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Gold Hawks Fly Over Blizzard |
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Written by Steve DeDoes for Toledo Hawks Baseball
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Monday, 27 June 2011 14:58 |
1st Game Comeback Leads To 2nd Game Romp
The Toledo Hawks "Gold" had to dig deep in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader in order to defeat the visiting Chardon Blizzard on June 25. After coming from behind to win that contest by an eventual 9-5 score, the Hawks' now-sharp talons clawed through the Blizzard in the second game to notch a 8-1 win.
Heading into the bottom of the fourth in Game One, the Hawks found themselves trailing by a 5-1 score. After scoring two unearned runs in the third against starting pitcher Brett Kuebler (Siena Heights/Toledo), courtesy of two Hawk errors, Chardon stormed for three more in the fourth. However, Kuebler would not allow any more Blizzard flurries, and Toledo bats were about to heat up the summer afternoon.
Eric Yunker (Ohio Northern/Holland) and Mattie DeDoes (Oberlin/Ann Arbor, MI) had the big hits and RBI's as the Hawks scored twice in the bottom of the 4th inning and then rallied for five runs in a thrilling, two-out explosion in the fifth. In the 4th, Eric Croak (Toledo/Toledo) and R.J. Rios (Adrian/Toledo) both walked, and Ryan Williams (Tiffin/Maumee) followed with a single to load the bases; Yunker and DeDoes then produced runs with groundouts to close the gap to 5-3.
In the 5th, Cory Lehman (Siena Heights/Rossford) led off with a single, and then Blake Schmenk (Owens CC/Perrysburg) singled--however, the next two hitters struck out. Rios and Williams then worked bases-on-balls to deliver one run; then, Yunker's single brought home two and DeDoes followed with his own 2-run single before Chardon was finally able to record the third out. In the sixth, the Hawks scored a ninth run when Schmenk singled and rode home on a double by Brett Howard (Siena Heights/Toledo). For the game, Yunker had two hits and three RBI's; DeDoes had three RBI's of his own, and Williams had a pair of singles.
Kuebler made it stand up, going six innings while with five strikeouts. He allowed 7 hits, but did not walk a batter. He yielded to Tim Corbey (Dayton/Toledo), who worked the final inning by striking out 1 and walking 1.
In the second game, Chardon scored a run quickly in the top of the first against starting pitcher Zak Esposito (Owens CC/Sandusky); but with a five-run third inning, the Hawks altered the forecast for the visitors and cruised home by adding three more runs later in this contest.
Esposito went four innings, striking out five while allowing two hits and two free passes. He received bullpen assistance from Corey Alexander (Siena Heights/Toledo), who pitched two perfect innings with two K's, and then Lucas Willitzer (Adrian/Defiance) worked the final frame for the Hawks' pitching staff.
Lehman, Schmenk, Rios, and Levi Pauli (Defiance/Ottawa Lake, MI) led the hitting attack in Game Two, each getting a pair of hits. In the big third inning, Steve DiNanno (Oberlin/Northbrook, IL) and Pauli led off with singles, moved up on a Lehman hit and subsequently scored on Schmenk's 2-run single. Howard delivered a run when a groundball was booted; Croak reached on an error; and then Rios and Yunker singled to capitalize on the miscues.
With two outs in the 4th, singles by Lehman and Schmenk were followed by a double steal (scoring Lehman) and then a run-scoring double by Howard. Pauli doubled for his second hit in the 6th and scored on a single by DeDoes to complete the Hawk scoring for the afternoon. Williams also ripped a double for the Hawk lineup in this game.
The Gold Hawks moved to 12-2 in the Tri-State league for the season.
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