PROSPECT LEAGUE: Leis gets second walk-off of week as Dans' streak hits 10

Jun. 28—DANVILLE — Sammy Leis is starting to get the hang of delivering in the clutch.

The freshman catcher from Alabama had his second walk-off hit in less than a week on Tuesday as the Danville Dans won their 10th straight game with a 6-5 win over the Terre Haute Rex.

"Shout out to the team for putting us in that situation," Leis said. "I thought we had no shot and everything started to fall into place and now it is 5-5 in the 10th and I came up with the hit."

The Dans were missing chances all game against Terre Haute pitching until the ninth inning. With Brandon Bishop on second and Justin Vossos on first with two outs, DJ Akiyama drove in Bishop with an RBI single.

Then Trenton Pallas had a two-RBI single to drive in Bishop and Akiyama to make the game 5-3, which set up Lance Gardiner and the junior from Troy hit a game-tying home run.

"We had two outs and the batters did a good job keeping the game going," Gardiner said. "I just got a good pitch to hit. I t is not as simple as it sounds, but that is how it ended up. We were struggling to get that big hit early on. In the ninth inning, we were able to get keep things going and scored runs.

'That was one of the most fun games you can play. For (Blake) Binderup to come in and get the strikeouts, that was great considering we start the inning with a man on second."

In the top of the 10th, there were two men on before the call came to Binderup and the freshman from Texas A&M answered it with three straight strikeouts.

"I knew I was coming into the game shortly after going in the bullpen," Binderup said. "They told me to get hot fast and once I got in, I tried to control my breathing, don't let the moment get too big and it is something I have been training for. I just lay back, do my job and let the Baseball Gods decide everything."

The Dans found another way to win a close game at Danville Stadium. After Leis' walk-off on Friday, Bishop hit a game-winning single in Monday's 4-3 win against the Normal CornBelters that put them on the top of the Prospect League's Wabash River Division.

"We keep battling and competing. We play for 27 outs and we find a way," Dans manager Eric Coleman said. "It's just Danville magic to win 10 in a row but our guys are plugging away and playing hard. We came out flat to start the game and I don't know if they were looking to the day off but they were there competing and fighting in the end."

Starter Tyler Fay had a tough start with two runs given up in the first and two more in the third. Fay ended up with six strikeouts before giving way to John Balok, Jr., who gave up three hits and a run in two innings and then Will Jacobson for two scoreless innings before going to Binderup.

The Dans are 15-10 now and the team feels that they are starting to find their groove at the right time.

"Things are just falling together and things are crazy right now," Leis said. "I think we are coming together as a team and playing for each other more. Early in the season, we didn't know who did what and now everything is coming together."

"I feel that we have been playing for ourselves," Binderup said. "At the end of the day, you can only control what you can control. The team morale is great and we get together well and it has been great so far."

Keegan Garis and Warren Bailey each had two hits and two RBIs for the Rex, while Carter Murphy had an RBI. Payton Adkisson took the loss.

"It is always great to compete with them," Coleman said. "They are a good team. We kept chugging along and stuck with the next man up mentality to get the tie and the win."

The Dans have the day off on Wednesday and will return to action Thursday against the Champion City Kings on the road.

"We earned a day off and we are excited," Gardiner said. "We want to take the day off and get ready for Thursday because we are playing great baseball right now."

"I know their head coach very well. They are going to play hard," Coleman said. "This is a business trip for us and we have to keep grinding away."

The Dans return to Danville Stadium on Friday for a 6:30 p.m. game with the Lafayette Aviators.