Rangers Split DH with Aviators

  The Dayton Rangers still haven’t found a solution to their hitting woes after coming away from a doubleheader split with the Dayton Aviators on Sunday, June 1.

The Rangers were outhit 4-3 in the first game, but rode the coattails of starting pitcher Jacob Robinson to a 7-0 shutout in game one. The Rangers score four runs in the third inning on hits by Jacob Robinson and Brad Clark, and reaching base as a result of four fielding miscues. With the help of three walks and a hit-by-pitch, the Rangers plated two more on wild pitches. The final run of the game came in the sixth when Shane Fallen led off with a double and later scored on a wild pitch.

Jacob Robinson eased through the Aviator lineup allowing no hits through five innings. But Ian Slaton’s leadoff bunt single in the top of the sixth broke up the no-no. Jacob finished with a four-hitter for his third career shutout. It was reported that the official game time for game one lasted only 1 hour and 39 minutes, an unofficial MVABL record.

Game two started out a little ugly as both teams combined for seven fielding errors and three runs scoring on wild pitches. After the melee subsided, the score was tied at 6-6 through two innings. Both starting pitchers, Brad Clark (Rangers) and Dan Slaton (Aviators) settled down afterwards.

The Aviators took the lead in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single by Brad Shaeffer. The Aviators added an insurance run in the fifth (RBI single by Hythem Sbita) and in the sixth (wild pitch) to earn a 9-6 victory. The Aviator’s Dan Slaton finished with 8 K’s including 5 in a row over the final three frames.

Historical note: Jonmarc Lippincott scored his 300^th career run as a member of the Dayton Rangers. Jacob Robinson’s win in game one pushed his career MVABL win total to 17, moving him up to 5^th on the league’s career leader list.