Schaumburg Siezes on Miscue in Extras to Win
Published on June 19, 2008 under Northern League (NL)
Schaumburg Flyers News Release
Kansas City, KS - In a game that was razor-close until the final frame, the Schaumburg Flyers let their bats do the talking. The visitors posted a season high of 18 hits and tied a high of 12 runs to triumph over the Kansas City T-Bones. The final score was 12-5 in ten innings at CommunityAmerica Ballpark.
The deciding tenth inning didn't appear to lead to a deluge of runs early on. Kansas City (16-16) brought on usual closer David Trahan (1-1) to keep the game tied at five in the extra frame, and he got CF Kurt Crowell (1-for-6, RBI) to ground out to lead off the inning. A single by C/2B Ryan Luther (2-for-6, 2R) put the leading run on, and a walk to 2B/1B Lance Koenig (1-for-1, 3R) put men on first and second with one away.
That's when Trahan made a fatal mistake. Without checking to see if Koenig was being held on first base, Trahan threw the ball towards the bag . . . only to find T-Bones 1B Jim Fasano (2-for-3, 2 RBI) playing well behind the runner at first. The ball trickled down the right-field side in foul ground, and allowed Luther to motor in from second base for a 6-5 Flyer advantage.
Schaumburg (13-20) had the lead going into the bottom of the ninth, but the leadoff home run bit them for the second time in this series. Kansas City LF Brad Correll (1-for-5, RBI) - also the Northern League home run leader - sent one deep into the Flyers bullpen in left field to tie the game at five. That meant reliever David Byard (2-1) had already blown the save opportunity with no outs recorded, and Kansas City pressed even harder for a win. A walk to Fasano put the winning run on, and a wild pitch advanced him to second.
After a groundout put Fasano on third base with only one out, Flyers manager Steve Maddock played the percentages. He intentionally walked DH Ken Harvey (1-for-4, Run) to put T-Bones on first and third with only one out to set up a double play chance. SS Eric Scriven (2-for-4, Run) was the next Kansas City batter, and he nearly won the game for his club. A bouncing ball to third base bounced off of Vince Harrison's (4-for-5, RBI) glove, but he recovered and fired to home to retire Fasano on the contact play. After walking a man after that crucial out to load the bases, Schaumburg's Byard got Kansas City 3B Steve Trout (2-for-5, RBI) to strike out swinging and send it to extra innings.
Harrison's contributions at the plate matched his big fielding play to keep the game tied. The reigning Northern League Player of the Week was 3-for-3 in his first three at-bats, singling twice and doubling in his third at-bat. After earning a walk in the seventh frame, Harrison grounded out in the ninth inning. His RBI came on a single in the big tenth inning for the Flyers.
Not to be overlooked for the Flyers were Lance Koenig's contributions during the game. Playing first base for the first time all year after 1B Peanut Williams (1-for-3, RBI) went down with an apparent leg injury sliding in to second base in the fifth inning, Lance put on a clinic for patient hitting. After being hit by a pitch in his first at-bat, Koenig singled and stole second and third bases in the fifth inning. He later scored the second Schaumburg run in that frame. Then in his next three at-bats, Koenig walked all three times. The run he scored in the sixth gave the Flyers a 5-4 lead at that point, his walk in the eighth inning led to his third stolen base of the game, and he also scored after reaching in the tenth. The three stolen bases in one game is now the single-game standard for Schaumburg this season . . . eclipsing even the Northern League's leading base-stealer, Rontrez Johnson, who previously held the mark at two in one contest.
Once Trahan made his mental error in the tenth with the throw to nobody at first, Schaumburg piled on the damage with hits. C Hank Lanto (1-for-2, 2 RBI), who entered in Williams' vacated batting order slot, hit a two-run single in that frame. DH Chris Gaskin (1-for-6, 2 RBI) needed an extra inning to earn his first hit, but he made it a big one with a triple to left-center field that scored Lanto and Harrison from first and second base. The Flyers piled on six hits in the frame and batted all the way through their order. Once the dust cleared, reliever Chris Saenz was called in to seal the deal, and he did so by retiring three straight T-Bones in order in the bottom of the tenth.
With three games of their nine-game road trip now complete, the Schaumburg Flyers will now head back to Chicagoland for a weekend series against the Gary SouthShore RailCats at U.S. Steel Yard. The Flyers will send out starter Matt Varner (0-5, 8.89) against Drew Dickinson (1-1, 5.09) for Gary. Game time is 7:00 p.m. sharp in Gary, Indiana, and you can listen to it all on flyersbaseball.com.
The Schaumburg Flyers are a member of the Northern League, a 6-team Independent Professional Baseball League established in 1993. Opening Day is May 15th, 2008. For ticket information call (847) 891-BALL (2255) or visit www.flyersbaseball.com
Northern League Stories from June 19, 2008
- JackHammers hold on for close victory - Joliet JackHammers
- Northern League Transactions - NL
- Correll's Ninth Inning Homer Not Enough - Kansas City Monarchs
- JackHammers Sign Former White Sock Caruso - Joliet JackHammers
- Schaumburg Siezes on Miscue in Extras to Win - Schaumburg Flyers
- RailCats Cruise to 9-4 History-Making Win in Winnipeg - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- RailCats' Announce 6th Annual Kid's Baseball Camp - Gary SouthShore Railcats
- Petland Dog Day Is June 29th - Schaumburg Flyers
- Flyers 3rd Basemen Named Northern League Player Of The Week - Schaumburg Flyers
- Flyers Announce 10th Annual Golf Outing - Schaumburg Flyers
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