Michigan Battle Cats at Dayton Dragons
April 19th, 2002
| Michigan |
|
|
4 |
0 |
3 |
|
0 |
1 |
0 |
|
1 |
0 |
0 |
|
|
9 |
9 |
1 |
| Dayton |
|
|
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
3 |
0 |
0 |
|
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
|
4 |
7 |
3 |
E-Lentini, Encarnacion, Hurtado, Campana, LOB MIC-6, DAY-4, 2B-Checksfield, Mote, Lydic, Bergolla, 3B-Shelf, HR-Shelf 2 (Batista 2), Encarnacion (Wood), SB-Likely, Bergolla, Varner, CS-Stegall
WP-Rohlicek, Carter, SO-Likely, Lentini, Conrad, Checksfield, Mote, Lucas 2, Bergolla 2, Varner, Gutierrez, Encarnacion, Hurtado, Campana 2, Prince, Huguet, Lewis, BB-Likely, Lentini 2, Shelf, Lydic
T-2:24, A-8,141
Battle Creek Enquirer
by Howie Magner
The hits just keep on coming for Brooks Conrad, and so do the wins for Michigan.
The Battle Cats drilled Dayton to the tune of 9-4 Friday night at Fifth Third Field, winning for the 11th time in 13 games. Conrad kept his own personal string of success going, too, extending his hitting streak to 13 games with a 2 for 5 night.
Michigan stayed atop the Midwest League's Eastern Division, upping it's record to 11-4, Dayton fell to 5-10.
Conrad got the streak out of the way in the first inning, slapping a single during a four run Michigan rally. Todd Shelf also had a two run triple in the inning to start what would be his own big night.
The Cats got to Dayton starter Justin Carter (0-1) for three more runs int he third, helped along by Joe Lydic's two run double.
Shelf provided the rest of Michigan's scoring, hitting solo home runs in the fifth and seventh innings.
Michigan starting pitcher Russ Rohlicek stayed perfect on the season improving to 3-0 with seven innings of five hit ball. Rohlicek's only trouble spot was Dayton's three run fourth.
Dayton Daily News
by Marc Katz
It didn't take the Dayton Dragons long to play themselves out of their Class A Midwest League game with the Michigan Battle Cats Friday night.
After allowing three hits, a walk and committing two errors leading to four runs in the first inning, the Dragons were essentially out of it even though they did score three themselves in the fourth.
By that time Michigan already had three more runs, too, on the way to a 9-4 victory played in front of 8,141 fans at Fifth Third Field
It got so bad, Michigan's Todd Shelf knocked in four runs himself with two homers and a triple. Not only that, Michigan manager John Massarelli didn't even argue when his team was denied another run in the ninth. With the bases loaded and only one out, Steve Checksfield hit a ball at pitcher Kyle Stanton, who knocked it down and threw to catcher J.C. Huguet, who had the ball bounce off his glove.
By that time, home plate umpire Chris Tiller already made the out call.
The night before, Dayton went into the ninth with a 1-1 tie before surendering six runs in a 7-1 loss.
"Yuck, that's my quote of the game," Dayton manager Donnie Scott said, "That was more like The Twilight Zone at the start."
There was plenty of other Twilight Zone stuff too, like the three runs the Battle Cats scored in the third inning on three hits and another error while Michigan lefty Russ Rohlicek went seven innings allowing five hits and three runs.
Only in the fourth, when they scored three runs on four hits, and the ninth when third baseman Edwin Encarnacon hammered a Samon Peters lik eblast more than 400 feet to left center, did the Dragons mount any attack.
"The good part for me was the middle of the order," Scott said, "At least we swing the bats tonight."
Noochie Varner, batting third, cranked out two hits, Jesse Gutierrez, batting fourth, had one and two long flies to center, and Encarnacion, batting fifth, had two hits and could have had a third had right fielder Checksfield not made a move like he was going to catch Encarncion's soft liner.
Varner, on first at the time, held just a little too long and was thrown out at second.
Encarnacion, who had only three hits in his previous five games (hitting .167 in that span) said with translation help from teammate Amaurys Nina, that he was "more confident. Things may be better."
Things will have to get better to break a two game losing streak. The Dragons have also lost four of their last five, and South Bend visits tonight with rookie righthander Edgar Gonzalez expected to start.