Flyers drop first half finale
July 10, 2005 - Northern League (NL)
Schaumburg Flyers News Release
JOLIET, IL- The Schaumburg Flyers lost the final game of the first half on Sunday, July 10, falling to the Joliet JackHammers by a 5-4 final at Silver Cross Field. The Flyers finished the first half of their 2005 season at 16-32 after advancing to the Northern League Finals last summer. Joliet took two of three in the series and improved to 23-25. Schaumburg can still advance to the playoffs for a third straight season with a good showing in the second half this summer.
After falling behind 1-0, the Flyers seized a 3-1 lead with three runs in the top of the third inning off Joliet starter Jason Shelley (5-5). Marcus Nettles delivered a two-run single and rookie catcher Ryan Walker hit his second home run in less than 24 hours and second of his pro career. An error figured in the inning as just one run was earned. But Shelley proceeded to retire 11 straight hitters into the seventh inning and the JackHammer offense came to life.
Spot starter Lyle Prempas (No Decision) gave up a pair of two-out runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game as John Lackaff and Dan Underwood had RBI hits. Blake Williams (0-4) came out of the bullpen for the fifth and allowed two more tallies as Joliet took the lead for good. With one out, Kyle Logan singled, stole second and came in to score on an RBI hit by Josh Loggins. Loggins was thrown out by Walker trying to steal but Jayson Drobiak followed with his second home run in as many games, a two-out solo shot to right field that put the 'Hammers up 5-3. Williams did finish strong, retiring the final six hitters of his four-inning outing.
The Drobiak home run proved to be huge as the Flyers rallied in the seventh inning. With one out, Bryan Russo singled and Nelson Gord doubled to break the string of Shelley outs and put runners at second and third with one away. Matt Petrusek relieved and the first batter he faced, Geoff McCallum, hit a sharp grounder to Drobiak at first base. Although playing back, Drobiak threw home to nail Russo on a close play for the second out. Eric Cole's two-out RBI single scored Gord to make it a 5-4 game but Jarrod Patterson grounded out to strand two and end the threat.
Walker drew a leadoff walk in the eighth but got no further than second as Petrusek retired Chris Weekly, Justin Hendrickson and pinch hitter Josue Lopez to work around a one-out wild pitch. After losing Saturday's game, Amad Stephens had a 1-2-3 ninth for his seventh save of the year.
Gord led the offense with a 2-for-4 game and also scored twice. He moved to center field in the fourth as Nettles left for precautionary reasons due to hamstring irritation. Cole subbed in at right field.
The Flyers open the second half at home on Tuesday, July 12 against Lincoln. Tickets are available for the 7:05 PM game. Please call (847) 891-2255 or visit flyersbaseball.com. LHP Anthony Boughner (3-5) is the scheduled Schaumburg starter.
Notes: The Flyers fell to 3-10 in one-run games on Sunday...The loss by Williams dropped the Schaumburg bullpen to 1-13 after Nate Cotton's relief win on Saturday night...Sunday's game was played in the early evening with a 5:05 PM start time...Schaumburg had planned to rest both Cole and Lopez but both were needed in the game...Lopez pinch hit for DH Ted Ledbetter...Walker batted cleanup on Sunday after his game winning homer on Saturday night...He went 1-for-2 with one run scored...The Flyers played errorless baseball throughout the three-game series at Silver Cross Field...The sub .500 first half is the first for the club since 2002 (Both Halves)...All-Star selections will be announced on Monday by the Northern League office...
Northern League Stories from July 10, 2005
- Flyers drop first half finale - Schaumburg Flyers
- 'Hawks close out first half with loss - Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
- Joliet wins the series two games to one after Sunday's 5-4 Win - Joliet JackHammers
- RailCats lose first half finale - Gary SouthShore Railcats
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