Lakers, Trojans fit to be tied

Wed, May 14, 2008    to del.icio.us

SPRING LAKE — There were clutch rallies, towering home run blasts, terrific defensive plays and some bonehead errors on both sides Tuesday at Hickman Field.

In the end, it seemed fitting that Spring Lake and Fruitport's baseball teams are still deadlocked for first place in the Lakes Eight Conference.

The Lakers surged to a strong showing in Game 1, relying on a 3-run home run from Jared Panozzo and a sparkling pitching effort from Kevin Bergy to win 6-3.

In the nightcap, Spring Lake rallied from a 7-1 deficit in the seventh inning to force extra innings, but an RBI infield hit in the top of the eighth from Fruitport's Robert Afton proved to be the difference in an 8-7 Trojans' victory. Both squads are 7-3 in Lakes Eight play with two conference doubleheaders left.

"There were so many strange things that happened," said Spring Lake coach Brian Sabo, whose squad now stands at 11-8-1. "You hate to think about all the missed opportunities, but there were a few on both sides."

Fruitport missed a few opportunities to put the Lakers away in Game 2, but the credit goes to a Spring Lake lineup that caught fire in the seventh inning, after being held relatively in check the prior six.

The Lakers batted through the order in the frame, smacking five hits, including RBIs from Tyler Pederson, Panozzo, Drew Brackett and Eric Foster. Foster's hit, a sharp liner down the first-base line, completed the thrilling comeback, trying the contest at 7-all.

"In the dugout, that's all the kids talked about. They never really got down," Sabo said. "And then we put some things together and it actually looked like it was going to happen. We had some things that went our way, when it hadn't happened all game."

Fruitport manager Paul Masko decided to stick it out with starter Ryan Senecal, who prior to the seventh, did a fabulous job of mixing his off-speed pitches with his fastball, thus keeping Spring Lake hitters in check. But he walked two of the first four batters he faced in the seventh, which led to the rally.

"Once we were in deep, we decided to stick with him," Masko said. "I played all my players and if we would have changed pitchers, it would have rearranged our defense and made us weaker."

Spring Lake had a chance for a victory, but Senecal got Mark Rhem to pop out with runners on second and third for the final out, forcing extra innings.

Fruitport wasted little time in fighting back.

With two outs, No. 8 hitter Mitch Blackmer reached base on an error, and later advanced to third after Lakers' first baseman Kevin Teays didn't anticipate a pick-off throw from relief pitcher Chris Sabo, and the ball scooted to the fence.

"It's little things like that end up costing you," Brian Sabo said.

Fruitport's Afton made Spring Lake pay, as he sent a soft dribbler down the third base line and beat the throw to first by two steps, giving him an RBI single.

"I was just trying to put the ball in play. That's the only thing that was going through my mind," Afton said. "It's always a plus to have the game-winning RBI."

Senecal was a completely different pitcher in the eighth, striking out the first two batters he faced and then getting Sabo to pop out to end it — on his 115th pitch of the game. Senecal allowed 11 hits, but fanned six Spring Lake batters.

"We knew Spring Lake struggled with off-speed pitchers, and (Senecal) took advantage of it," Masko said. "Until that (seventh) inning."

Fruitport's Patrick Arntson provided the offensive punch early, tallying a two-RBI single in the first. The score remained that way until the sixth, when Spring Lake scored on a throwing error, cutting the Trojans' lead in half.

Fruitport erupted for five runs in the top of the seventh, keyed by some small ball and the long ball.

Afton layed down a perfect suicide squeeze bunt with Blackmer racing home from third and Spring Lake had no chance to get either player out.

"I was kind of surprised coach called that with two outs,"Afton said. "I'm thinking I need to get a hit, but coach said, 'Why don't you lay down a nice bunt right there?' It worked out nicely."

Cody Patterson followed the trickery with an RBI double and Arntson cleared the bases with a mammoth two-run home run to left field, giving the Trojans a six-run edge.

Brooks McDonald started for the Lakers, going 6 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits, while striking out five and walking one. Sabo followed and allowed only two hits — Arntson's homer and Afton's game-winner.

Bergy won the pitching duel with Fruitport's Nick Brezina in the opener, as Bergy threw a complete game five-hitter, while striking out six and walking only one. Sabo said Bergy had complete control of his curve, which frustrated Fruitport hitters.

"He threw so many first-pitch strikes, which made the curve even more effective," Sabo said. "And he's not afraid to throw it at any point in the count."

Brezina walked eight batters — including four in the Lakers' five-run second inning. The biggest blow in the inning came on Panozzo's three-run homer, the Lakers' 11th home run this season.

Mark Rhem was also 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Cory Michele was 2-for-4 with two runs scored for Fruitport, while Dominic Rizzo had an RBI single and a sacrifice fly.

JUNIOR VARSITY: Spring Lake (12-5 overall) split with Fruitport Tuesday, winning the first game 5-4, and dropping the second contest, 11-4.