BlueClaws go down 6-5 in 12 innings to the Power
Published on July 29, 2008 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Jersey Shore BlueClaws News Release
LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Round one of the BlueClaws only remaining series with West Virginia went to the Power, but Lakewood did not go down without a fight. West Virginia needed 12 innings to take a 6-5 victory to push their lead in the North Division to three games.
Lee Haydel picked up his first hit of the game in the 12th inning and it proved to be the game winner as a blooper over the head of a drawn in BlueClaws infield scored Anderson Delarosa from third and give the Power the decisive lead. Moises Melendez (3-2) got the following hitter to ground into a double play to end the inning, but the damage had been done.
Lakewood had plenty of opportunities for the first 11 innings, but went down quietly in the 12th, as Rob Wooten picked up his first save of the season with a 1- 2-3 inning to close out the win.
The BlueClaws stranded a season-high 15 runners, including the bases loaded on two separate occasions. Lakewood's best chance to win outright may have come in the 11th, when they loaded up the bases, but Travis Mattair had his hard ground ball tracked down by Matt Cline to end the threat.
The BlueClaws were forced to comeback on multiple occasions just to force extra innings. Lakewood trailed 3-1 and 5-3, before coming back each time. Mattair's bases-loaded single in the seventh scored two and tied the game at five.
Vance Worley gave the BlueClaws another solid start, though his defense could not always back him up. The 2008 draftee out of Long Beach State threw six innings and gave up five runs, though just three were earned. T.J. Warren let a routine flyball drop in the third that would have ended the inning, but instead allowed two runs to score.
West Virginia was forced to burn through six pitchers after a brief start from Michael Bowman. The Power right-hander lasted just 3 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on six hits. He also walked four batters.
Jose Garcia (2-2) took the win by pitching a scoreless 11th inning, but the Power were really bailed out by 3 1/3 strong innings from Reed Dickert. The 23-year old right-hander did not allow a run and gave up four uneventful hits.
The BlueClaws (24-14, 62-46) now have to win the final three games of the series to tie the Power (27-11, 59-48) heading to next week's roadtrip. They can start the road to the top on Wednesday morning at 11:05 when Julian Sampson (6-4) will take the mound. Left- hander Dan Merklinger (4-7) will go for the Power.
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