's control issues resurfaced, as he walked Kainulu Pitoy and then drilled Ethaniel Valdez with a pitch. Follwing Valdez, Tyler Pagano ripped an RBI single, scoring Pitoy and advancing Valdez to second as the Griffons grabbed a 3-1 lead. The leash was short for Lynch, with Johnson quickly giving him the hook and replacing him on the hill with Drew Ferguson.
After a successful double-steal, Valdez later crossed home plate on a Ferguson wild pitch to hand Nevada a three-run advantage. Ferguson escaped the inning without any further damage after Pagano was caught stealing at third, followed by a Tanner Wetrich ground out. With two more earned runs charged to the beleaguered Lynch in 1/3 of an inning's work, his earned run averaged ballooned to 9.64 for the season.
With Molzahn doing his part on the mound, the Griffons struck again in the top of the ninth, tacking on a pair of runs en route to the five run triumph.
Molzahn's masterful performance lowered his ERA to a pristine 1.61, while improving his record to 2-0 on the season. For Nevada at the dish, Pagano was 4-for-4 with an RBI and run scored; and Peterson 2-for-3 with a run.
Generals-Griffons twinbill
Nevada was blanked 6-0 by the Ozark Generals in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday in Republic. The Griffons edged Ozark in the nightcap, 3-2. Both games were seven inning contests.
Ozark starting pitcher Zach Maskill was impressive in the opener, shutting down the Griffons potent lineup as he spun six scoreless frames while striking out four. Maskill was far from perfect, however, issuing five walks while allowing four hits. But the Griffons were unable to capitalize.
The Generals struck early, as a Brad Cuyos RBI single in the bottom of the first off Nevada starting pitcher Jack Burk put Ozark in front 1-0. In the fourth, Dylan Skinner doubled off Burk and later came in to score via a passed ball.
With two outs in the inning, a second passed ball, this time with the bases loaded, resulted in Garrett Schilling scoring from third to put Ozark up 3-0. Ozark added three runs in the bottom of the sixth off Griffins reliever Aaron Barteau. Only one of the runs was earned, coming on a Bryce Burdette RBI single.
For the Griffons, Burk (0-1) lasted just four innings, yielding three earned runs to go along with a walk and five hits. At the plate Pagano, Peterson, Pomering, Samuel Mitchell, and Justin Bennett collected a hit apiece.
In the nightcap, Nevada trailed early as Ozark scored a run in the first and second innings to go up 2-0. In the opening frame, a Cuyos single off Griffons starter Jarred Scott plated Nick Gotta. An error in the second inning on Griffons catcher McPhail allowed Joba Ferrell to touch home plate, as Ozark grabbed a two-run lead.
A Judah Zickafoose fielder's choice in the top of the fourth, scored Pitoy, cutting the Generals lead to 2-1. The biggest hit of night was a Pitoy double off Generals starter A.J. Brunner in the top of the fifth, scoring Wetrich and Johnson. Pitoy's base knock, which turned out to be the game-winner, gave the Griffons a 3-2 lead.
Nevada was able to hold on to the lead because of dominant relief pitching. Cole Butler replaced Scott on the mound in the bottom of the fourth and proceeded to fire three scoreless frames, allowing only one hit while striking out two and walking a batter.
After opening the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back strikeouts, Griffons closer Tyler Butcher encountered some turbulence as he issued free passes to Gotta and Schilling. Butcher escaped the jam when Skinner grounded out to Valdez at second base, locking up the victory for Nevada.
Although he only pitched three innings, Scott (2-1) was credited with the win. The save was Butcher's fourth of the season as he decreased his ERA to 1.76.
Griffons 6, Bombers 5
Monday night's contest in Sedalia pitted Bombers starting pitcher Brad Spinner against Nevada's Bryce Tassin.
The Griffons jumped out to the early advantage, as a double-steal fooled Bombers catcher Alex Bee into throwing to second base in an attempt to gun down Wetrich, giving Peterson the opportunity to take off and score safely from third.
Later in the inning, a Pomering sacrifice bunt scored Wetrich from third as the Griffons took a 2-0 lead. Nevada then touched up Spinner in the third. Pitoy led off the inning by belting a double down the left field line, followed by a Valdez single to left field.
With runners on the corners, Pagano singled to center field, picking up his 35th RBI of the season as Pitoy touched home plate to give the Griffons a 3-0 lead. After advancing to third, Valdez was then brought home on a Peterson sacrifice fly to right field putting Nevada on top 4-0.
Sedalia answered back in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs. During the inning, Robert Cummings and Justin Holt each notched RBI singles, with two of the runs being scored on Holt's base hit as the Bombers trailed 4-3.
Ben Whetstone led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to right field. Whetstone later scored from third on a Ryan Mantel double-play groundout, tying the contest 4-4.
Zickafoose, a left-handed hitter, came through with a 1-out triple in the top of the eighth, and was later plated by Peterson's second sacrifice fly of the contest as the Griffons recaptured the lead, 5-4.
Nevada added a critical insurance run in the ninth, when pinch-runner Mitchell scored on a passed ball with two outs, giving the Griffons a 6-4 cushion.
After eight innings of work, Tasisn was replaced on the hill by Butcher. It wasn't exactly smooth sailing for Butcher, as Bee launched a 1-out solo home run, cutting the Griffons lead to 6-5. Butcher was able to regroup and record the final two outs for his fifth save of the year.
Over eight innings, Tassin was charged with four earned runs on seven hits, while striking out seven and walking a batter. The victory improves Tassin to 4-0 on the season.
Up next
Today is the Griffons final remaining scheduled off day of the regular season. Nevada then continues its road trip Wednesday at Chillicothe, with the first pitch set for 7:05 p.m.