Rockets top Ohio

The biggest hit of the night barely dribbled past the pitcher’s mound.
But playing small-ball worked for the Portland Rockets as they blanked the one-loss Ohio Warhawks 2-0 in seven innings Wednesday night at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
With a 1-0 lead in the third inning, shortstop Thomas McCowan barely clipped a pitch, sending a slow roller between the mound and third base line. But he was able to reach first base safely, allowing Dalton Tinsely to score from third on the two-out hit to give the Rockets (16-7) their second run of the night.
“The biggest bat of the day was Thomas McCowan just getting a piece, dribbling the ball and beating it out to drive in that second run,” said Rockets manager Randy Miller. “Having an extra insurance run is huge in a game like that.”
The insurance was a bonus, but not necessary, as the Rocket’s pitching staff shone again at home, keeping the Warhawks (16-2) off the scoreboard.
South Adams High School graduate Dan Bollenbacher got the start and the win, hurling four innings and fanning four batters while working his way around five hits and four walks. Relievers Tyler Holloway and Tyler Reynolds each threw a scoreless inning, and Trevor Kill closed out the game by striking out the side in the seventh.
“Our pitching is coming in real big this year. The wood bat is just a good thing for the pitchers,” Bollenbacher said. “You don’t get as many runs as with a metal bat in college which a lot of these guys have been seeing. So pitching, mixing up the speeds, getting a lot of ground ball outs is key.”
“The wood bat was equalizer,” agreed Miller.
Offensively, the Rockets put up five hits led by Tinsely, who reached base in all three of his at bats with two singles and a double.
Portland scored its first run on a bases-loaded walk drawn by Brad Benbow, which brought Nate Clem across to put the Rockets on the board first in the second.
Although only putting up a smattering of hits, Portland consistently reached base by drawing seven walks on the evening, but they also stranded eight base runners.
“We like to think we’re a better hitting team than that, but it’s still a work in progress,” Miller said. “There wasn’t much of an offensive thrust tonight, but shutout baseball will win you a lot of games.”[[In-content Ad]]