Offense Erupts as Traverse City Wins Fifth Straight
June 28, 2012 - Frontier League (FL)
Traverse City Beach Bums News Release
TRAVERSE CITY, MI - The Traverse City Beach Bums scored three times in the first inning and four more in the second and never looked back en route to an 11-3 victory over the Washington Wild Things.
Traverse City jumped out of the gate strong as Brian Heere and Ryan Still led off with singles. Jose Vargas came up next and hit an opposite field homerun, his ninth of the season, to put TC up 3-0 before an out was even recorded.
In the second, Kyle Eveland singled and Heere walked with one out. Instead of playing his traditional table setting role, Still delivered as a run producer for Traverse City, doubling home both runners for a 5-0 Beach Bums lead. Vargas followed as a hit batsman, putting runners on first and second. Chase Burch came up next and doubled home both Still and Vargas to make it 7-0.
After Washington got a run in the third on a single by Andrew Heck to score Matt McConnell, the Beach Bums went back on the offensive in the sixth as a Marcus Nidiffer bases loaded groundout would score Burch, who had singled, to make it 8-1. The Wild Things would counter with a run in the top of the seventh on a Taylor Oldham homer to cut the score to 8-2.
The Beach Bums put any hopes of a Washington comeback to rest in the bottom of the seventh as Traverse City would load up the bases on walks to Heere, Still and Vargas. Burch stood in and unloaded the bases with a double to the wall in right, upping the TC lead to 11-2. The Wild Things would add a run in the eighth to cap the scoring.
On the mound, Reid Kelly (5-1) authored his fourth straight start of seven innings or more, earning the win by allowing two runs on five hits over seven. Jhonny Montoya (1-2) never found his rhythm allowing seven runs in 1.1 innings for Washington.
Offensively for the Beach Bums, Still reached base five times in the contest and Burch tied a career-high with five RBI, marking the sixth time in his career and the second time this season he has accomplished the feat. As a team, the Beach Bums tied a season high with seven extra-base hits.
The series wraps up on Friday with Bennett Whitmore (2-2, 4.85) on the mound for Traverse City against Justin Hall (2-2, 5.58) for Washington. It is a FANtastic Fireworks Friday at Wuerfel Park. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m.
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