sfoggi posted on June 09, 2011 22:14
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (June 9, 2011) – In one word, you can say the Loggerheads are “Clutch”, and that’s what they were against Orlando as another late inning rally pushed Winter Haven past the Freedom, 6-5, Thursday night at Chain of Lakes Park.
With the win, Winter Haven improves to 4-2 on the season and tie for second in the league, while Orlando drops to 1-5.
The Loggerheads saw themselves down 5-1 in the top of the fifth, giving up three runs in the second and another two in the top of the fifth. After a 1-2-3 inning in the first, Winter Haven starting pitcher Matt Fishman (Quincy University) had a rough outing in the second giving up the three runs on a bases clearing triple and two singles.
Fishman would bounce back for the third, retiring the side, before a one-hour rain delay would halt the game. Play would resume and Fishman would take the mound once again to continue where he left off. The right-handed hurler saw three more innings on the hill before being removed due to pitch count. Pitching in relief for Fishman was freshman Mike Muha (St. Joseph’s), who would get the winning nod for Winter Haven. Muha tossed 1 1/3 innings, striking out three of five batters faced and giving up one hit.
Winter Haven would slowly chip away at the deficit scoring back-to-back runs in the fifth and sixth to come within two of the Freedom, 5-3.
In the bottom of the seventh, the bats got hot for the Loggerheads as lead-off batter Andrew Sterling (Dickinson College) started things off with a single to left. Sterling made his way around the bases on a groundout to short and reached third on a fielder’s choice. Clean-up hitter Sam Halpern (Barry) drove in Sterling and would later score the winning run on an infield single by catcher Wes Perkins (Millsaps College).
The Orlando pitching staff faced some woes going through four arms out of the pen as right-handed reliever Josh Larson (Santa Fe College) was charged with the loss in his one inning of work.
Making his first appearance on the mound for the Loggerheads was Michael Heller (Florida). Heller faced three batters in the ninth to pick up the save.
Third baseman Spencer Judge (St. Joseph’s) had the hot bat for the Loggerheads with a 3-for-4 plate appearance, a run scored, an RBI, and a stolen base. Designated hitter Kyle Campbell (Stetson) had two hits, including a double, with two RBIs, and the tying run in the seventh. Pagliarulo had two hits as well with a double, an RBI, and run scored.
Winter Haven will hit the road for a three-game road swing beginning in DeLand, Fla. as the Loggerheads face the Suns for the first time this season. First pitch is slated for 7 p.m.