Aviators Comeback Falls Short
June 20, 2019 - Prospect League (Prospect)
Lafayette Aviators News Release
Lafayette, IN - The Lafayette Aviators (12-6) fell to the DuPage Pistol Shrimp (7-9) by a final of 7-5 in nine innings at Loeb on Thursday night.
Thursday was the first meeting ever between the Lafayette Aviators and DuPage Pistol Shrimp. Braedon Blackford (Illinois State) scored the first ever run in the all-time series in impressive fashion. Blackford drilled an opposite-field solo homerun over the right field wall in the bottom of the second inning to start off the scoring. The dinger was the future Illinois State Redbird's third of the season and put the Aviators on top 1-0.
Blackford's play at third base is also worth noting. The sophomore ended two innings by snagging hard liners to the hot corner at third. He also flashed the leather a handful of times on ground balls that would score a high degree of difficulty, including a beautiful pick on a bunted ball to get the out at first. The play helped keep DuPage off the board in the seventh.
DuPage was able to push across solitary runs in the third and fourth innings. The Pistol Shrimp second basemen Jonathon Hodo homered off Aviator starter Matt Burleton (Marian) in the fourth inning to take a 2-1 lead.
Chris Monroe (Illinois Springfield) tied the game for Lafayette in the fifth inning. With Blake Schmitt (Purdue) on third and two outs, Monroe grounded a hard ball past the DuPage second basemen to bring Schmitt in to score. Entering Thursday, Monroe led the Prospect League in hits, at-bats, and doubles. The junior has now recorded a hit in 16 straight games.
In the sixth, the Pistol Shrimp strung four hits together to plate two runs. Hogan McIntosh, Jonathon Hodo, Dane Toppel, and Ryan Belluomini all knocked singles to put DuPage up 4-2 in the sixth.
Down two runs in the bottom of the sixth, Lafayette stole a run when Blake Schmitt hit what looked like a double-play ball straight to Hodo at second with one out and the bases loaded. Hodo combined with the DuPage shortstop Eli Larson to get the out at second, but then Larson misfired on the throw to first which allowed the Brent Todys (Ohio State) to score from third base.
A tough inning on the field and on the mound for Lafayette in the top of the ninth allowed DuPage to tally two more insurance runs making it a 7-3 lead for the Pistol Shrimp.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Chris Monroe clobbered a ball to left field for a two-run homerun to make it 7-5. It was surprisingly Monroe's first homer of the season, but with this swing, Chris "Diesel" Monroe more than earned his nickname. The ball left the yard in a hurry, a no doubter off the bat.
Despite Monroe's power in the ninth, the Aviators fell short. Lafayette will take on DuPage three more times over the next three days. All the matchups will take place at Loeb Stadium.
Prospect League Stories from June 20, 2019
- Paints Win Ninth Straight, Beat REX 4-2 - Chillicothe Paints
- Aviators Comeback Falls Short - Lafayette Aviators
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