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Griffons win MINK League South
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
"Woo-hoo!" That one celebratory gesture out of the mouth of Nevada Griffons general manager Jeff Post couldn't have been a more accurate description of the prevailing emotions after the Griffons beat the Sedalia Bombers by a final score of 4-3 to take the MINK League South Division championship Tuesday night, at Lyons Stadium.
For many teams throughout the MINK League this year, the last game of the regular season was a time to simply relax and make sure everything was fine-tuned and ready for the postseason, or simply finish out the schedule and send players home, depending on each team's given situation.
That was not the case for Nevada, however. The Griffons entered the last regular season matchup against the Bombers with nearly everything on the line and despite their recent struggles, ultimately came out on top in one of the most exciting finishes of the season.
"Never a dull moment, but our guys did a hell of a job this year and we're not done yet," Griffons head coach Ryan Mansfield said.
Though both squads came into the night knowing that Tuesday's winner would take the South Division title and move on to the MINK League Championship Series, there wasn't quite as much on the line as there could have been. At the beginning of the year, it was thought that winning the South Division was a must to get a bye into the second week of the National Baseball Congress World Series under the tournament's new format, but as it turns out, that's not the case this year.
Sedalia Bombers manager Jud Kindle made the decision late in the year that he and his squad would not go to the World Series and were simply playing for a MINK League Championship. That revelation opened the door for the Griffons to get a bye into the NBC World Series Championship Week, win or lose.
Despite being guaranteed the second seed out of the MINK League by virtue of having a better record than the Ozark Generals -- the third team from the MINK League to make this year's World Series with Nevada and North Division Champion Clarinda -- the Griffons still had a lot to play for since everyone knew the South Division was still very much up in the air.
The Griffons entered the night with a bit of a different look since the exit of Austin White and a chipped bone in the thumb of Alex Lang that ended his season.
"He's kind of been hit and miss this last week," Mansfield said of Lang. "Sad to see him go, but that's part of baseball, especially summer ball. He's got to get healthy for the fall."
It wasn't all bad for the Griffons, however, as MINK League home run leader Michael Douglas turned in his doctor's release just before the start of the game, making it known that his finger injury had healed enough to allow him to play. Though he wasn't in the starting lineup, Douglas did get a plate appearance in the ninth inning, working a walk.
"We got Douglas back," Mansfield said. "You know, really didn't expect to use him here tonight, but you know, obviously, the wind kind of changed direction on us and we had the wind blowing out. So, I was hoping for something deep."
Griffons starter Steve Danielak struggled a bit as the contest began, allowing the Bombers to find the scoreboard first. Though he did allow a pair of hits -- a double to Zach Weigel on the first pitch of the game and an RBI single by Jess Cartner -- it wasn't all on him, however, as a potential double play ball turned into an error and ultimately led to the Bombers finishing the inning with a 1-0 lead.
Danielak's struggles continued as the Bombers came to bat in the third inning. For the second time in the contest, the top of the order was able to get to Danielak as nearly everything he threw seemed to be right in the Bombers' wheelhouse.
By the time all was said and done, the Bombers plated two more runs on three hits in the third, extending their lead to 3-0.
That rally ultimately brought a disappointing end to Danielak's night on the mound. Danielak finished the night allowing three earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts, a walk and a hit batter in four innings of work.
Robert Greco has shown throughout the entire season why he is the ace of the Bombers's starting rotation and did so again Tuesday as he shut the Griffons down throughout the early innings. Through the first three innings, the only blemishes on Greco's record for the day were a hit batter in the first inning and a second-inning leadoff single by Marcus Ethan.
It looked as though the Griffons would finally get to Greco in the fourth inning as the first two hitters reached base. But a pop-out to the catcher and a 4-6-3 double play quickly put down the threat with no damage done.
Greco allowed just three hits through the first seven innings, but two of those hits came from the same player. Ethan's two singles in his first two at-bats of the night were the first two hits of the game for the Griffons, but there wasn't much else that went right for the Nevada offense.
"He was pretty good," Mansfield said of the opposing pitcher. "I mean, he left some balls up and we've already beat him once on the summer. He kind of had our number tonight, especially with his slider."
That all changed in the home half of the eighth inning, however, as Caleb Mitchell led off the inning with a single. It looked as though Greco would be able to once again work around that leadoff hit as he retired the next two batters, but designated hitter Brandon Downs put an emphatic stop to that assumption as he belted a 2-2 pitch over the fence in left field to cut the lead to just one at 3-2, heading into the ninth inning.
"He got a pitch up in the zone and toward the end of the game there, I mean, he was sitting more slider and he got a fastball up and took advantage of it," Mansfield said.
That rally brought an end to Greco's night on the mound after pitching eight solid innings. Greco finished the night allowing two earned runs on five hits with six strikeouts and two hit batters.
The Griffons wasted little time taking full advantage of the reprieve when Greco finally left the mound. As the ninth inning began, the Griffons got the first two runners on base before Cal Hogan's sacrifice bunt put the tying and winning runs in scoring position.
That eventually turned into a bases-loaded, one out situation that ultimately resulted in an RBI walk by Mitchell to tie the game at 3-3. With two out, Bombers reliever Zac Anstine knew the game was in his hands, but simply couldn't quite pull it off as he surrendered his second walk of the inning to Michael Sterling, bringing home the winning run and sending the Griffons to the MINK League Championship Series by a final score of 4-3.
With the win, the Griffons finished the regular season with an overall record of 27-18, 25-17 in League play, and claimed the South Division crown, but Mansfield left Lyons Stadium still in a state of shock at the night's events.
"I don't know," Mansfield said of how it felt to win the division. "I'm still kind of stuck in that last inning, but now we switch to Clarinda and get ready for those guys."
The Griffons will host the opening game of the MINK League Championship Series against the Clarinda (Iowa) A's at 7 p.m., Thursday, at Lyons Stadium. The second and if necessary, third game of the series will be played at Clarinda.