Snappers Fall In Extras On Passed Ball
With Austen Wade batting, a passed ball by allowed Tyler Friis to score the winning run, as the Lake County Captains (13-14) defeated the Beloit Snappers (10-13) by the score of 9-8 Saturday night at Classic Park.
With
With Friis beginning the Captains half of the 10th on second base, he advanced to third on a fly ball to center by
In a game that saw four lead changes and two ties, there was a bit of everything in the contest. Snappers first baseman
Beck would save the game prior to his 10th inning heroics, with an incredible ranging over-the-shoulder catch to save the what would have been winning run from scoring from second base in the bottom of the ninth inning. With runners on first and second, Joe Vincente hit a ball into the alley that most thought would get down for the game winning hit. Beck had other plans, as he reeled in the long fly ball on the warning track to keep the runners at bay.
Mercedes had two attempts at the cycle, with the home run, double and single already in hand, Mercedes flew out to center in the seventh, and was intentionally walked to load the bases in the top of the ninth.
The Captains then plated four straight runs with three in the bottom half to take the lead, and a run in the third to extend their lead to 5-3. Vicente tied the game in the second with a two-run home run to left and was followed later in the inning by a Clement RBI double.
Mercedes responded with emphasis in the top of the fourth inning, as the first basemen sent a two-run shot to left field to tie the game at 5. For Mercedes, it was his first homer of the year after leading the Snappers with 16 long balls a season ago.
The Captains then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth, before the Snappers plated a pair in the top of the fifth. Mercedes drove a run-scoring base hit to right to score Farrar to tie the game, before
Then defense and pitching took over, as neither team scored a run in six half innings before the Captains broke through with a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Prior to those runs in the eighth, Snappers reliever
The hot-hitting Meggs then stepped in in the top of the ninth and delivered a clutch one out run-scoring single to tie the game at 8.
The loss marked the fifth time in the last seven games where the Snappers were either tied, or held a late lead and lost.
The finale and rubber match of the three-game set is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. CST. The Snappers will send right-hander
The Beloit Snappers are a member of the Midwest League and have been the Single-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics since 2013. For more ticket information, contact the Snappers office at (608) 362-2272 or on our website, www.snappersbaseball.com.