Sluggers Overcome the Rain to Close Out the Scouts Series
After a two-hour rain delay on Thursday night, the Flag City Sluggers wrapped up their three-game series against the Xenia Scouts with a late start but a strong finish. With first pitch finally coming at 9:00 PM, Flag City struck early and never looked back, securing a 6–1 victory.
Making his Sluggers debut on the mound, Carson Klausing got things rolling in the top of the 1st. He picked up a strikeout before finishing the inning with a smooth 6-4-3 double play.
The Sluggers’ offense wasted no time in the bottom half of the inning. Second Baseman Brett Reed opened the action with a single into left-center. That brought up Right Fielder Harrison Engskov, who crushed the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a two-run homer.
The scoring continued in the bottom of the 2nd when Catcher Rylan Mills reached base on a dropped third strike. A stolen base put Mills in scoring position for Left Fielder Ryan Ruch, who ripped a double to bring Mills home and make it 3–0 going into the 3rd.
After a quiet third inning, the Sluggers were back on the board in the 4th. Once again, Mills reached—this time via a throwing error from Xenia pitcher Ryne Kaiser—and Ruch delivered with a single that brought Mills in for his second run of the night.
Flag City struck one more time in the 5th. With two outs, 1st Baseman Trey Gardner notched a single, followed by a walk to Mills and a hit-by-pitch to Ruch, which loaded the bases and ended Kaiser’s night. Luke Holcomb entered the game for Xenia, but struggled to find control—hitting Shortstop Matt Gardner to bring in a run, then walking Brett Reed to plate Mills for the third time and push the Sluggers’ lead to 6–0.
Xenia finally broke through in the top of the 7th. Center Fielder Johnathan Jackson singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third, and came home on a throwing error to make it 6–1.
The final two innings were quiet on both sides, with only Center Fielder Will Lafferty picking up a hit for Flag City in the 8th. The game came to a close on a 1-4-3 double play in the top of the 9th, sealing a well-earned win for the Sluggers.
Flag City improves to 8–9 on the season and will hit the road to face the Southern Ohio Copperheads on Friday, June 27, for the start of a two-game road trip down in Athens.