Schmitt Finds Record Book in DH Win

The Dayton Rangers got back to their winning ways, taking care of the Miami Valley Dragons in a doubleheader sweep on Sunday, July 19.

In game 1, Jonathan Silverman registered the win, moving his rookie mark to 3-0 on the season as the Rangers won 8-4. Silverman struck out 7 in the complete game victory. .The Dragons took an early lead in the top of third as three fielding errors produced two runs. But the Rangers promptly tied it at 2-2 on a two-run single by Jonmarc Lippincott. The Rangers took the lead in the fourth on an RBI double by James Robinson and an RBI fielder’s choice by Jared Bradley. A solo home run by Dragons’ No. 1 draft pick Chris Flaherty, cut the lead to 4-3. The Rangers put the game away in the fifth as Robert Riley belted a grand slam home run to left center. Scott Jones scored on a wild pitch in the 7^th for the Dragons to make the final score 8-4.

The Rangers took the nightcap 8-0. Shawn Schmitt took the ball for game 2 trying to improve on his two-hit shutout performance in the last outing against the Dragons. This time, Schmitt’s only mistake was a two-out single in the first inning that squeaked past the glove of shortstop Steve Marshall for the lone hit by the Dragons. Shawn struck out nine batters on the day, thereby passing Astros’ great Tony Walters for most career strikeouts in the MVABL (316 Ks). Shawn struck out the final batter in six of the seven innings and retired the final 17 batters of the game. The offense generated enough runs in the top of the first as Jonmarc had an RBI single and Jake Kingsolver drove in a pair. In the third inning, Kingsolver blasted a two-run, tree-clearing shot in left field, which was followed three batters later by a three-run home run by James Robinson, his first long ball since 2006.

Offensive highlights: Jonmarc Lippincott 6-for-7, 3 runs, 3RBI; Steve Marshall 3-for-7, Jake Kingsolver 3-for-5, 2 runs, 4RBI, HR, 2b; Brandon Howard 3-for-6, 2 runs, James Robinson 2-for-5, 4RBI, HR

Historical notes: Shawn Schmitt is now the MVABL’s all-time strikeout king with 316 career punch-outs. Jonmarc recorded his 12^th career 4-hit game. Jonmarc is sitting at 999 career official at-bats in the league, and is 6 runs shy of 300 career in the MVABL. Jelani Arnold scored his 100^th career run on James’ home run. The team recorded its 199^th franchise victory.