The Milan News-Leader
A Heritage Newspaper
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Big Reds suffer first 2007 loss
By Jerry Hinnen, Staff Writer
PUBLISHED: April 19, 2007
Members of the Milan baseball team traveled to Chelsea Friday hoping to prove that they could compete with — or even beat — one of the state's best Division 2 teams.
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Unfortunately for the Big Reds, the 2006 state semifinalists showed with a 12-2 five-inning victory that, for one afternoon at least, Milan still has work to do.
"We've got two guys picked off and don't get either of them out, we miss a couple of wind-blown fly balls ... We made too many mental miscues today," head coach Adam Gilles said afterward. "The physical errors I can live with, but we can't make mental errors like these. We're not going to win the Huron League playing like we did today."
The loss was Milan's first of the year, dropping the team's record on the young season to 2-1.
The Big Reds fell behind early against Chelsea starter Chad Nielsen, going down 1-2-3 in the top of the first and yielding three runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Milan would have multiple opportunities to get on the scoreboard over the next three innings, but would not be able to capitalize. In the second, Denver Straub singled with one out and advanced to third on a Jake Hall groundout and wild pitch, but Nielsen struck out Matt Suisse to end the inning.
In the third, Zach McGovern's two-out single, a throwing error by the Chelsea catcher, and a walk to Cameron Hynds loaded the bases for cleanup hitter Ryan Bordine. But Nielsen forced Bordine into a groundout to first to escape the jam.
Milan would strand two more runners in the top of the fourth on a base-running mistake. Suisse reached on an error and advanced to second on an infield hit by Mike Latham. With Lance Smith at the plate, Suisse appeared to lose track of the count and began to walk off the field after the second strike on Smith. Chelsea tagged him for the third out.
Gilles would later take responsibility for Suisse's confusion on the count.
Starter Cameron Hynds had retired Chelsea without a run in the bottom of the second, but the Bulldogs pushed their lead to 4-0 after three and scored three more times for a commanding 7-0 lead after four.
Milan finally broke through against Nielsen in the top of the fifth. Smith led off the inning with a single, followed by a walk by McGovern and a successful sacrifice bunt by Matt Craig. Hynds then singled to center, driving in both Smith and McGovern to cut the lead to 7-2.
The Big Reds had a chance to cause further damage after a two-out error allowed Straub to reach, but Hall popped out to end the inning.
Whatever hopes Milan had of rallying for a win were quickly snuffed as Chelsea scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to activate the 10-run mercy rule.
Hynds was relieved after an inning-opening double, but neither Straub nor Jesse Karr had any better luck as the Big Red defense committed three errors in the inning. With the bases loaded and Chelsea ahead 11-2, Karr issued a walk, ending the game.
Milan totaled five hits, with no Big Red collecting more than one.
Hynds took the loss to even his record at 1-1.
"(Nielsen's) one of the best pitchers we're going to face all season, and I thought Cam pitched pretty well today," Gilles said. "But offensively, Chelsea let us off the hook a couple of times and we didn't take advantage."
The game was originally scheduled as a double-header, but was shortened to one game due to field conditions.
Milan will next take the field Saturday as hosts of the Avery Memorial Tournament.
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