News

By Zach Lutz

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The Pistol Shrimp pitching staff might have returned home Tuesday with a chip on their shoulder and something to prove following an offensive-minded series in Lafayette. They took this opportunity at home to heart, because the Pistol Shrimp pitchers responded in dominant fashion.

Entering Tuesday, the Pistol Shrimp were set to play a four-game homestand in three days before getting back on the road Friday. The first game on Tuesday coming against the Quincy Gems, followed by a double-header against the Hannibal Hoots on Wednesday and then a third game against the Hoots on Thursday. However, as we have come to understand, the Prospect League schedule never goes quite as planned. This week was no different as wacky weather played a key factor in messing with the games.

But hey, at least the Pistol Shrimp were able to work around the weather, somehow fitting in all four games before Friday, avoiding any postponements.

Tuesday:

The only night this week without weather issues was Tuesday. In fact, it was arguably the perfect night for a summer baseball game. It was warm, but not too hot or humid, the skies were clear and as the sun faded into night and the game wore on, there was no extreme drop in temperature.

Evidently, this perfect night called for a pitcher’s duel.

Ty Peccioli got the nod for the Gems while Jackson Ertz stood in opposition for the Pistol Shrimp. A duel with Ertz means that everyone in the stadium will become familiar with “Tennessee Mojo” by The Cadillac Three, as the song plays every time Ertz walks on to the mound between innings. Ertz says the music gets him pumped up and ready pitch.

Well, the lyrics and banging of this rock/country tune must have really sunk in Tuesday night because Ertz was almost untouchable through five innings. Ertz gave up just one hit until the sixth inning, though it was an opposite field solo homerun by Kyle Crowl to tie the game at one, after working an extensive at-bat in the fourth inning. Ertz kept Gem hitters off balance, working in his slider consistently and his splitter when he needed to. His game plan led to 11 strikeouts in his five plus innings of work. Unfortunately, his strikeout total and his two walks factored into his pitch count and when he got into some trouble in the sixth, he could no longer continue on the mound.

Ertz was responsible for the two baserunners who came around to score off Pistol Shrimp reliever Kyle Strepek. Those two runs made it 3-1 Gems, and the Pistol Shrimp never found a way to claw back. The Pistol Shrimp offense never provided the run support for Ertz, manufacturing just one run in the third inning on a passed ball. The Gems added two runs late and took the game by a score of 5-1.

While it was not the result the team was looking for to open the homestand, the offense gained the motivation to support their pitching staff on Wednesday, even if it was just enough.

Wednesday:

The Pistol Shrimp hoped that their fortunes would change against a new team in town, the Hannibal Hoots. Game one of this scheduled double-header was a game being resumed from June 19. A game that barely made it into the bottom of the second inning thanks to bad weather. Both teams decided to continue the game with the pitchers who were out there when the game was stopped short a week ago.

On June 19, the Pistol Shrimp got the start they were looking for. Starting pitcher and Creighton University commit, Griffin Holderfield, had worked two innings surrendering two walks on no hits and no runs while striking out three. Paul Kunst helped give the Pistol Shrimp the lead in the bottom of the first after leading off with a single, stealing second and third and then scoring on an Andrew Dyke sacrifice fly to center.

When the game resumed on Wednesday there was nothing doing for either team offensively for the first couple of innings. Not until the Pistol Shrimp found ways to score two runs in the bottom of the fourth. The Pistol Shrimp used their speed and base stealing ability to put runners in scoring position, making it easier on the hitter to drive them in. Andrew Dyke led off the fourth with a single, stole second, moved to third on a flyout to right and then scored on a groundball toward the middle to which the shortstop ranged but could not make the play on Williams at first. Williams reached on an error but got the RBI because Dyke was scoring regardless of whether Williams was out at first. Williams then stole second and third, setting up an RBI groundout for Garrett Navarra to the right side. Small ball at its finest, the Pistol Shrimp’s aggression on the bases led to all three of their runs in the game.

It turns out these became the only three runs in the game because Griffin Holderfield kept the Hoots in check. He surrendered just one hit in five innings and struck out eight. His low 90’s fastball and sharp slider proved overwhelming for Hoots hitters.

Holderfield could have continued in the game and the Pistol Shrimp could have added more insurance, but a violent storm burst into the area in an instant and a heavy downpour for thirty minutes over the stadium left the dugouts and field completely tarnished. It was quite obvious there would be no more baseball played at Benedictine on Wednesday night. Fortunately for the Pistol Shrimp, the game made it into the sixth inning, so this game became an official 3-0 win for the Pistol Shrimp.

Holderfield’s crafty and superb performance earned him Prospect League Pitcher of the Day honors.

With the weather pushing game two of the double-header to Thursday, the Pistol Shrimp set their focus on sweeping the three home games from the Hoots and getting back over .500 for the first time in a couple of weeks.

Thursday:

The two games between the Hoots and Pistol Shrimp on Thursday were each scheduled for seven innings for time’s sake.

In game one of the double-header on Thursday, Garrett Navarra got his first start on the mound for the Pistol Shrimp. A later addition to the team, Navarra becomes the third two-way player on the Pistol Shrimp roster, joining Anders Davidson and Steven Hamer.

Navarra faced adversity in each of his three innings, giving up a run in each of those innings. However, he limited the damage all three times as the Hoots threatened to do more damage each time. He was able to strike out six and keep his team in the ball game. He definitely has the stuff to be an effective pitcher and, in his starts, going forward for the Pistol Shrimp he understands he will need to pitch with more urgency at the start of the inning.

The three runs given up by Navarra were not costly by any means, though. His ability to pitch out of jams allowed his teammates to bounce back early in the game. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the second, Navarra’s Central Michigan teammate, Gaosh Wlliams, had his back going down in the zone to blast a two-run homerun to left field to tie the game. When the Hoots added a run in the third, Andrew Dyke tied it right back up in the bottom of third with an RBI triple….

And just when we thought it could not happen again, it did. Lightning struck in the area, the sirens went off and we would have to wait thirty minutes for the all-clear to resume play. When lightning continued to strike, it turned into an hour-long delay. Could game two of this double-header be postponed AGAIN?! That was the fear at first but thankfully, after an hour delay and minimal rainfall the game could resume, and the second game could still be played afterwards.

With runners on first and third and less than two outs, Coach Jackiemiec employed more craft baserunning aggression to bring in the go-ahead run. Though Belluomini was caught stealing second, the throw down to second easily scored Andrew Dyke from third and the Pistol Shrimp had a 4-3 lead.

Nick Laxner relieved Navarra in the fourth and almost immediately gave up a solo shot to keep the back-and-forth ebb and flow of the game going. But besides that small blemish, he and Steven Hamer did enough to lock down the Hoots’ offense the last few innings, keeping their run total at four.

In a tie game in the sixth, Matt Waznis and Garrett Goetz came up clutch for the Pistol Shrimp. Waznis is exactly the kind of player you want leading off an inning in a tie game. He has an OBP over .500 and leads the Prospect League in walks. So what does the lefty hitter do here? He walks on five pitches. This set up Garrett Goetz to smoke a triple past a diving center fielder in right center to bring home Waznis.

A huge hit for his team, Goetz turned to his dugout and gave two big claps, rightfully pumped up about the contribution. Goetz then extended the lead, scoring on a passed ball. Ultimately, the Pistol Shrimp won the game 7-4 and were a win away from sweeping the Hoots at home and going back above .500.

Game Two:

In this game the Pistol Shrimp controlled the momentum early and never let go, taking it to the Hoots 6-1. Once again, the Pistol Shrimp pitchers shined and dominated. Jason Shanner led the way pitching the first four innings allowing just one run on one hit. Luke Fitton, Owen Behrens and even Paul Kunst each pitched an inning in relief. Kunst gave up the only other Hoots hit besides the solo homerun off Shanner in the fourth. In all, the staff combined for one run on two hits while striking out seven over seven innings.

By the time the Hoots hit their homerun, the Pistol Shrimp had already scored two runs, thanks to more aggressive baserunning plays. When Jared Wegner brought the Hoots within one with his blast in the fourth, the Pistol Shrimp responded, scoring their last four runs in the bottom of the fourth.

Garrett Goetz stayed hot with an RBI double, followed by Garrett Navarra with an RBI double of his own, knocking in his fellow Garrett. A couple more base hits and chaos on the bases brought in two more runs, and you know the rest of the story from here. The Pistol Shrimp locked down the win, completing the sweep.

The Pistol Shrimp will travel to Hannibal today with a lot of well-deserved confidence. A game over .500 and playing a team they continue to dominate; the Pistol Shrimp will look to go two games over .500 Friday night when the first pitch is thrown in Hannibal at 7:05 pm.

The Pistol Shrimp will then travel to play the Cape Catfish and the Normal CornBelters this weekend before returning home for another homestand next week. They will get that homestand started against the Champion City Kings at 7:05 Monday night.