Ramblers escape Worthington

With the Key West bats struggling through the first five innings, Dan Spain provided a shot in the arm with 4.2 scoreless innings in relief of starting pitcher Greg Farrey.

Worthington actually led 3-1 after five innings before the Ramblers (24-15) chipped away with a run in the sixth and then took the lead with three in the seventh. Justin Kuhle came up with another big hit, driving a soft liner into leftfield for a two-run single in the seventh to give the Ramblers a 5-3 lead. They would add one in the ninth and win 6-3 Wednesday night in Worthington to improve to 11-4 in EIHL play.

Farrey had to be pulled with one out in the fifth after allowing three straight hitters to reach--two singles and one walk. He gave up four hits, four walks and three earned runs and did not factor into the decision. However, Farrey recorded his first two-hit game of the season, going 2-for-4 at the plate.

Spain picked up the win. He struck out six and did not give up a run. He also doubled and scored Key West's second run of the game.

In addition to Farrey's two hits, Kuhle, Jared Munson and Roberto Rivera added two-hit games of their own. Worthington's Jason Ostwinkle went a perfect 3-for-3 with a walk.

Chris Briggs took sole possession of Key West's single-season RBI record when he drove in his 30th run of 2010 with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Spain held the previous record with 29 RBI in 2008.

With Wednesday's victory, Key West will likely appear in the EIHL playoffs, which begin this Sunday. The EIHL playoffs are held at the home field of the team with the top record.

The Ramblers next game is Saturday at 1 p.m. at Zwingle.