Sluggers Walk It Off on Wild Pitch to Outlast Clippers in 11-10 Extra-Inning Thriller
FINDLAY, OH — The Flag City Sluggers walked away with an 11-10 extra-innings win over the Muskegon Clippers on Tuesday night.
A crowd of 267 at Marathon Field watched the two teams trade punch after punch, combining for 21 runs and 28 hits before a wild pitch in the 10th inning finally ended it.
The Sluggers jumped out early, leading 4-1 by the second inning thanks to aggressive baserunning and timely hitting from William Barnes and Trenten Smith. But the wheels came off in the fourth when Muskegon exploded for five runs. The loudest blow was a three-run homer by Clippers catcher Cayden Nieto off Flag City starter Grady Mason, instantly flipping the lead to Muskegon.
From there, it turned into a track meet. The Clippers kept chipping away, getting three RBIs apiece from Isaiah Domey and Caden Thelen to push their lead to 9-6 by the seventh.
The Sluggers started chipping back in the bottom of the seventh when Barnes laced a clutch two-run double. Muskegon grabbed an insurance run in the top of the ninth to make it 10-8, putting Flag City's backs firmly against the wall.
Down by two in the bottom of the ninth, the Sluggers went to work. Mickey Anderson singled and Miles Mitchell walked to put runners on. Atticus Huffstutler singled home a run to cut the deficit to one, and Drew Tajblik put the ball in play, forcing a Muskegon infield error that allowed the tying run to score and send the game to extras.
Aidan Murphy came on in the top of the 10th and did exactly what he needed to do, sitting the Clippers down in order to keep the score knotted at 10.
In the bottom of the frame, Trenten Smith drew a leadoff walk against Muskegon reliever Zane Gregg. Smith moved to second on a wild pitch, and after Mitchell was intentionally walked to set up a double play, Gregg uncorked another wild pitch. Smith bolted home from third, sliding in safely to trigger the celebration.
The Sluggers host Muskegon again on Wednesday at the Marathon Diamonds with the first pitch scheduled for 6:05pm.
Key Statistics
Flag City Sluggers
William Barnes (1B): 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI
Mickey Anderson (CF): 3-for-6, 2 R
Trenten Smith (2B): 2-for-4, BB, RBI, SB, scored the winning run
Aidan Murphy (P): 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 SO (Win)
Muskegon Clippers
Cayden Nieto (C): 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI
Caden Thelen (CF): 2-for-5, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 SB
Isaiah Domey (1B): 2-for-6, 2B, 3 RBI
