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Larks take final two to split series in Nevada
By Joe Warren
Nevada Daily Mail
NEVADA, Mo. -- A dominating pitching performance by Hays and some sloppy Nevada play allowed the Larks to split the four-game series with the Griffons this weekend and left one head coach shaking his head.
Nevada head coach John Hill III wondered aloud about his team's inability to improve after watching the Larks take the final two games of the series to earn a split.
"It's disappointing," Hill said after the finale, a 5-1 Larks win. "Each time it seems like we're about to take a step forward, we take a small step then take a big leap backwards and we have to learn all over again."
Hill was particularly upset about his players shucking responsibility in the final game, as a few close calls went Hays' way and that left Griffons focusing on something out of their control.
"We fell back into whining about the umpires," Hill said. "Their pitcher had to deal with the same umpires we did, so it's no excuse. We need to take responsibility on ourselves."
Their pitcher was referring to Hays starter Sam Elam, a left-hander who will be a sophomore at Notre Dame this fall.
Elam dumfounded Nevada batters for seven innings, mixing a devastating curve ball with a fastball that touched the mid 90s.
"He's going to have a good career," Hill said about Elam.
The Griffons managed just three hits and one run off Elam. The southpaw struck out nine then gave way to right hander Matt Petty, who struck out five batters in two innings to preserve the victory.
Nevada struck first in what looked like going in would be a matchup of aces as Griffon righty Chris Rhoads was on the mound.
In the bottom of the first inning Josh Barnett led off with an infield single and was sacrificed the second by Tony Lewis.
After Matt Wulfers struck out, Matt Wagner singled to drive in Barnett and the Griffons were up 1-0.
That was all the offense Nevada could generate against Elam though, as one hit and one Hays error gave Nevada their only other baserunners until the eighth inning.
That's when Shawn Taylor led off with a double to deep right-center field off Petty. But Petty fanned the next three hitters in order to strand Taylor at second.
In the ninth inning Nevada used a walk and fielder's choice to put runners on first and second with two outs. But pinch hitter Kenny Price struck out to end the game.
Hays scored twice off Rhoads in the third inning on a Charlie Kingrey RBI single and Kyle Day's run scoring double.
Rhoads battled control problems the entire game, lasting 5 2/3 innings while giving up seven hits and four walks.
Rhoads was knocked out in the sixth when Hays scored twice more on three hits and a walk.
The Larks tacked on a run in the ninth on an RBI double by Evan Frey.
Tempers boiled a little twice during the game when close calls went against Nevada.
In the first inning a stolen base attempt by Kingrey was successful as Nevada catcher Scott Dunwoody tried to throw him out but appeared to be interfered with by batter Dan Stovall.
Stovall ducked in front of Dunwoody, and it was unsure if he actually stepped out of the batters box in the process. The stolen base was allowed, and the rule states that if the batter did not leave the box he shouldn't be called for interference.
That's what the umpires ruled and that drew a long discussion between Hill and home-plate umpire Ron Del Rosario.
In the fourth inning another meeting between the two ensued when Justin Ellrich tried to beat out an infield single on a ground ball back to first.
The first baseman dove to his right to get the ball then tossed it to Elam, who was covering first.
While Ellrich clearly beat Elam to the bag, Elam claimed that he tagged Ellrich with his glove before the two got there.
The first-base umpire ruled Ellrich safe, but Elam pled his case and asked for an appeal to Del Rosario at home.
Del Rosario overruled the play, calling Ellrich out and that got Hill's attention.
The game was played after a slow, steady rain throughout the day had left the turf wet and a chilly atmosphere on the field.
"Everything was sloppy about this game," Hill said. "From the weather to our play to the umpires."
The Griffons were credited with three errors on the day but they also had a couple of plays that might not have been counted errors but were plays that probably should have been made in the field.
The Griffons and Larks had split a doubleheader Saturday, with the Griffons taking the first game in eight innings, 9-8.
Hays led 6-0 going into the bottom of the third thanks in large part to a three-run bomb by Kingrey, his third homer of the series.
Nevada scored twice on back-to-back RBI singles by Wagner and Ellrich to make it 6-2 after three.
Hays scored once in the fifth to make it 7-2, but the Griffons answered with two more runs as Barnett walked, then scored after three wild pitches.
Lewis walked and later scored on a single by Wulfers to make it 7-4.
Taylor singled and later scored on a base hit by Barnett in the sixth to make it 7-5.
Hays scored once in the top of the seventh inning to make it 8-5, but the Griffons fought back to force an extra inning.
Wagner led off the seventh with a single and Ellrich hit a high flyball to right that just got over the fence to cut the deficit to one.
Taylor singled again with one out, and went to second on a wild pitch.
After Daniel Dellasega struck out, Price hit a 1-1 pitch back up the middle for a single, scoring Taylor with the tying run.
In the eighth, Tony Lewis walked leading off. Wulfers sacrificed him to second and a fielder's choice by Matt Wagner was thrown into right field by shortstop Dallas Christison, allowing Lewis to move to third.
Ellrich was intentionally walked to load the bases and Kyle Mach grounded to second, allowing Lewis to score the winning run before another out was recorded.
The Larks took the nightcap 8-3, as Christison hit a two-run homer and Hays took advantage of five walks and a Nevada error.
The split in Nevada gave Hays six wins in eight meetings between the teams this season.
The Griffons are now 14-18 this season, 7-17 in the league. Hays is 23-11, 17-11.
The Griffons will next be in action today as they travel to Liberal to take on the BeeJays.
The teams will play a five-game series, as one game will be a make-up date from a rain out in Nevada in June.
The BeeJays won all three meetings between the two in Nevada.
Nevada and Liberal are scheduled to play a doubleheader today and tomorrow, with a single game on Thursday.
Nevada won't be home again until Sunday, when they host a doubleheader against the Derby Twins.