The Oak Lawn Thunder scored 11 runs in the seventh inning to defeat the Warriors by a score of 16-6 in the opening game of the Thunderstruck tournament on Thursday night.
The Warriors went into this game shorthanded. Two of the team's most experienced pitchers and one of its catchers were unavailable. Ryan Novak (his 46.3 innings pitched ranks highest on the team) jammed two fingers on his throwing hand while Jason Waner (his 42.0 innings pitched ranks second on the team) was unavailable due to a scheduling conflict. This is a very difficult tournament to be down pitchers as the tournament enforces a 3 inning limit per pitcher in a game. The Warriors started its third most experienced pitcher, Lance Cardinal (34.3 innings pitched)--but Lance lasted just one out in the first inning before leaving the game with some stiffness in his right arm. However, the Warriors got strong performances out of Ryan Tannebaum and Jim Robley through six innings of play.
The Thunder struck first with three runs in the top of the first inning. Two of the runs came on a towering home run over the leftfield fence. The Warriors chipped away with a run in the bottom of the inning when Ryan Knightly tapped an infield hit past the pitcher to score Robbie Maxfield.
Ryan Tannebaum held the Thunder scoreless in the top of the second and third innings. The Warriors then scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-3 lead. Sam Marc and Paco Lauciello singled before Tim Prendergast lined a double into centerfield. Jack Lebert grounded sharply to third base to get the third run of the inning home.
The Thunder regained the lead by scoring two runs in the top of the fourth inning. The inning ended on a spectacular diving catch by Robbie Maxfield at second base.
Jim Robley held the Thunder scoreless in the fifth and sixth innings. He struck out the side in the fifth inning. After the lead off hitter walked in the top of the sixth inning, Sam Marc made a nice catch at third base on a line drive and then alertly fired to first base to complete the double play. Jim Robley then struck out the next hitter to end the inning.
The Warriors scored two runs in the bottom of of the fifth inning to take a 6-5 lead. Consecutive hits by Paco Lauciello, Ryan Knightly, Tim Prendergast and Jack Lebert fueled the rally. The inning ended when Tim was thrown out at third base attempting to advance on a wild pitch.
The game moved into the seventh, and final, inning of play with the Warriors holding a one run lead. But, six walks, five hits and a fielding error led to the most runs allowed by a Warriors' team since the Wilmington road game played over a year ago. The Warriors went through three pitchers in the inning before the Thunder's batter intentionally struck out to end the Warriors' misery. The Warriors went down quickly in the bottom of the seventh inning.
One of the bright spots in this ballgame was the play of Sam Marc. From the pre-game drills through every pitch in the game, Sam was focused and aggressive on defense. He reached base twice in the game and scored a run. He also made some nice defensive plays--including a big double play in the sixth inning. Sam has shown great progress over the past several games by staying more attentive--and putting in a strong effort to maximize his natural talent. The coaches are proud of his progress and expect him to be a force in the remaining tournament games.
OAK LAWN THUNDER: 16 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors, 4 left on base
WARRIORS: 6 runs, 9 hits, 1 error, 6 left on base
