Flyers' comeback bid falls just shy
Published on June 23, 2005 under Northern League (NL)
Schaumburg Flyers News Release
SCHAUMBURG, IL - For the second time in the three-game series with the St. Paul Saints, the Schaumburg Flyers played in rally mode for most of the game and fell just one run short in their 8-7 loss on June 23. The Thursday night Flyer loss completed the sweep for St. Paul and improved their record to 20-12, a game in front of second place Gary in the South Division. The Flyers dropped to 10-23.
The St. Paul attack began in the third inning as Saint hitters jumped all over Flyer starter Anthony Boughner (3-4). A misplayed ground ball by Chris Weekly off the bat of Tonayne Brown with one out allowed Mike Forbes to come home, giving the Saints a 2-0 advantage. With the floodgates wide open, Donny Leon and Nick Gretz added an RBI single and an RBI double, respectively. Two batters later Steve Butler and Kris Cox added another one-two punch with a two-RBI single and two-RBI double to bring the score to 8-0 when storm finally subsided.
St. Paul's Darren Truty (4-1) cruised through the first four innings of play without much of a threat from Flyer hitting. In the fifth, Flyer bats finally came alive to put a dent in the St. Paul lead. With two outs and runners on second and third, Chris Weekly (1-for-5, 2 RBI) singled to right field, scoring two. Josue Lopez added a double, and Eric Cole (2-for-3, 4 RBI) connected on a double of his own to the left-center field gap, cutting the deficit in half, 8-4.
Meanwhile, Grant Dorn relieved Boughner in the fifth and kept the Flyers in the game with four scoreless innings of work. He let up only two hits and struck out nine during Thursday night's relief appearance.
Schaumburg mounted one more offensive in the eighth inning. Josue Lopez reached on an infield hit to start the inning and Cole then launched a two-run homer to pick up his fourth RBI of the night and come within two runs with a score of 8-6. Later in the inning, pinch-hitter Justin Hendrickson lifted a sacrifice fly deep to right field to score ex-Saint Tim Marks from third, making it an 8-7 ballgame. Ted Ledbetter advanced to third on the play. Now with two outs, Geoff McCallum had a chance to tie the game in the clutch situation with a runner 90 feet away. But reliever Chris Andel, who came on in relief for Truty after the Cole home run, got the Flyer shortstop to strike out swinging.
Matt Hammons (6 SV) tallied his third save in the three-game series, striking out two of the three batters he faced in the ninth.
On Friday night the Flyers will send LHP R.J. Swindle (1-2, 5.20) to the mound against RHP Barry Mabry (0-2, 7.17) in the first of a three-game series to wrap up the six-game homestand. Tickets for this 7:05 game as well as many others are on sale at flyersbaseball.com or at (847) 891-2255.
Notes: The Flyers have lost their third game decided by one run in the past four games, dating back to the 3-2 loss in Gary on June 20... Weekly now has a nine-game hitting streak, one that began on June 14...
Northern League Stories from June 23, 2005
- Flyers' comeback bid falls just shy - Schaumburg Flyers
- Errors costly in 5-4 loss to RailCats - Lincoln Saltdogs
- Railcats win in the tenth - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Good things brewing for Soto - Winnipeg Goldeyes
- RedHawks claim 10-1 win in series finale - Joliet JackHammers
- RedHawks hammer Joliet, 10-1 - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
- RailCats and the American Red Cross team up to save lives - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- RailCats to celebrate Crosstown Classic and the 1970's during upcoming series - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- JackHammers home stand highlighted by special guest appearances - Joliet JackHammers
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.
