Rangers Double-Up Indians 12-6 on Opening Day

       With shoulder ailments sidelining Cy Young award winner Jacob Robinson, Brad Clark got the Opening Day nod for the Rangers. Brad did not disappoint with his first ever Opening Day assignment, scattering five hits over seven innings of work, striking out four.

        The Rangers provided some early run support for Clark in the top of the first inning with six runs on five hits. Clint Wolf singled in Steve Marshall for the first run. Jonmarc Lippincott followed with an RBI single to right-center. Jake Kingsolver proceeded to do the same and plated another run. After a single from James Robinson, rookie Brandon Howard launched a towering fly ball to left field that carried over the fence for a three-run home run. Clint Wolf hit a sac fly in the second to give the Rangers a 7-0 lead after two innings. The Rangers added another run in the top of the third as Kingsolver tripled to lead off the frame and scored on an RBI groundout from James Robinson. The lead grew to 9-0 in the top of the fourth when Lippincott’s swinging bunt scored Marshall from third.

        The Indians got on the board in the bottom of the fourth as Dan Slaton’s groundball was mishandled, allowing Matt Spradlin to score for a 9-1 Rangers advantage. The Indians cut the lead to 9-3 in the fifth as Spradlin scorched a two-out two-run double to center.

        The Rangers used a two-run triple from Wolf and an RBI groundout from Lippincott to increase the lead to 12-3 after six innings of play. The Indians scored a pair of unearned runs in the 7th and 8th, and got an RBI single from Hythem Sbita to end the scoring for the Tribe. Shawn Schmitt relieved Clark in the 8th and pitched the final two innings, striking out four in his return to the MVABL after a three-year hiatus.

        Offensive highlights: Jake Kingsolver 3-for-4, 2R, triple; James Robinson 2-for-4 RBI; Brandon Howard 3-for-5, HR, 3RBI; Jonmarc Lippincott 2-for-5 3RBI; Clint Wolf 2-for-4, 2R, 4RBI, triple; Jacob Robinson 2-for-4, 2R, SB; Steve Marshall 4 walks, 3SB

        Historical notes: Shawn moved into second place on the MVABL all-time strikeout list at 279 Ks. Jonmarc is 3 hits shy of 400 career hits in the MVABL