Fuel shortage

Runkle-Miller Field experienced a shortage of Rocket fuel.
With three key players unavailable, the Portland Rockets struggled offensively Saturday and errors cost them a chance to salvage a split as they dropped a doubleheader 8-0 and 4-2 to the Michigan City Lakers.
“We were getting high on the hog on a five-game winning, streak and it came to a slam shut,” said Portland manager Randy Miller, whose team was without starters Billy Wellman, Justin Marrero and Zach Tanner. “We just never found our niche today. We didn’t look like we were quite in it.
“You can’t keep asking … any pitcher, to go four- and five-out innings. And that’s what we had.”
Even with the offense sputtering, the Rockets (11-6) had a chance at the split after scoring in the bottom of the sixth inning to tie the second game at 2-2. But their defense fell apart in the final frame.
A pair of errors by second baseman Billy Geeslin and another from pitcher Dan Bolllenbacher handed the lead back to the Lakers as they scored a pair of unearned runs. One of their two sixth-inning runs was unearned as well.
“Their mistakes kind of ate them up,” said Michigan City manager T.J. Jahnz. “They kind of beat themselves in that one.”
Portland put two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh inning, bringing Mitch Waters to the plate with two outs. The Jay County High School graduate nearly tied the game as he ripped a ball down the third base line, but it was just foul and he went on to ground out to end the game.
While defense killed the Rockets late, it was a lack of offense that plagued them most of the day.
They managed just four hits against Casey Young in the opener, and didn’t get a runner past first base until the seventh inning. Young struck out four batters in the shutout and has given up just two runs in his last 10 games for the Lakers.
“That guy was good,” said Miller. “He just spotted up his curveball. And when we seemed to hit it hard ... it was right at them.”
Portland, which had been undefeated at home, fared better against Tony Houlihan as it totaled nine hits in the second game.
The Rockets got on the board in the first inning without the benefit of a hit, as Dalton Tinsley walked, took second and third bases on wild pitches and scored on a Bryan Brudi sacrifice fly. They had hits in each of the next four innings, but failed to score in any of them and Michigan City (14-3) grabbed the lead with two runs in the top of the sixth.
Waters, who played for Michigan City earlier in his career, smacked a leadoff double and came around to score in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game. But he couldn’t come up with another big hit after the Portland defense struggled in the top of the seventh.
“We just had really good pitching and the guys battled,” said Jahnz, whose team got five hits, two runs, an RBI and a stolen base from No. 2 hitter Anthony Olund. “(Bollenbacher) kind of got us after we were all fired up to come and beat Mitch Waters ... For a few innings there we kind of had a little bit of a letdown there in game two and just kept digging and the ball bounced away from them and for us.”
Bollenbacher, a South Adams graduate, took the loss in game two despite giving up just one earned run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings. Waters breezed through the Lakers’ lineup in the first three innings of the opener, but allowed seven runs — five earned — in the fourth and fifth to suffer the defeat.
Brudi and Brice Davis each finished with three hits and an RBI on the day to pace the Portland offense. Waters added two hits and a run.[[In-content Ad]]