|
|
|
One out. Bottom of the 10th. Jake Mangler leads off second base after smashing a double and Nick Rountree steps into the batter’s box.
A fast ball and a curve ball and it’s quickly an 0-and-2 count.
“The only thing that was going through my mind is that you can’t strikeout,” Rountree said. “You just can’t strikeout in that situation, you got to put the ball in play and make something happen.”
Here’s the pitch. Fastball hit to the right side. It gets through. Mangler comes around third. The throw to the plate is not in time as Mangler slides head first. Cavemen win by the dramatic, extra-inning score of 4-3 in walk-off fashion.
“When you’re on base in a tied game, you’re looking for little things you can do to get yourself to the next base and stuff like that,” Mangler said. “In a blowout game, you don’t really think about it as much. It is different in a close game.”
As close as the seventh matchup of the season was for the Hannibal Cavemen and Quincy Gems, the game had a strong start that leaned in Quincy’s favor.
Gems starting pitcher T.J. Kendzora, a freshman from San Diego State University, kept Hannibal hitless through three innings.
“They’ve got good pitching on that side,” Cavemen Manager Jay Hemond said. “They’ve got eight all-stars.”
For the Cavemen, starting pitcher Ethan Schlechte struggled on the mound.
In the first inning alone, the hurler from Maplewoods Community College faced eight batters and gave up two hits — including a double — and two runs. Despite two solid innings of work in the second and third, Schlechte gave up another run in the fourth which put Quincy up 3-0.
“If you take away the walks, he actually had a pretty good outing. It might just be something, simple adjustment, get him back in the strike zone on a more consistent basis where he can command all of his pitches as well,” Hemond said. “I don’t see that as a huge problem on his end, we’ll get that straightened around by the next start, we’ve got plenty of time before he starts again.”
Schlechte finished the day pitching four innings. He gave up seven hits, gave up three runs, walked five and struckout four.
Now he just wants to discover what made his performance skew into a struggle.
“I didn’t have my stuff and I think mechanically I’m really messed up right now. Over the next couple days really got to figure out what I’m doing wrong,” Schlechte said. “I think it’s my stride a little bit. I’m flying open on my glove side and that’s why I think I’m leaving everything up a little bit and I really got to find out over the next couple of days what’s going on.”
Mangler broke Kendzora’s no-hitter in the top of the fourth with a lead-off base hit. Kyle Haen followed and sacrificed Mangler to second with a bunt, but Matt Burton and Michael Tucker were unable to reach base and advance Mangler further.
After a scoreless fifth that only produced one Hannibal hit from designated hitter Alan Cheatham, the Cavemen bats came alive in the top of the sixth.
Shortstop Ray Fuentes lead off with a single and then advanced to second when Mangler collected his second hit of the game. Hannibal loaded the bases after Haen flew out to right field and Burton followed with a base hit. Tucker followed with a chance to give Hannibal the lead with a grand slam, but instead gained one RBI when he was hit by the pitch allowing Fuentes to cross the plate and make the score 3-1 Quincy.
Cavemen first baseman Jeff Zimmerman decided to change his walk-up song to the plate before the game to Hulk Hogan’s former intro during his days as a professional wrestler. And it worked.
Zimmerman belted a two-run base hit that scored Mangler and Burton and tied the game at three.
“I definitely needed to change the song, so I think that was a good change for me and everybody else,” Zimmerman said after the game. “I was just behind in the count and I always thought with two strikes you put it in play and good things will happen, and it showed right there.”
Neither team collected a hit in the next two innings until Cheatham and Hannibal third baseman C.K. Irby both got on base with singles.
The Cavemen shut down the Gems in order in the top of the 10th which paved away for their walk-off victory.
Hannibal is now a half game out of first place with their win. With team records reset to zero for the second half of the season, the Cavemen are now battling the Nashville Outlaws for soul possession of first place in the Prospect League’s West Division. Quincy, who won the first half, has a 1-3 record thus far in the second half of the season while Hannibal boasts a 3-1 record.
The Cavemen travel to Chilicothe, Ohio to play the Paints for Saturday and Sunday matchups before playing in Richmond Monday before the three-day all-star break.
Hannibal returns home July 16 for a matchup against the Gems.
One out. Bottom of the 10th. Jake Mangler leads off second base after smashing a double and Nick Rountree steps into the batter’s box.
A fast ball and a curve ball and it’s quickly an 0-and-2 count.
“The only thing that was going through my mind is that you can’t strikeout,” Rountree said. “You just can’t strikeout in that situation, you got to put the ball in play and make something happen.”
Here’s the pitch. Fastball hit to the right side. It gets through. Mangler comes around third. The throw to the plate is not in time as Mangler slides head first. Cavemen win by the dramatic, extra-inning score of 4-3 in walk-off fashion.
“When you’re on base in a tied game, you’re looking for little things you can do to get yourself to the next base and stuff like that,” Mangler said. “In a blowout game, you don’t really think about it as much. It is different in a close game.”
As close as the seventh matchup of the season was for the Hannibal Cavemen and Quincy Gems, the game had a strong start that leaned in Quincy’s favor.
Gems starting pitcher T.J. Kendzora, a freshman from San Diego State University, kept Hannibal hitless through three innings.
“They’ve got good pitching on that side,” Cavemen Manager Jay Hemond said. “They’ve got eight all-stars.”
For the Cavemen, starting pitcher Ethan Schlechte struggled on the mound.
In the first inning alone, the hurler from Maplewoods Community College faced eight batters and gave up two hits — including a double — and two runs. Despite two solid innings of work in the second and third, Schlechte gave up another run in the fourth which put Quincy up 3-0.
“If you take away the walks, he actually had a pretty good outing. It might just be something, simple adjustment, get him back in the strike zone on a more consistent basis where he can command all of his pitches as well,” Hemond said. “I don’t see that as a huge problem on his end, we’ll get that straightened around by the next start, we’ve got plenty of time before he starts again.”
Schlechte finished the day pitching four innings. He gave up seven hits, gave up three runs, walked five and struckout four.
Now he just wants to discover what made his performance skew into a struggle.
“I didn’t have my stuff and I think mechanically I’m really messed up right now. Over the next couple days really got to figure out what I’m doing wrong,” Schlechte said. “I think it’s my stride a little bit. I’m flying open on my glove side and that’s why I think I’m leaving everything up a little bit and I really got to find out over the next couple of days what’s going on.”
Mangler broke Kendzora’s no-hitter in the top of the fourth with a lead-off base hit. Kyle Haen followed and sacrificed Mangler to second with a bunt, but Matt Burton and Michael Tucker were unable to reach base and advance Mangler further.
After a scoreless fifth that only produced one Hannibal hit from designated hitter Alan Cheatham, the Cavemen bats came alive in the top of the sixth.
Shortstop Ray Fuentes lead off with a single and then advanced to second when Mangler collected his second hit of the game. Hannibal loaded the bases after Haen flew out to right field and Burton followed with a base hit. Tucker followed with a chance to give Hannibal the lead with a grand slam, but instead gained one RBI when he was hit by the pitch allowing Fuentes to cross the plate and make the score 3-1 Quincy.
Cavemen first baseman Jeff Zimmerman decided to change his walk-up song to the plate before the game to Hulk Hogan’s former intro during his days as a professional wrestler. And it worked.
Zimmerman belted a two-run base hit that scored Mangler and Burton and tied the game at three.
“I definitely needed to change the song, so I think that was a good change for me and everybody else,” Zimmerman said after the game. “I was just behind in the count and I always thought with two strikes you put it in play and good things will happen, and it showed right there.”
Neither team collected a hit in the next two innings until Cheatham and Hannibal third baseman C.K. Irby both got on base with singles.
The Cavemen shut down the Gems in order in the top of the 10th which paved away for their walk-off victory.
Hannibal is now a half game out of first place with their win. With team records reset to zero for the second half of the season, the Cavemen are now battling the Nashville Outlaws for soul possession of first place in the Prospect League’s West Division. Quincy, who won the first half, has a 1-3 record thus far in the second half of the season while Hannibal boasts a 3-1 record.
The Cavemen travel to Chilicothe, Ohio to play the Paints for Saturday and Sunday matchups before playing in Richmond Monday before the three-day all-star break.
Hannibal returns home July 16 for a matchup against the Gems.
