Game 96: Patriots 2-1 in 11

Ian Bladergroen and Lloyd Turner

	Erik Dessau 0-0, 1.50 ERA		Josh Brey 6-1, 3.65 ERA

The Barnstormers have decided that if they can’t sign an outfielder, they’ll create one. The team shifted 1B Ian Bladergroen to right field for Wednesday night’s game. It was a move designed to jumpstart a slumping offense.

Bladergroen, according to his official stats, had never played in the outfield prior to this experiment. He misplayed a routine fly ball in the first inning, turning it into a double, and handled his other two chances cleanly.

“I’d like for him to be able to do it, at least at home in our ballpark,” manager Von Hayes said. “I know in a bigger ballpark it might be a little tough to do. With the shallow ground out there against left-handed pitching, we can get another right-handed bat in the lineup. We might even see either (David) Castillo or (Brian) Munhall play first base.

“We’ll see how it goes. I worked him out there a little bit and it seemed like he was at least catching the fly balls. We’re not asking for him to rob anybody of home runs or anything like that — just make routine plays and drive in four a night and I’ll be happy.”

The Barnstormers need to get some production from the outfield. CF Jutt Hileman, who sat out Wednesday night, has a .387 slugging percentage and has only walked 18 times in 336 at-bats. Jordan Herr is batting .203 with two homers and 12 RBIs in 24 games.

By shifting Bladergroen to the outfield and putting Matt LeCroy at first base, the Barnstormers can have both Munhall and Castillo in the lineup. One at catcher and the other at DH. Those two have combined for eight extra-base hits in 39 at-bats in their brief tenures here.

This decision has its drawbacks. It weakens the team defensively at two positions. Plus, if the Barnstormers are in a close game and they want to sub Bladergroen from the outfield, they have to remove either he or LeCroy from the game — which robs the club of one of its best bats at a potentially key moment.

But having both Munhall and Castillo in there deepens the lineup a little bit. The Barnstormers scored eight runs on 11 hits in the first game of this experiment. They had a bottom three of the order that included Ivanon Coffie, Mike Woods and Herr — which is a little more dangerous and versatile than what the team has presented in the past.

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Lineups …

12-12	13-12
Sean Smith, CF	Lloyd Turner, CF
Elliott Ayala, LF	Danny Gonzalez, SS
Josh Pressley, DH	Ian Bladergroen, 1B
Jason Belcher, C	Matt LeCroy, DH
Vito Chiaravalloti, 1B	David Castillo, C
Kevin Kotch, RF	Ivanon Coffie, 3B
Teuris Olivares, SS	Mike Woods, LF
David Housel, 2B	Jordan Herr, RF
Gera Alvarez, 3B	Mike Caruso, 2B

Scoring summary …

Patriots	000	010	000	01	2	12	0
Barnstormers	010	000	000	00	1	10	1

WP: Casey Cahill (5-2)
LP: Ryan Cullen (5-5)
SV: Brian Reith (9)

FINAL: Patriots 2, Barnstormers 1

Stormers 2nd: Coffie hits solo home run.
Lancaster leads 1-0.

Patriots 5th: Smith hits solo home run.
Game tied at 1.

Patriots 11th: Belcher scores on Coffie’s throwing error.
Somerset leads 2-1.

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Pitchers:

Barnstormers: Erik Dessau, Sendy Rleal (8), Ryan Cullen (10).

Patriots: Josh Brey, Steve Kelly (6), Casey Cahill (10), Brian Reith (11).

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Box score:

RECORD: 13-13 (43-53)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jason Belcher

Somerset’s catcher went 4-for-5 and scored the game-winning run in the 11th inning. Belcher also hit the game-changing grand slam in Wednesday night’s game. It was quite a series for him.

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NOTES:

*Erik Dessau turned in another gem:

7 IP

7 H

1 R

1 ER

1 BB

6 K

Dessau has pulled off a difficult feat. He has allowed two runs in 13 innings in his two starts and hasn’t earned a win. That’s what happens when you’re backed by the worst offense in the league. The righthander’s addition has been a huge lift to the depleted rotation.

“He pitched very well,” manager Von Hayes said. “Obviously, good enough to win a game. All the guys pitched great. We didn’t get anything going offensively. It’s just obvious. It couldn’t have happened at a worse time because we’re short on pitching.”

*Ivanon Coffie smashed his eighth home run. The third baseman just missed three homers earlier in this series before he finally put one over the wall. He snapped out of a 4-for-29 slump with a homer and double, which is a good sign because his bat is vital to the Barnstormers.

On the flip side …

Coffie’s throwing error in the 11th led to the game-winning run. It wasn’t a routine play. It wasn’t a terribly difficult play. It was somewhere in the middle and it should have been made.

“It was a chopper and I came in running,” Coffie said. “I just had an off-balanced throw to home plate. I didn’t have any time to set and try to make a good throw. I threw it off-balanced and it sailed away from the catcher.”

*The Ian Bladergroen-to-RF experiment was put on hold. He was back at 1B. Lloyd Turner made a start in CF in place of Jutt Hileman. Turner has started at five positions over the past two weeks.

*The offense was non-existent again. The Barnstormers have scored three runs or fewer seven times in the last nine games.

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BOTTOM LINE:

The Barnstormers finished their homestand at 2-5. They lost a series to rival York and dropped three of four to Somerset, which was shorthanded and less-than-motivated. Lancaster has dropped back to .500 and has lost its grip on first place.

“We were hoping to come home here and really play well like we usually do at home and create some separation,” Hayes said. “That wasn’t the case. You deal with it. We pick our heads up and go fight tomorrow.”