July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Rockets win 20th (07/07/04)
Portland Rockets
PORTLAND — A young Decatur Dragons team put up a fight Tuesday night, but couldn’t keep up with the Portland Rockets.
Portland scored enough for the win in the second inning, then continued to tack on runs en route to a 9-3 final at Runkle-Miller Field. The victory pushed the Rockets to the 20-win mark.
Trailing 2-0, catcher Brandon Cooley led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. Then Kris Steffen snuffed out the Decatur lead.
Steffen crushed the ball, leaving left fielder Eric Hiser no option but to stand and watch it sail over the fence for a two-run home run. Adam Childs followed with a double, and Mitch Waters reached base on an error by shortstop Nick Houk.
Dragon starter Josh Foster finally retired a batter on an RBI ground-out by Phil Bruns. However, Foster’s success didn’t last long as Pete Milas and Matt Gard added back-to-back singles to cap the four-run inning.
Decatur (10-14) pulled to within one run in the third inning after a leadoff single by Nate Colclasure. Kyle Snyder brought him to the plate with a two-out double to left center.
But, Portland got rolling again with two outs in the bottom of the third. Steffen ripped another big hit as he cruised into third with a triple.
Childs repeated his second-inning effort with an RBI double, and the Rockets just kept scoring.
Phil Bruns and Matt Gard each walked in the fourth inning. Ryan Rammel then gave Portland two more two-out runs with a single to left field.
Childs tripled and scored on a Bruns single in the fifth inning, and Tommy Pearce doubled and scored on a Cooley single in the sixth.
Steffen led the offense with his pair of extra-base hits. He scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Childs went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, two runs and an RBI, and Milas, Pearce and Cooley added two hits apiece. Rammel and Bruns each drove in a pair of runs.
Kyle Heyne picked up the Rocket victory as he allowed three runs on six hits in four innings. He posted seven of the team’s nine strikeouts and walked one batter.
South Adams graduate Matt Ousley and Jay County graduates Mitch Waters and Pete Byrum each tossed one scoreless inning of relief.
Decatur managed 10 hits — four fewer than Portland — but looked at far too many called third strikes. It finished with five strikeouts looking, including two by Snyder, all of which came with runners on base.
The Dragons stranded 10 runners in the contest.
Nate Colclasure and Grant Klindist paced the team as they posted matching statistics. They each went 3-for-4 with a run.
Alex Childers, Nick Houk and Snyder added one hit and one run apiece.
Josh Foster suffered the loss, allowing five runs — four earned — on eight hits in three innings. Brian Reed tossed the final three innings and gave up four runs on six hits.[[In-content Ad]]
Portland scored enough for the win in the second inning, then continued to tack on runs en route to a 9-3 final at Runkle-Miller Field. The victory pushed the Rockets to the 20-win mark.
Trailing 2-0, catcher Brandon Cooley led off the bottom of the second inning with a single. Then Kris Steffen snuffed out the Decatur lead.
Steffen crushed the ball, leaving left fielder Eric Hiser no option but to stand and watch it sail over the fence for a two-run home run. Adam Childs followed with a double, and Mitch Waters reached base on an error by shortstop Nick Houk.
Dragon starter Josh Foster finally retired a batter on an RBI ground-out by Phil Bruns. However, Foster’s success didn’t last long as Pete Milas and Matt Gard added back-to-back singles to cap the four-run inning.
Decatur (10-14) pulled to within one run in the third inning after a leadoff single by Nate Colclasure. Kyle Snyder brought him to the plate with a two-out double to left center.
But, Portland got rolling again with two outs in the bottom of the third. Steffen ripped another big hit as he cruised into third with a triple.
Childs repeated his second-inning effort with an RBI double, and the Rockets just kept scoring.
Phil Bruns and Matt Gard each walked in the fourth inning. Ryan Rammel then gave Portland two more two-out runs with a single to left field.
Childs tripled and scored on a Bruns single in the fifth inning, and Tommy Pearce doubled and scored on a Cooley single in the sixth.
Steffen led the offense with his pair of extra-base hits. He scored twice and drove in a pair of runs.
Childs went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, two runs and an RBI, and Milas, Pearce and Cooley added two hits apiece. Rammel and Bruns each drove in a pair of runs.
Kyle Heyne picked up the Rocket victory as he allowed three runs on six hits in four innings. He posted seven of the team’s nine strikeouts and walked one batter.
South Adams graduate Matt Ousley and Jay County graduates Mitch Waters and Pete Byrum each tossed one scoreless inning of relief.
Decatur managed 10 hits — four fewer than Portland — but looked at far too many called third strikes. It finished with five strikeouts looking, including two by Snyder, all of which came with runners on base.
The Dragons stranded 10 runners in the contest.
Nate Colclasure and Grant Klindist paced the team as they posted matching statistics. They each went 3-for-4 with a run.
Alex Childers, Nick Houk and Snyder added one hit and one run apiece.
Josh Foster suffered the loss, allowing five runs — four earned — on eight hits in three innings. Brian Reed tossed the final three innings and gave up four runs on six hits.[[In-content Ad]]
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