EISENMENGER TOSSES 3-HITTER TO END BATS 3-GAME SKID
LAKE IN THE HILLS — The Bats snapped a 3-game losing streak with a 5-1 victory over the Mariners at Plote Field on Saturday night. Right-hander John Eisenmenger picked up the complete-game win while surrendering just 1 run on 3 hits with the support of a Bats 13-hit attack led by Rob Matassa’s 3 hits and Paul Abbinanti, Tom Paul and Jeff McClellan with 2 hits apiece. The win helped the Bats (5-3) stay just 1 game behind the Marauders (6-2) who defeated the Lightning, 9-4, on Sunday.
The Mariners scored their lone run in the bottom of the first when Al Paul was hit by a pitch, stole second and scored on Rob Splitt’s single down the right field line with one out. The Bats avoided any further damage when Eisenmenger astutely allowed the next batter’s pop up near the mound to fall to the ground untouched and then tossed to first base for the putout. Splitt, who had to hold the bag on the play, was then caught in a rundown and tagged out heading to second for an inning ending double play.
The Bats scored in the top of the second when Abbinanti reached on an infield single to start the inning and promptly stole second base. Two outs later he came home on Paul’s line drive single to left to even the score at 1-1.
In the bottom of the second the Mariners had the makings of a big inning when Brian Morris opened with a bloop a single to right field. Darrin Siembal then directed a bunt down the first base line which Eisenmenger fielded and tossed into right field allowing the runners to advance to second and third with no outs. The runners held their stations when the next Mariners batter grounded out to first on a nice play by Bats first baseman Paul to secure the out and hold the runners. Eisenmenger then ended the threat by striking out the next two batters to avert what could have been a disastrous inning.
Four consecutive one-out singles by Tony DiBlasi, Matassa, Tom Klauba and Eisenmenger gave the Bats a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning. One out later Abbinanti stroked a single to center scoring Matassa and Klauba to make it 4-1. That turned out to be all the run support Eisenmenger would need as no Mariner advanced further than second base in the last 5 innings.
The Bats scored their final run in the sixth inning when Abbinanti led off with a walk, stole his second base of the game, and scored on Paul’s two-out RBI single, his second of the contest.
Defensively the Bats were charged with 3 errors but none of them led to any runs. In the outfield left fielder Earl Blankenship and right fielder McClellan made a couple of excellent catches on balls hit over their heads, while Matt Weiss, catching for the first time this season, blocked several errant pitches to prevent base runners from advancing or scoring.
The Bats (5-3) next game will be at 10:00 AM on Sunday, July 23 against the first-place Marauders (6-2) at Krisk Park- Stan Torstenson Field in Genoa City, Wisc. The two teams have split their previous two contests, the Bats winning, 9-3, on May 28 and the Marauders wining, 10-5, on June 18.
STARS OF THE GAME
1st Star — Rob Matassa – 3-for-3; 1 run with a double. Arrived at the game just in time to take his place at second base in the second inning after driving like a “Bat” out of hell from O’Hare following his engagement.
2nd Star — Paul Abbinanti – 2-for-2 with a walk; 2 runs, 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases. Scored the Bats first and last runs of the game.
3rd Star — Jeff McClellan – 2-for-3; Broke out of a mini-slump with two singles and made a fine catch of a flyball over his head in right field.
Honorable Mentions — John Eisenmenger – Threw only 67 pitches in a 7-inning complete game victory allowing just 3 hits with no walks and one hit batsman while facing only 27 batters. Tom Paul — 2-for-3 with 2 RBI on a couple of 2-out run scoring singles. Matt Weiss — Filled in behind the plate for an ailing Greg Mahlstedt and called a great game with several good blocks of balls in the dirt.
BATS DROPPINGS
The Bats 5-3 start to the 2023 season matches the 5-3 start in 2004 as their best record ever after 8 games …. The worst 8-game start to a Bats season is 0-8 which has happened three times (2011, 2014 and 2016) …. Saturday night’s game completed the four-game regular season series between the Bats and Mariners with the Bats taking the series three games to one while outscoring them 22-17 in the four games …. The 3 runs scored by the Bats in the third inning snapped a 20-inning streak of scoring only one or zero runs in an inning. During that time, they scored 1 run five times and zero runs 15 times. The last time the Bats had scored more than 1 run in an inning was in Game 5 on June 18 in the third inning against the Marauders …. Tony DiBlasi’s single in the third inning came at the age of 72 years – 214 days and ranks as the 8th oldest hit in Bats history. Tony’s hit was one of 49 total hits made by Bats players 70 or older, with the oldest coming off the bat of Denny Prosperi (73 yrs – 17 days) on August 25, 2019 …. Rob Matassa celebrated his weekend engagement to his girlfriend, Stephanie Reed, with a 3-for-3 day at the plate. It was Rob’s second 3-hit game of the season and the fourth of his career with the Bats. He also became the first member of the Bats to get 3 hits on his engagement day. Congratulations Rob and Stephanie!
