LumberKings take two out of three from the Lucky Horseshoes
Jul. 25—CLINTON — The Clinton LumberKings took two out of their three games against the Springfield Horseshoes this weekend as they look to finish off strong to try and clinch a playoff spot.
The LumberKings faced off against the Lucky Horseshoes in a doubleheader contest at NelsonCorp Field on Sunday. The LumberKings played as the road team in game one as Cole Conner (Oakton Community College) got the call for Clinton.
Taeg Gollert (Missouri State University) got the Clinton offense started in the top of the second inning, with a knock that scored Jeremy Conforti (College of DuPage). The LumberKings added an insurance run in the third with a base hit RBI from Rayth Petersen (University of Illinois Chicago).
The second trip through the Springfield batting order wasn't as kind to Conner as the first, as he surrendered three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning, giving the Shoes a 3-2 lead. A Jeremy Conforti double in the fifth tied the game for the LumberKings, but Payton Pennington (Kent State University) put Springfield ahead for good with an RBI single in the bottom half. Springfield finished game one with a 4-3 victory over Clinton.
In game two of the twin bill, Clinton took an early lead courtesy of a Taeg Gollert base hit in the bottom of the second inning. However, the Springfield offense came roaring back in the fourth with a trio of runs to give the Shoes a 3-1 edge over the home team.
A strong fifth inning produced seven runs for the LumberKings, complete with RBIs from Adam Weed (University of Illinois Chicago), Matt Scherrman (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh), Luke Ira (South Dakota State University), Connor Guisti (University of Wisconsin Oshkosh), Taeg Gollert, and a pair from a Jeremy Conforti triple. The LumberKings managed a 8-4 win in the second game of the double header.
Conforti led the Clinton offense with six hits in eight appearances as the LumberKings split the double header with the Springfield Lucky Horseshoes, taking the series two games to one.
On Saturday night the LumberKings put 16 runs on the board in a seven inning victory over the Lucky Horseshoes.
The winning run came across in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler Dahm (Mount Mercy) blasted his second home run of the season, and second of the week. Clinton after one inning led 2-1.
Clinton throughout the game plated runs in every inning but the sixth.
Eight different LumberKings drove in runs, including three from Adam Weed (University of Illinois Chicago), three from Casey Sole (Mount Mercy) and three from Luke Ira (South Dakota St).
On the mound Brock Reade (Southeastern CC) in his second start of the season cruised through the lineup. The lefty went six innings, struck out three and allowed one hit in his first victory of the season.
The LumberKings emerged victorious with a 16-1 victory in seven innings when the 10-run rule took effect.
The LumberKings are back in action on Tuesday night against Rex Baseball at 5:30 p.m. in Terre Haute, Indiana.
