August 1, 2022 at 8:26 a.m.
Snowhawks hold off Tap House for fourth win
Snowhawks hold off Tap House for fourth win
By Brett LaBore-
The Snowhawks defeated Lake Tomahawk Tap House 10-5 at Snowshoe Park in Lake Tomahawk.
"It felt really good and the field took a long time to put together. There was saw chips everywhere. Took about five hours to get the field where it was," coach Jeff Smith said. "It felt really good and the guys felt good to come back and play."
Clean-up hitter Cole Punches got the Snowhawks off to a quick start with a three-run home run to center field that kept rolling. Two more runs came home to score to give the Snowhawks the maximum five runs.
"He hit that one pretty good and he felt good about that finally. Felt good to finally get that hit... and drive in some runs. Yeah we're happy for him," Smith said.
Other Snowhawk hitters tried to do the same as Punches did. It wasn't as easy as they thought.
"We were trying to hit the middle and they seem to keep that middle (open) and for some guys it was frustrating, myself I popped a few up," Smith said. "It was challenging and they gave us a chance there with the way they positioned themselves and we could not connect on their pitches."
Tap House came back with three runs. Randy Robison, Liz Taylor, Jerry Sanders and Chris Zenner all got hits. Bode Guthrie did the same to keep the inning going. Snowhawks held onto a 5-3 lead.
After two scoreless innings, the Snowhawks increased their lead. Gunner Dunbar had an RBI single to right. Then, two errors cost Tap House.
Dustin Schowalter drove in a run on an error at shortstop. Jacob Hodgden did the same with an error at third. Both unearned runs scored with two outs.
After four innings, the Snowhawks led 8-3.
The Tap House looked to score their first runs since the second inning. In the top of the sixth, Dusty Merno singled to center. John Otteson followed that up with a hit to left.
Matt Roberts lined out for the second out. Then, Randy Robinson hit one to shallow right. It looked like it was going to drop until Paul Miller took it right off the ground for a diving out.
"It was a great defensive night. We thought the ball was going to be a little slippery. Guys who caught balls out there somehow had good grip," Smith said.
The diving catch ended up being a huge swing. In the bottom half of the inning. Brent Cella hit an inside-the-park home run to center field. Cella would have been out at home on the relay, but Tap House catcher dropped the ball. The Snowhawks' lead grew to 10-3.
"That was big. And he too, he's been struggling at the plate. He whacked a good line drive. If that was up high, it really would have sailed," Smith said. "Once it gets by, it's going to roll."
Those would be the last runs the Snowhawks would score. The pitching of Tap House, led by Taylor and Patsy Niemi, stifled the Snowhawks.
"They did a pretty good job and our guys had trouble (hitting) those pitches. Liz had a really good underspin pitch and it was tough to hit that," Smith said. "It was fun, it was a challenge. Patsy was deep, shallow, she hit the plate all over the place. Their pitching was really good. It seems erratic, but it wasn't."
Taylor gave the crowd a fun moment in the seventh inning. She caught the melon ball mid-air and ran around the bases with it until she reached home. Then, she got a rare hit off that melon ball.
"I commend her on that catch, the melon weighs quite a bit. Grabbed the melon in mid-air," Smith said. "She exploded the melon and took off and you know, (we) let her have it. She squared it perfect."
Sanders reached base on a shortstop error. Tap House got the bases loaded when Zenner singled to center. Niemi grounded into a double play, but did get a run home for Tap House. Guthrie flew out to end the inning. The Snowhawks still had a strong 10-4 lead.
Dave Nance, playing for Tap House, singled to open the eighth inning. Two batters later, Merno reached with a base hit. Then, Roberts hit a fly ball to center. The Snowhawk outfielder tripped, causing the ball to safely land in play. Nance came home to score. However, Merno got thrown out at third base to end the inning.
The Snowhawk offense went quiet for the final two innings of the game. It was more than enough as they closed the game out in the ninth inning.
The Snowhawks (4-1) were set to play Zimmy's All-Stars Monday, August 1 at Snowshoe Park in Lake Tomahawk. The game is set to begin at 7:30 p.m.
"They got a good team. Good hitting, good defense, pretty quick on snowshoes. We'll have our hands full," Smith said. "If we show up defensively and get a few timely hits, we'll be ok. It'll be a battle."
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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