Pioneers Bitten by Bad Dog

publishedFriday, April 9, 2004

The Pioneers suffered a painful defeat at the hands of the Newport Greyhounds at home on Thursday. Absolutely nothing seemed to come together for the Pioneers in this game. While starting pitcher Kyle Altom got off to a rough start in the first inning both he and reliever Andy Rogers held the Greyhounds scoreless through the end of the game. There was only one fielding error and although a costly one, the Pioneers fielded well for the rest of the evening. At the plate, the Pioneers combined for 10 hits with 3 walks, combining for a .333 BA and a .455 On Base percentage. But when the score was tallied the Pioneers fell well short at 1 run to 4. The Pioneers were defeated simply because they were unable to come up with the hits when they needed them most, leaving a total of 11 runners stranded.

The Greyhounds score their first batter after he walks, is advanced by an HP, and advanced and scored by back to back hits. With 2 outs a fly ball is dropped in the outfield and with the runners already at speed, all three score. The Pioneers only score comes in the fifth inning, when Brad Fletcher reaches second on an overthrow error and is scored when Grant Gatlin hits safely. Hitting for the Pioneers: Francis - double; Fletcher - single; Burba - single; Gatlin - 2 singles; Smith - single; Rhodes - single; Davis - 2 doubles; McDougal - single. Losing Pitcher Altom pitched 4 innings allowing 4 runs on 5 hits with 1 walk, 2 HP's and 3 strikeouts. Relieving Pitcher Andy Rogers pitched 3 innings allowing 0 runs on 1 hit with 2 walks and 1 HP and 2 strikeouts.