Two-Out Thunder By Squires Leads To 11-1 Win
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
AKRON -ÊBaseball coaches like to see their teams hit, especially with two outs. Monday night in Akron, Manchester coach Jack Rupley definitely liked what he saw.
The Squires scored nine runs with two outs against Tippecanoe Valley on their way to an 11-1 six-inning Three Rivers Conference victory.
After the Squires and Vikings went three up and three down in the first inning, it looked as though Caleb Shewman would shut down Manchester's next three batters until Josh Bradley drove a two-out double to left field to start a Squire threat. Brady Burgess followed suit with a single that squeaked past the shortstop to send Bradley across the plate for the first run of the game.
Up 1-0, Manchester was not out of the woods. In the bottom of the second, Valley knocked at the door, loading the bases with two outs. But the Squires refused to let the Vikings in, getting the third out without allowing a run to score.
Manchester struck again in the fourth as the Bradley-Burgess one-two punch struck again. Bradley reached first on a single, and Burgess hit a home run to earn two more RBIs and put the Squires up 3-0.
A single by Wes Backus started off the Valley fourth inning, and a walk by Matt Shilling moved him to second. Phil Jackson moved Backus to third and Shilling to second with a one-out sacrifice bunt to let the Vikings knock at the door a second time. But the greedy Squires shut the door on the Vikings again by getting the third out without allowing a run to score.
"I think we waited too long to get started," said Manchester coach Jack Rupley. "We got our heads a little out of it on the way here. It was raining pretty hard, and we thought it would be too wet to play."
In the fifth inning, Valley had two outs on the Squires as Marc Roth stepped to the plate. Roth hit a single, and Kory Rupley was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second when Jon Gratz stepped to the plate and hit a single to send Roth across the plate.
Send in the one-two punch. Bradley walked to load the bases again, and Burgess hit a double to send two more runs across the plate and put Manchester up 6-0.
After keeping the Vikings from scoring again in the fifth, Manchester went to work in the top of the sixth.
Again, the Squires produced runs with two outs. With two outs and no runners on base, Anthony Sorg stepped to the plate and hit a single. Then Roth stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run homer over the fence in left-center.
Rupley hit a single, and Gratz hammered a double to put runners on second and third with Bradley stepping to the plate. And Bradley produced by pounding out a three-run homer to put the Squires up 11-0.
"At times we can hit with two outs, and at times we can't," said Rupley. "A big part of that is steppig to the plate with the right frame of mind. As long as you can put the bat on the ball, it doesn't matter how many outs there are."
Valley had one more chance to continue the game. The Vikings had to produce at least two runs to send the game into the seventh inning, otherwise the game would end due to the 10-run rule.
Shilling walked to start the sixth, and moved to second on a two-out single by Richie Swanson. A passed ball allowed Shilling to move to third, and a single by Derek Sausaman sent him across the plate for the lone Valley run.
The game ended after the third out in the sixth, with Manchester on top by 10, 11-1.
"We gave up nine runs with two outs," said Valley coach Scott Backus. "They are a good hitting ball team, and we gave them too many chances. We gave the game to them."
Dusty Butterbaugh picked up the win, pitching six innings with seven strikeouts, five walks and four hits.
"Dusty threw pretty well," said Rupley. "He was a bit wild at times, but other than that, he did a good job."
Manchester, 14-8 overall and 5-1 in the TRC, is tied with Northfield for first place in the conference. Valley falls to 8-14 and 1-6 in TRC play.
MANCHESTER 11, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 1
6 innings
Manchester 010 235 - 11 13 0
Valley 000 001 - 1 4 0
Manchester ab r h rbi
Olson 2b 4 0 0 0
Sorg ss 4 1 1 0
Roth c 4 2 2 2
Rupley 1b 3 1 1 0
Kelsey pr 0 1 0 0
Gratz rf 4 2 2 1
Bradley 3b 3 2 3 3
Burgess dh 4 1 3 5
Miller cf 3 0 1 0
Hardy lf 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 11 13 11
Valley ab r h rbi
Sausaman 2b 4 0 1 1
Cunningham 3b 4 0 0 0
Eby cf 1 0 0 0
Deardorff 1b 1 0 0 0
Backus c 3 0 1 0
Shilling lf 1 1 1 0
Snyder rf 3 0 0 0
Jackson ss 1 0 0 0
Shewman p 2 0 0 0
Swanson p 1 0 1 0
Totals 21 1 4 1
LOB -ÊManchester 5, Valley 10. 2B -ÊBradley, Miller, Burgess, Gratz. HR -ÊBradley, Burgess, Roth. SAC -ÊJackson.
Manchester IP R ER H BB K
Butterbaugh, W 6 1 1 4 5 7
Valley IP R ER H BB K
Shewman, L 4 2/3 6 6 7 2 2
Swanson 1 1/3 5 5 6 0 0
Shewman faced 6 batters in the fifth.
HBP -ÊDeardorff 2 (by Butterbaugh), Rupley (by Shewman). PB -ÊBackus 1, Roth 1. [[In-content Ad]]
AKRON -ÊBaseball coaches like to see their teams hit, especially with two outs. Monday night in Akron, Manchester coach Jack Rupley definitely liked what he saw.
The Squires scored nine runs with two outs against Tippecanoe Valley on their way to an 11-1 six-inning Three Rivers Conference victory.
After the Squires and Vikings went three up and three down in the first inning, it looked as though Caleb Shewman would shut down Manchester's next three batters until Josh Bradley drove a two-out double to left field to start a Squire threat. Brady Burgess followed suit with a single that squeaked past the shortstop to send Bradley across the plate for the first run of the game.
Up 1-0, Manchester was not out of the woods. In the bottom of the second, Valley knocked at the door, loading the bases with two outs. But the Squires refused to let the Vikings in, getting the third out without allowing a run to score.
Manchester struck again in the fourth as the Bradley-Burgess one-two punch struck again. Bradley reached first on a single, and Burgess hit a home run to earn two more RBIs and put the Squires up 3-0.
A single by Wes Backus started off the Valley fourth inning, and a walk by Matt Shilling moved him to second. Phil Jackson moved Backus to third and Shilling to second with a one-out sacrifice bunt to let the Vikings knock at the door a second time. But the greedy Squires shut the door on the Vikings again by getting the third out without allowing a run to score.
"I think we waited too long to get started," said Manchester coach Jack Rupley. "We got our heads a little out of it on the way here. It was raining pretty hard, and we thought it would be too wet to play."
In the fifth inning, Valley had two outs on the Squires as Marc Roth stepped to the plate. Roth hit a single, and Kory Rupley was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second when Jon Gratz stepped to the plate and hit a single to send Roth across the plate.
Send in the one-two punch. Bradley walked to load the bases again, and Burgess hit a double to send two more runs across the plate and put Manchester up 6-0.
After keeping the Vikings from scoring again in the fifth, Manchester went to work in the top of the sixth.
Again, the Squires produced runs with two outs. With two outs and no runners on base, Anthony Sorg stepped to the plate and hit a single. Then Roth stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run homer over the fence in left-center.
Rupley hit a single, and Gratz hammered a double to put runners on second and third with Bradley stepping to the plate. And Bradley produced by pounding out a three-run homer to put the Squires up 11-0.
"At times we can hit with two outs, and at times we can't," said Rupley. "A big part of that is steppig to the plate with the right frame of mind. As long as you can put the bat on the ball, it doesn't matter how many outs there are."
Valley had one more chance to continue the game. The Vikings had to produce at least two runs to send the game into the seventh inning, otherwise the game would end due to the 10-run rule.
Shilling walked to start the sixth, and moved to second on a two-out single by Richie Swanson. A passed ball allowed Shilling to move to third, and a single by Derek Sausaman sent him across the plate for the lone Valley run.
The game ended after the third out in the sixth, with Manchester on top by 10, 11-1.
"We gave up nine runs with two outs," said Valley coach Scott Backus. "They are a good hitting ball team, and we gave them too many chances. We gave the game to them."
Dusty Butterbaugh picked up the win, pitching six innings with seven strikeouts, five walks and four hits.
"Dusty threw pretty well," said Rupley. "He was a bit wild at times, but other than that, he did a good job."
Manchester, 14-8 overall and 5-1 in the TRC, is tied with Northfield for first place in the conference. Valley falls to 8-14 and 1-6 in TRC play.
MANCHESTER 11, TIPPECANOE VALLEY 1
6 innings
Manchester 010 235 - 11 13 0
Valley 000 001 - 1 4 0
Manchester ab r h rbi
Olson 2b 4 0 0 0
Sorg ss 4 1 1 0
Roth c 4 2 2 2
Rupley 1b 3 1 1 0
Kelsey pr 0 1 0 0
Gratz rf 4 2 2 1
Bradley 3b 3 2 3 3
Burgess dh 4 1 3 5
Miller cf 3 0 1 0
Hardy lf 2 0 0 0
Totals 31 11 13 11
Valley ab r h rbi
Sausaman 2b 4 0 1 1
Cunningham 3b 4 0 0 0
Eby cf 1 0 0 0
Deardorff 1b 1 0 0 0
Backus c 3 0 1 0
Shilling lf 1 1 1 0
Snyder rf 3 0 0 0
Jackson ss 1 0 0 0
Shewman p 2 0 0 0
Swanson p 1 0 1 0
Totals 21 1 4 1
LOB -ÊManchester 5, Valley 10. 2B -ÊBradley, Miller, Burgess, Gratz. HR -ÊBradley, Burgess, Roth. SAC -ÊJackson.
Manchester IP R ER H BB K
Butterbaugh, W 6 1 1 4 5 7
Valley IP R ER H BB K
Shewman, L 4 2/3 6 6 7 2 2
Swanson 1 1/3 5 5 6 0 0
Shewman faced 6 batters in the fifth.
HBP -ÊDeardorff 2 (by Butterbaugh), Rupley (by Shewman). PB -ÊBackus 1, Roth 1. [[In-content Ad]]