Fruitland splits opening day of Bucks Bags
Errors cost Grizzlies in opening game
By Scott Ford
Argus Observer
Friday, March 28, 2008 10:58 AM PDT
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| Scott Ford | Argus Observer
Fruitland’s Nate Bake (3) shows the umpire the ball after making the tags on a would be Madison base-stealer in the second game of the day for Fruitland. The Grizzlies defeated Madison 3-2. |
Eagle — In the Grizzlies opening game of the Bucks Bags Spring Classic against Middleton Fruitland head coach Russ Wright said his team played a very atypical game committing 10 errors in the 7-5 loss Thursday at Eagle High School.
“You’re not going to win very many game making that many errors,” Wright said. “Plus we were not hitting all that well either.”
Fruitland scraped out seven hits in the loss, but remained scoreless through the first four innings of play, while Middleton put up six on the board.
Middleton got things started in the bottom of the first inning with a pair of runs for an early 2-0 lead and then in the fourth inning added four more to go up 6-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, Caleb Crim reached on a single and scored on a ball hit by Jay Sutton that the Middleton second baseman booted.
In the sixth, it was Zach Fabricius who got things started with a single, but was later thrown out at the plate on a double off the bat of Kyle Blackwell. Nate Bake then hit a sacrifice fly to right field to score Blackwell to give the Griz their second run of the game, but they trailed 6-2. Middleton added its seventh run in the home half of the sixth to go up 7-2.
In Fruitland’s final at bat, it mustered three more runs for the final 7-5 margin.
On the bump for Fruitland was Bake who went five innings, giving up five unearned runs on four Middleton hits. Bake struck out four and walked two. Reid Johnson came on in relief in the sixth inning and gave up one run on two hits with three strike outs and one free pass.
In Game 2, the Grizzlies cured their error bug and only committed two in their 3-2 win over Madison.
Fruitland scored in its first at bat when Sutton crossed the plate, giving the Grizzlies’ starting pitcher, Fabricius an early 1-0 advantage.
But the lead did not last very long as Madison answered the run with a score in the top of the second inning courtesy of Fruitland’s first error of the game. On a delayed steal from second to third, Fruitland catcher Blackwell air-mailed his throw to third which allowed the Madison runner to advance to home and tied the game at one.
But not to be out done, Fruitland bounced back in front in the home half of the second.
Will Wright was hit by a pitch following a Cram fly out to left. Nick Varriale then dug in and stroked a single to score Wright and gave the Griz a 2-1 lead.
Madison tied the game in the fourth, again on an error. Madison collected back-to-back singles with two outs in the inning. On the second single, which was hit to right field, the Fruitland defender threw the ball in to the infield, and missed the cutoff man, and the ball rolled into the Madison dugout giving the lead runner home on the play.
The final and winning run of the game came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Varriale reached safely on an error by the Madison third baseman.
The winning run touched home plate in an unusual fashion, a balk by the Madison pitcher.
“Against Madison we got outstanding pitching and played better defense,” Wright said. “We did just enough to get the win. We have to do better at the plate.”
Fruitland played today at 10:30 a.m. against Hermiston, and results of that game will be published Sunday.
