Brave-killer Griffons sweep weekend series

Fun. The word frequently pops up in conversation with Nevada Griffons players and coaches. These guys are having fun. Playing loose and winning baseball games at a white-hot clip. The Griffons (11-1, 4-0) extended their win streak to eight with a 7-1 win over a talented Wichita Braves club at Lyons Stadium on Sunday. "We're having so much fun playing," said catcher Brian Bugg, who went 3-for-4, scored the winning run and gunned down two would-be base stealers at second. "The guys are having a good time, everybody's hitting and winning is contagious. It's hard to stop a team like this." Griffon's second baseman Eric Horstman, also 3-for-4 on the evening, single-handedly manufactured a run in the first to light the scoreboard for a 1-0 lead. Horstman, hitting in the leadoff spot and the most dangerous Griffon on the basepaths, led off with a single. Braves' pitcher Clint Mayer, obviously aware of Horstman's baserunning skills, balked him to second. Horstman then advanced to third on a throwing error by the pitcher on a pickoff attempt and scored on Kirk McConnell's groundout. Horstman and Bugg are tied for the team lead in hitting with .500 averages. Horstman, with three RBIs, is also the second-leading run producer with 12, as well as, the leading run scorer with 14. Said Horstman, "Right now, I'm just seeing the ball pretty well. I'm hitting leadoff and just trying to do my job and get on base so everybody else can drive me in. When I get a chance to come up with runners on, I just try to hit the ball hard. "We're a tough bunch. Nobody really wants to play us right now." The Braves (5-4) tied the score at 1-1 with a third-inning run. The Griffons added a single run in the fifth to retake the lead at 2-1 on Bugg's score, which proved to be the game winner. Bugg singled to left field with one out and moved to second on a groundout. Horstman singled, while Bugg barreled homeward. In a collision at the plate on a bang-bang play, Bugg jarred the ball loose from the Wichita catcher. "I just went in hard, hoping to score," said Bugg. "Somehow, I came up with his glove in my hand, so I couldn't tell you what happened. I think he lost his glove and the ball." The Braves had a major threat thwarted in the sixth when they loaded the bases with one out. But the Griffons turned a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning. The double play was started by new arrival Ian Kinsler, a senior-to-be at the University of Missouri. Kinsler had just been inserted into the game at shortstop and his first fielding chance as a Griffon was memorable. "I didn't think I was going to get in the ballgame," said Kinsler, "but Coach (Daryl Byrd) said I might get in late, so I was kind of prepared for that, but it was a big groundball and we rolled it up. The first baseman (Clay Goodwin) made a great play, too." Goodwin, a member of the 2002 Griffons, stretched to full extension, then did a little toe dance from a prone position to keep his foot on the bag for the putout at first. In the seventh inning, the Griffons blew it open with five insurance runs to seal the eventual 7-1 victory. Horstman's two-run single was the key hit. Josh Thomas picked up an RBI with a bases-loaded walk and eventually scored on a passed ball, while Kevin Bills drove home a run with a sacrifice fly to raise his team RBI lead to 15. Again, the depth and effectiveness of a stellar pitching staff came to the fore as five hurlers combined in the winning effort. "We've got great pitching…no runs or one run every game," said Bugg, "so it's not hard to play when it's this much fun." There's that word again. Starter Ty Hanson, a righthander with a sidearm delivery, went three innings and was charged with one earned run. The score was deadlocked at 1-1 when Chris Reed (1-0) came on and pitched two shutout innings for the win. Mark Culp, Evan Burgess and Mike Sillman combined for four shutout innnings to close out the contest. Discussing his mound strategy, the lefthander Culp said, "I wanted to go out there and throw a lot of first-pitch strikes and make good pitches, stay ahead in the count and set up my off-speed pitches. I just wanted to hold on to the lead for us." So, the surging Griffons gave a Church Night crowd of 325 a good show and after a day off Monday will go on the road for four straight days. The Griffons play a Jayhawk League doubleheader against the El Dorado Broncos tonight, then meet the Wichita Twins in a non-league contest on Wednesday. A three-game set with the Hays Larks follow with a doubleheader on Thursday and a single game on Friday. Griffons vs. Pine Bluff The weekend sweep started with another "Braves" team. On Saturday, the Griffons blistered the Pine Bluff (Ark.) Braves in a 13-0 rout at Lyons Stadium. Alex Kringen (1-0) went five innings, allowing two hits and no runs to pick up the win. Kringen's ERA is a perfect 0.00 in 10 innings of work. Nick Admire (University of Missouri) and Kyler Pomeroy (University of Arkansas) combined for four innings of one-hit, shutout ball to wrap up the win over the overmatched Pine Bluff nine. Kirk McConnell got the Griffons on the board with a three-run homer in the third. McConnell (University of Arkansas) had a game-high four RBIs and scored three runs. Tim Law chipped in with two hits in four trips and drove home three runs. Designated hitter Chad Steele from Nebraska and catcher Brian Hastings from Hutchinson Community College knocked in two runs apiece.