Mental Errors Prove Costly, Fielders Losing Streak to Five

Published on July 17, 2011 under North American League (NAmL)
Lake County Fielders News Release


The Lake County Fielders dropped their fifth straight game Sunday afternoon losing to the Chico Outlaws 7-5.

Relief pitching and mental errors were once again the problem, as relievers gave up three key runs late in the game to put the score out of reach.

The Outlaws got on the board first in this one, as Adam Buschini's bloop double scored Danny Gonzalez (reached on a single) to make it a 1-0 lead in the 3rd inning.

But the Fielders would come right back in the bottom portion. John Dziamba doubled, and Brad Agustin was hit by a pitch, allowing runners on first and second with one out. Maikel Jova then stepped into the box, and singled to Kurt Steinhauer in left field, who air mailed a throw way over the catcher's head, allowing Dziamba to score from third and tying up the ball game. Next up was Mark Samuelson, who promptly unloaded the bases with a three-run home run deep into the right field bleachers to make it a 4-1 Fielders lead.

Lake County would hold that lead until the 5th inning, when starting pitcher Julio Medina got into some trouble. The Outlaws' Pat Terry started off the inning with a bloop single. Next Outlaws' pitcher Johnny Bravo reached on a bunt single, but there was an error on the throw by Medina, allowing both runners to advance. Medina would then throw a wild pitched, scoring Terry and cutting the lead to 4-2. After a flyout by Steinhauer, Danny Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Bravo and making it a 4-3 ball game. Buschini followed Gonzalez with a triple, and would later score on Chris Lubanski's single to make it a 4-4 tie.

The score would stay tied up until the top of the 7th inning, when Buschini hit a two-run home run over the left field wall to make it a 6-4 Chico lead. In the bottom portion of the inning, Agustin would get one back for the Fielders, as he hit a solo home run over the left field fence to cut the lead to 6-5.

But five runs would be the maximum amount of runs scored by the Fielders in today's game, while the Outlaws would add one more run in the 9th inning via Steinhauer's solo home run to give the final score of 7-5.

Medina went six innings today, giving up four runs on seven hits with two strikeouts (not to mention multiple mental errors of not covering first base on several ground balls). Trent Lee would get the loss for the Fielders, as he gave up two runs on two hits in only one inning. Kholi would come in and give up one more run.

Top performers for the Fielders in today's game were Agustin (3-4 with a home run and two runs scored) and Samuelson (2-4 with a home run and three RBIs). Buschini of the Outlaws was a single away from hitting for the cycle.

With the loss, the Fielders remain in third place, and see their record drop to 25-20.

Lake County will look to snap their five-game losing streak on Tuesday, when the team travels to Arizona to face the Yuma Scorpions.

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North American League Stories from July 17, 2011


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