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Fielders Suffer First Defeat in 11-inning Battle

May 30, 2011 - North American League (NAmL)
Lake County Fielders News Release


Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii (May 29, 2011) - The Lake County Fielders (3-1) were defeated for the first time in the 2011 season, falling 4-3 to the Maui Na Koa Ikaika in 11 innings.

Maui (1-3) had not held a lead through the first three games of the series, but managed to obtain the lead in the fourth game by scoring a run in each of the first three innings. Maui first baseman Stephan Pearson brought home the runs in the first and third innings via groundout. The run that was scored in the second inning was tallied by way of two Fielders errors: a fielding error by shortstop Rex Rundgren and a throwing error by centerfielder Lino Garcia.

Despite facing a 3-0 deficit, the Fielders caught a break in the top of the 4th inning when the bases were loaded with nobody out. Garcia was hit by a pitch to his left wrist to lead off the inning. Left fielder Argelis Nunez singled and first baseman C.J. Ziegler earned a walk to fill up the bases. Two batters later, catcher Matthew Redding, Jr. drew a bases loaded walk to cut the deficit to a 3-1 Maui lead. However, the Fielders left the bases loaded, scoring just the one run in the 4th.

Fielders starting pitcher Zac Cline kept the team's hopes alive, retiring 10 of the last 11 batters he faced in the game, allowing just one hit and striking out four over that span. For the game, Cline lasted six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits, striking out five and issuing just one walk, before giving way to the Fielders' bullpen.

After Cline's exit, the offense caught another break to begin the top of the 7th inning. With the Na Koa Ikaika using their bullpen, the Fielders once again managed to get the bases loaded with nobody out. Redding led off with a walk, and was followed with a four-pitch walk to pinch-hitter Brad Payne. Shortstop Brandon Newton was hit by a pitch to give the Fielders another bases loaded scenario. Rundgren and Garcia followed with run-scoring sacrifice flies to right field to tie the game at 3-3.

The score remained tied through the regulation nine innings, despite one last-ditch effort by the Fielders in the top of the 9th inning, when they had a runner at third base with two out and could not bring the run home. In extra innings, the Fielders let opportunities to take the lead slip away. In the 10th inning, they left runners stranded at first and second with one out. And, in the 11th inning, they repeated the same opportunity and result they had in the 9th inning (runner at third base with two out). In all, the Fielders left 12 men on base in the 11-inning contest.

In the bottom of the 11th, Fielders reliever Brian Daly (0-1) allowed a one-out single to Maui catcher Jowen Murray-Thornton. Maui right fielder Mark Okano drew a four-pitch walk to put Murray-Thornton in scoring position. One batter later, Maui second baseman was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two out. Stepping to the plate was pinch hitter Richard Bargewell, and Bargewell sent the first pitch he saw to the alley in right-center field to end the game. Bargewell's walk-off RBI single gave Maui its first win of the season, and the Fielders their first defeat.

The Fielders will try to regain momentum with Monday night's game. The Memorial Day tilt will be the fifth game of their seven-game series in Maui. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35pm local time (11:35pm central). You can listen to the game on 1220 AM WKRS or online at fieldersbaseball.com or wkrs.com.

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