BATS OVERCOME 6-RUN DEFICIT TO DOWN FLYER’S, 17-7

LAKE IN THE HILLS — The Bats trailed 6-0 after three innings before exploding for 17 runs over the final four innings to defeat the Flyer’s, 17-7, Saturday night at Plote Field.  Right hander Greg Kaczmarek settled down after giving up 4 first-inning runs to pick up his fourth victory of the season as the Bats improved their record to 6-5.

After the Bats failed to score in the top of the first, the Flyer’s Juan Hernandez was hit by a pitch to open the Flyer’s half of the inning.  Hernandez stole second and scored on a double by Bruce Thorne, while Chris Winston followed with a triple to right field scoring Thorne for a 2-0 lead.  The Flyer’s added 2 more runs with another hit and an error to make it 4-0.

The Bats got one hit in each of the first three innings, but left the base runner stranded all three times.  Meanwhile, the Flyer’s picked up a run in both the second and third innings to open up a 6-0 lead.

In the top of the fourth the Bats capitalized on 2 walks and 2 errors to put a run on the board to make it 6-1.  Harry Mielke then came through with a clutch 2-out double to drive home 2 more runs cutting the Flyer’s lead in half, 6-3.  Kaczmarek buckled down after that tossing three straight shutout innings while working around two base runners in each frame. 

The Bats followed their 3-run fourth with a 6-run outburst in the fifth.  John Reincke coaxed a walk to lead off the inning followed by singles from Earl Blankenship and Rob Matassa to load the bases.  Tom Klauba then stroked a 2-run double making it 6-5, while John Eisenmenger put the Bats ahead, 7-6, with a 2-run single.  They scored two more times to make it 9-6 on a Tom Paul sacrifice fly and another RBI double by Mielke.

In the seventh inning the Bats sent 14 batters to the plate and tallied 8 more runs to put the game well out of reach.  Eisenmenger led off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a throwing error.  Kaczmarek followed with an RBI single to help his own cause and build a 10-6 lead.  Jeff McClellan and Reincke would each add a 2-run single in the inning, and Kaczmarek, who drove in the first run of the inning, would drive in the last run with his second RBI single of the inning.

The Flyer’s added a run in the bottom of the seventh to make the final score 17-7.  Kaczmarek pitched a complete game for the victory while scattering 10 hits with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.  He helped himself defensively as well with 4 assists and 3 putouts. 

Three Bats players had 3 hits in the game — Klauba, Kaczmarek and Mielke — while Blankenship, Matassa, Eisenmenger and Reincke each collected a pair of safeties.  All ten players in the lineup scored at least 1 run with Eisenmenger and Kaczmarek leading the way with 3 runs scored each.

The Bats next game is scheduled for 7:30 PM on Friday, July 16 against the Marauders at Peterson Park in McHenry, Ill.  The Marauders defeated the Bats, 19-11 and 9-8, in their first two meetings this season.

BATS DROPPINGS

The Bats haven’t been over .500 after 11 games since 2010 when they were also 6-5 after 11.  Their best mark after 11 games came in 2004 when they were 7-4 … The Flyer’s ran their scoring streak to 10 straight innings against the Bats before finally putting up a goose egg in the fourth inning ….  The trio of players with 3 hits (Tom Klauba, Harry Mielke and Greg Kaczmarek) marked the first time the Bats had at least three such hitters since May 3, 2015 when four players (Mike Anagnostopoulus, Jeff McClellan, Bill Quoss and Ron Skrabacz) each had 3 hits in an 11-10 victory over the Grays …  John Eisenmenger’s fifth-inning single extended his hitting streak to 9 straight games … Tom Klauba’s 3-hit game was his third game of the season with at least 3 hits.  The Bats record for most 3-hit games in a season is 5, held by John Moulchin in 2011 … With 116 hits in 11 games the Bats are averaging 10.5 hits per game.  They haven’t averaged over 10 hits per game since 2005 when they finished the year with 11.5 hits per game … With the inning ending double play in the third, the Bats have turned at least one double play in each of their last 7 games and have 10 DPs on the season.