NAPPANEE – The long and the short is that in order to be bored at a Plymouth baseball game, you’d have to work at it.
It was down to the wire excitement again for Plymouth who would fall just short by a 3-1 score on the road to NorthWood. Falling behind again, the Pilgrims put together their normal last at bat heroics, but the Panthers got some of their own from catcher Tanner Cleveland and third baseman Chad Herschberger who ran a pick off play to perfection in the seventh to gun down pinch runner Jeremy Splix at third and hold on to an NLC victory.
“I don’t know if thats something they talked about when they brought the new pitcher in at the mound, if they did kudos to them,” said Plymouth head coach Ryan Wolfe. “It was a gutsy play. They throw the ball into left field we score at least one and have the game winner at second base.”
Instead it killed a Plymouth rally just short of yet another attempt to win in the final at bat.
Both teams made play after play behind starting pitchers Braydon Davidson for Plymouth and Chad Sellers for NorthWood. While the Panthers were able to bunch together enough hits in the third to score two while Plymouth could not capitilize on their few opportunities.
It was the little things that would be the biggest in the end.
“We didn’t hit our cutoffs twice in that inning (the third) and let them go to second base,” said Wolfe. “When you allow guys to take extra bases and couple it with a few hits in a game like this it only takes one inning. You put a crooked number up there and it could be enough.”
“With both pitchers throwing strikes and people making plays behind them it comes down to those little things. We couldn’t capitilize on some opportunities we had.”
NorthWood added an insurance run in the sixth capitlizing on three hit batters and a wild pitch and the run would prove to be the nail in the Plymouth coffin.
“From a mental stand point that’s a tough thing to do (putting two runners on base), but we did it,” said Wolfe. “We had the guy we wanted at the plate. It just didn’t happen tonight. It’s something we’ll learn from and move on tomorrow.”
Brandon Milligan had a big night at the plate for Plymouth posting a three hit night and triggering the seventh inning rally with a one out single. Davidson and first baseman Spencer Maecroft doubled.
Plymouth (6-6) plays at home against LaPorte Saturday morning. NorthWood stays in first in the NLC and is now 9-2.
Linescore
Plymouth 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1-7-0
NorthWood 0 0 2 0 0 1 x 3-5-0
WP – Sellers. LP – Davidson. S – Minnich. 2B – Gongwer (NW), Maecroft (P), Davidson (P).
