Red Wings Split Double Header
Dan Gliot went 8 for 10 over the double header as the Red Wings split two games with the Niagara Power. Geneva won the first game 6-5 and lost the second 7-6.
Both games were scheduled for seven innings, but the teams needed to play nine to decide each contest.
In game number one, Geneva needed to come through with a late comeback. Niagara scored once in the fifth on a Daniel Hall sacrifice fly and twice in the 5th thanks in part to an untimely error by the Red Wings defense to build a 3-1 lead.
It was still 3-1 in the 7th, but with Geneva down to its last out, Gliot came up with a clutch single, his third hit of the game, scoring Paul Bello and Andy Mix to knot things up at 3.
“I was just looking for a good fastball to hit over the plate,” said Gliot. “I just wanted to get a good piece of the ball, and I barreled up on it.”
The teams went scoreless in the 8th, but the Wings grabbed the lead for good in the top of the ninth. After Max Casper led off with a single, moved to second on Matt Ray’s base knock and advanced to third on a single by Brantley Miller, Gliot scored him with a sacrifice fly to right. Kevin Stephens hit into a fielder’s choice with one out, but alert base running by Miller allowed both him and Ray to score, giving the Red Wings a 6-3 lead.
Julian Diaz allowed two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth, but he struck out Jordan Vierra with two men on to end the ball game and give the Wings their third straight win.
In game two, Gliot led the offense as Geneva built an early lead. Gliot drove in a run and scored a run in the third as the Red Wings tallied four runs in the frame to take a 4-2 lead. Then he drove Miller home with a double in the 4th and the Red Wings lead 5-2.
Gliot was 5-5 in game two and over the double header he drove in six runs. “I was seeing the ball well and I had a really good approach,” said Gliot. “Approach really helped today and I just hit the ball on the barrel.”
With a three run lead through four innings, the Wings looked well on their way to their second consecutive double header sweep, but the Power answered in the 5th. Niagara pounded out four hits in the frame and walked twice scoring 4 runs and building a 6-5 lead.
Gliot brought the Wings back once more when he drove in Casper with an RBI single in the 6th.
The teams traded scoreless frames across the next couple innings, but this game, the Power controlled the ninth.
Kevin Liddle took a one out fastball from Red Wings reliever Nick Cappuccilli, who was in his third inning of work, and drove it down the left field line for a single bringing home Ware Hart to win the ball game 7-6.
With the split, Geneva improved to 12-15 on the season, but the nightcap loss left the Wings thinking about what could have been. “We’re a little disappointed after the second game,” said Gliot. “We battled the whole day and we’ll take it into tomorrow.”