By Ryan Hines
rhines@dailystandard.com Getting runners on base wasn't a problem for Grand Lake on Wednesday night against Indianapolis but getting those base-runners home was another story -- until the eighth inning.
Grand Lake had stranded seven baserunners and also had two others called out on the basepaths before John Franzese hit one of the longest home runs ever hit at Jim Hoess Field to guide the Mariners to a 3-2 victory.
The Mariners were down 2-1 entering the eighth inning when Aaron Bulkley led off with a single. Bulkley was sacrificed to second on a bunt by Mike Bertram bringing Franzese to the plate.
Franzese, the bulky Mariners first baseman, already had one hit in the game but in the eighth he took the second pitch he saw from Indianapolis pitcher Dustin Summers and blasted a two-run bomb to straight away centerfield to give Grand Lake a 3-2 advantage.
"That's the type of situation that players love to be in and I was looking for a fastball and I was fortunate to get one and I was able to put a good swing on it," said Franzese who was batting just .185 and now has two home runs during the summer. "With the runner on second base I was just looking to drive him home and get the tying run in but I hit it hard and got it in the air for a home run." "I told the guys that the guy they brought in threw sidearm and we had seen him earlier in the season and to just go up there and look for a ball up in the zone because he tries to keep the ball low and make the batter pound it in the ground," said Stafford. "John got a pitch where he liked it and crushed the ball. That ball got out of here pretty quick. He's got the power to do that and when he stays back on the ball he has the ability to hit the ball further than anyone on our team.
"We've had different guys step up for us every night and this is just another example of that," added Stafford.
Adam Johnson, who hadn't seen action for the Mariners on the mound in a couple of weeks, pitched two scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win. Andy Delagarza started the game for the Mariners and tossed seven strong innings allowing two runs on five hits with eight strikeouts and three walks.
"Our pitching has been keeping us in games all summer and that was the case again tonight," said Stafford. "Andy went out there and gave us seven quality innings and then Johnson goes in and throws two strong innings after not pitching for us in a couple of weeks."
Stafford lauded the home run by Franzese and the pitching by
Delagarza and Johnson but also made sure to mention the sensational defensive play made by Grand Lake rightfielder Billy Grace.
Indianapolis took a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning and appeared sure to add another run when Grace halted a Servants rally. With no outs and runners on second and third, Indianapolis' Josh Dietz lifted a fly ball to Grace in rightfield and the lefty squeezed the ball for the first out and delivered an absolutely perfect throw to home plate for the second out on a throw that never touched the ground.
Franzese obviously highlighted the Grand Lake offense with his
game-winning home run, but Grace, Bulkley and Michael Bertram also had two hits apiece in the 11-hit Mariners attack.
Grand Lake is back in action tonight at home hosting Delaware in a doubleheader with the first pitch scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday's doubleheader against Delaware is an important one as far as playoff position goes.
Delaware is currently ??-?? On the summer and just ahead of Grand Lake (20-12) in the league standings. With the top two playoff teams earning a bye in the first round of the postseason, it's certainly an important series for both squads.
"I think that we've won 11 of our last 12 now and that gives us a
good chance to get a bye in the first round of the playoffs if we can get ahead of Delaware, which is right ahead of us. But we have them for a doubleheader at home and we two good pitchers in Ross Liersman and Evan Smith starting for us," said Stafford. "Hopefully we can take two from them or at least one. We're playing the best we've played this season right now and it all started on the road. We talked earlier in the season to continue
to get better as the season goes along and get some momentum going into the playoffs, now we just have to continue to play well. We have confidence that we are one of the best teams in the league." |
