August 5, 2021 at 8:11 a.m.
Snowhawks prevail over Zimmy's All-Stars in low-scoring game
Snowhawks prevail over Zimmy's All-Stars in low-scoring game
By Brett LaBore-
The Snowhawks came back to beat Zimmy's All-Stars 9-8 to pick up their fourth win in a row.
"I tell you it feels real good especially against a team like this. Zimmy's is no joke," coach Jeff Smith said. "They're a team that you have to play hard, you can't make many errors. To come out with a one-run victory is nice. It was a team effort tonight."
Zimmy's got the first big inning of the game, scoring the maximum five runs in the first inning. Three straight singles loaded the bases for John Otteson. He hit an RBI single down the left field line to score one. Up next, Justen Mayer hit a two-run line drive single to left to make it 3-0 Zimmy's.
Bryan Jacquest ended the inning with an RBI single to center.
"When they come out with five I was like 'Oh, that's alright. We'll come back with five and tie them up.' That didn't happen so we had to chip away at that lead," Smith said.
The Snowhawks have gotten off to hot starts in the last few games, but that was not the case against Zimmy's. Cole Punches grounded out with runners on first and third for a scoreless inning.
Zimmy's went quiet in the bottom of the second. Coming to bat, the Snowhawks finally got on the board. Ryan Schowalter reached first on a third baseman error with one run scoring. Then, Gunner Dunbar hit an RBI single to right. Zimmy's led 5-2 after two.
"We love playing them. They always have a good team, real excited to play," Smith said. "We have a lot of fun playing those guys."
Three consecutive doubles got the Snowhawks going in the third. Jeff Smith hit a double to left to score Don Moore. Later, with the bases loaded, Jesse Robinson hit a sacrifice fly to left center to bring home one run. Cole Punches then singled to left to score another.
Zimmy's held onto a slim 6-5 lead after three.
Runs started to become hard to come by for Zimmy's All-Stars. Part of that was due to the Snowhawk defense - they turned a double play in the fourth inning.
Derek Young reached first on an error to start the fourth. Ryan Schowalter singled to center to put runners on the corners. Two batters later, Dustin Schowalter tied the game up at 6-6 with a sacrifice fly RBI to left.
"It was a struggle. We had to scrap and fight for every run we got," Smith said.
The sixth inning was an inning of chances. Zimmy's had two runners on but a groundout ended the inning. The Snowhawks had two runners on as well, with a flyout ending the inning. Zimmy's had scored just one run since the first.
"There were a lot of hard hit balls that were cut off and caught," Smith said. "Like I was telling our team earlier, both our teams play really good defense."
In the seventh, Zimmy's put something together. Blake Below doubled to right center. Nick Pitterly, with two outs, drove in the go-ahead run on an infield single back to the pitcher Nick Merckz.
The Snowhawks had a rally of their own in the seventh. Young singled to third and then Ryan Schowalter hit a deep fly to left field that was dropped. The ball rolled underneath a structure, making it a ground rule double.
Dustin Schowalter scored the go-ahead run with a single. The Snowhawks led 8-7, their first lead of the game.
"That was big. It was big. We needed something big like that to happen. We had Jesse and Brent (Cella) in the lineup to do a lot of damage. They missed. They just missed the ball," Smith said. "Someone else had to do it. I'm glad Derek came up again with that and Dustin had a couple of nice hits to round it off."
Back came Zimmy's in the eighth. A two-out hit by Mayer scored a runner and tied the game at eight apiece.
In the bottom of the eighth, Moore hit a hustle double up the middle to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Jeff Smith grounded out with Moore moving to third. Todd Niemuth got the run home with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-8. It was classic get-em-over, get-em-in baseball.
Zimmy's had one last chance in the ninth. Pitterly reached first base on a dropped catch at first to put runners at first and second with two outs. Tanner Lopez grounded out to end the game. The Snowhawks outscored Zimmy's 9-3 from the second inning on.
Up next, the Snowhawks take on The Lakeland Times on Monday, August 9 at Snowshoe Park in Lake Tomahawk. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
"It's going to be fun. We're not going to run away. It's going to be a good game," Smith said. "That's what it's about, about having fun."
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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