Clippers Rally Falls Short in Indy

INDIANAPOLIS – It was sunshine and baseball in the Circle City as the Columbus Clippers and Indianapolis Indians faced off in their second consecutive day game at Victory Field.

Indy threatened early. After a one out triple by Nick Solak, Nick Yorke lined a shot to Clippers third baseman Kyle Datres. Thinking he caught it in the air, Datres rushed to step on third for a double play. However, the umpire ruled it wasn’t a catch, so Datres quickly fired across the diamond, but the throw wasn’t in time to get the runner, putting them on the corners with one away. They’d load the bases on a Jack Suwinski walk, but Clippers starter Doug Nikhazy struck out Darick Hall and got Abrahan Gutierrez to ground into a force out to end the inning without any damage to the scoreboard.

Columbus’ first threat came in the top of the third. Jake Anchia singled, Christian Cairo was hit by a pitch, and C.J. Kayfus walked to load the bases with one out. But Braxton Ashcraft was able to strike out Will Brennan and then get Johnathan Rodríguez to fly out to keep the game scoreless.

Indianapolis would crack the game open in grand fashion in the bottom half of the frame. Following a leadoff walk, Nikhazy would retire the next two batters to finish his outing. Mason Hickman then entered the game for Columbus on the mound. He’d walk the first two batters he saw to load the bases, and DJ Stewart cleared them. Stewart connected on a 1-1 changeup and deposited it into the landscaping in front of the batters eye in centerfield, the grand slam put Indy ahead, 4-0.

Clippers cracked the scoreboard in the top of the fourth. Wednesday’s hero Micah Pries led off the inning with a walk, he came all the way around to score from first when Kody Huff lined a shot down the third baseline. Huff’s RBI double cut the Indy lead to 4-1.

Columbus kept that momentum rolling in the top of the fourth. Cairo led off the inning by being hit by a pitch, he’d score on a C.J. Kayfus triple. Will Brennan brought home Kayfus with an RBI base hit of his own, slicing the Indianapolis lead to one.

The offenses for both sides stalled until the ninth. Back-to-back singles by Milan Tolentino and Kayle Datres with one away put a pair of runners on for the Clippers. After a strikeout, Christian Cairo legged out an infield single to load the bags for C.J. Kayfus, but Eddy Yean was able to induce a pop out to end the game.

Columbus falls to 15-18, Indianpolis improves to 18-16. The series continues at Victory Field on Friday night, first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm. The Clippers return home after a two-week road trip on Tuesday, May 20th for a world famous Tansky Tuesday Dime-A-Dog Night. Tickets are available by visiting ClippersBaseball.com.