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Griffons take two of three from visiting Mudcats
Nevada Daily Mail
The Nevada Griffons offense sparkled early against the Chillicothe Mudcats, scoring four runs in the first inning en route to a 13-6 victory.
The Wednesday night contest at Lyons Stadium was the second of three against Chillicothe.
The Griffons however, weren't able to pull off the series sweep as they fell 5-3 to the Mudcats Thursday night.
After taking two of three from Chillicothe, Nevada improved to 23-14 overall (20-14 MINK League play).
Nevada had an opportunity to open up a four-game MINK League south division lead on the idle Branson Nationals, but instead had to settle for a three-game lead. Branson currently sits at 18-18 in MINK League play.
Wednesday contest
Back-to-back run scoring doubles off the bats of Cody Farrell and Jacob Bryant helped the Griffons jump out to a big first inning lead.
"Cody's going to hit for some average, he's going to hit for some power, and he's going to drive in some runs," Nevada head coach Ryan Mansfield said of the Griffons most recent roster addition. "Just the threat of having him in the lineup is pretty big."
Nevada went on top 5-0 in the second inning after Dusty Wright lined a two-out double into the right-center field gap, bringing around Kurt Becker for his 21st RBI of the season.
Meanwhile on the mound for Nevada, starting pitcher Cody Lawson was terrific, blanking the Mudcats over five innings to lower his ERA to 1.64.
With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Farrell demolished a Travis Booth pitch, taking it for a ride over the left field fence and high into the Lyons Stadium tree line, handing the Griffons a 6-0 lead.
Later in the inning, Jacob Bryant reached base via an infield error and then stole second. At the plate, Jamie Graeser sent a pitch to the left field fence, scoring Bryant from second for a 7-0 lead. Immediately following, Cody Roose who has struggled at the plate this year, launched a two-run home run to left field ---- knocking Booth out of the game as the Griffons led 9-0.
After missing a month due to arm soreness, Griffons relief pitcher Juan Aguilera entered the game in the top of the sixth inning. Prior to his absence, Aguilera was a top option for Mansfield out of the bullpen, having notched two early-season saves while averaging more than a strikeout per inning. Aguilera however, looked rusty as he allowed three hits and an earned run in one inning of work. After scoring their first run of the game the Mudcats looked for more, loading the bases on Aguilera with no outs. Aguilera minimized the damage, coming up with a key strike out of Jayden Eggimann followed by an inning-ending double-play.
The Griffons struck back in the bottom half of the sixth, tagging Mudcats relief pitcher Drew Peters for three earned runs. Becker opened the inning with a single, followed by a Dusty Wright walk. After collecting strikeouts of Farrell and Bryant, Peters was victimized by a Graeser 3-run opposite field bomb over the right field fence, as Nevada's lead ballooned to 12-1. The home run was the first of the season for Graeser.
Three errors charged to Nevada in the top of the seventh aided Chillicothe in scoring four runs, as they sliced the lead to 12-5. Two earned runs were charged to Griffons relief pitch Tyler Fallwell during the inning, as he allowed three hits.
Nevada scored its 13th and final run of the game courtesy of a Becker sacrifice fly to left field scoring Anthony Davison.
For Nevada, both Graeser and Farrell had monster games at the dish. Graeser was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Farrell was 3-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs. Becker scored three runs, while Bryant added to runs and an RBI.
Lawson improved to 3-1.
Thursday contest
With the game still scoreless entering the fourth, Chillicothe opened the inning with three consecutive singles off Griffons starting pitcher Josh Green, resulting in a 1-0 Mudcats lead.
Garrison Schwarz continued the hit parade, lining a pitch off the shin of Green, as the ball was redirected into right field, scoring Derek Rodigo and Michael Haun, to put the Mudcats in front 3-0.
The Griffons responded in the bottom of the fifth with three runs to knot the score at 3-3. Two of the runs came courtesy of an RBI double into left-center field off the bat of Farrell.
Critical errors in the top of the sixth inning charged to Griffons catcher Chris Kobar and shortstop Jacob Bryant allowed two Mudcats to touch home plate. Those two runs were the difference in the game as Chillicothe held on for a 5-3 victory.
Despite pitching well, Green (2-1) took the loss. Over seven innings, Green struck out seven while allowing eight hits and three earned runs.
Graeser was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, raising his batting average to .344, while Farrell was 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Farrell is hitting .438.