Bullfrogs Look to Take Advantage of Tired Bombers
June 7, 2015 - Northwoods League (Northwoods)
Green Bay Rockers News Release
Green Bay Bullfrogs Conference
(Green Bay Rockers)
Green Bay, Wis.- Parker Hamilton (RHP Florida Gulf Coast) duels against Layne Bruner (LHP/Washington State), as the Bullfrogs vie for their first winning streak of more than one game against the Battle Creek Bombers. First pitch is set for 1:05PM.
Battle Creek heads to Joannes Stadium having played the longest game of the Northwoods season. The 19-inning game, that started on Friday and ended Saturday after a curfew suspension, lasted 4 hours and 47 minutes of game time.
The Bombers won that game on a go-ahead hit in the top of the 19th frame on a fielder's choice hit by Cayce Bredlau (Austin Peay). Battle Creek played another game last night, at the scheduled 6:35PM start time and lost to the Chinooks 1-0 in a contest that lasted just over 2 hours. They are 6-6 on the season.
Battle Creek will play a Bullfrogs team that pieced together an excellent win against the Growlers on Saturday night.
Skip Handelsman was elated at the effort the Bullfrogs took into yesterday's 8-3 victory. Matt De La Rosa (Lenoir Rhyne) and Tyler McDowell (Washington State) totaled six hits, three runs, and three RBI. The bullpen stymied a Growlers offense that entered with a team average of .201, as Kalamazoo only had six hits the entire game.
"It was our most competitive team and best defensive team...for sure," said Field Manager Skip Handlesman. "We worked a lot after batting practice on our short game, bunting, and moving runners, and I thought we executed much better."
Jack Silberman (Eckerd), Luke VanLanen (Valparaiso), Sam Brunner (Dayton), and Jeremy Graf (Flagler) went the distance as the Growlers roar was subdued by bullpen work that has been some of the best in the Northwoods League. In 20 2/3 innings pitched on the season, the final three stoppers in last night's game all have ERA's under 2.00.
The key for the Bullfrogs moving forward is to have other late-inning pitchers step into the limelight.
"It's almost like a security blanket to have those guys," said Handelsman of last night's relief pitchers. "But we need other guys to step up and assume those roles. We can't go to the same...guys every night."
With the offense at its pinnacle, the product came largely from an entirely new lineup. A shifted infield included Matt De La Rosa at third, Ty Blankmeyer (St. John's) at shortstop, Jack Strunc (Washington State) at second base, and Tyler McDowell at first base. De La Rosa also hit leadoff, as designated hitter Ryan Donovan batted third.
Skip Handelsman's lineup changes were ultimately quite effective. And newcomers, catcher Desi Ammons (Belmont), and Connor Ross (Ft. Hays State,) deepen the choice of bats available for a Bullfrogs team that has scored seven runs or more five times, yet plated two runs or less six times.
Replicating the 8-run output against the Growlers is a product of a very specific style of baseball.
"It's Skip's operation of baseball which involves a lot of bunting, a lot of running and that's what we did," said Matt De La Rosa of the 8-3 win. "We made the defense make plays and we capitalized on every opportunity we had."
Parker Hamilton, today's starter, pitched five strong innings in a 3-1 loss to the Lakeshore Chinooks last Sunday. He allowed just one earned run, two hits, and one walk in Mequon.
Single game tickets are on sale now. Visit www.greenbaybullfrogs.com to purchase tickets. The Bullfrogs' business hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Images from this story
 Green Bay Bullfrogs Conference |
Northwoods League Stories from June 7, 2015
- Stingers Topped by Huskies, Continue Seven-Game Homestand Tomorrow Night - Willmar Stingers
- Rafters Roll Past Growlers - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Growlers Fall Behind Early, Drop Opener in Wisconsin Rapids - Kalamazoo Growlers
- Bucks Derail Express in 9-2 Win - Waterloo Bucks
- Rejuvenated Offense Gives Chinooks 6-2 Win - Lakeshore Chinooks
- Cats Win In The Ninth - Thunder Bay Border Cats
- Kingfish Sink Mallards in Series Opener - Madison Mallards
- Guardascione's Big Day Leads to Bullfrogs Win - Green Bay Rockers
- Kingfish Top Madison 5-1 for Fourth Straight Victory - Kenosha Kingfish
- Rox Fall to Moon Dogs 10-3 - St. Cloud Rox
- Teachers to be Honored at Joannes Stadium - Green Bay Rockers
- Wisconsin Rapids and Witter Field Welcomes Back Pedro Sierra - Wisconsin Rapids Rafters
- Bullfrogs Look to Take Advantage of Tired Bombers - Green Bay Rockers
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
