Jeff "Spanky" Miller strikes out 13 in complete game victory over Searles!!

Outlaws-2 / Searles-1

A true pitchers dual at it's finest as the Outlaws squared off against the Searles Bullheads on Sunday afternoon.  The Outlaws sent out Jeff Miller, who faced off against Myron Seidl for Searles. 

Both Pitchers had all of their good stuff working as they exchanged blank frames in each of the first two innings. 

Searles drew first blood, scratching a run across in the home half of the third.  That would be the only run Jeffrey "Spanky" Miller would allow on the day. 

The Bullhead's hurler Seidl cruised through the first 6 innings only allowing 5 baserunners.  Sam Baumgartner was hit by a pitch in the 1st, Troy Appel was hit by a pitch in the 3rd, Chris Nelson singled in the 4th, Troy Fritz walked in the 5th and Sean Mangan grabbed a free pass in the 6th.  All Outlaw's runners were left stranded and only Nellie reached second base with a steal in the 4th.

The Outlaws saved the best for last however.  Trailing 1-0, Sam Baumgartner led off the 7th inning with a single.  Chris Nelson pinch ran for Sammy due to his tender groin.  One pitch later Nellie was thrown out at second trying to steal his way into scoring position.  Seidl struck out the next Outlaw hitter and a rally was looking pretty bleak.  Mike Roth then drew a two out walk and the Outlaws were still alive.  Troy Fritz got the Outlaw's dugout on their feet with a shot to the right center field gap.  Roth was on his horse and scoring on the play, but a strike of fate had the ump returning him to third base.  Fritzy's double became lodged in the outfield fence ivy and it was ruled a ground rule double.  The dead ball play only allowed Roth to advance two bases, placing him back on third.  This set the stage for Travis "Shooter" Schuett.  Trav battled with Seidl and ended up with two strikes.  With the game down to the last strike, Shooter laced a single to left, driving in Roth and Fritz.  The 2 RBI single gave the Outlaws a 2-1 lead and placed a big smile on Shooter's face.

Jeff Miller slammed the door shut on the Bullheads in the bottom of the 7th striking out 2 hitters in the inning and securing the win.  

Spanky finished the day striking out 13 Bullhead hitters while earning his 3rd victory of the year.

Not much offense other than the 7th inning for the Outlaws.  Chris Nelson finished the game 1 for 3 with a stolen base.  Sam "Bammy" Baumgartner was also 1 for 3. Troy Frtiz was 1 for 2 with a walk and Travis Schuett was 1 for 3 with the game winning 2 RBI single.      

Loretto-3 / Outlaws-0

 Another disappointing loss in the nightcap.  Loretto's pitcher (I don't know his name) dominated the day.  Sam "Bammy" Baumgartner took the hill for the Outlaws.  

Sammy pitched another great game only allowing 2 runs in the 2nd and one in the 6th.  

Outlaw's hitters were kept quiet pretty much the whole game.  A bit of a rally brewed in the 4th inning as Chad Wertz led off the inning with an infield single.  (Finally the ball bounced his way for once!)  One batter later Chris Nelson added a single of his own.  They were both advanced to 2nd and 3rd on a fielders choice but stranded there.  That was it for the Outlaws on the day.  Loretto's ace would face the minimum over the next 3 innings and lock down the 3-0 victory.

Sammy finished the day throwing the complete game and striking out seven Sox hitters.  

Nellie and Wertz's singles were the only hits in the game for the Outlaws.  The only other base runners were a Mike Roth and Troy Fritz walk.

Tid Bits

Jeff Miller has hit full stride on the mound winning his 3rd game in a row.  Over the three games, all of which were complete game efforts, Spanky has struck out 28 hitters.  Wowza!!!  

Sam Bam Baumgartner continues to heal his groin and is feeling better every week.  When asked he stated he was about 80% and felt things tighten up as the day wore on.  Even with the nagging injury Sammy has pitched extremely well.  It just seems he has the bad luck monkey on his back lately.  Heal that crotch up for State Sammy!!!

Speaking of State...only 2 games remain on the Outlaw's schedule and the double headers are a thing of the past.  The Outlaws travel to Le Sueur next weekend for a match up with the first place legends.  It's looking to be another thin roster day for the Outlaws, but we're still begging portions of our roster to try and show up.  The crowds have been great at games and we hope to see you all next Saturday.  Go Outlaws!