Beach Bums Topple Windy City in Home Opener
May 25, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release
TRAVERSE CITY, MI - The Traverse City Beach Bums jumped out to a 3-0 first inning lead and never looked back as the Beach Bums defeated the Windy City ThunderBolts 7-2 in the home opener at Wuerfel Park in front of a crowd of 4,011 on a FANtastic Fireworks Friday.
As has often been the case this season, the Beach Bums were able to capitalize on an opponent's mistake as Brian Heere led off the bottom of the first reaching on an error by ThunderBolts leftfielder Brandon Decker. Two batters later, Jose Vargas drove his first triple of the season into the right-centerfield gap, scoring Heere for a 1-0 TC lead. Chase Burch came up next and hit a high chopper to third, bringing home Vargas for a 2-0 Beach Bums edge.
The scoring in the first wasn't done yet, however, as Jeff Flagg and Sean Gusrang came through with back-to-back doubles to push the lead to 3-0. Traverse City would plate another run in the second as Vargas came to the plate again, this time with the bases loaded and reached on a fielder's choice, bringing home Matt Howard to make it 4-0.
After Windy City plated a run in the top of the fourth on an RBI double from Decker to make it 4-1, the Beach Bums went on the offensive in the fifth as with the bases loaded, an RBI groundout by Howard reestablished a four-run Traverse City lead.
Things got a bit tense in the seventh as the ThunderBolts had a run across and runners on second and third with two out, but Scott Dunn was able to shut the door, striking out Mike Torres to end the frame. No other Windy City batter would reach base the rest of the night and the Beach Bums further put the game out of reach when Brian Heere lined his first homer of the season out to right in the ninth, a two-run shot, to create the final score.
The win went to Matt Miller (1-0) who tossed 2.1 innings in relief. Brooks Belter started for the Beach Bums and allowed one run on three hits over four innings, striking out five. The combination of Dunn and Scott Mueller pitched the final 2.2 innings allowing just one hit and no runs while whiffing four. Duke Dykeman (0-1) took the loss for Windy City allowing the three unearned runs in the first.
Offensively, Vargas went 3-for-5, finishing a homer shy of the cycle. Six other Beach Bums had one hit each.
Game two of the series comes up on Saturday as Traverse City sends Jacob Clem to the mound against Ricky Szeligo for the ThunderBolts. The Beach Bums will hold a Memorial Day tribute as the team will don special camouflage jerseys for the game and mini flags will be handed out to the first fans in the ballpark. Additionally, as a way of giving back to those who have served or are serving our nation, the first 100 veterans or active members of the military who call or stop by the Wuerfel Park ticket office can receive a ticket for the party patio at no charge. For tickets or information, call 231-943-0100 or log on to www.tcbeachbums.com.
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Frontier League Stories from May 25, 2012
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