Nevada Griffons defeat Branson at home

Friday, June 27, 2014
Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail Nevada's Kurt Becker connects for a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of Wednesday's game against the Branson Nationals.

By Eric Wade

Daily Mail Sports Editor

The Nevada Griffons baseball team made its return to Lyons Stadium Wednesday, with a multifaceted goal in mind, as it hoped to rebound from Tuesday's loss to win a three-game series against the Branson Nationals and keep pace with the frontrunners in the MINK League South Division.

Branson, on the other hand, had similar goals in mind, as the Nationals entered the night hoping to continue the momentum they gained from Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Griffons at Fred Handler Park. Those plans didn't work out, however, as the Griffons plated three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to turn a one-run deficit into a 4-2 victory.

Branson drew first blood Wednesday, as Kolby Follis and Josh Bunselmeyer opened the contest with consecutive hits against Griffons starter Marcus Ethan. Ryan Rippee knocked in the first run later in the first inning, when he grounded into a double play that brought Follis home.

That was the only earned run Ethan allowed during his outing, as the two squads found themselves in another tight pitchers' duel for the majority of the remainder of the contest. Nationals starter Conner Matson was dominant through the early portions of the duel, retiring 12 of the first 13 Griffons he faced.

The Nationals took advantage of the fact that through his first five innings of work, Matson allowed just two baserunners with a hit batter in the second inning and an error by Bunselmeyer in the fifth, as they extended their slim lead in the third.

The second run of the night came when Follis reached on Taylor Love's 15th error of the season and later came around to score. That run crossed the plate when Bunselmeyer connected for his second hit in as many at-bats in the contest to give the Nationals a 2-0 lead.

It looked as though the wind had been taken from the Griffons' sails from that point through the majority of the game, a condition that was even further exacerbated when head coach Ryan Mansfield's squad was forced to make an unanticipated substitution after catcher Brandon Downs was hit by a wild pitch and forced to leave the game. The Nationals were unable to take advantage of that potential momentum booster, however, as Ethan and replacement catcher Collin Leif continued to shut the Branson offense down.

The Griffons, on the other hand, found some life in the second half of the contest, as Matson's night neared its end. In the sixth inning, Cooper Burton recorded the Griffons' first hit, as he reached on an infield single that was followed by Cody Farrell's double that gave the Griffons runners on second and third with two out.

Matson ultimately got out of the jam with no damage, however, as he got Leif to pop out to first base to end the inning.

The following inning, however, Matson was unable to come out unscathed, as Jake Alexander and Daniel Midyett opened the seventh with consecutive singles to give the Griffons runners on first and third with no outs. Kurt Becker brought Alexander home with a sacrifice fly to left before Matson was able to record two consecutive outs and end the inning, pulling the Griffons within just one run, at 2-1.

Controversy ensued in the top of the eighth, after Follis was caught in rundown and ruled safe at home by base umpire Woody Haywood. After a lengthy argument from Mansfield that resulted in a conference between Haywood and home plate umpire Mike Glassnap, the call was changed, bringing Nationals manager and former Griffon Matt Lawson out to voice his own argument.

By the time all was said and done, the call was upheld, ending the last scoring opportunity the Nationals got on the night.

"I'm just glad they actually got together and made the right call," Mansfield said. "I mean, it was a no-brainer tag, it's right in front of the umpire."

During the eighth inning, Ethan's night came to an end. By the time he was removed from the contest, Ethan allowed two runs -- one earned -- on eight hits with six strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings.

"He kind of struggled the first one or two innings there, but he stuck with it," Mansfield said of his starting pitcher. "I'll give the guy credit, I mean, to give up two runs in eight innings, you know, that was a hell of a job."

It looked as though Matson would be removed from the contest in the similar position in the home half of the frame, as he allowed a single to Brooks Morse before recording the inning's first out when Burton sacrificed him into scoring position. After the first out was recorded, Lawson went to the mound for a conference with Matson and looked as though he was ready to make a pitching change, but elected to leave his starter in the contest.

That proved to be the biggest mistake Lawson made all night, as Farrell blasted his league-leading sixth home run to left field, to give the Griffons their first lead in the contest.

"He's, you know, overall, as a whole, he's probably one of the best players we've got," Mansfield said of Farrell. "All you've got to do is look at the stats."

"Why they chose to pitch to him right there, in that particular spot, I don't know. But hey, we thank them."

Midyett drove in Leif later in the frame with a triple to put the Griffons in a comfortable position, up 4-2, with just one inning left in the contest.

That final run came off of Nationals reliever Evan Payne, as Matson's day came to an end after Farrell's homer. By the time all was said and done, Matson finished the contest allowing three earned runs on six hits with five strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings of work in the losing effort.

With the win, the Griffons improved to 11-11 on the year, 8-11 in MINK League play, and are scheduled to host four tough contests in the coming days, against the Clarinda (Iowa) A's on Thursday, Chillicothe Mudcats Friday and Saturday, and the St. Joseph Mustangs Sunday.

"They're all winnable if we can keep our heads on straight and not think about anything else," Mansfield said of those four potentially tough games.

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