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Griffons slug Liberal Beejays
The Nevada Griffons pummelled the Liberal Beejays with a 15-4 victory at Lyons Stadium last night.
Michael Ratigan started off the game for Nevada giving up base hits to the first two batters he faced, putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Ratigan was able to recover quickly and pitch his way out of the jam, striking out the next three hitters to come to the plate and get out of the inning with no damage.
The Griffons looked as though they may go down quietly in the home half of the frame until Korby Mintken came through for Nevada yet again, driving his second home run since joining the team over the fence in right. Dan Ward followed with a single, but Nevada was unable to score again, taking a 1-0 lead into the second.
Liberal got their lead-off man on for the ninth time in the past 11 innings played against Nevada, but were unable to put up any runs in the second thanks to a 6-4-3 double play that was followed by a lazy fly ball to right field to end the inning.
The Griffons started to make more noise in the home half of the second with a lead-off single by Trevor Geist followed by a double to right center by Tommy Fitzgerald and a single by Taylor House for his first RBI of the season. Nevada went on toscore a total of three runs on four hits in the inning, taking a 4-0 lead.
Ratigan failed to retire the Liberal lead-off man again in the third, giving up his first walk of the game. The Beejays were able to load the bases with just one out in the framebut were unable to score when Ratigan put down the next two batters he faced to end the inning.
Geist was able to work a two-out walk in the bottom half of the frame to keep the Griffons from going down in order, later stole second and came around to score on a single by Fitzgerald before Liberal starter Christian Kowalchuk was pulled from the game. Beejays reliever Jon Birds struggled a bit, missing the strike zone with his first seven pitches, but was able to get out of the inning with no further damage.
Bryce Baugh led off the fourth with a booming solo shot to left to get Liberal on the board. Ratigan once again recovered quickly, retiring the next three batters and getting out of the inning allowing just the one run that cut Nevada's lead to 5-1.
Nevada got the run back that they gave up in the top of the fourth with a double by Korby Mintken that scored Ryan Shay. Mintken advanced to third when the game's umpires called a balk on Birds after a lengthy conversation and a reversal of the original call that Mintken was caught stealing. Liberal pitching coach Galen McSpadden went out to argue the call and was ejected from the game after a long and very loud discussion with each umpire.
Nevada added two more runs on Fitzgerald's second double of the game, taking an 8-1 lead into the top of the fifth.
Mintken pulled off a leaping circus catch in left for the second out of the top of the fifth on the way to a 1-2-3 inning for the Beejays. The Griffons got their first to men on in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to score, stranding two more runners.
Ratigan gave up two hits while hitting another batter with a pitch in the sixth before Mike Ferraro launched a three run homer to right. He came back to strike out the next batter and get out of the inning, holding on to an 8-4 lead. "Mike threw very well. I don't think I've seen a bad outing from him all year," said head coach John Hill III of his starter's performance.
Mintken notched his third hit of the game to lead off the bottom of the frame, followed by hits from Ward and Daniel Dellasega, plating two more runs before the first out of the inning was recorded. The other run for Nevada came on Fitzgerald's third double of the game, giving the Griffons an 11-4 lead going into the top of the seventh.
Nevada reliever Brent Lamaster got his outing off to a solid start, retiring all three batters faced and holding the Beejays scoreless in the top of the seventh inning.
The home half of the frame started with a lead-off double by Shay -- the teams sixth of the game -- that would eventually result in a run after a two-out triple by Dellasega. Liberal was able to get out of the inning with no further damage, but the Griffons came out of the inning up 12-4.
The dominance that Lamaster showed in the seventh continued right through the eighth inning as he faced just one over the minimum and came out of the frame without allowing a run. The Griffons got yet another hit from Fitzgerald to lead off the home half and went on to score three more runs in the inning, taking a 15-4 lead into the ninth.
Nick Phillips came on to pitch the ninth for the Griffons and hit the first batter he faced, but was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run, giving Nevada a 15-4 win.
After the game, Hill gave a statement about the extra-curricular activities of both teams throughout the contest, saying, "There were a lot of extra-curriculars in the game. It just hurts the game of baseball."
The win moves Nevada's overall record to 21-13 and 15-12 in league play with the final game of the series coming tonight at Lyons Stadium, starting at 7 p.m.