BlueSox defeated by visiting Miners
They had seven innings to do it, but the Butler BlueSox were unable to solve West Virginia pitcher Matt Anderson.
The right-hander handcuffed Butler, giving up just one unearned run on four hits while striking out seven and walking two in the Miners' 4-2 victory Wednesday evening at Kelly Automotive Park.
“He relied heavily on his off-speed stuff,” said Butler manager Jason Radwan. “Our guys were chasing a lot of pitches and fell behind in the count. He kept us off-balance.”
It was the second time in eight days that the Sox faced Anderson. He allowed two earned runs in six innings and received a no-decision in West Virginia's 7-3 win here June 3.
After allowing a run in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday — David Marcus scored on a Miners' error — Anderson permitted just four baserunners over the next six frames. He retired 11 straight Sox between the second and fifth inning, at which point he held a 4-1 lead.
Butler's Alex Miklos doubled to begin the bottom of the sixth. He moved to third base on a groundout by Marcus, but was stranded there.
“He has a great sinker,” said West Virginia manager Tim Epling of Anderson. “If he's throwing it for strikes, he's very tough on hitters. I could have sent him out there for another inning, but didn't want to chance it.”
Anderson's night ended with a scoreless seventh inning, which included strikeouts of Jamie Switalski and Allan Hooker. After the inning was over, Butler manager Jason Radwan approached plate umpire Jonah Shank about some ball-and-strike calls.
“I asked him where they were,” Radwan said. “He told me he wasn't going to talk about balls and strikes. I said I hadn't complained about anything all night and he threw me out of the game. I had talked to him for about 10 seconds.”
The Sox (6-7) received a reprieve when Anderson remained in the dugout in the bottom of the eighth inning. Instead, Epling sent Calvin Coker to the mound. Marcus doubled off of him with one out, moved to third on Alex Stephens' single and scored on a wild pitch. Coker evaded further damage when he got Tyler Sullivan to fly out, stranding Stephens at third base.
Coker retired the first batter of the ninth before giving way to James Doubet, who recorded the final two outs for the save.
West Virginia (8-5) took advantage of Ben Hartz's ineffectiveness early on. Butler's starting pitcher worked just four innings and gave up four runs on five hits. He totaled four strikeouts, a walk and a pair of hit-batsmen.
Hartz did have a perfect third inning, but gave up a pair of runs in the fourth. Stone Osborne scored on a wild pitch and, with the bases loaded and no outs, Jonathan Weeks came home on a grounder that resulted in a double play.
One bright spot for Butler was the pitching of reliever Jon Laird, who worked five scoreless innings with three strikeouts and just one hit given up.
“He pitched really well,” said Radwan. “He's our long relief guy, but he could work his way into the rotation.”
West Virginia 110 200 000 — 4 6 2
Butler 100 000 010 — 2 6 2
W: Matt Anderson 7 IP (7K, 2BB). L: Ben Hartz 4 IP (4K, 1BB). S: James Doubet .2 IP (0K, 0BB).
West Virginia (8-5): Dylan Harvey 1B R, Justin Paul 1B, James Keller 1B RBI, Stone Osborne 1B R, Jonathan Weeks 2R, Sam De La Cruz 2-1B
Butler (6-7): Alex Miklos 2B R, David Marcus 1B 2B R, Alex Stephens 1B, Jamie Switalski 1B, Michael Patrick 1B
Today: Butler at Richmond
