Bombers win one, lose one
Over the weekend, the Bombers won a memorable bout with the Henderson Flash and then dropped another hard-fought game with the Owensboro Riverdawgs.
Friday, in a game that will not be soon forgotten by anyone present, the Dubois County Bombers and Henderson Flash stood toe-to-toe last night for fifteen innings, trading the lead six times.
Though the game started at 7 p.m. Friday, it was Saturday when John McDonald (Austin Peay) hammered a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to give the Bombers an 8-7 hard-fought victory and send the home faithful into the wee hours of the morning with a memorable evening.
In games like this, the oddities and peculiarities sometimes tell the story:
- Neither team ever led by more than a single run. The Bombers were up 1-0, 2-1, 4-3, and 6-5. The Flash held leads of 3-2, 5-4, and 7-6 as the squads leapfrogged each other through the regulation nine.
- A total of fifteen players saw mound duty – 8 for the Flash, 7 wearing the Bomber red, white, and blue.
- How close was it? The game went to the 9th inning with both teams possessing identical marks of 6 runs, 12 hits, 0 errors, and 10 men left on base.
- In the end, both teams had 16 hits and 8 walks.
- Henderson pitchers threw 247 pitches. Bombers hurlers tossed 245.
The Bombers were working with a somewhat shorthanded relief corps, having played double-headers each of the two previous days. Those 14-inning days would be short compared to the 15 it took last night to determine a victor. That makes 43 innings of baseball in 53 hours.
Henderson tied the game at six on a bases-loaded walk in the eighth inning. Neither team would score again until the deciding fifteenth.
Both teams had opportunities to claim the win, but were repeatedly stymied by clutch plays by the opponent.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Bombers had the bases loaded with one out. A strikeout and a ground ball ended the threat.
In the top of the 9th, the Flash had 2nd and 3rd, but Tobe Whitten (Oakland City University) got a big strikeout to quell the threat.
Brad Fuhrhop (Kaskaskia College) gave the home fans hope with a one-out double in the bottom of the ninth. But he was doubled off of second on a line shot to short.
In the 11th, the Flash had runners on the corners. A hard-hit liner to right was reeled in by Nolan Ramsey (Alabama-Huntsville) running at full speed.
And on it went . . .
In the Bomber 11th, Nick Gonzales (New Mexico St) dashed home from second on an infield error, only to be called out on a play that we would like New York to review.
With two outs in the bottom of the 14th and Evan Aders (Jasper / U. of Evansville) on third, Ben Wilcoxson (Ky Wesleyan) almost beat out a bunt single to end the game. Almost.
And we went to the fifteenth . . .
Jack Anderson (Illinois State) was in his third inning of work for the Bombers. He had not given up a walk or a hit in his prior two innings of work. But a one-out single by Fertig (Harding University), a stolen base, and a 2-out RBI single by Jacob Mulcahy (Bellarmine University) unlocked the standoff. Anderson ended the frame with another strikeout, his third in three innings.
The Bombers would need one to continue, two to win in the bottom of the fifteenth. It had been eight innings since they last scored. , However, if you believe in the Due Theory . . .
The top of the order was up. Cooper Trinkle (U. of Evansville) walked to get things started. Gonzales followed by hitting a shot that the Flash 3rd-baseman couldn’t handle. Bombers on first and second. Nobody out.
Bomber coach Andy Lasher rolled the dice. #3 hitter Ramsey was up. Lasher chose to pinch-hit fleet-footed, good-bunting Evan Kahre (Olney Central) to sacrifice both runners into scoring position, playing for the win. It couldn’t have worked out better. Kahre’s bunt died in no-mans-land. He was safe on first; the bases were loaded with nobody out.
Tanner Craig (U. of Evansville) walked to tie the game, bring designated hitter McDonald to the plate. McDonald unleashed a fly ball to center field, deep enough to easily score Gonzales without a throw. A good number of the 804 paid attendees were still on hand for the victory celebration at home.
Anderson collects the win, his second of the season.
Trinkle, Aders, and Andrews had three hits each. Aders, Fuhrhop, Gonzales, and Ramsey all doubled, while McDonald had three RBIs in the team effort. All ten Bombers who batted in the game had at least one base hit.
At stake was second place in the OVL East. A Flash win would have moved them into a tie with the Bombers. The Dubois County victory gives them a 2-game cushion over the third place Flash, three games behind division-leader Owensboro.
Then on Saturday, the Dubois County Bombers closed out the pre-All Star game portion of the schedule last night hosting the team with the best record in the Ohio Valley League – the Owensboro RiverDawgs. The Dawgs prevailed 9-8 in yet another seesaw contest that has become the norm for the Bombers.
Owensboro loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but the Bombers held them to a single run on a bases-loaded walk.
The Bombers answered immediately, scoring three in the bottom of the first and adding another tally in the second. Tanner Craig and Evan Aders had RBI singles to key the rally.
The Bombers added two more in the fourth to extend the lead to 6-1. Back-to-back doubles by Conner Trinkle and Evan Kahre and a sacrifice fly by Nolan Ramsey provided the muscle.
Owensboro rallied for four in the seventh and added a pair in the eighth off of a short Bomber bullpen after two double-headers and a 15-inning marathon affair in the past three days.
Dubois County fought back valiantly, scoring in both the eighth and ninth innings, but ultimately falling one run short.
The Bombers offense was led by Trinkle, Gonzales, and Craig with two base hits each. Trinkle, Gonzales, and Kahre all doubled.
Starting pitcher Jacob Frankel pitched six innings, allowing four runs on five hits and five walks. He struck out three. Reece Kleinhelter fared the best of three Bomber relievers on this night, striking out three in 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
The Bombers go into the All-Star break with a record of 14-11, good for second place in the OVL East, four games back of Owensboro. After the All-Star Game in Hopkinsville Sunday, the league will take Monday off.
Dubois County returns to action on Tuesday for a doubleheader in Madisonville before returning home for the big Independence Day game and fireworks, again hosting the division-leading Owensboro RiverDawgs. Henderson will come to town on Thursday, and a Friday doubleheader against Muhlenberg County closes out the holiday week homestand.
We suggest purchasing tickets in advance for the 4th of July. Call us at (812) 683-3700 for tickets. Leave a message, if necessary. (Please speak slowly, repeat your phone number, and leave your name.)
By William Wells courtesy of the Dubois County Bombers.
