Indians

Final Score Game 2:  Indians 10, Reds 3

Saturday, April 8, 2006, 1:30 p.m. Major Field

The Alameda AAA Indians defeated the Reds in a game featuring strong offense from a shorthanded Indians team.  The Indians were forced to play with only eight players because of absences.

The Indians were the visiting team and batted first.  A lead off single from Trevor Greenley began an inning wherein the entire line-up would see an at bat. Jackson Tracy was next up and walked, but not before Greenley stole second on an errant pitch.  Micah Rothenbuhler then tripled to bring in the runners and the Indians were up by two runs.  Michael Copple continued the hitting with a double, scoring Rothenbuhler from third.  Isaac Maximov followed Michael’s double with one of his own, bringing the total of runs scored to four as Copple scored on the play.  That ended the scoring for the inning as Evan Park and Liam Bergstrom struck out and Casey Thiering grounded to first to end the first half of the inning.

The Reds were unable to score in their first at bat as an alert and able Indians defense retired the side after four batters.  Micah Rothenbuhler pitched for the Indians.  The Reds pitcher, Billeter, led off and was thrown out at first on a grounder.  Fisher followed with a single, was held at first when Watson flied out, and finally was thrown out at third while attempting to stretch a successful steal of second base.

The Indians were unable to add to their lead in the second inning.  Greenley was thrown out at first after grounding to short.  Tracy singled on a dropped fly, and then stole second before advancing to third on a double by Rothenbuhler.  Copple was called out on strikes and Maximov went down swinging leaving two runners stranded.

The Reds were able to narrow the scoring gap in the bottom of the second, but were retired still down a run.  Llamas led off with a single of Rothenbuhler’s pitch, and eventually stole home to get the Reds on the scoreboard with the help of some missed throws from the Indians fielders.  Mangahas, batting second in the inning, struck out.  Tu flied to shallow center field, and advanced to second on a single by Doumitt.  The Indians got their second out of the inning when Rothenbuhler struck out Mainaga.  Melendez then singled but Tu was held at second. The Reds base runners scored on a single by Rochlin, but Melendez was thrown out trying to get back to third on an unsuccessful stolen base try, and the side was retired with the Indians up one run.

Billeter continued to pitch for the Reds in the third inning.  The first two Indians batters, Park and Bergstrom, refusing to swing at pitches outside the strike zone, gained bases on balls, advanced on stolen bases, and then scored on Thiering’s double to the outfield.  Greenley singled, but Thiering was thrown out at third for one away.  Greenley then stole second before Tracy flied out, but was batted in on a single by Rothenbuhler.  Micah then stole second as a pitch to Copple went wild.  Copple then walked and the Indians had two men on base.  A wild pitch allowed Rothenbuhler to score and Copple to steal second, where he was stranded when Maximov was called out on strikes and the side retired; now leading eight to three.

Rothenbuhler continued on the mound for the Indians to finish out the third inning.  Magana, leading off for the Reds, flied out to short, and the subsequent batter struck out.  Now Billeter, top of the Reds’ batting order, addressed the plate and singled as a grounder got by the Indians’ fielder.  Fisher followed with a single on a fly ball to second, and the Reds had two men on.  The runners advanced on a mishandled pitch, but the reds batter was called out on strikes and the Reds were retired without scoring.

A pitching change for the Reds put Doumitt on the mound at the top of the fourth inning.  The Indians lead off batter, Park, walked, and then Bergstrom was called out on strikes.  Thiering struck out swinging and it was two out and one man on.  Park stole second on a wild pitch to Greenley, who was eventually walked.  Tracy then struck out and the Indians were retired without scoring, stranding two.

The Indians put in Evan Park to pitch the fourth and the Reds were retired in the fourth one, two, three.  Llamas struck out swinging, Mangahas walked but was thrown out trying to stretch the steal of second base to third, and Tu was thrown out at first on a ground ball to second.

A quick trip to the Snack shack wasn’t quick enough to get this observer to get back in time for most of the top of the fifth, but the Indians were retired without scoring.  Bergstrom was thrown out at first on a ground ball to second and the action moved to the bottom of the inning.

The Indians brought out Michael Copple to pitch the fifth, and the Reds were quickly retired.  Doumitt, leading off for the Reds, gained a base on balls, but ended up stranded on third after a pair of successful stolen bases.  Mainaga, batting second, was called out on strikes, Melendez struck out swinging, and finally Rochlin struck out to end the inning.

The Indians were able to pad their lead in the sixth with a pair of runs batted in.  Thiering struck out swinging, and Greenley followed him with a single.  Greenley stole second before Doumitt, pitching for the Reds, walked Tracy, before scoring on long fly ball by Rothenbuhler.  With Tracy in scoring position on third, Copple singled, Tracy scored, but the Reds got the second out of the inning on a force play on Rothenbuhler at second.  Copple stole second on a mishandled pitch before Maximov took a base on balls, but a fly out by Park closed out the half inning.

The Indians closed out the game by retiring the Reds batters in order on fly out to Rothenbuhler by Magana, and two subsequent strike outs of Reds batters.

Another game played well with few errors, and the Indians have their first win of the season.

Game recap written by J. Michael Bergstrom.  All rights reserved.