Selects vs. Thunder
Tuesday, May 6, 2014
The Selects won their season opener for the sixth straight year, riding a solid team effort to a 5-3 win over the Thunder Tuesday night. Coming off a stellar debut season with the team, Shayne Riepert got the start for the Selects and held the Thunder offense in check early.
The Selects opened the scoring in the top of the second. With one out, newcomer Brett Pfeifer reached on a hard hit ball to third and Scott Clark drew a free pass. Following a Brad Cleasby fielder's choice, rookie Darren Strickland notched his first RBI as a Select with a hard single up the middle. The Thunder would strike back in the third, courtesy of a reached on error, two walks, and a single, but the game remained knotted at one thanks to a nice catch in left by Mike Tyler and Scott Clark knocking down a tough blooper to save a run.
Tyler then started things off with a bang in the top of the fourth, smashing a triple to the fence to start a Selects rally. After a walk and an RBI grounder, Strickland came up big once again, plating two more runs with a double to left-centre. Singles from Riepert, Tyler, and Pfeifer in the fifth extended the lead to 5-1.
After scattering two hits and seven strikeouts over four innings, Riepert handed the ball off to Chad Fink. With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Fink walked two and surrendered a two-run double to cut the lead to 5-3. However, true to form, he settled in and retired four of the last five batters to pick up the save.
MVP: Mike Tyler, LF