June 15, 2017 at 3:03 a.m.
Rockets come up short
Early deficit, late run too much to overcome
Rockets come up short
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
Before the Rockets came up to bat, they were in a five-run hole.
They were able to chip away, but an insurance run and an upset sky halted any attempt at a comeback.
The Portland Rockets had their four-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday with a 6-5 loss in six innings to the Summit City Sluggers at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
“It is unaccustomed to us to be a shell of a skeleton crew,” said Portland manager Randy Miller.
“But we had the right guys out there to get things done after the five-run burst on their part,” added Miller, who only had nine players in uniform. “It was a heck of a good ball game.”
Rain began to fall just before the start of the seventh inning forcing a delay three pitches into the top of the inning. Eleven minutes later, the game was called.
It was a nice change of pace for the Sluggers, who are managed by Jay County High School baseball coach Lea Selvey.
“Usually it’s been the other way around for us,” Selvey said. “We’ve not been getting good starts and had to battle back.”
Portland’s leadoff man, Dalton Tinsley, hit his second home run in as many games, rifling a solo shot off 2017 JCHS graduate Jake Myers to right field to make it 5-1. Two innings later, Tristen Becker followed suit with the first homer of his Rocket career.
Myers, making his Summit City debut, got the win, tossing three innings while giving up two earned runs on two hits. He struck out two and walked three.
The Rockets (6-4) got as close as one run in the bottom of the fifth inning as Mitch Waters, a 2002 JCHS graduate, bounced out to second to score Dustin Lewis, and Becker reached on an error that scored Bill Geeslin.
“That is what they need is to get their reps in,” Miller said. “These guys getting their legs underneath them and getting their hitting timing, getting their swag back and feeling good at the plate.”
In the top of the sixth inning, Grant Thompson lofted a 1-1 pitch from Portland starter Derek Thobe over the fence in left field for a 6-4 Summit City advantage that proved to be the difference.
After Thobe walked in the home half of the frame — he batted for the first time since his senior year at Coldwater in 2015 — to lead off, Tinsley reached on a fielder’s choice. Lewis capped his two-hit performance with a liner down the right field line and Tinsley slid into home ahead of the throw to once again make it a one-run game. But the Rockets couldn’t score again before the rain came.
“We battled,” said Miller, whose team fell short after sweeping the Sluggers in a doubleheader at home Saturday.
Kyle Selvey, a 2014 Jay County graduate, walked with one out in the top of the first inning before moving to third on a balk and a wild pitch. He scored on an RBI double from Tim Blankenburger, and Thompson followed with an RBI double of his own. Thobe walked Matt Meihls before Jake Hanson hit a three-run blast to left field.
“He had actually been struggling for us,” Lea Selvey said. Hanson whiffed at the Thobe’s first pitch before clearing the outfield fence on his next offering. “That was his second hit for us this summer. He has that kind of swing … I was happy for him because he was struggling.”
After that, Thobe settled down, allowing a hit but nothing more in each of the next four innings.
“They hit some balls hard,” Miller said. Thobe surrendered six runs on nine hits while striking out seven and walking four. “He showed his true character … He found a way to tough it out through six (innings).
“Good for him.”
All Rights Reserved
Before the Rockets came up to bat, they were in a five-run hole.
They were able to chip away, but an insurance run and an upset sky halted any attempt at a comeback.
The Portland Rockets had their four-game winning streak come to an end Wednesday with a 6-5 loss in six innings to the Summit City Sluggers at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
“It is unaccustomed to us to be a shell of a skeleton crew,” said Portland manager Randy Miller.
“But we had the right guys out there to get things done after the five-run burst on their part,” added Miller, who only had nine players in uniform. “It was a heck of a good ball game.”
Rain began to fall just before the start of the seventh inning forcing a delay three pitches into the top of the inning. Eleven minutes later, the game was called.
It was a nice change of pace for the Sluggers, who are managed by Jay County High School baseball coach Lea Selvey.
“Usually it’s been the other way around for us,” Selvey said. “We’ve not been getting good starts and had to battle back.”
Portland’s leadoff man, Dalton Tinsley, hit his second home run in as many games, rifling a solo shot off 2017 JCHS graduate Jake Myers to right field to make it 5-1. Two innings later, Tristen Becker followed suit with the first homer of his Rocket career.
Myers, making his Summit City debut, got the win, tossing three innings while giving up two earned runs on two hits. He struck out two and walked three.
The Rockets (6-4) got as close as one run in the bottom of the fifth inning as Mitch Waters, a 2002 JCHS graduate, bounced out to second to score Dustin Lewis, and Becker reached on an error that scored Bill Geeslin.
“That is what they need is to get their reps in,” Miller said. “These guys getting their legs underneath them and getting their hitting timing, getting their swag back and feeling good at the plate.”
In the top of the sixth inning, Grant Thompson lofted a 1-1 pitch from Portland starter Derek Thobe over the fence in left field for a 6-4 Summit City advantage that proved to be the difference.
After Thobe walked in the home half of the frame — he batted for the first time since his senior year at Coldwater in 2015 — to lead off, Tinsley reached on a fielder’s choice. Lewis capped his two-hit performance with a liner down the right field line and Tinsley slid into home ahead of the throw to once again make it a one-run game. But the Rockets couldn’t score again before the rain came.
“We battled,” said Miller, whose team fell short after sweeping the Sluggers in a doubleheader at home Saturday.
Kyle Selvey, a 2014 Jay County graduate, walked with one out in the top of the first inning before moving to third on a balk and a wild pitch. He scored on an RBI double from Tim Blankenburger, and Thompson followed with an RBI double of his own. Thobe walked Matt Meihls before Jake Hanson hit a three-run blast to left field.
“He had actually been struggling for us,” Lea Selvey said. Hanson whiffed at the Thobe’s first pitch before clearing the outfield fence on his next offering. “That was his second hit for us this summer. He has that kind of swing … I was happy for him because he was struggling.”
After that, Thobe settled down, allowing a hit but nothing more in each of the next four innings.
“They hit some balls hard,” Miller said. Thobe surrendered six runs on nine hits while striking out seven and walking four. “He showed his true character … He found a way to tough it out through six (innings).
“Good for him.”
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