The Saline Reporter
A Heritage Newspaper
Weekly Publication
Hornets sweep No. 3 Troy, split with Dexter
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: May 17, 2007
Entering Game 2 of their Monday double-header with Dexter, the Saline baseball team had put together a five-game winning streak. Unfortunately for the Hornets, win number six proved a little too tough.
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The visiting Dreadnaughts dominated Game 2 from the opening pitch, taking a 13-0 lead after three innings and leaving with a five-inning 13-2 victory. But after a week that saw Saline build on their pivotal win against Chelsea May 7 with four more, including a double-header sweep of state No. 3 Troy and a 5-2 win over Dexter in Game 1, head coach Scott Theisen said the Hornets would be able to shrug off the lopsided Game 2 defeat.
"We'll be OK," he said. "We didn't play exceptionally poorly, I thought. We didn't pitch well today, we made some mistakes on the mound we don't usually make, and Dexter punished us when we did. But our defense wasn't a problem. I think we'll bounce back."
The Hornets won Game 1 with another solid start from Vinnie Haynes and the most balanced attack possible. Eight different Hornets collected hits and four—Steven Breneman, Nick Poloni, Josh Burd, and Jeff Baublit—recorded one RBI each as the home team pushed across two runs in the second, one in the third, one in the fifth, and another in the sixth for a 5-1 lead. Aaron Nagy helped the cause by reaching base on all four plate appearances.
The Dreadnaughts rallied in the seventh, scoring once and loading the bases, before Burd came on in relief of Haynes to record the final out of the game. Haynes went 6-2/3 innings for the win while Burd earned a save.
Game 2 went very differently as Dexter reached starter Nagy for four runs in the first and three more in the second before he was lifted for Ben Sutton. The Hornets had chances to hang with the visitors but left runners on first and third in the bottom of the first and the bases loaded in the second. The Dreadnaughts put the game all but out of reach with six more runs in the third.
Breneman got Saline on the board in the fifth, singling and scoring on a throwing error following Nagy's bunt single. A Derek Fairchild sacrifice fly to score Nagy provided the other Hornet run.
The visit from the No. 3 Troy Colts for a Saturday double-header gave Saline an opportunity to play their highest-ranked opponent of the season, and the Hornets rose to the occasion with 4-3 and 3-2 wins.
"Our team has come to realize that we can play with anybody," Theisen said, "and beating a good team like that certainly helps."
In Game 1, Saline erased a 3-0 deficit in the fourth on an RBI groundout by Tim Finkbeiner and a pair of dropped fly balls that scored Haynes and Sutton.
After walking the bases loaded in the fifth, Saline starter Jon Endicott won a long battle to force a 5-2-3 double play and the teams entered the bottom of the seventh tied at three. With Fairchild on third and one out, Burd executed a perfect suicide squeeze to win the game 4-3.
Saline pulled out more late-game heroics in Game 2. Down 2-1 in the seventh, Nagy led off with a bunt single and scored three batters later on a single by Brad Guenther. After a walk by Nick Poloni, Fairchild singled to score David Fraser and win the game.
Saline starter Dylan Holden held the potent Colt lineup to two runs while pitching the complete game.
"Dylan is a pitcher who knows his limitations and gets the most out of his talent," Theisen said. "He keeps hitters off-balance and did a great job of hitting his spots and saying ahead in the count."
Thursday, Saline exploded for nine runs in the sixth inning of a 12-1 win over Adrian. Poloni and Didion connected for back-to-back home runs¼ while Casey Dishman finished 4-4 with two doubles and three RBIs. Burd pitched the complete game for the win.
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