Bill Hass on Baseball:Baseball shows its cruel side

“They get two swinging bunts (for hits), a tough error and the No. 3 hitter (Mancini) did what he was supposed to do,” said Hoppers manager David Berg.

from Bill Hass with Bill on Baseball(Greensboro Grasshoppers) at www.gsohoppers.com….

Baseball shows its cruel side

People who have been in baseball awhile will tell you that getting the 27th out can be one of the hardest tasks in the game.

Friday night at NewBridge Bank Park, the Hoppers recorded the first 26 outs against Delmarva without allowing a run. Matt Milroy was throwing hard in the ninth inning, striking out the first two batters. No one was on base and, even though the Hoppers had a only a 1-0 lead, things looked well in hand as a light rain fell.

And then baseball showed its cruel side.

Federico Castagnini hit a soft roller toward third base. Juan Avila charged in and fielded it but Castagnini beat it out. Infield hit. Gregory Lorenzo followed with a grounder to deep short. Justin Bohn gloved it but had no play. Another infield hit. Josh Hart hit a grounder to Bohn that he juggled and dropped for an error. Bases loaded.

Milroy should have been out of the inning and the Hoppers should have been in the clubhouse celebrating. Trey Mancini then hit a hard grounder up the middle that scored two runs. Delmarva, which had been dead in the water, suddenly had the lead, 2-1. Milroy struck out the next hitter to end the top of the ninth.

“They get two swinging bunts (for hits), a tough error and the No. 3 hitter (Mancini) did what he was supposed to do,” said Hoppers manager David Berg.

Then it was Delmarva’s turn to sweat. Closer Jimmy Yacabonis walked Felix Munoz to start the bottom of the ninth, got Chad Wallach to fly out, then walked Victor Castro. Yefri Perez slapped a hard grounder that went just wide of first base for a foul ball. One run would have scored for sure and possibly a second. Perez then took a called third strike for the second out.

Yacabonis bounced a wild pitch that moved both runners up and then intentionally walked Bohn to load the bases. But Avila took a called third strike to end the game.

Milroy wound up as the losing pitcher, about as hard-luck a loss as you will see. He had relieved starter Sean Townsley in the “piggyback” situation. In a road game at Delmarva last week, Milroy started and fired five shutout innings and Townsley relieved and pitched four innings to record the save. They combined for 12 strikeouts.

They reversed roles this time. Townsley, using an effective changeup, fanned the first three batters he faced and pitched five shutout innings, allowing three hits. He was in line for the win when Milroy followed and cruised through 3 2/3 innings. This time they combined for 11 strikeouts.

“The piggyback is tough on them mentally but they have responded well,” said pitching coach Jeremy Powell. “Hopefully this helps them down the road and makes them better in the future.”

What about absorbing a bitter defeat in a game that should have been won?

“That’s going to happen at times,” Powell said. “They’re professionals and they understand that they have to turn the page.”

The Hoppers’ only run came on Castro’s homer, his first of the season, in the third inning.
It was the fourth straight loss for Greensboro, which has managed just two runs and 11 hits against the Shorebirds in these two games.

“We need to come out and score about 10 runs and we’ll be fine,” Berg said.

They will get that chance tonight when the three-game series winds up with a 7 o’clock game. Max Garner will start for the Hoppers.

Box Score courtesy of the South Atlantic League:

W:Rheault (3-0, 1.59) ;L:Milroy (1-1, 3.65) ;SV:Yacabonis (4) HR:GBO:Castro, V (1) .

Delmarva Shorebirds
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Gregory Lorenzo LF 5 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .224
Josh Hart CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .234
Trey Mancini 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 1 .254
Jeff Kemp SS 5 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 .220
Drew Dosch 3B 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .304
Conor Bierfeldt RF 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .133
Chance Sisco C 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .216
Hector Veloz DH 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .222
Federico Castagnini 2B 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .192
Totals 35 2 9 1 0 0 2 2 11 .232

BATTING
2B: Kemp (6, Milroy).
TB: Kemp 2; Castagnini; Dosch 2; Lorenzo, G 3; Bierfeldt; Mancini.
RBI: Mancini 2 (7).
2-out RBI: Mancini 2.
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Veloz; Mancini; Dosch; Lorenzo, G; Bierfeldt; Hart; Kemp.
Team RISP: 1-for-8.
Team LOB: 11.

BASERUNNING
CS: Lorenzo, G 2 (3, 3rd base by Townsley/Wallach, 2nd base by Townsley/Wallach).
PO: Lorenzo, G (2nd base by Wallach).

FIELDING
DP: (Castagnini-Kemp-Mancini).

Greensboro Grasshoppers
Player Pos AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
Justin Bohn SS 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 .353
Juan Avila 3B 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .277
Carlos Lopez LF 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 .238
Austin Dean DH 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .245
Avery Romero 2B 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .339
Felix Munoz 1B 3 0 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 .327
Chad Wallach C 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 .276
Victor Castro RF 3 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 .128
1- Kentrell Dewitt PR 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .412
Yefri Perez CF 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 .250
Totals 32 1 6 2 0 1 1 6 10 .264

1-Ran for Castro, V in the 9th.
BATTING
2B: Munoz (5, Horacek), Bohn (5, Horacek).
HR: Castro, V (1, 3rd inning off Horacek, 0 on, 0 out).
TB: Bohn 2; Munoz 3; Castro, V 4; Perez, Y 2.
RBI: Castro, V (2).
Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Wallach; Lopez, C; Avila, J 3.
GIDP: Romero, A.
Team RISP: 0-for-8.
Team LOB: 10.

BASERUNNING
SB: Perez, Y (5, 2nd base off Horacek/Sisco).

FIELDING
E: Bohn (2, fielding).
Pickoffs: Wallach (Lorenzo, G at 2nd base).

Delmarva Shorebirds
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Mitch Horacek 6.0 5 1 1 1 6 1 2.89
Dylan Rheault (W, 3-0) 2.0 1 0 0 2 2 0 1.59
Jimmy Yacabonis (S, 4) 1.0 0 0 0 3 2 0 0.00
Totals 9.0 6 1 1 6 10 1 4.03
Greensboro Grasshoppers
Player IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA
Sean Townsley 5.0 3 0 0 1 5 0 1.98
Matt Milroy (BS, 2)(L, 1-1) 4.0 6 2 0 1 6 0 3.65
Totals 9.0 9 2 0 2 11 0 3.13

WP: Yacabonis.
IBB: Bohn (by Yacabonis).
HBP: Sisco (by Townsley), Hart (by Townsley), Mancini (by Milroy).
Groundouts-flyouts: Horacek 6-5, Rheault 2-1, Yacabonis 0-1, Townsley 6-0, Milroy 5-2.
Batters faced: Horacek 24, Rheault 8, Yacabonis 6, Townsley 19, Milroy 21.
Umpires: HP: Adam Beck. 1B: Rich Grassa.
Weather: 55 degrees, overcast.
Wind: 7 mph, R to L.
T: 2:27.
Att: 5,304.
Venue: NewBridge Bank Park.