Menu
Griffons rally for first home victory
The Nevada Griffons got back into action in the hope of extending their winning streak to two games as they hosted the St. Joseph Mustangs.
The Mustangs are yet another newcomer to the MINK League, playing in their inaugural season. The Mustangs came into the game with a perfect 3-0 record, but were seeing their first league action of the year.
The Griffons came into the night riding a strong performance against the Ozark Generals that was played at Clever High School in Clever, Mo. The Griffons earned their first victory of the year in that contest, taking the win by a final score of 10-5 in a rain-shortened game.
Both pitchers got off to a very strong start in Wednesday's contest as both the Griffons and the Mustangs were able to get a base running in the first inning, but neither team was able to take advantage, each stranding a runner in the opening frame.
Nevada starter Cletus Jessup struggled with his control in the second inning as he gave up two hits and a walk, resulting in the games first run. Jessup had to work around two wild pitches in the inning as well, but was able to make a quick recovery and got out of the inning down just 1-0.
That was the end of the offense for either team until the third inning, when Troy Landi led off with a double to the wall in left center field.
Jessup was forced to attempt to pitch his way out of another jam, but was unable to prevent the Mustangs from getting on the board again as he allowed five runs -- four of which came on back-to-back home runs -- before head coach Ryan Mansfield was forced to make a pitching change with one out in the third.
Kyle Oestereicher came on in relief and was able to shut the Mustangs down with no further damage, but not before St. Joseph was able to build their lead to 6-0.
The Griffons were finally able to find the scoreboard in the bottom of the third on a two-out solo home run over the left field fence by Jason Houston. Mustangs starter Blake Thomas was able to recover quickly and avoided further damage, taking a 6-1 lead into the fourth inning.
The Griffons improved upon the little bit of offensive spark they found in the third inning as they headed into the fourth, mounting a very aggressive rally to cut into the Mustangs lead even more. By the time the inning came to a close, the Griffons had touched Thomas for four runs on five hits in the frame to cut the lead to 6-5.
"It's good to see our bats have opened up," Mansfield said of the rally. "Hopefully we can get some things going."
Oestereicher was able to take control of the game in the middle innings, shutting down the St. Joseph offense completely and facing the minimum through the fourth and fifth innings. Taylor House helped out the bullpen effort with some very strong defense, including an outstanding diving grab to start the sixth inning.
The Griffons took full advantage of the dominance their bullpen was showing on the mound and eventually completed the comeback and took a 7-6 lead after touching the Mustangs for two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After the Griffons added another insurance run to their lead in the bottom of the sixth, the Mustangs attempted to mount a comeback of their own, but Nevada reliever Brock Shamel was able to maintain his composure and got out of the seventh inning allowing just one run to send the game into the bottom of the seventh with the Griffons up by a score of 8-7.
By the time all was said and done, the Griffons were able to get on the scoreboard five more times on the night, taking the victory by a final score of 13-7.
After the game, Mansfield spoke very highly of his players and the effort they have made thus far this season. "This is quite a unique group of individuals," he said. "Hopefully we can keep it rolling."
With that victory, the Griffons improve their record to 2-2 on the year and will enjoy a much-needed day off today before hosting the Mac-N-Seitz A's tomorrow night at Lyons Stadium.