Game 108: Stormers 2-1

Lloyd Turner

	Ben Fritz 0-0, 7.71 ERA		Jake Dittler 2-3, 5.02 ERA

Ben Fritz wasn’t always a highly-regarded pitching prospect. He was primarily a catcher growing up. Once he reached Fresno State and his velocity started to increase, his focus gradually shifted to the mound.

The 6-4, 225-pound righthander became a closer during his sophomore year. When he was a junior, he was a starting pitcher on Fridays and shifted between catching and playing the outfield on the weekends.

Fritz was a pretty good hitter at the Division I college level. He batted .283 with 10 homers and 54 RBIs in 59 games in his final year at Fresno.

“I had a chance of getting drafted as a catcher,” Fritz said. “But I want to play in the big leagues. That’s my goal and whatever got me closer to the big leagues, that’s what I wanted to do. Most teams viewed me as a pitcher.”

The Oakland A’s obviously did. They drafted Fritz 30th overall in 2002, which was the same year they took Brian Stavisky in the sixth round and Lloyd Turner in the 15th.

It looked like Fritz was going to quickly climb through the A’s system. He was in the Arizona Fall League after his first full season and advanced to High-A almost immediately. An elbow injury sidelined him for all of 2004 and his arm has never fully recovered.

“My velocity is definitely not the same as it was before surgery,” Fritz said. “But I’m still trying to do everything I can to get there. … Since surgery, to get the velocity and stuff back, I felt like I created some bad habits. That wasn’t beneficial for me. I think I took a step backwards doing the stuff I did to try to create velocity. That’s what I’m trying to work out now.”

Fritz is 27. He was released by the Tigers from Double-A Erie last month and came to the Barnstormers to rediscover himself and perhaps regain his old form.

As he put it …

“You’re not going to get better sitting at home.”

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Lineups …

15-22	18-19
Nic Jackson, CF	Mike Woods, LF
Shaun Boyd, 2B	Michael Campbell, RF
Ron Davenport, 1B	Danny Gonzalez, SS
L.J. Biernbaum, RF	Ian Bladergroen, 1B
Sheldon Fulse, LF	Brian Munhall, DH
Tyler Von Schell, DH	Ivanon Coffie, 3B
Damian Jackson, 3B	Lloyd Turner, 2B
Alberto Castillo, C	David Castillo, C
Tim Johnson, SS	Jutt Hileman, CF

Scoring summary …

Riversharks	000	010	000	1	6	3
Barnstormers	010	000	001	2	7	1

WP: Ryan Cullen (6-5)
LP: Julio Guerrero (6-2)

FINAL: Barnstormers 2, Riversharks 1

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

Riversharks 5th: Nic Jackson’s groundout scores Damian Jackson.
Game tied at 1.

Stormers 9th: Hileman’s single scores Coffie.
Lancaster wins 2-1.

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PITCHERS:

Barnstormers: Ben Fritz, Ryan Cullen (8).

Riversharks: Jake Dittler, Julio Guerrero (8).

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Box score:

RECORD: 19-19 (49-59)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jutt Hileman

The center fielder went 3-for-4 with the game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth. Hileman had a terrific homestand. He collected 10 hits in 23 at-bats and drove in eight runs.

“I do feel better at the plate,” Hileman said. “It’s a shame it has taken this long, but I things are starting to come around. I’m starting to feel more comfortable just taking pitches and being relaxed enough to swing at ones I normally drive.”

A tip of the cap to Ben Fritz as well …

7 IP

6 H

1 R

1 ER

1 BB

6 K

“Tonight was one of those rare nights for a starting pitcher where you can throw all four of your pitches for strikes,” Fritz said. “You’ve got to take advantage of those days. I was confident in every pitch. I was able to keep them guessing a little bit.”

BOTTOM LINE:

The Barnstormers went 4-2 during these six games at the Clip and continued to hang around in the Freedom Division. They’re back to being 2½ behind York. This team has really showed impressive resiliency considering all the injuries and roster turnover it has faced.