Worthington nearly took advantage of the Ramblers' current stretch of cold hitting on Tuesday night, but came up just short in the steamy, 5-4 seven-inning EIHL battle in Peosta. A late sixth-inning run edged the Ramblers back in front and allowed the team to improve to 24-6 overall.
While many Key West hitters have gone cold of late, catcher Matt Knabel continues to heat up just like the Eastern Iowa weather. Knabel's two-run single in the first capped a four-run first inning for Key West. The Ramblers led 4-0 after the first frame and appeared to be on their way to an easy victory with Sean O'Connor on the mound.
But Worthington had other ideas. O'Connor, who came in holding opposing batters to a .172 average, was tagged with a season-high 10 hits. He also gave up three runs (two earned), but did strike out seven against only two walks.
Worthington chipped off the lead by getting one run each in the second, third, fifth and sixth innings to complete its comeback from a 4-0 deficit. Worthington pushed across the tying run in the sixth after a third strike alluded Knabel and allowed J.J. Connolly to score. The Ramblers responded quickly by regaining the lead when Cam Stewart drew a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases still loaded and only one out, Tyler Sincock flew out and Dan Spain grounded out to end the threat.
Curt Dixon, who threw the final two innings in relief, made the one run stand up and pushed his own mark to 4-0. Dixon flashed dominating stuff as he struck out six Worthington hitters.
Knabel and Cory Davidson were the only Ramblers to manage multiple hits. Knabel went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBIs. Davidson cracked two hits in three at-bats and collected an RBI and a run. Nate Ramler played his first game as a Rambler and went 1-for-3 with a run scored.
The Ramblers are off until Saturday when they will challenge Bellevue in the first round of the Cascade Tournament at 5 p.m.
No comments:
Post a Comment