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Gold Mounts Massive Comeback to Advance |
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Written by Macgregor Perkins
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Friday, 06 August 2010 18:54 |
After splitting their first two games, the Monarchs Gold went into their last game of pool play Friday afternoon against the Illinois Jayhawks one win away from advancing to bracket play on Saturday. It wouldn’t come easy, but the Monarchs survive and advanced on a 12-10 victory.
Things got off to a rough start for the Monarchs. Starting pitcher, Ryan Stults, gave up a run in the second and three runs in the third before leaving the game. Stults couldn’t quite find the strike zone issuing four free passes in his two and two thirds innings. Tim Corby relieved him with two outs in the third, got the third out, but also allowed an inherited runner to score, which was charged to Stults as well.
Finding themselves down 5-0 already, the Monarchs began to chip away in the bottom of the 3rd. Eric Yunker hit a grounder towards short. The shortstop however made a wide throw past the first baseman and into the fence. Yunker was able to scamper to second on the play. Corey Lehman immediately brought Yunker home on an RBI single in which Yunker made a great slide at home to avoid the tag. Again in the bottom of the fourth, the Monarchs added another run. Catcher Adam Yunker walked and stole second. Drew Kuns singled him over to third, and A. Yunker scored on a passed ball cutting the deficit to three going into the fifth.
Corby also struggled to find the strike zone for the Monarchs. After getting out of a bases loaded jam in the fourth, Corby wasn’t as lucky in the fifth. After issuing his fifth walk already, the bases became loaded again with no outs. Corby was able to get the Jayhawks to ground into a double play, but that still allowed a runner to score. He also gave up another run in the inning for a score of 7-2 midway through the fifth.
The Monarchs gave up a single run in the sixth and seventh and faced a seven run deficit at the stretch. In the bottom of the seventh, Gold began their climb back. With two outs, Ricky Lizcano forced the issue turning a bloop single into a double. Colin Meinzer reached first on an error and E. Yunker brought home Lizcano on an RBI single. Keeping the pressure on, Lehman singled and Adam Yunker walked to load the bases. Kuns delivered a big hit with a first pitch single to plate two and cutting the Jayhawks’ lead to 9-6. Brett Howard continued the rally with a walk to again load the bases. To complete the comeback Casey Winckowski delivered a bases clearing double to tie the game at nine apiece. The Monarchs then took their first lead of the game on Lizcano’s second big hit of the inning, and RBI single to bring home Winckowski. That capped off the eight run rally and gave Monarchs Gold a 10-9 lead.
Gold wouldn’t stop there though. In the bottom of the eighth, after Brian Bilius was hit and Eric Yunker walked, Lehman dropped a bunt that the pitcher sailed into the Monarch bullpen scoring Bilius. Later in the inning, Howard tacked on a RBI sac fly to give the Monarchs a 12-9 lead.
The Monarchs gave up a run in the ninth, Derrick Garcia closed it out and seal the comeback victory.
Gold will advance as the Runner-Up from Pool B and play the winner from Pool A on Saturday morning at 9:00 am at Ned Skeldon Field.
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