Carmack Gets 4th Win, James Robinson Clutch in Sweep
The Redlegs moved into sole possession of 2nd place on Sunday by sweeping the Kettering Royals and improving their season record to 8-2. Game one was largely controlled by the Redlegs as Aaron Carmack came just one out from logging his 2nd shutout of the season. Game two needed some additional innings to determine a winner, but some late game heroics by James Robinson sealed the deal for Camden and cemented the sweep.
The top of the 1st saw some nice glove work from Mike Hartman at 3rd base, making a smooth diving snag to his left and delivering a perfect strike to 1st to log the 2nd out of the inning. Camden then got on the board in the 1st inning thanks to a couple of two out hits by Mike Hartman and Saige Micomonaco. Mike doubled followed by a single from Saige to put the Redlegs up 1-0.
The Redlegs then played add-on in the 3rd when Jacob Robinson walked and stole 2nd and was then driven in by a base hit from Mike Hartman.
Two more Camden runs scored in the 4th when Cameron Svarda and Jesse Jones each singled with one out, and both later scored thanks to a double by Matt Morrison. Jones, Svarda, and James Robinson each contributed RBIs in the 5th to extend the lead to 7-0.
Aaron Carmack, after taking his first loss in a heartbreaker against the Slammers on Tuesday night, was on point again in this one. He tallied his 3rd complete game victory of the season and was just one out shy of notching his 2nd shutout, but a pair of Redleg miscues in the 7th led to an unearned run for the Royals. Carmack now stands at 4-1 with a cool 2.18 ERA on the 2020 season.
Game two was a bit more eventful. Camden again jumped into the driver’s seat early, scoring 5 times in the first two frames to take a 5-0 lead. Matt Morrison started the game with a single and was later driven in by Saige Micomonaco with a double.
A scary moment in the bottom of the 1st occurred when Jacob Robinson made a terrific catch in centerfield but crashed into a fence pole just as he snared the ball. Robinson was momentarily unconscious and was removed from the game.
The Redlegs responded by racking up another 4 runs in the 2nd frame. Mike Hartman delivered a two run single and Saige Micomonaco again doubled home a run to highlight the inning.
Kevin Campbell continued to pitch well for the Redlegs as the Royals were only able to scratch one run together through the first 5 innings.
The Redlegs added two more in the 5th to make it a 7-1 advantage. Kevin Campbell helped himself out with an RBI single followed by another RBI base hit by Mike Hartman.
The Royals finally got to Campbell in the 6th. Three hits and a Redleg error contributed to a 6-run inning for the Royals, as they rallied back to tie the game at 7-7. Campbell notched is 300th career regular season strikeout in the frame. Campbell was lifted with 2 outs as Evan Koogler walked to the plate, Koogler was 2-2 against Campbell prior to the at bat. Camden turned to Jesse Jones in the tight spot, but the former MVP delivered the clutch 2-out double to tie the game.
Jesse settled in and allowed only 3 more hits over 3 1/3 innings of work and would ultimately pick up his first victory of the season.
Camden threatened in the top of the 7th as they had two runners up with the red hot Micomonaco at the plate, but the Royals elected to intentionally walk him (for the second time) to load the bases. Royals pitcher Mark Carpenter was then able to notch a strikeout to end the threat.
The Royals then threatened in the bottom of the 7th, but Camden made a nice play to nail a runner trying to move from 1st to 3rd on a single which killed the rally.
Brad Malott then manufactured a run in the top of the 8th to put the Redlegs back on top. He legged out an infield single, moved to 3rd on an erroneous pick off attempt, and then scored on a wild pitch. But the Royals answered in the bottom of the 8th when they singled back to back to start the inning and an error allowed the run to score. Jones buckled down and picked up a clutch strikeout, which brought Koogler back to the plate with two on and one out. Koogler smoked a hard grounder down the third base line that Mike Hartman was somehow able to snare as he dove toward 3rd base. He was then able to get to his feet and dive on 3rd before the advancing runner to log the 2nd out in a play that surely saved the game for the Redlegs. Jones then notched another strikeout to end the threat.
Camden finally put it away in the top of the 9th. Kevin Campbell led off with a walk and scored on a single by Mike Hartman. After a walk to Micomonaco, Brad Malott scored a run on a fielder’s choice to make it a 10-8 game. James Robinson then delivered the nail in the coffin with a two-out blast over the right field fence to put the Redlegs up by 4.
Jones finished things out with a quiet bottom of the 9th to seal the win.
Camden is back in action against the Dayton Rangers on Tuesday night at Oak Grove Park in Centerville. First pitch is slated for 7:00pm.