CornBelters start second half on losing note in Evansville
Published on July 15, 2011 under Frontier League (FL)
Normal CornBelters News Release
Newcomers made good contributions, but the second half of the Frontier League baseball season began on a losing note for the Normal CornBelters, presented by Illinois Corn Farmers, as they fell 4-2 on Friday night on the road to the Evansville Otters.
The Otters scored first, putting up a run in the second inning. Jamar Walton led off with a double to left-center, and moved to third on a booted ground ball. Greg Fontenot successfully squeezed Walton home with one out with a bunt to the right side.
The CornBelters tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth in similar fashion. Brandon Newton doubled to left-center to lead off the inning, moved to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Asif Shah.
The Otters took a 2-1 lead in the fifth. With one out, Billy Killian singled, Ryan Still reached on a fielder's choice and Joe Spiers drew a two-out walk to load the bases. Phil Britton singled to left to score Killian, but Still was cut down at the plate on a perfect throw by Belters left fielder Brandon Newton.
Evansville extended the lead in the sixth to 3-1 when Mike Durant hit his fifth home run over the left-center wall with two outs.
The Belters chipped into the lead in the seventh. Matt Mansilla drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a single by Tyler Keeble, which chased Otters starter Scott Kelley from the game. Reliever Patrick Crider was able to coax Alvaro Ramirez into a ground ball to into the stretch with the Belters down by a run.
The Otters built up their lead to 4-2 in the eighth when Joe Spiers led off with a single and swiped second with his league-leading 31st stolen base. Spiers scored on a base hit by Greg Alexander.
Otters starter Scott Kelley improves to 3-4 with the win, while Eric Massingham picked up his ninth save. CornBelters starter Brett Lester took the loss to drop to 4-4 in a seven-inning outing in which he gave up six hits while walking two and striking out two.
The CornBelters continue the brief road trip on Saturday evening as right-hander Ryan Sheldon (5-4, 2.95) is scheduled to start on the mound for the CornBelters against the Otters' righty Jeremy Thorne (2-6, 5.69). First pitch at Bosse Field in Evansville is set for 6:35 p.m. with a 6:20 pre-game on WEZC-FM 95.9 and WJBC.com.
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