Cards Stun Rangers with Walk-Off Hit

The Rangers continue to reel at the plate as a depleted lineup was tough to overcome for the defending champs, as the Cardinals knocked off the Rangers 8-7 on Sunday, May 9 at AIA.

   The Rangers jumped on the board first as Ben Schooler led off with a single up the middle. Joe Staten followed him up with a triple off the right center field wall. After scoring on a wild pitch, the Rangers were staked with a 2-0 lead. Shawn Schmitt started for the Rangers and fell victim to his 2^nd inning conundrums as the Cards scored five runs in the bottom of the second, highlighted by a Barnes’ 3-run home run.

The Rangers got a pair back in the top of the fifth as Schooler led off the inning once again with a single and stole second. Staten then lined a shot to center that eluded the center fielder’s for an inside-the-park home run, to cut the Cards lead to 5-4. The Rangers took their first lead of the game in the top of the 7^th after Schooler coaxed a walk to start the frame and then stole second base again. Staten then laced an opposite field double to plate Schooler for the tying run. Jonmarc Lippincott’s single to left scored Staten for a 6-5 Rangers’ advantage. But the Cards battled back in the bottom of the 7^th. Bryan Tucker was hit with an 0-2 pitch and scored on David Schwendeman’s triple to right field. Schwendeman would later score on Tyler Otte’s single.

   The Rangers tied the game in the 8^th as Jason Sarver was hit by a pitch with one out. Sarver took second on a failed pick-off attempt. Sarver then worked the hit-and-run to perfection and scored on Ben Schooler’s groundout to shortstop to make the Score even at 7-7. Rookie Joe Becker relieved Schmitt with two outs in the seventh and struck out four of the first 7 batters he faced; however the fourth K resulted in a wild pitch putting the winning run on base with one out. After a ground out moved the runner into scoring position, newcomer Otte poked a game-winning single to left-center.

Offensive highlights: Ben Schooler 2-for-4, 3 runs, 2 SB, RBI; Joe Staten 3-for-4, 3 runs, 4RBI, double, triple, home run, IBB

Historical Notes: Joe Staten’s RBI triple in the first inning was his 100^th career RBI. After scoring in the 7^th inning, Joe is two runs shy of 100 career runs scored. Jonmarc is one run shy of 300 scored in the league. James is 1 RBI shy of 100 for his career.