Pearson Goes Yard in Rangers Win

  Rookie Reis Pearson (2-1) notched his first complete game victory and added his first home run as a Dayton Ranger in a 11-10 victory over the Beavercreek Sox on Sunday night. In a last minute change of plans, Pearson was given the nod to start against a Sox team that has had the Rangers number over the past few seasons. The last Rangers win over the Sox came July 21, 2004 (a span of six straight losses).

The Rangers scored first in the top of the second. Jonmarc Lippincott led off with a walk and was promptly plated by a Pearson home run to right field. The Sox, unfazed by the early deficit, batted around in the bottom of the second, with the help of three Rangers errors, to take a 6-2 lead. The Rangers got one back in the third as Clint Wolf stroked a solid single to left, stole second, and came around to score on a base hit by Joe Staten. The Sox cushioned their lead in the fourth when Jeremey Fruhwirth reached on a two-out error. Busch followed with a single. And after a balk put the runners in scoring position, Sox catcher Spano drove the two in for an 8-3 advantage. The teams traded runs in the fifth. Wolf, who had singled earlier in the inning, scored on a Lippincott ground ball.

The Rangers tied the game up in the sixth inning scoring five times off of five consecutive hits. Matt Hood led of the inning with a single. Steve Marshall followed him up with a triple to deep left center. James Robinson doubled in Marshall. Jelani Arnold came off the bench to rope a single to left to score Robinson. After a single by Jacob Robinson and an ensuing stolen base, Arnold and Robinson were able to score on sac flies by Brad Clark and Wolf. Steve Marshall’s one-out, two-run single in the seventh inning gave the Rangers their final tallies of the night.

Pearson’s pitching line was a little crooked (9 ip, 11 hits, 10 runs, 5 earned runs, 6 walks, 1 HBP, 4 K’s), but the right-hander made the pitches when he needed to at the end of the ballgame. After spotting the Sox nine runs through the first five innings, Pearson only allowed four hits and two runs over the final four innings of work. Pearson’s four strikeouts all came in the last three innings. The Rangers were able to overcome seven fielding miscues in the game.

Offensive performances of note: Jonmarc Lippincott and Matt Hood each reached base five times. Brad Clark and James Robinson hit their fourth doubles of the season. Clint Wolf scored twice, raising his league-leading total to 21. Wolf added a pair of stolen bases, placing him atop the league lead in that category as well with 10. Wolf, Pearson, Marshall, and the Robinson brothers each had a pair of hits. Marshall added 3 RBIs.

Defensive performances of note: Steve Marshall made two outstanding plays at shortstop to kill Sox rallies and saving three runs. James Robinson’s double play in the 6^th and a Jelani Arnold to Steve Marshall DP ball in the 1^st helped thwart a Sox scoring opportunity.