Photos and Story by David Prichard, Intern, Hamilton Joes
It was
Fraternal Order of Police Associates (FOPA) night at Foundation Field last
night. Special guest Ed
Schlensker, resident of Hamilton for 52 years, threw out the first pitch. Mr. Schlensker is a veteran of WWII,
and is also a former pitcher for the Utah Reds during 1946-1947.
Also attending the game was Mr. Redlegs
himself to help cheer on the Joes to a victory over the second-placed, Grand
Lake Mariners. It is certain that
both the Hamilton Joes and the Grand Lake Mariners came into the game very confident
with their starting pitchers for the evening. Toeing the rubber for the Joes was
Brent Suter (2-1, 1.37 ERA), the local boy and Harvard scholar. His opponent was Grand Lake's Freshman
All-American from Notre Dame, Ryan Richter (1-1, 3.18 ERA). Tonight,
though, was all about the Joes, who jumped out to an early lead in the first
inning on an RBI single by Patrick Jones that scored Jimmy Brenneman, who also
reached on a single.
The third
inning started off just as promising for Hamilton, with a couple of lead-off
hits by B.J. Willis and Jimmy Brenneman, but the hope soon fizzled at the hands
of the starting pitcher, Richter, as he retired the next three batters in
order.
In the top of
the fourth, Grand Lake had an almost mirror image inning, by getting their
first two batters on base on a single by Michael Early, and a double by Jared Hoying. But Brent Suter had seen enough. The Mariners stranded them at second
and third as Suter worked out of a big jam, striking out two. The Joes added to their lead with three
runs in the bottom-half, which was sparked by a bunt single by Tyler
Schunk. Macky Cianciolo moved him
to third on a single into right center.
The next batter for the Joes, Phil Bauer, attempted a squeeze. The pitcher fielded the ball and fired
it home, but the ball sailed wide of the catcher allowing Schunk to score from
third, and putting runners on second and third with only 1 out. The Joes added their second run of the
inning on a wild pitch by Richter, scoring Cianciolo, and quickly added their
third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly by B.J. Willis.
It almost
wasn't enough, however, as Grand Lake chipped away with two runs in the top of
the sixth inning when Jeff Holm doubled over Brenneman's head in center
field. One out later Jared Hoying
hit a triple down the left field line, scoring Holm and cutting the lead to
3. The next batter Gabe DeMarco
hit a ball in between third and short, Tyler Schunk fielded the ball but had no
play at the plate and retired DeMarco at first as the lead was cut in
half. But that was all the Grand
Lake Mariners could muster in the game as the Joes pitching was dominant,
shutting out the Mariners for the final three frames.
The winning pitcher for the Hamilton Joes was Brent Suter, improving his record to 3-1,
while Ryan Richter took the loss for the Mariners, falling to 1-2 on the
season. Hitting leaders for the
Joes were: Tyler Schunk, 3-4 with a run scored; B.J. Willis, 1-4 with an RBI;
Patrick Jones, 1-4 with an RBI; and Jimmy Brenneman, 2-4 with a run scored.
The Joes
improved their record to 7-13 in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League, and
9-15 overall. Grand Lake fell to
17-8 in the league. The Hamilton
Joes return to action tomorrow night against Champions Baseball Academy with a
starting time of 7:05 P.M. Ryan
Burlas (1-1, 1.99 ERA) will take the mound for the Joes.
Tomorrow's
game will surely be one to not miss.
Champions handed the Joes their worst loss of their inaugural season,
back on June 7th, 11-4.
Come out and cheer on your Joes as they look to return the favor. You won't be disappointed. Game-day festivities will be in full
swing, as the local musical group, The Okeanas, will perform 40 minutes to
game-time, a tribute to Joe Nuxhall, and the Joes will honor the 2009 Ross Rams
Division II Girls Softball State Champions.