August 4, 2022 at 10:17 a.m.
Zimmy's All-Stars take down Snowhawks
Zimmy's All-Stars take down Snowhawks
By Brett LaBore-
Zimmy's All-Stars handed the Snowhawks their second loss with a 17-13 win.
"I think it was a great game for the fans to see. One of those nights where some of the guys on our team did not have hits," coach Jeff Smith said. "There were some really goofy plays in the outfield that were missed. I had a funny feeling that this was not going to go right."
Right away, Zimmy's set the tone with four runs in the first. Justin Mayer reached on an error at shortstop on what looked like a potential double play ball. Zimmy's took advantage.
Jon Otteson singled to center to score a run. Then, Brady Bruhla hit an RBI single to center as well. Chris Wyonich drove in the fourth run with another single.
"They had a bunch of hits. Only a few guys on their team that actually kind of struggled. (They had) two or three guys with five hits on that team. We couldn't stop that," Smith said. "I got to take my hat off to them. They just hit the heck out of the ball, they really did."
The Snowhawks used smart baserunning to net them a run in the bottom half of the inning. Don Moore hit an infield single to the pitcher. Then, Derek Young reached on a dropped catch in right field.
With runners on first and third, Cole Punches popped up. Young sneakily tagged up to go to second in what looked like a risky move. When Zimmy's threw to second, Moore scampered home to get the Snowhawks on the board.
"It's taking advantage of where the ball is. You can't throw the ball as hard as you really want and as accurate and we know that. And sometimes you can kind of force that and try to get in a pickle and you get into a false pickle that pulls the defender away from your play and allowed another runner to go home," Smith said. "I think it just comes from experience."
After one inning, Zimmy's held a 4-1 lead.
Moving to the bottom of the third, the Snowhawks used more smart baserunning to their advantage. Young flew out for the first out. Jeff Smith ended up scoring all the way from second base. Punches singled to center to score another run.
Zimmy's still led 5-3 after three innings.
The fourth inning proved to be big for Zimmy's. Otteson hit a two-run single to right to extend Zimmy's lead to four runs. Two batters later, Bruhla hit an RBI double to deep left. Zimmy's kept hitting and hitting and hitting.
The Snowhawks weren't going to hide. Billy Kuckahn went all the way to third base on a drop in right field, scoring a run.
The big hit came off the bat of Young. He ended up with a crazy inside-the-park home run that involved multiple errors and smart baserunning. The Snowhawks were taking advantage of Zimmy's defense and had tied the game up.
"That was a big inning, got us right in the game again. There were a (number of) errors, but the point where the catcher on Zimmy's didn't know to grab the ball and hit home plate... he tagged one guy and the ball went flying," Smith said. "It was just goofy how it happened. Our guys are pretty good at running bases and we just kind of took advantage of that. It got the crowd fired up pretty good."
Zimmy's regained the lead in the fifth inning. Tom Ziamba hit an RBI single to shortstop. Otteson came up with a clutch hit again. He hit a liner right to Smith at third base. Smith nearly made a great catch. Instead, it fell in and Zimmy's had another run.
Both teams kept going at each other. For the Snowhawks, they had one of their best innings in the sixth. Two runs came home to score on an error at second base on a hit by Kuckahn.
Last time up, Young ended up with a "home run" to tie the game. This time, his two-run single to right gave the Snowhawks their first lead of the game.
After six innings, the Snowhawks led 13-11.
The back-and-forth game continued in the seventh inning. Otteson singled to shallow left with the bases loaded. Jeff Ziamba tied the game at 13-13 with a sacrifice fly to left.
Joey Marshall gave Zimmy's the lead for good with a single to center that scored one. Bryan JayQuest and Wyonich gave Zimmy's insurance runs with RBI singles of their own.
"That was kind of disheartening. They just kept getting singles and singles. There was just a lot we couldn't do about it. Boy, at the end they still got them in," Smith said. "They played a great game yesterday, I got to hand it to them."
Everything was going Zimmy's way late in the game. They led 16-13 heading into the bottom of the seventh.
"Man, they came back and got five runs in one inning and again it just kills you," Smith said. "It's a hard hole to dig out of."
Needing a rally, Brent Cella and Dustin Schowalter reached base with hits in the seventh. Gunner Dunbar and Nick Mercks both grounded out to end the inning.
Zimmy's scored one more time in the ninth inning. It would be more than enough as they were the first time since the Chicago All-Stars on the Fourth of July to hand the Snowhawks a loss.
Up next, the Snowhawks (4-2) take on the Old Timers team Monday, Aug. 8 starting at 7:30 p.m. at Snowshoe Park in Lake Tomahawk.
"They got a new bunch of guys. Older players who played with the Snowhawks a few years ago. I tried to get that team back again. We had a nice Old Timers team, guys got a little older," Smith said. "I think it'll be a fun game, they know how to play on snowshoes and they've played the game before, just not so much in the last 10 years or so. It should be an interesting game. They got some good ball players coming in."
Brett LaBore may be reached at [email protected] or [email protected].
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