Hartman Racks Up 4 Hits as Redman Earns 4th Win
The Redlegs knocked off the first place Kettering Royals on Sunday, moving themselves into 2nd place in the MVABL after the 7th week of action and a 1-2 start. Camden has now won their last 4 contests.
The Redlegs sent 2016 Playoff MVP Eric Williams to the hill to make his first start on the 2017 campaign. Williams was opposed by Evan Koogler, who currently stands in 2nd place in strikeouts in the MVABL behind only the Redlegs Aaron Carmack.
The Royals looked primed to take an early lead in the bottom of the 1st when Joey Cherry started the game with a hit and Chris Flaherty later walked with one out. Cherry then tried to swipe 3rd base but Redlegs catcher Joey Watson gunned him down to record the 2nd out, Williams then recorded a fly out to end the inning.
Mike Hartman manufactured the game’s first run in the top of the 2nd. Mike doubled and moved to 3rd on a passed ball and scored on a wild pitch. Meanwhile Koogler punched out the next 3 batters to end the inning. The Royals then took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the 2nd as they used a Redleg error to extend the inning long enough for Neil Stafford to double home both runs.
Matt Morrison then led off the 3rd with a base hit and stole 2nd and moved to 3rd on a single by Jacob Robinson. Matt Mattice drove Morrison in with a sacrifice fly, which tied the game at 2, but Koogler buckled down and ended the inning with a fly out which stranded the go ahead run at 3rd.
Williams felt some discomfort in his shoulder in the bottom of the 3rd so the Redlegs turned to Matt Redman in a precautionary bullpen move. Redman would then finish out the game, going 6 2/3 innings while allowing only 1 run and 5 hits while striking out 5 Royals batters as he earned his league leading 4th win of the season.
The Redlegs re-claimed the lead in the top of the 4th. Brandon Howard came through with a 2-run single, scoring Joey Watson (walk) and Mike Hartman (single). Hartman then saved a run in the bottom of the 4th when Zane Vogelsang roped a leadoff double and moved to 3rd on a passed ball. John Ramsey then ripped a hard grounder to 3rd but Hartman reeled it in and delivered a strike to Watson at home to prevent the run.
Camden added some more insurance in the 5th when Matt Mattice delivered his 2nd sacrifice fly of the game, this time driving in Jared Bradley who started the inning with a single to increase the lead to 5-2. They scored their final run in the 9th when Mike Hartman notched his 4th hit of the day and scored on a sacrifice fly by James Robinson.
Zane Vogelsang knocked a solo home run over the right field fence in the bottom of the 9th, but it would not be enough to spark any kind of comeback as the Redlegs won by a final score of 6-3.
With the win, the Redlegs move into 2nd place in the MVABL standings while the Rangers move into 1st. The Redlegs will get their shot to move into 1st this Sunday (6/11) as they take on the Rangers in a double header at 1:00 and 4:00 at Madison High School.