WARSAW – Both teams fought the weather as much as each other in a rain soaked 9-8 loss for Plymouth on the road at Warsaw.
Seven runs were scored in the first inning and nearly 70 pitches combined thrown by both pitchers as Plymouth got to Warsaw starter Zach Witt for three quick runs in the first and then the Tigers returned the favor with four against Plymouth starter Jeremy Splix in the bottom half. A steady drizzle for most of the game’s first four innings made conditions tough for either team.
“This is a tough place to play and tough conditions and I thought both teams just kind of ground it out,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Wolfe. “It was unfortunate tonight we couldn’t get the win.”
“We had three in the first and I came into the dugout and said we better be ready they could easily do the same thing and they did. Give them credit they pounded out ten hits and did some good base running things there the first couple innings were pretty brutal.”
Trailing all night Splix did settle down through five innings of work and with a little help from reliever Jeremy Drudge the Pilgrims were within three headed to the final frame.
“You get out there and the winds blowing and the rain is in your face and you can’t feel your fingers it’s tough,” said Wolfe. “I thought Jeremy (Splix) did a nice job of settling in there. If he could had the one pitch back (Henry Howard’s home run) it was a fastball we were trying to get in there and it tailed back over the plate.”
One of the games key moments was that 3-2 pitch to Tiger shortstop Henry Howard that landed over the fence in left center for two key fourth inning runs to put Warsaw up four. Key because Plymouth struck for two of their own in the fifth.
One more Tiger run in the fifth would be crucial as a sacrifice bunt by Collin Marshall turned into no outs and runners on first and second setting up a sacrifice fly by Sterling Hay that would be the game winner.
“It’s just too many mistakes in conditions like this. It’s like that for everyone,” said Wolfe “You got to get outs when you can get outs. They had the big two run homer there and the one they got in the sixth when we didn’t get an out on the bunt. We were trying to be aggressive but in conditions like this you just have to get outs when you may not have control of the ball. When you can take outs take outs.”
It was also a game of missed opportunities for the Pilgrim offense that left 10 runners on base in the first four innings.
“We left some guys on base early in the game that I thought we could push across, we had bases loaded the one inning there and left it so in a game like this you have to take advantage of some of those things because the ball is going to be wet and your going to have some tough throws.”
The loss drops the Pilgrims out of a second place tie with NorthWood in the conference and moves them to 12-7 and 5-4 in NLC play. Warsaw stays in first place at 11-6 and 7-2.
Linescore
Plymouth 3 0 1 0 2 0 2 8-7-2
Warsaw 4 2 0 2 1 0 x 9-10-2
WP – Tennant. LP – Splix. HR – Howard (W). 2B – Mikesell (P), Rodriguez 2 (W).
