Phoenix drop game to Bremen after falling behind early
Despite compiling a handful of late-inning extra base hits and remaining reinforced by steady pitching performances, the Sonoraville Phoenix failed to overcome an early deficit against the Bremen Blue Devils in a 6-2 loss on Tuesday.
Junior pitcher Avery Hopper toed the rubber for the Phoenix (8-12, 3-10). Even though he displayed sufficient control and velocity on his pitches during five innings of work, the Blue Devils (8-13, 4-9) wasted no time scratching a few runs across during the game’s initial frames.
The damage originated in the first inning when Bremen catcher Sam Thompson and designated hitter Cooper Cartwright both produced solid contact and poked singles into the outfield. Outfielder Trent Rhinehart responded by squaring up a Hopper offering and depositing it into the opposite side of the outfield for a base hit that scored Thompson.
Bremen tacked on two additional first-inning runs off a grounder turned fielder’s choice hit by first baseman Chandler Scott that scored Cartwright, and a mishap by the Sonoraville defense on a fly-ball that was lofted into shallow right field that brought home Rhinehart, putting Sonoraville in an early 3-0 bind.
“We just have to find a way to avoid the big inning early from the other team,” Sonoraville head coach Bret Greene said. “When we do give up those big innings, we have to do a better job of fighting back. As a team, we have to figure out a way to put it all together.”
The Phoenix answered in the second inning when outfielder Gavin Phillips pushed a single into the outfield and advanced into scoring position off of a wild pitch. First baseman/outfielder Gage Soulios followed that up by bringing Phillips home by smacking a RBI-single.
Phillips finished the contest 1-for-4 with a stolen base. Soulios went 1-for-3.
However, the Blue Devils squashed the Sonoraville comeback by increasing its run total in the third inning.
In what became a common theme for the Bremen offense as the game progressed, Scott came through for the team in a crucial situation. After outfielder Hayden Jones reached on a single and Rhinehart was hit by a pitch, Scott muscled a single into the outfield and scored Jones.
Bremen tacked on a couple of additional insurance runs in the fifth. Cartwright singled and stole a base before Rhinehart slugged a double into the left-center gap to send him home. Scott kept the momentum rolling, hitting another single to centerfield and bringing in Rhinehart to secure a 6-1 advantage.
Scott went 3-for-4 at the dish, posting three RBIs.
The fifth turned out to be the last inning on the mound for Hopper, who contributed a final stat line that included five earned runs on nine hits, four strikeouts and one walk. He was relieved in the sixth by Collin Bridges, who closed the game out by allowing no runs on three hits and striking out one.
“Avery caught some bad breaks, but really hung in there and battled back,” Greene said. “Collin came out and shut them down for the most part and did a really good job keeping them off of the scoreboard late.”
Adequately backed by the six runs, the Blue Devils enjoyed an excellent complete-game outing from pitcher Braden Green. Green only picked up two strikeouts, but held Sonoraville to two runs on eight hits and two walks.
Despite Green’s pitching efficiency across the early and middle innings, the Phoenix attempted to make things interesting in the bottom of the sixth.
After Soulios struck out, he actually ended up reaching second base on an errant throw to first from Thompson behind the dish. Second baseman Grant Clark swift- ly made Bremen pay for the error, hammering a double to deep left field and bringing in Soulios.
However, the scoring gap had grown too large and Green managed to settle back down and pitch a nearly spotless seventh inning to stifle the rally, earning the win.
Clark finished 2-for-3 at the plate. Infielder Tyler Lyles and catcher Storm Carnes also scattered base hits throughout the game for the Phoenix.
“We just have to start playing a complete game,” Greene said. “We have to find a way to hit, pitch and play solid defense across an entire seven innings.”
The Phoenix were on the road on Thursday to visit Adairsville. (For details on that game, see Wednesday’s Calhoun Times.) They are back at home on Friday to host LFO at 5:55 p.m.