Bums Win Comeback Thriller in Extras

Published on May 29, 2016 under Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release


TRAVERSE CITY, MI - In a high-scoring, back-and-forth battle, the Traverse City Beach Bums(6-8) came back from multiple deficits to defeat the Lake Erie Crushers(8-5), 12-11 in 11 innings.

Coming into tonight's game, when the Beach Bums scored first, they were 5-1. That trend continued tonight but it sure wasn't easy. Ryan Bottger led off the first inning with a walk. Two batters later, Steven Patterson walked and Jose Vargas singled to load the bases. Up stepped Nate Causey who smacked a bases-clearing double into the gap for a 3-0 advantage.

Lake Erie responded right away in the second with four runs of their own. After a couple of walks, Parks Jordan hit a two run single to right, followed by a two run double by Jose Barraza giving them the lead. They scored four more times in the third to seemingly take command of the game, thanks to RBI singles by Parker Norris and Max Casper, and a two-run home run by Connor Oliver, his first long ball of the season.

In the fourth, the Beach Bums launched their first comeback of the night. Nate Causey led off with a walk and two batters later, Casey Rodrigue got his first hit of the season with a single. After a Wes Wallace walk, Jeff DeBlieux swept an RBI single to right scoring Causey. Bottger was next with an RBI sacrifice fly, and then hot-hitting Will Kengor stroked a two-run double to the centerfield wall, to bring the Bums within one, at 8-7.

After a scoreless fifth, Rodrigue led off the sixth with a single and then stole second. After a Wallace flyout, DeBlieux smacked a line drive to first that was caught and thrown to second to double off Rodrigue, but catcher's obstruction was called and DeBlieux was awarded first base and the inning continued. Bottger followed with a single, Rodrigue tried to score from second but was thrown out. The Bums eventually got the tying run in when Kengor singled to left to bring in DeBlieux.

Lake Erie regained a one run lead in the top of the seventh when Juan Avila doubled to lead off the inning, was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, and Daniel Aldrich drove him in with a single. Wallace led off the bottom of the eighth inning by getting to second on a throwing error. DeBlieux wasted little time ripping another RBI single to tie the game at nine.

After a scoreless ninth and tenth, both teams took advantage of the international tie-breaker rule that came into play in the eleventh. Connor Oliver led off the inning attempting to bunt Casper to third and ended up beating out the throw for an infield hit. Parks Jordan came up next and hit a two-run double to right giving the Crushers a two run lead, heading to the bottom of the inning.

Bottger led things off driving home DeBlieux with a single to right field, bringing the Bums within one. Three batters later, with two outs, Jose Vargas extended the game with a single to right, moving Bottger to second. Nate Causey then drew a walk to load the bases, bringing up Brandon Thomasson. Thomasson, who earlier in the game ending a hitless streak, then hit a shallow fly down the right field line. No fielder could get there in time to make the catch and both Bottger and Vargas came in to score to win the game in walk-off fashion for the second straight game. With the win, the Beach Bums sweep the weekend series against Lake Erie, three games to none.

Andrew Brockett was once again charged with stopping Lake Erie in the second extra inning. Although he gave up two runs, he limited the damage enough to earn the victory, improving to 2-0. Chandler Jagodzinski tried to save the game in the bottom of the eleventh but gave up three runs, and gets saddled with the loss, dropping to 0-1.

After a day off tomorrow, the Beach Bums return to action Tuesday night to continue this six game home-stand with a three game series against the River City Rascals. Jacob Lanning gets the start for the Beach Bums and River City will go with Joe Scanio. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05pm and Tom Willms will have the call on 101.9FM - The Bay, starting at 6:45pm with the Miller Lite Pre-Game Show. Gates open at 5pm so get your tickets at TCBeachBums.com.

Don't forget: Tuesday night's contest will be our first Two For Tuesday of the season. Tickets for the game will be buy one, get one, free for all fans, so you don't want to miss out!

The Beach Bums business offices are open from 9am to 6pm, Monday through Friday. Sponsorships, season tickets, group packages, patio tables, and suite, are all currently available for the 2016 season. The Box Office & Gift Ship are now open with non-gameday hours of 10am to 6pm Monday through Friday, 10am to 4pm on Saturday. Wuerfel Park is closed on non-gameday Sundays. Stadium hours are extended on gamedays.

For more information, please to call the offices at 1-231-943-0100 or come on out to the park and say hello!

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Frontier League Stories from May 29, 2016


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