GAME 1 BOX SCORE

The Redlegs and Rangers met up for the 29th and 30th editions of the always competitive “Backyard Battle” and each came away with a victory, knotting up the all-time series at 15-15.  The Redlegs have had the momentum recently though as the game 1 victory was their 7th straight against the Rangers. 

The Redlegs narrowly took game 1 as Aaron Carmack defeated Rangers veteran Luke Trubee in the low scoring affair.  Carmack turned in his first complete game effort of 2018 as he punched out 7 Rangers batters over 7 frames to nail down that elusive first win of the season.  Aaron now only needs 8 strikeouts to record 150 for his career. 

Game 1 for the Redlegs was all about the first four hitters in the lineup.  Matt Morrison was 3-3 with 3 steals and 3 runs out of the lead-off spot.  Adam Parks walked and was hit by a pitch batting second, but scored both times he reached base.  As those two players accounted for 5 runs Camden would score in the game, the 3 and 4 hitters were responsible for driving them in.  Kyle Arend turned in a rare hitless effort, but was still productive as he used two ground balls to second base to score a runner from third twice.  Mike Hartman, batting cleanup, drove in 3 runs on a 2 for 3 game.  James Robinson added 2 hits for the Redlegs and now owns a team high 7 game hit streak, which he extended to 8 in game 2 of the double header. 

GAME 2 BOX SCORE

The Redlegs almost pulled out a sweep, but ultimately a tough 3rd inning would be too much to overcome as they fell to the Rangers 10-7, snapping that 7-game streak mentioned earlier. 

Matt Morrison continued his productive day as he started the game with another hit and stolen base and later scored on a fielder’s choice.  The Rangers answered in the bottom half to tie it up at 1-1.  Saige Micomonaco untied things in the top of the 2nd when he deposited his second homerun of the season over the fence in center field.  An RBI double by Mike Hartman gave the Redlegs a 3-1 edge in the top of the 3rd before disaster struck in the bottom half.  A leadoff double by Cooper Notle combined with three Redleg errors led to a 6-run inning that killed the Redlegs momentum, and eventually proved to be too much to overcome.  The Rangers added two more in the 4th to extend that lead to 9-3.

Camden did try to scrape together a comeback as James Robinson drove a run double down the right field line, scoring Mike Hartman who previously doubled, and Joey Watson who reached on an error. 

Trailing 10-5 in the top of the 7th, Matt Morrison tried to start a rally by picking up his 5th of the day to lead off the inning.  After a ground out, Kyle Arend singled before Mike Hartman smacked his 3rd double of the game to bring both runs home.  Joey Watson then singled bringing the tying run to the plate in James Robinson.  Robinson hit a sharp ground ball to 2nd and looked to have beaten out the throw at first to prevent the game ending double play, but things didn’t go the Redlegs way and the game ended there, squashing the budding rally. 

The Redlegs currently sit in third place in the MVABL standings with a record of 5-3.  On deck is a 2017 Championship rematch with the current second place South Dayton Slammers on Sunday June 10th.