Squashing Berries
Sometimes, it's just not a pitcher's day.
That was certainly the case Thursday for Cranberry's Tom Flinspach and Moniteau made him pay.
Against the Warriors at Kelly Automotive Park, Flinspach did not make it out of the second inning, allowing five runs on two hits while walking six in just 1.2 innings of work.
The rough outing paved the way to Moniteau's 16-1, four-inning win over the Berries.
“Tom started Tuesday's game against Karns City (a 13-7 loss) and threw just 40-some pitches,” said Cranberry coach Patrick Irwin, “but we knew we were asking a lot of him to get back out there today. We could tell early on that he was struggling and threw some young kids out there to get some work.”
Flinspach walked Jake Jewart and Nick Sosigian in the bottom of the first, but was one out away from getting out of the inning unscored upon when Jared Lominski laced a two-run single.
Flinspach's control was then completely lost as he threw a wild pitch before walking Nathan Sosigian, Lee DeMatteis and Brice Williams. The last free pass chased Lominski home for a 3-0 lead.
Flinspach came back out for the second frame, but after six batters — including a triple by Wyatt Geibel, a hit-batsman and a walk — he was lifted in favor of Adam Smerkar.
“We sometimes struggle early in the season on offense,” said Geibel, Moniteau's catcher, “but we're growing more confident in ourselves and when that happens, we have a lot of fun. We had a lot of it today.”
Moniteau starting pitcher Chance Nagy didn't exactly experience smooth sailing in his three innings. The first two batters he faced reached base via a double and a hit-by-pitch, respectively. But the Berries could not capitalize.
Nagy opened the top of the second by issuing back-to-back free passes, but if it wasn't for a fielding error behind him, he would have escaped the frame unscathed.
He worked a 1-2-3 third inning before being relieved by Gage Neal with Moniteau leading 10-0 in the fourth.
“Coach (Ross Martin) told me I just needed to throw strikes,” said Nagy. “It didn't matter how hard I threw, just throw strikes because I have a good defense behind me.”
The game was played beneath sunny skies, but in temperatures in the low-40s.
“I try to tune out all that stuff, but it was pretty chilly,” said Nagy. “I moved around a lot in the dugout when we were batting, trying to stay warm.”
The Warriors (4-3) pinned five runs on Smerkar in the third inning and ended the game by plating six in the fourth off of Matt McQuaide. Nathan Sosigian's single scored Andrew Dulya brought the mercy rule into effect.
Though all three of Cranberry's pitchers struggled, they were not helped by a defense that committed five errors.
“It's tough when you can't get outside to practice,” said Irwin, whose team (1-2) has just three games under its belt due to the recent poor weather.
Cranberry 010 0xx x — 1 2 5
Moniteau 325 6xx x — 16 12 1
W: Chance Nagy 3 IP (4K, 2BB). L: Tom Flinspach 1.2 IP (4K, 6BB).
Cranberry (1-2): Brandon Forrest 2B, Trevin Chittester R, Adam Smerkar 1B
Moniteau (4-3): Hunter Fitzingo 1B 3R, Jake Jewart 2R RBI, Nick Sosigian 1B 3B 3R 3RBI, Wyatt Geibel 1B 3B 2R RBI, Jared Lominski 1B 2B 2R 4RBI, Nathan Sosigian 2-1B 2RBI, Brice Williams RBI, Chance Nagy 2-1B 2R, Andrew Dulya 1B R RBI, Nick Hougg R
Friday: A-C Valley at Moniteau
