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Fielders Denied Sweep In 6-5 Loss To Maui

June 22, 2011 - North American League (NAmL)
Lake County Fielders News Release


Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii (June 21, 2011) - It was a calamitous bottom of the 9th inning in Tuesday night's series finale between the Lake County Fielders (18-8) and the Maui Na Koa Ikaika (10-13) that decided the game. Maui was able to avoid a five-game sweep with a 6-5 walk-off win against the Fielders.

The Fielders stormed to an early 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd inning. C.J. Ziegler hit the first pitch of the inning for a solo home run. It was Ziegler's 10th roundtripper of the season, his seventh at Iron Maehara Stadium, giving him sole possession of second place in the North American League in homers. Matt Mansilla followed with a walk and later stole second base. Quentin Luquette came through with a single to center field, and after a fielding error by Maui centerfielder Mitch Einertson, Mansilla tallied the Fielders' second run.

After Maui brought home a run in the bottom of the 3rd inning on an RBI single by catcher Jowen Murray-Thornton, it didn't take the Fielders too long to add to their lead. In the top of the 5th inning, Fielders pitcher Michael Moore and shortstop Rex Rundgren singled, putting runners at the corners with two outs for Argelis Nunez. Nunez laced a pitch from Maui starting pitcher Dan Delucia into right field, going all the way to the wall, scoring both Moore and Rundgren on a two-run triple. It was Nunez's first three-base hit of the season, giving Lake County a 4-1 lead. But Maui got those two runs back in the bottom of the 6th inning on a pinch-hit two-run double by Richard Bargewell, making it a 4-3 Fielders lead.

As the game reached its latter points, the Fielders looked to gain some insurance. Mansilla led off the top of the 8th inning with a deep drive to right-center field. The ball landed on the warning track and bounced over the wall for a ground rule double. Mansilla later took third base on a wild pitch and came in to score on a single by Patrick Brooks. The Brooks single with one out gave the Fielders a two-run cushion at 5-3. However, Maui took back that run in the bottom half of the 8th inning, when first baseman Stephen Pearson came in to score on a wild pitch.

With a 5-4 lead entering the bottom of the 9th, the Fielders put the ball into the trusty hands of their closer, Chris Thompson. Thompson's first opposing batter, Maui left fielder JJ Sherill, caused headaches for the Fielders' righty. Thompson was hamstrung with the strike zone of the home plate umpire, eventually leading to Sherill reaching on a base on balls. Fielders manager Tim Johnson went to the mound and was subsequently ejected for arguing balls and strikes with the home plate ump. Johnson went as far as to redecorate the outside portion of home plate, where Thompson tried to place his pitches. It was Johnson's second ejection in the last four games.

Thompson's frustration boiled over after issuing a one-out walk to Murray-Thornton. Maui second baseman Jose Sanchez hit a sharp groundball right back to Thompson. Thompson wanted to start a double play, throwing to second base. However, his throw was wide and went into center field, allowing for Sherill to score the tying run on the throwing error. Thompson intentionally walked Pearson to load the bases with one out. Unfortunately, Thompson hit pinch- hitter Steve Garcia with a pitch on a 2-2 count, bringing in the game-winning run, as Maui celebrated their first win against Lake County since May 31st.

The Fielders will have two days off before beginning their next series in Chico, California. The Fielders begin the first of two, three-game series against the Chico Outlaws on Friday night. All of the Fielders games against Chico have a 7:05p local start time (9:05pm central). You can listen to the game on 1220 AM WKRS or online at fieldersbaseball.com or wkrs.com.

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