Micomonaco and Watson Go Deep in Double Header Sweep
The Redlegs improved to 8-4 on Sunday after winning both ends of a double header against the Dayton Cardinals (2-10).
Game one was a continuation game that was postponed due to rain back on May 6th. Starting in the top of the 2nd inning and trailing 3-1, the Redleg offense erased the early deficit immediately as they scored five times to take a 6-3 lead. Ryan Gross and Mike Hartman each had two run singles in the inning. Brandon Howard and Adam Parks then each added RBI base hits in the 3rd to extend the lead to 8-3.
The Cardinals looked to rally in the bottom of the 3rd when Joshua Cvetkovich blasted what looked to be a leadoff double in the left-center gap, but Jacob Robinson was able to track it down just shy of the fence to thwart the lead off runner. The Cards did pick up a run in the frame though, but the Redlegs opened it up in the top of the 4th scoring seven more times to make it a 15-3 game. Kyle Arend, Joey Watson, and James Robinson all added RBI doubles in the inning and Saige Micomonaco blasted his third home run of the season.
The Cardinals did their best to stay in it as they scored five in the 4th, but the rally was cut short on a fly ball to Kyle Arend in right field where he then erased a runner trying to move up to 2nd base on a perfect strike to second base for the double play.
The Cards then added two more in the 5th but the Redleg offense was on fire as they put up four runs in each the 5th, 6th, and 7th and eventually came away with the 27-11 win. The 27-run outburst is the 2nd highest run tally in Redleg franchise history, just behind a 29-run effort against the Miami Valley Thunder in July of 2012.
Mike Hartman added to his league leading RBI total, adding five more in the game. Kyle Arend and Saige Micomonaco each added four RBI, and Ryan Gross drove in three runs. Joey Watson drove in three runs, eclipsing the 200 RBI career mark. Adam Parks picked up the win in relief and went a perfect 5 for 5 at the dish.
As the sun continued to scorch the area, the Redlegs offense stayed hot in game two.
Each team traded blows in the first to make it a 1-1 game early on. Arend doubled for the Redlegs, one of his five doubles on the day, and Hartman singled him in.
The Redlegs then scored twice in the 2nd before Joey Watson ripped his first homerun of the season to bring two more runs home in the 3rd.
The Cardinals kept it close by scoring another run in each the 3rd and 4th innings to make it a 5-3 ballgame. But the Redlegs then did most of their damage in a 12 run 4th that would put the game out of reach. Ryan Gross and Jacob Robinson each added two run singles in the frame and Matt Morrison brought 2 runs home on his first triple of the year. Kyle Arend scored his 150th career run in the frame. Matt Redman added an RBI single in the inning, one of his three hits in the game.
Ryan Gross added a nice defensive play in the 6th by tracking down a fly ball in right field and firing a bullet back to first to double up the runner that strayed too far and couldn’t get back to the bag.
Meanwhile, Aaron Carmack kept up his momentum on the mound as he coasted to his 3rd straight victory after getting hung with 3 early season no decisions. Carmack tossed 5 innings and struck out 6 Cardinals batters while allowing only 2 earned runs. Matt Morrison added 2 innings of scoreless relief, after striking out the side in an inning of relief in game one.
The Redlegs will look to make it a 3rd straight victory on Sunday 6/24 when they take on the Kettering Royals at Howell Field at 4:00pm.