June 30, 2020 at 3:33 p.m.
Summit City swept
Game-one rally lifts Portland over Sluggers
Summit City swept
Corbin Maddox stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday afternoon.
The potential game-winning run was standing less than 90 feet away off third base.
Will Wentz’s first pitch went for a ball. Maddox missed the second offering.
His third ended the game.
Maddox drove in the game-winning run with a single in game one and the momentum carried into the second as the Portland Rockets swept a doubleheader against the Summit City Sluggers on Sunday at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
Portland, which has now won four straight games after losing a doubleheader to the Mishawaka Brewers on June 20, took game one 2-1 in nine innings and held on for an 11-7 victory in the second game.
Chase Ruiz began the top of the ninth inning with a single to left field, and Ethan Pittsford replaced him as a pinch runner. Geoff Bowers, who was hitless in three previous trips to the plate, ripped an opposite-field single to right and Pittsford went first-to-third to put runners on the corners.
Justin Greene struck out on three straight pitches, bringing Maddox to the dish.
Maddox, who also had a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Fort Wayne Panthers a week earlier, was 0-for-2 with a walk to that point.
He wasn’t about to end the game without a hit, and with the Slugger’s infield playing in he put the 1-1 pitch over the third baseman and into the outfield to drive in Pittsford and end the game.
“Feels pretty good being able to contribute to this team that’s been around forever,” said Maddox, 21, a 2017 Daleville graduate. “Being the new guy and the young guy on the team, it does feel pretty good to come through for them.”
Maddox, who also had an RBI in game two, said he was just trying to put the ball in play.
“If I get something through the infield pretty hard I’ll drive that run in,” he said.
Portland (5-2) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Caleb Mealy hit an infield single off 2020 Jay County High School graduate Noah Arbuckle. Mealy reached second on a fielder’s choice with one out and scored on a Summit City throwing error.
Arbuckle settled down after that point, not allowing a hit in the final three innings he pitched. The future Huntington Forester finished with one walk and two strikeouts in four innings.
Summit City (5-6-1) tied the game in the fifth inning when Eli MacDonald hit a solo home run off Portland starter Pavel Strain.
The Sluggers had other chances to take the lead off Rocket reliever Chandler Jacks, none better than when they had bases loaded in the eighth inning. But Jacks, who picked up the win in relief, struck out former Patriot teammate Max Moser on three consecutive pitches to end the threat.
Portland’s offense rolled in game two as it scored 10 consecutive runs to begin the game. Patrick Mills blasted his third home run of the season — no other Rocket has hit one over the fence — with one on in the first inning.
The 20-year-old from Kokomo continued his offensive tear, racking up three more hits on the day, including a two-run single in the third inning and an RBI double in the fifth. The Western graduate finished 4-for-4 with six RBIs, pushing his total to 16 RBIs in just seven games.
Ruiz and Greene hit back-to-back RBI doubles as part of Portland’s five-run third inning, while Mills and Ruiz had consecutive RBI singles in the Rockets’ three-run fourth.
Summit City broke the shutout with two runs in the fifth inning, and Portland made it 11-2 in the home half of the frame. The Sluggers roared back by scoring five runs in the sixth inning but were unable to get any closer.
Kasey Henderson got the win in game two. The lefty gave up just two hits, didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven in four innings.
Schedule changes
The Rockets have added a game this week and gotten the schedule for the Firecracker Tournament that will be played Saturday at Highland Park in Kokomo.
Portland will play the Fort Wayne Panthers as scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home and has added a home contest at 7 p.m. Thursday against Fort Wayne Blues.
The Rockets were going to host the Firecracker Tournament this year, but it has been moved to Highland Park in Kokomo. The four-team tournament will be a one-day affair Saturday.
The Mishawaka Brewers and South Bend Royals play at noon, and the Rockets meet the Fort Wayne Jackers at 2 p.m. The losers of each contest will square off in the consolation game at 4 p.m. while the winners advance to the championship game at 7 p.m.
The potential game-winning run was standing less than 90 feet away off third base.
Will Wentz’s first pitch went for a ball. Maddox missed the second offering.
His third ended the game.
Maddox drove in the game-winning run with a single in game one and the momentum carried into the second as the Portland Rockets swept a doubleheader against the Summit City Sluggers on Sunday at Portland Memorial Park’s Runkle-Miller Field.
Portland, which has now won four straight games after losing a doubleheader to the Mishawaka Brewers on June 20, took game one 2-1 in nine innings and held on for an 11-7 victory in the second game.
Chase Ruiz began the top of the ninth inning with a single to left field, and Ethan Pittsford replaced him as a pinch runner. Geoff Bowers, who was hitless in three previous trips to the plate, ripped an opposite-field single to right and Pittsford went first-to-third to put runners on the corners.
Justin Greene struck out on three straight pitches, bringing Maddox to the dish.
Maddox, who also had a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Fort Wayne Panthers a week earlier, was 0-for-2 with a walk to that point.
He wasn’t about to end the game without a hit, and with the Slugger’s infield playing in he put the 1-1 pitch over the third baseman and into the outfield to drive in Pittsford and end the game.
“Feels pretty good being able to contribute to this team that’s been around forever,” said Maddox, 21, a 2017 Daleville graduate. “Being the new guy and the young guy on the team, it does feel pretty good to come through for them.”
Maddox, who also had an RBI in game two, said he was just trying to put the ball in play.
“If I get something through the infield pretty hard I’ll drive that run in,” he said.
Portland (5-2) got on the board in the bottom of the first inning when Caleb Mealy hit an infield single off 2020 Jay County High School graduate Noah Arbuckle. Mealy reached second on a fielder’s choice with one out and scored on a Summit City throwing error.
Arbuckle settled down after that point, not allowing a hit in the final three innings he pitched. The future Huntington Forester finished with one walk and two strikeouts in four innings.
Summit City (5-6-1) tied the game in the fifth inning when Eli MacDonald hit a solo home run off Portland starter Pavel Strain.
The Sluggers had other chances to take the lead off Rocket reliever Chandler Jacks, none better than when they had bases loaded in the eighth inning. But Jacks, who picked up the win in relief, struck out former Patriot teammate Max Moser on three consecutive pitches to end the threat.
Portland’s offense rolled in game two as it scored 10 consecutive runs to begin the game. Patrick Mills blasted his third home run of the season — no other Rocket has hit one over the fence — with one on in the first inning.
The 20-year-old from Kokomo continued his offensive tear, racking up three more hits on the day, including a two-run single in the third inning and an RBI double in the fifth. The Western graduate finished 4-for-4 with six RBIs, pushing his total to 16 RBIs in just seven games.
Ruiz and Greene hit back-to-back RBI doubles as part of Portland’s five-run third inning, while Mills and Ruiz had consecutive RBI singles in the Rockets’ three-run fourth.
Summit City broke the shutout with two runs in the fifth inning, and Portland made it 11-2 in the home half of the frame. The Sluggers roared back by scoring five runs in the sixth inning but were unable to get any closer.
Kasey Henderson got the win in game two. The lefty gave up just two hits, didn’t issue a walk and struck out seven in four innings.
Schedule changes
The Rockets have added a game this week and gotten the schedule for the Firecracker Tournament that will be played Saturday at Highland Park in Kokomo.
Portland will play the Fort Wayne Panthers as scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesday at home and has added a home contest at 7 p.m. Thursday against Fort Wayne Blues.
The Rockets were going to host the Firecracker Tournament this year, but it has been moved to Highland Park in Kokomo. The four-team tournament will be a one-day affair Saturday.
The Mishawaka Brewers and South Bend Royals play at noon, and the Rockets meet the Fort Wayne Jackers at 2 p.m. The losers of each contest will square off in the consolation game at 4 p.m. while the winners advance to the championship game at 7 p.m.
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