Bulls rally in extra innings
It didn’t seem fair. Even after a solid outing, Andrew Grieder found himself in line for the loss.
However, clutch hits from teammates Ashton Roy and Kaleb Warden changed all that as the Lethbridge Bulls rallied for a 4-3, extra-innings win over the Okotoks Dawgs in Western Major Baseball League play Tuesday night at Spitz Stadium.
Grieder put in a workhorse start for the Bulls, pitching into the ninth inning before giving up a one-out solo home run to William Hollis that gave the Dawgs a 3-2 lead.
Just when it seemed like Grieder would get the ‘L’ for his efforts, Roy delivered his second key hit of the game, slicing a two-out single to left field in the bottom of the ninth that scored Brett Semeniuk from second to force extra innings.
Then in the 10th inning with Hank Forrest on third, Warden sent a deep sacrifice fly to left field for the winning run to complete the comeback and earn Lethbridge their fourth win in five games.
Grieder ultimately took a nodecision as reliever Talon Derrick came on in the ninth to get the win.
“My strategy going in was just pound the zone and let the defence get it,” said the starter, who gave up three runs on seven hits, walked one and struck out seven. “My team really pick me up on defence. I was just filling it up and everything worked out.”
The Bulls struck first when Warden crushed a double to right centre field to lead off the second inning for the Bulls and scored with one out as Semeniuk singled him home with base hit to right field for a 1-0 Lethbridge lead.
The Dawgs took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third inning with a twoout rally as Collin Ridout doubled to centre, Nate Dechaine walked and William Hollis brought them in with a double.
Lethbridge pulled even and Roy delivered with his first of two RBI on the night, sending a twoout single to right-centre field that scored Warden from second.
With Grieder pitching into the ninth and past the 100-pitch count, the Dawgs retook the lead when Hollis sent a solo shot to left field.
“He came off in the eighth and he said ‘This is my game,’” said Bulls head coach Jesse Sawyer. “He’s a workhorse for us and he’s been great all year. He was pitching his butt off, so I stuck with him.”
Forrest doubled to start the 10th, advanced to third on a fielder’s choice and easily trotted in on Warden’s deep sacrifice fly for the walkoff win.
“That was a great team win, everybody contributed,” said Sawyer, whose team is now 6-9 on the season and heads to Okotoks Thursday for the rematch. “Andrew was great on the mound for us and through eight innings. He got to the ninth and did a hell of a job and Talon came in and slammed the door as well.
“We had some crazy defence I never thought I’d see in the 10th inning, but the boys stepped up and that’s a huge win for us right now.”
“Collectively, we all stuck together,” added Roy, who was 2for-2 on the night and has 12 RBI. “Andrew threw well, he competed every pitch and we had guys coming off the bench and guys playing positions that they’ve never played before. It was great.”
Sawyer credited Roy for playing through a bit of pain.
“What can you say?” said Sawyer. “He came in and he was dealing with a bit of a bruised shin for a couple of weeks now. He just came in with two huge atbats. I can’t say enough about it.”
The Bulls look to keep the winning clip going Thursday.
“It’s huge for us,” said Grieder of the win. “We’ve been sort of struggling this season and we’re slowly picking it up. “Our team is coming together.” Warden went 4-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while right fielder Brett Mercier was 2-for-5.
Semeniuk and Carter Witbeck also had two-hit nights as Semeniuk added an RBI.
Derrick went one and twothirds innings in the win, walking one and striking out two.
The Bulls are back home Friday night when they host the Brooks Bombers at 7 p.m.