Sluggers' Furious Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Just Short in 13-11 Thriller against Clippers
FINDLAY, OH — A disastrous sixth inning doomed the Flag City Sluggers on Thursday night as they dropped a wild 13-11 game to the Muskegon Clippers at Marathon Field.
In a nearly four-hour marathon, the two teams combined for 24 runs, 23 hits, and a staggering 11 hit batters.
Sluggers starter Dominic Elia was solid early, leaving after five innings with a 7-2 lead thanks to a big four-RBI night from Atticus Huffstutler and hot baserunning by Kaden Ford.
But the wheels came completely off in the top of the sixth. The Flag City bullpen imploded, giving up four walks, three hit batters, and four hits. Muskegon roared to life, sending 15 batters to the plate and scoring 10 runs in the single frame to take a 12-7 lead.
The Sluggers fought back, chipping away with runs in the sixth and seventh, and staged a final rally in the bottom of the ninth to score two more. However, Muskegon closer Drew Diehl picked up the final out with runners on base to halt the comeback.
The Sluggers travel to Hamilton on Friday with the first pitch scheduled for 7:05pm.
Key Stats
Flag City Sluggers
Atticus Huffstutler (DH): 2-for-4, 4 RBI
Kaden Ford (LF): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 R, 2 SB
Braden Sprague (C): 2-for-4, 2 BB, 2 R
Muskegon Clippers
Ben Meyers (LF): 2-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI
Caden Thelen (CF): 3-for-6, 2 RBI, 2 R
Sam Briggs (P): 1.0 IP, 3 SO (Win)
