Ramblers rebound from tournament loss, thrash Epworth

The Ramblers fell on Friday and Saturday at the EIHL Preseason Tournament before rebounding for an 11-3 victory over Epworth in a Prairie League game on Sunday. Key West, which fell 3-2 to Rickardsville in the EIHL consolation game on Saturday, improved to 2-3 overall and 1-1 in Prairie League action with Sunday's victory.

Andrew Redman, a first team All-Midwest Collegiate Conference performer at Clarke University, made his season debut on Sunday. He threw five innings and struck out nine on the way to picking up a victory. Redman did not allow a hit until Epworth struck for three runs on four hits in the fifth inning.

Aaron Collins impressed over the final four innings. The Coe College hurler held Epworth scoreless in his first outing to earn the save in relief of Redman. Collins struck six as he and Redman combined on a total of 15 punch outs.

The duo got plenty of support from the Key West offensive attack, which was led by center fielder Tanner Denlinger, who went 3-for-6 with a double and five RBIs. Denlinger cleared the bases with a three-run double in the top of the second to get the Ramblers on the board first.

The top four hitters in the Key West lineup - Denlinger, Trent Bollman (2-for-6), Dan Spain (2-for-4) and Chris Briggs (2-for-6) - all notched at least two hits. Third baseman Luis Reyes also tallied two hits as part of a 16-hit splurge for the Ramblers.

The win took some of the sting out of losing two nailbiters by a single run at the EIHL Preseason Tournament. Key West defeated Dyersville 4-2 in the first round of the tournament prior to a 10-inning, 5-4 defeat to Cascade in the semifinals on Friday and a 3-2 loss to Rickardsville in the consolation game on Saturday.

Key West got solid outings on the mound in both losses. Clarke product Matt Lozano (pictured) fired eight quality innings, giving up three runs versus Cascade. Spain then took the ball on Saturday and did not allow a single earned run in a seven-inning complete game.

Among Ramblers who have played in at least three of the team's first five games, Briggs leads the team with a .412 batting average. Key West's pitching has sparkled, turning in a 1.76 ERA in 41 innings thus far. No pitcher has started more than one game.

The Ramblers return to action on Tuesday to take on Rickardsville in Peosta at 7 p.m. in an EIHL duel.