Beach Bums Bust out the Bats in Victory

July 25, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release


CRESTWOOD, IL - Ryan Still had four hits and drove in four runs to lead a 17-hit Traverse City Beach Bums attack as the Beach Bums took the opening game of their series against the Windy City ThunderBolts by a 15-8 final.

Trailing 3-2 heading into the fourth, the Beach Bums got some power from unexpected sources to take the lead. After falling behind two strikes, Kyle Eveland worked the count full before doubling to lead off the inning. Brian Heere stepped in next and hit his first homerun of July, a two-run shot to make it 4-3 Traverse City. That brought Ryan Still to the plate who launched his first long ball of the season to push the lead to 5-3. The offense kept rolling as Jose Vargas doubled, ending the night of Windy City starter Dustin Williams. The pitching change seemed to help initially as Duke Dykeman struck out the next two batters before Kyle Colligan singled off him, scoring Vargas to make it a 6-3 game.

In the fifth, Travis Higgs led off the inning with a single. Eveland grounded a ball to third that C. J. Gillman threw wide of first, scoring Higgs and moving Eveland to third. Two batters Later, Still lifted a sacrifice fly to center to plate Eveland for an 8-3 Beach Bums advantage. The ThunderBolts would get the runs right back, however, as with Chad Cregar on second and Bob Glover on first via singled, Zach Aakhus doubled to score both runners, slicing the lead to 8-5.

Traverse City would leave no doubt about the game in the sixth as a hit batsman, single and a walk to Chase Burch, Jeff Flagg and Colligan respectively loaded the bases. Sean Gusrang was then hit by a pitch to force home Burch to make it 9-5. Higgs stood in next and reached on a fielder's choice, scoring Flagg for a 10-5 Beach Bums lead. With Colligan on third and Higgs on first, a passed ball brought home Colligan pushing the advantage to six. Two batters later, Heere doubled to score Higgs. Still followed and smacked his fourth hit of the night, a double to plate Heere and make it 13-5.

In the seventh, TC would add a run on Colligan's fifth homer of the year. The teams would score in the ninth with the Beach Bums tally coming on a single by Gusrang drove home Flagg, who had reached on an error.

Traverse City got the first runs of the game in the second inning as with Higgs on third base and two out, Heere grounded a ball to first that was booted by Aakhus, allowing Higgs to score and Heere to move to second. Still then delivered his first hit of the night, a single to score Heere. Windy City would counter with three in the bottom of the third, two coming on an Eveland throwing error.

The win went to Scott Dunn (2-2) who went the first six innings for the Beach Bums. Dustin Williams (8-4) took the loss for the ThunderBolts.

In addition to Still's four hits Heere, Vargas, Flagg, Colligan, Higgs and Eveland each delivered two base knocks.

The middle game of the series comes up on Thursday as Jacob Clem (3-4, 2.82) gets the start for Traverse City against Blayne Weller (4-0, 3.47) for Windy City. First pitch is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. with the pregame show on Sunny Country 101.9 beginning at 7:45 p.m. Traverse City comes home on Sunday for a doubleheader against the Frontier League's newest addition, the Road Warriors, starting at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for the doubleheader are just $5.

The Beach Bums Family Carnival and Michigan National Guard Community Appreciation day comes up on Saturday, July 28 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will be a baseball clinic for kids ages 6-14 hosted by former Major League player and coach Dan Rohn (limited to the first 60 kids who register on the day of the event). A silent auction will take place with items including a team signed bat, jersey, helmet and an opportunity to take batting practice with the team. The Michigan National Guard will bring a rock climbing wall and an inflatable jousting ring. Tickets for the event are just $5. Call 943-0100 for more information.



Frontier League Stories from July 25, 2012


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