Griffons shutout Merchants in NBC World Series

Monday, August 2, 2010

Pitching has long been known as one of the most valuable aspects of the game of baseball. That proved true once again Monday morning as the Nevada Griffons rode a very strong complete game shutout effort on their way to a 7-0 victory in an elimination game at the NBC World Series against the Merchants of Everett, Wash.

The Griffons came into the contest fresh off of what was arguably the toughest opening draw of the tournament against the Jayhawk League and Midwest Regional champion Haysville (Kan.) Heat. The Griffons and starter Ryan Parson stayed in the game through the first four innings, but were ultimately unable to keep up with Haysville's high-powered offense and fell by a final score of 8-3.

The Heat name will sound familiar to many fans familiar with the NBC World Series as they were formerly known as the Havasu (Ariz.) Heat. The Havasu Heat have been a perennial front-runner in World Series competition for a number of years and took last season off to make the move to Kansas and join the Jayhawk League before picking right back up where they left off.

"That definitely (was) a rough start, but hopefully, our guys kind of have an idea as far as what the World Series is about, how things are going to run, the pace of the games, Griffons head coach Ryan Mansfield said. "And also, an idea of the competition level as well."

The Merchants came into the contest with a similar bad taste they hoped to wash out of their mouths after their opening game of the tournament as well. The Merchants played their first game of the tournament against a tough opponent as well in the MINK League North Division champion Chillicothe Mudcats and were battered from start to finish on their way to a 7-0 loss.

On top of that drubbing, the Merchants had to make one of the tournament's toughest turnarounds as well.

The Merchants and Mudcats played in the 10 p.m. game on Sunday and had to immediately come back to Lawrence-Dumont Stadium and play an elimination contest at 10:30 a.m., Monday.

The Griffons wasted little time taking advantage of the quick turnaround the Merchants were forced to make as they were able to touch starter Seafth Howe for two quick runs in the home half of the first inning. Howe struggled right from the outset as he found himself going deep into nearly every count and the Griffons wasted little time making him pay for those struggles, working their way to an early 2-0 lead.

The Griffons went on to add one more run in the home half of the third inning before Merchants manager Harold Pyatte was forced to go to the bullpen. Howe's day came to a quick and disappointing end after allowing three runs on five hits with a strikeout and two walks in just 2 2-3 innings.

#Griffons starter Josh Malin, on the other hand, proved to be a far different story as he shut the Merchants' offense down. In just his first three innings of work, Malin kept the Merchants' offense off the board and was ultimately able to record six strikeouts in what proved to be a very strong outing.

Malin got more than enough help behind him as the Griffons continued to work their way through the Everett bullpen. Reliever Tyler Holm struggled even more than Howe did as he was touched for a quick four runs in the fourth inning and it looked as though the Griffons may be on their way to a run-rule victory as they took a 7-0 lead in the top of the sixth inning.

That was not to be, however, as the offense ended there for both sides. Malin went the distance for the Griffons and was ultimately able to finish out the shutout, giving the Griffons a 7-0 victory.

In stark contrast to their opener against the Heat, the Griffons had little trouble putting the bats on the ball throughout the day as they finished the contest with 12 hits -- two of which went for extra bases.

"That was good to see, but we need to stick with the approach we had today and continue that throughout the course of the tournament," Mansfield said.

Malin finished the day without allowing a run on four hits with a staggering 13 strikeouts and just two walks. "This is probably the best game he's thrown this year," Mansfield said of his starter. "Definitely good to see and he's worked his a-- off this summer, definitely made some adjustments and, obviously, that showed today for him."

With that win, the Griffons improved to 1-1 in the tournament and will move on to take on either the defending NBC World Series champion El Dorado (Kan.) Broncos or the St. Joseph (Mo.) Mustangs on Wednesday.#

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