Rockets dominate

Coming off of a weekend during which their bats were silent, the Rockets gave their fans plenty to cheer about in their home opener.
Portland, which suffered back-to-back 1-0 lossses Saturday and Sunday to the Grand Lake Mariners, tallied two runs in the first inning Tuesday and kept on rolling to a 12-1 victory over the Van Wert Twisters.
The Rockets (2-3) picked up multiple runs in five of six innings, scoring more against Van Wert than they had in their first four games combined. First baseman Nate Clem (Anderson University) highlighted the night with his line-drive homer to left field to lead off a three-run third inning.
“As our weekend turned, he was starting to get a little bit stronger and starting to center it up a little bit,” said Portland manager Randy Miller. “His timing, the reps against that type of pitching, made him feast today. He has that kind of lethal bat.”
While the offense was racking up runs, the Rockets’ pitching staff did its job in shutting down Van Wert.
Starter Devin Wilburn (Ball State) struck out six batters in the first two innings as he shut out the Twisters through four. Tyler Holloway (Anderson) followed with two perfect innings before Van Wert got its lone run thanks to a walk, a sacrifice, a ground out and a steal of home against Brad Benbow (Warner) in the final frame.
“Wilburn kind of struggled with his command early, but he finished strong with knee cutters,” said Miller. “He was cracking the leather, explosive, late life on his fastball. … He’s pretty competitive. … I think he’s a guy every time out we’re going to be in the ball game.”
Seven-year veteran Heath Williams, a Jay County High School graduate, got the Rockets going when he drew a walk to leadoff the game. He stole second base and scored two batters later on a double to right field from Brady Roundtree (Anderson).
Clem drove in Roundtree with a single to right field.
“He’s a great leadoff hitter,” said Miller of Williams. “He knows the game. … He creates havoc.”
Center fielder Brad Kindred (Concordia) led the Rockets with three hits, a run and an RBI. Clem added two hits, two RBIs and a run, and catcher Geoff Bowers (Rio Grande) also had a pair of hits.
Chris Miller (Earlham) and JCHS graduate Thomas McCowan each scored a pair of runs, and Cody Johnson (Rochester) drove in three runs with a double to right-center field to cap Portland’s scoring in the sixth inning.
Beau Kobee suffered the loss for Van Wert, giving up seven runs on nine hits and a pair of walks in three innings.[[In-content Ad]]