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Griffons open season on five-game losing streak
The Nevada Griffons rugged start to the season continued, as the team’s losing skid hit five games with a trio of MINK League losses over the weekend.
The Griffons welcomed the Ozark Generals into town for a Saturday evening twinbill, dropping the first game 11-4, before falling in the nightcap 6-0. Nevada (0-5 overall, 0-4 MINK League) returned to Lyons Stadium Sunday evening, as they were downed 13-5 by the visiting Sedalia Bombers.
Generals 11, Griffons 4
In the first of two seven inning contests Saturday –– Ozark went on top 3-0 in the top of the first, as a Jacob Lewis wild pitch plated the first run, followed by a two-out, two-RBI double off the bat of Robert Berning.
Ozark tacked on another three-spot in the third. Lewis opened the frame by loading the bases. A Nic Mertes run-scoring single put the Generals up 4-0, while also knocking Lewis out of the game. Lewis, who allowed six earned runs over two innings of work, was replaced on the hill by Alabama-native Bailey Smith.
Smith inherited a bases loaded situation, as he allowed a pair of runs to score off a fielders choice and sacrifice fly, both of which were charged to Lewis. An unearned run allowed by Smith in the fourth handed the Generals a 7-0 advantage. Nevada finally broke through in the bottom half of the frame, as Noah Menchaca’s two-out single plated Ben Sneider, cutting Ozark’s lead to 7-1.
Smith, however, was only able to record one out in the fifth, allowing four runs, as a wild pitch and a pair of errors led to the Ozarks increasing its lead to 10 runs. The Griffons responded in the bottom of the fifth with three runs, courtesy of a Sneider two-RBI double, followed by the Iowa Western product scoring on a wild pitch, as Nevada trailed (by what turned out to be the final margin) 11-4.
For the Griffons, Sneider finished 1-for-2 with two runs, an RBI, and a pair of walks. Three-hole hitter Nick Kreutzer also recorded a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 with a run. On the mound, Ozark starting pitcher Braden Scott (1-0) was credited with the victory, allowing one earned, three hits and three walks over four innings. Lewis (0-1) took the loss.
Generals 6, Griffons 0
In the nightcap, Griffons’ starter Gabe Benavides emerged from the first inning unscathed, but wasn’t so lucky in the second, allowing three runs. Two of the runs were unearned, as Benavides was charged with a fielding error.
Nate Dechaine’s two-RBI single in the third handed Ozark a 5-0 advantage. The game’s final run came in the top of the fifth as Jordan Martin scored on a Solomon Kilmeck wild pitch.
Generals’ starting pitcher Steven Kemp picked up the victory, allowing just three hits, while fanning four over five innings of work. Benavides (0-1) was the losing pitcher, surrendering five runs (three earned) while yielding seven hits to go along with four strikeouts. In relief, Kilmeck allowed an unearned run, three hits and a walk, while striking out three in three innings of work.
Meanwhile, Griffons’ relief pitcher David Rout, out of Abilene Christian University, looked sharp in the seventh, striking out a pair in a clean inning of work.
Bombers 13, Griffons 5
Nevada was able to get to Bombers’ starter Evan Dodd early, as a Kreutzer two-out RBI single plated Kainalu Pitoy, handing the Griffons a 1-0 first inning lead. It was short-lived, however, as Griffons’ starter Jake Fraze –– making his third appearance of the season, allowed a pair of second inning runs.
Trailing 2-1, Fraze was replaced in the third by Jonah Smith. Consecutive singles by Andrew Warner and Kenny Piper put Sedalia on top 4-1. The Bombers then blew the game open with a seven-run fifth, highlighted by Matthew Jones’ towering three-run homer, increasing their lead to 11-1.
Nevada struck back in the sixth via Menchaca’s RBI-double. Menchaca then crossed home plate on a wild pitch, as Nevada trailed 11-3. An Ethan Owens two-RBI single in the eighth stretched Sedalia’s lead back to 10 runs.
The Griffons didn’t go quietly, as Oscar Larranaga’s double in the bottom of the ninth plated Menchaca and Darren Willis. Nevada was unable to get any closer, as the game concluded on a Sneider ground out to the shortstop.
Fraze (0-1) was one of five pitchers called upon by Griffons’ manager Ryan Mansfield. Fraze, who was saddled with the loss, allowed three runs in 2.1 innings of work –– followed by Smith, who was tagged for seven runs in 2.1 innings of work.
UP NEXT
In search of their first victory of the season, the Griffons return to the diamond today, as they host the Cassville Arrows for a non-conference contest –– with the first pitch slated for 7 p.m.
According to a Dec. 14 article from the Cassville Democrat, written by Jared Lankford, “The Arrows, formerly known as the Springfield Arrows, played last season at Dodson Field on the campus of Southwest Baptist University and will play 10 games (this season) at the high school facility.”
The article continued: “The hope of the group is to join the Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas Collegiate Baseball League (MINK) in the 2018 season, according to (President and CEO of the Arrows, Aaron) Massey.
“In order to be eligible to join the MINK League, teams must follow a few rules. All athletes are unpaid in order to maintain their NCAA eligibility. Each team is operated in a similar manner to a professional minor league team, providing players an opportunity to play under the same conditions, using wooden bats, minor league specification baseballs, experiencing overnight road trips and playing nightly before fans in a stadium.”
In addition, Lankford’s article stated, “After the annual MINK league meetings back in October, in which Massey attended, a league press release stated that the Branson Nationals would not return in 2017 as the organization sought new ownership. Massey believes he has positioned himself to be that new ownership.
“‘Right now, we are on probation with the MINK League,”’ Massey said. “‘We are playing every team in the league but one. A normal season is around 40-45 games. We hope to play a full slate next year.’”