Beloit Bo-Sticks it to Clinton to Grab First Place
BELOIT, WI - Christopher Bostick drilled a pair of two-run homers as the Beloit Snappers trounced the Clinton LumberKings, 10-3 , at Pohlman Field on Saturday night in Midwest League action as 1562 looked on.
Beloit now holds sole possession of first place as they lead the Western Division with a 42-27 record. Clinton's record is now 33-35.
The game was scoreless for the first four innings as starters Austin House and Anthony Vasquez dueled to a draw. The LumberKings broke through in the fifth after putting men on second and third with nobody out. A sacrifice fly by Ketel Marte (1-3, RBI) broke the ice and a wild pitch by House allowed in another run to make the score 2-0.
Through five, that lead looked like it might stand up, as Vasquez (0-2) had faced only one batter over the minimum. The sixth proved to be his undoing, though. Ryan Mathews led-off with a walk and Bostick (3-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 runs) tied the game by going to the opposite field for his eighth homer of the year. A pair of singles then brought Matt Olson to the plate and he drove a liner off the right field wall for the go-ahead runs.
After a Jordy Lara sacrifice fly brought the LumberKings to within 4-3, the Snappers blew the game open. With two outs and men on second and third, Clinton elected to walk John Wooten to load the bases. Their pitcher couldn't find the plate, however, walking the next batter, Ryan Delgado, to force in a run. Mathews (1-3, 3 RBI, 2 runs) followed with the big blow, crashing a double off the left field wall to clear the bases and the lead was pushed to 8-3. Bostick then connected for his second long ball and ninth in 2013, tallying Mathews ahead of him and closing out the scoring.
Dakota Bacus (6-2), who relieved House in the sixth, tossed three solid innings of relief for the win and Ryan Dull finished the game with a shutout ninth.
The final game of the first half is set for 2:00pm on Sunday at Pohlman Field. Beloit sends out LHP Brent Powers (3-2, 6.00 ERA) against RHP David Holman (1-3, 3.98 ERA). This game will be full of great promotions, not the least of which is the 18th birthday celebration for Snappy D. Turtle. To celebrate, the first 500 fans will receive a Snappy bobbleshell doll. Snappy will be joined by mascots from all over the Stateline. Fans also have the opportunity to make a charitable donation during the Teddy Bear Toss. When the seventh inning stretch arrives, all those in attendance can throw stuffed animals onto the field, which will be delivered by Snappers players to children at a local hospital.