Winter Park Puts Up 8 Runs in 5th Inning, Defeats Sanford in Extras
SANFORD, Fla (June 19, 2018) – The Winter Park Diamond Dawgs defeated the Sanford River Rats by a score of 9-8 in 10 innings on Tuesday night. These two teams have played each other five times. Four of those games have been decided by a run and two have needed extra frames. The Diamond Dawgs are 5-1 this season in one run ballgames.
This game was a roller coaster ride. The River Rats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Andrew Labosky (Nova Southeastern) in the third inning. At this point, it was the only hit that starter Brooks Brophy (Alabama Huntsville) allowed, as the runner that scored had been hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
The Diamond Dawgs struck back in a big way. Winter Park sent 13 batters to the plate in the fifth inning and scored eight runs. Before tonight, they had scored a total of nine runs in the fifth innings of their previous 13 games combined.
The inning got going when Robert Scott (Lake Sumter) walked with one out on his way to a three walk night. The next six batters reached base via a single, an error, and a double, followed by three consecutive walks. The double was off the bat of Christian Snow (Mobile) who just missed putting a ball over the left field wall by a matter of inches. He would go on to have a 4-for-5 evening. He would add an RBI and a walk to his best night as a Diamond Dawg.
“Snow is starting to swing the bat well” said Schall, “He’s a guy that I expected coming in to be a great offensive player for us.”
Alex Jackson (Wichita State) and Brian Ellis (FGCU) each added 2 RBI’s a piece with two out singles. That pushed the Winter Park lead to 8-1 halfway through the fifth inning.
The River Rats refused to quit, as they gradually chipped their way back into the game. They put one run on the board in the bottom of the fifth and then scored two more in the sixth inning.
Brooks Brophy’s night would end here, as he was phenomenal. He registered his longest outing of the season with six innings pitched. He struck out six and didn’t walk anyone. In Brophy's four starts, Winter Park has won every time.
In the seventh inning and with two outs, Sanford’s Josh Crouch (State College of Florida) would hit a three-run home run that was a no doubter. This pulled the Rats within one run.
Sanford would get their leadoff man aboard. Everyone in the stadium knew that the runner Dathan Prewett (Undecided) would be stealing when given the chance. He did to pick up his third stolen base on the night. This season, the Diamond Dawgs have only thrown out three runners, as opponents have swiped 31 bases in 34 attempts.
“One thing we’ve got to do better is throwing people out,” said Schall, “Our pitchers have to do a better job giving our catchers a chance to throw out runners.”
William Ard (USC Aiken) and Jake Christa (NE Mississippi) struck out the next two batters, as the normal starter Christa entered the game in relief. With two outs Crouch came in clutch again for the River Rats by knocking in the runner Prewett to tie the game up. Christa would strike out the next batter to send the game into extras.
The international tiebreaker came into effect once again. The speedster Robert Scott was the last out of the previous inning, so he started on second base. The leadoff hitter Ellis climbed aboard on a single into left field and Scott was held up at third. Sanford was able to grab an out before intentionally walking Snow.
The bases were loaded for the third time in the ball game for the Diamond Dawgs, and they almost missed their chance. With two outs in the inning, a ball got away from the Sanford catcher Crouch to score Scott from third.
Maxwell Clark (Undecided) came on to pitch for the bottom of the tenth inning. He only allowed one runner to get on base via a walk, but struck out two in the final frame to give Winter Park their seventh win on the season.
“Every game we play them we seem to let them back in the game,” said Schall, “You’ve gotta tip your cap to them, they don’t quit and they’ve got some good hitters.
Out of the five matchups, the Diamond Dawgs have given up the lead or allowed the game to be tied in three of them. One of those surrendered leads ended up in a loss. The Diamond Dawgs move to 3-2 against the River Rats on the season with four more meetings on the schedule.
JP Williams (Undecided) will get his first start of the season on Wednesday night against the Sanford River Rats. He has made three appearances out of the bullpen and is 1-1 on the year with one save over seven innings of work. He has struck out six batters and has only walked one.
Wednesday night’s match-up will be played at Bishop Moore High School but technically be an away game for the Diamond Dawgs. The game is a make-up for the Opening Day rainout at Sanford Memorial Stadium between these two teams on May 31.
Ken Landis (UCF)
