Beach Bums Drop Tough Luck Pitchers Duel
Published on September 5, 2012 under Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release
TRAVERSE CITY, MI - Reid Kelly and David Harden battled pitch for pitch over the course of seven innings, but the Traverse City Beach Bums saw a fourth inning run hold up for the Southern Illinois Miners in a 1-0 loss in Game One of the Frontier League Division Series at Wuerfel Park.
Traverse City had a pair of opportunities early as the Beach Bums put runners on first and second in both the second and third innings, but were unable to bring anyone around to score, keeping the game 0-0 into the fourth. In that inning, Javier Herrera led off with a solo homer to center, giving Southern Illinois the only run of the game.
After the homer and a subsequent double by Ken Gregory, Reid Kelly went into shutdown mode. The right-hander retired the next 12 batters he faced including striking out the side in the seventh. Harden was nearly as sharp as he allowed one hit from the third through sixth innings.
The Beach Bums had their best chance in the seventh where with one out, Kyle Colligan doubled. Sean Gusrang followed with a single that just made it through the right side of the infield. With the play being so close, Colligan had to wait at second base before advancing, making it to third. Marcus Nidiffer came up and grounded a ball to Miners' third baseman Carlos Mendez came home to get Colligan who had been running on contact on the play to snuff out the threat.
Harden (1-0) picked up the win with eight innings of shutout ball. Brandon Cunniff picked the save with a scoreless ninth, despite allowing a two-out double to Colligan. Kelly (0-1) took the loss for Traverse City despite allowing just one run on four hits in 7.1 innings, striking out seven. The Beach Bums bullpen was solid, setting down all five batters they faced, three of them on strikes.
Game Two comes up on Thursday with Jacob Clem (7-4, 3.02) on the mound for Traverse City against Daniel Calhoun (7-4, 2.52) for the Miners. It is a Thirsty Thursday with a dollar off fountain drinks and beer. Playoff tickets cost just $10 with general admission seating for all Beach Bums playoff games. Private tables will be $50 per game and suites at Wuerfel Park will be just $100 for up to 10 people. For tickets, call 943-0100 or stop by the Wuerfel Park ticket office beginning at 10 a.m.
Frontier League Stories from September 5, 2012
- Freedom Fall in Playoff Opener - Florence Y'alls
- Grizzlies Pick up Win in Divisional Series Opener - Gateway Grizzlies
- Harden Pitches Miners to Victory - Southern Illinois Miners
- Beach Bums Drop Tough Luck Pitchers Duel - Traverse City Beach Bums
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