The Pilot News - Pilgrims lose NLC opener at Memorial

“We don’t have the pitching to give up extra outs, and that first inning we got lucky just to give up the two,” said Plymouth head coach Tony Plothow. “You know, you get off the bus, you walk one or two and you hit two, we can’t afford that. Then the next couple innings with our defensive play, our pitching staff can’t afford to give up those extra outs.”
Elkhart’s fast start in the NLC was paralleled by its fast start in the game Monday, as the Chargers jumped off to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first and widened it to a 6-0 advantage in the second frame.
“That’s something that we really strive for is to get the lead early, and that was nice to be able to do that,” said Chargers’ head coach Scott Rost. “It helps you relax a little bit.”
In the opening frame, Chargers catcher Matt McCollough led off with a line to shallow center for a single, and Plymouth starting pitcher Badell hit two batters to advance McCollough to third.
Elkhart right fielder Tyler Parsons drove in two runs on a line single to right, but Badell struck Robert Fitzsimmons — his only strikeout in two innings pitched — to close the inning with three Chargers on base.
Parsons led the Chargers at the plate with an exceptional 4-for-4 hitting performance Monday, including one of three Elkhart doubles and the game’s only triple for a total of six RBIs for the day. He recorded two more RBIs in the second inning as Elkhart batters punished Badell with five hits.
Scott Sindle opened by beating out a throw off a blooper down the first baseline, and he reached third off a double to right-center by Joe Brewers. Both Sindle and Brewers scored on a successive double by Zach Corpe as the senior pushed a shot down the left-field line. Elkhart starting hurler Chad Coffey hit a line to center, setting up Parsons’ RBIs with a poke to right for the Chargers’ final two runs of the inning.
“We’re thinking he’s our number one, and then he comes out with that,” said Plothow of Badell. “We’ve got to have better out of him. He knows that. I’m sure he’ll be ready to go Friday. We’ll go from there.”
Three of Elkhart’s four runs in the second were earned, but the final run was given up on a catching error by Plymouth’s Cody Bucher at home plate off a throw from Plymouth first baseman and right field cut-off man Ryan Welch that allowed Coffey to score.
Meanwhile, the Rockies were slow to get their own bats going, as they went down in order the first two innings. Junior shortstop Brandon Elliott finally broke through for Plymouth with a stand-up double to deep center in the top of the third, putting both him and third baseman Damon Howe in scoring position after Howe took a base on balls in the opening at-bat. Both were driven home on a grounder into center by left fielder Joel Solis, who was left on base.
Solis was 1-for-2 in hitting, and he reached in all but his first at-bat, putting the ball in play for two separate errors by Elkhart infielders, and Elliott went .500 with two hits for the day, including a two-RBI fly to shallow center as Plymouth attempted a rally in the sixth.
Pilgrims reserve pitcher Roberts took over for Badell in the third, and he held the Chargers to one hit in the bottom of the third and he scored a run in the top of the fourth to cut Plymouth’s deficit to three runs. Roberts reached when he was hit by a pitch in the frame, and he scored on a single to right by Howe, although the Rockies left the bases loaded as Kyle Thoden fanned and Elliott grounded out to short to retire the side.
Elkhart responded with an unearned run in the bottom of the inning as Brewer reached on a fielding error by Howe, then stole second and advanced to third on a balk by Roberts. He scored with two outs as Parsons ripped his triple to the fence, but Roberts got Jamie Parrett reaching to close out the inning before any further damage could be done. The score remained 7-3 until the Rockies rallied back with two hits and two runs in the penultimate inning.
Howe reached on a fielder’s choice to short that put out Bucher after he had reached on a walk. Junior designated hitter Evan Skirvin was brought in for Thoden with two outs and one on, and he pushed a deep shot to left for a stand-up double that moved Howe to third. Elliott drove them home with a blooping fly for two RBIs, and Solis reached on a fielding error by Elkhart short stop John Brewers, but both were left on base as Sam Faulstich flew out to center for the final out.
The score was 7-5 with two and a half innings left to play, but Charger batters began to get a read on Roberts in the bottom of the sixth, answering Plymouth’s two runs with six more of their own.
Corpe led off with a poke down the first baseline, and Coffey laid a perfect bunt down the third baseline to put runners on first and second. Parsons ripped one to the left field fence for an RBI double, and Roberts walked the bases loaded with no outs. Gavin Strausborger singled to left to score Coffey before Howe fielded a grounder for a fielder’s choice at home. A shot by Shane Davis — who was brought in to relieve Coffey on the mound in the fifth — went through Howe’s legs on the next at-bat, however, scoring two more and leaving runners on first and third with just one out.
A second straight error, this one a catching error off a throw from Howe to Nick Neidlinger at second brought the score to 12-5, and Nic Caban was brought in to close for Plymouth after an RBI line to center by Joe Brewers that brought the score to its final.
“We were hanging in there and then that sixth inning, we give up... a ground ball by our third baseman, a throwing error or a catching error in the infield,” said Plothow. “We hit another guy. Those type of things, we preached to these kids all preseason, and they’re starting to see it now. We have to do the little things well, and right now we’re not getting it done.”
“Last year we struggled a little bit in the beginning, we played down in Plymouth last year and really played poorly,” said Rost. “The kids have been talking about it for awhile, it’s kind of left a bad taste in their mouths, and so it was nice to get off to a good start tonight.”
The Pilgrims will have plenty of opportunities to redeem themselves in the conference this week with an away game against Concord on Wednesday and Warsaw at home Friday before they face LaPorte Saturday.
“We’ve got a tough conference,” said Plothow. “This week we’ve got Memorial and Concord on the road, and then we’ve got Warsaw at home, and LaPorte Saturday. So we can’t have any let-downs.
“We’ve started off struggling defensively,” he added. We’ve got to find our identity there on the defensive end, and figure out who is going to play where. We’re still early in the season, which is unfortunate because we’re starting conference. There are a lot of teams out there that already have double-digit games, and we’re still trying to find people for positions. But that’s no excuse. We’ve got to be ready to go in this conference.”
• ELKHART MEMORIAL 13,
PLYMOUTH 5
At Elkhart
P: 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 — 5 5 7
EM: 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 14 13 3
Jay Badell (L), Mark Robberts (3), Nic Caban (6) and Cody Bucher; Chad Coffey (W), Shane Davis (5) and Matt McCollough.
2B: Evan Skirvin (P), Brandon Elliott (P), Joe Brewers (EM), Zach Corpe (EM) and Tyler Parsons (EM).
3B: Parsons
Records: Plymouth 2-3 (0-1 NLC), Elkhart Memorial 6-2 (1-0 NLC).