Cane Cutters News

Game 1

            The Cane Cutters played against the Alexandria Aces tonight.  The Cane Cutters were hoping to continue their success from last night’s game.  The Aces hoped to get back on track after a loss to the first place Bombers on Saturday and having an off day on Sunday.

            The Cane Cutters got off to a good start in the bottom of the first inning.  Isaac Rodriguez came up as the second batter and singled for the first hit of the game.  Mitchell Nau came up next and singled advancing Rodriguez over to second.  Adam Seal singled as the next batter driving in Rodriguez for the 1-0 lead for the Cane Cutters.  Two batters later, Ladd Rhodes drew a walk to load the bases.  Then, Gabe Woods singled driving in Nau and Seal to put the score at 3-0.

            As the game went into the fifth inning, William Mathis for the Cane Cutters was pitching a gem.  He was throwing a no-hitter through four innings and only giving up one walk.  Doug Votolato got on base as the second batter of the top of the fifth by drawing a walk.  Garrett Vail came up next and hit a double for the first hit in the game driving in Votolato for the first run of the game which would put the score at 3-1.

            The Cane Cutters answered right back in the bottom of the inning to put their lead back up to three.  Mike Barba led off the inning with a single.  Rodriguez came up next and grounded out to the shortstop advancing Barba to second.  Nau singled as the next batter driving in Barba.

            The Aces made the game interesting in the top of the sixth inning. A game that was being dominated by Mathis now turned around.  Nathan Hale led off with a walk.  Stryker Brown singled to advance runner to second.  Jami Rachal came up next and singled loading the bases for the Aces with no outs.  Next, Lucas Quary struck out but Hale was able to come home on the dropped third strike that also advanced Brown and Rachal to third and second.  The next batter, Caleb Adams, singled driving in Brown and Rachal to tie the game at 4-4.

            The Aces and Cane Cutters both threatened in the seventh inning to take the lead but neither team was able to succeed so the game would go into the eighth inning which was considered extra innings because of each game being shortened to seven innings due to it being a double header. 

            The Aces decided that they would come through in the top of the eighth inning to take the lead for the first time of the game.  Adams singled after the Cane Cutters got the first out of the inning.  Votolato flew out during the next at-bat for out number two.  During Vail’s at-bat, Adams stole second base.  Vail got on base by the way of a walk and Adams advanced to third on ball four because of it being a wild pitch.  Now, runners are on first and second with two outs.  Garren Palmer came up to bat next and got on base because of an error by the third baseman with an errant throw to first base which also allowed the runner at third to come home.

            The Cane Cutters had the opportunity in the bottom of the inning to tie the ballgame or win the game and were not successful giving the Aces the 5-4 win. 

            Nau led the Cane Cutters with two hits in the game.  He went 2-4 with one run scored and one RBI.  Woods went 1-4 with 2 RBIs and Seal went 1-3 with one run scored, one RBI and one walk.  Rodriguez has a five-game hitting streak.

            Mathis got his fourth start of the season for the Cane Cutters.  He pitched five and one-third innings giving up four earned runs on three hits, striking out four and walking two.  Patrick Michon relieved Mathis and pitched two innings giving up one run on four hits, striking out one and walking one.  He also got the loss which put his record at 0-2 on the season.

            It was a tough loss for the Cane Cutters which dropped their record to 13-14 on the season.  The Cane Cutters had no time to worry about not being able to hold onto the lead because they had another game that they needed to prepare for tonight.

Boxscore:  http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=91286

Game 2

            The Cane Cutters were looking to win the second game of the double header so they could get their winning percentage back up to five-hundred for the season.  The Aces hoped to sweep the Cane Cutters in the two-game series

            Once again, the Cane Cutters got on the board first with a four-spot in the bottom of the second inning.  Gabe Woods led off with a single.  Snowden got on base because of an error by the second baseman which also advanced Woods to second.  Austin Roussel put down a sacrifice bunt that advanced Woods and Snowden to third and second.  The first two runs that scored in the game for the Cane Cutters came home on wild pitches.  Alex Marse came around to score also with a sacrifice fly by Braxton Lee.  Tyler Kamtz came home as the final run of the inning when he scored from second on a Mitchell Nau single.

            The first three innings were looking great for the Cane Cutters, offensively and defensively.  The Cane Cutters had the lead and Cody Tillotson struck out the first nine batters he faced in the game.  Isaac Rodriguez got on base by the way of a single.  Nau walked which also moved Rodriguez over to second.  Next, Woods singled bringing in Rodriguez for the 5-0 lead.

            The Cane Cutters added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.  Roussel singled to start the inning.  Roussel was able to advance to second and then third on a hit and run involving Alex Marse who grounded out to the shortstop.  Kamtz singled bringing home Roussel.  A couple of batters later, Kamtz came all the way around to score from first on a single by Braxton Lee and with some errors involved on the play.  This pushed the lead to 7-0 for the Cane Cutters.

            Through the first five innings, Tillotson dominated the Aces’ hitters.  He gave up his first hit in the top of the sixth inning when Rene Moreda led off with a single but that was the only hit he would give up in the inning and still have the shutout.

            In the top of the seventh inning, the Aces hoped to put a scare in the Cane Cutters by scoring some runs to make it a game.  The first batter walked to start off the inning.  The Cane Cutters recorded two outs and then the last out became really tough to get.  The next two batters walked to load the bases.  Sean Guite came up next and singled driving in two runs for the Aces. Tillotson was finally able to get the third out with a strikeout of Sergio Cruz and give the Cane Cutters the 7-2 win.

            Woods and Tillotson both had outstanding performances for the Cane Cutters.  Woods went 4-4 with one run scored and one RBI.  Tillotson pitched a complete game two-hitter with fifteen strikeouts.  Rodriguez also contributed going 2-3 with one run scored and one walk.

            Tillotson pitched the full seven innings for the Cane Cutters giving up two earned runs on two hits, fifteen strikeouts and three walks. 

            The Cane Cutters got back on track with a win in game two.  This put their record at 14-14 for the season.  The Aces’ record dropped to 12-16 after the loss.  The “beach theme” week continues tomorrow night for the Cane Cutters who will be playing the Woodlands Strykers who are 8-18.  The Cane Cutters are currently 2-1 on their five-game home stretch.  They will also have fun jumps tomorrow for free for the kids and a fireworks show after the game for July 4 being that we do not have a game that night.  We hope to see you at Fabacher Field tomorrow night to root us on against the Strykers.

Boxscore:  http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/boxscore.html?gameid=103112