The Cows led both contests 2-0 before suffering a 5-3 defeat in game two and a 7-3 loss in game one.

In the top half of the second inning in game two Delaware’s offense struck first in a big way.  Josh Holskey blasted a solo shot over the left center field fence that traveled an estimated 380 feet.

Ivory Alexander followed that up with a double but he was out on a 6-5 fielders choice hit by Zach Frentsos.   Frentsos scored on an RBI double hit by Evan Frazar that hit the very top of the fence in the same location as Holskey’s homerun.

But the Cows offense went quiet after that and Delaware did not score any more runs until the eighth inning when Dan Bethea when Zach Frentsos earned a bases-loaded walk that scored Dan Bethea.

Tyler Backstrom got the start for Delaware in game two pitching four innings and giving up three runs on four hits.  Tyler struck out three batters and walked four.

Backstrom was pitching with runners in scoring position all night but effectively pitched himself out of countless jams giving the Cows a chance to win the game.

The Settlers big inning came in the sixth in a one run ballgame.  Brandon Hall, pitching for Delaware, retired the first batter of the inning Joe Hudson but then allows the next three batters to reach base.

Hall walked David Schwabe, gave up a single to Wes Meadows and John McCambridge broke open the 3-2 score line with an RBI single.  David Schwabe scored but Ryan Meade gunned down Wes Meadows at the plate.

McCambridge advanced to second on the throw home and advanced to third and scored on two wild pitches from Brandon Hall.  The Cows trailed 5-2 after the sixth inning and lost 5-3.

Justin McDowell faced two batters in the eighth before being removed because of tightness in his pitching arm.

Jacob German came in to finish the game.  German pitch an inning and two thirds of hitless baseball walked one and struck out two.

In game one the Cows offense got going in the first inning.  The first four batters reached base on four consecutive singles.  Ryan Meade’s single scored Evan Shaw and Dan Bethea 4-6 Fielder’s Choice scored Ben Jurevicius.

Licking County then went on to score seven unanswered runs scoring three in the fifth to break the tie and blow the game open.

Ben Trimbur started for the Cows pitching four and one third innings giving up five earned runs on six hits.

Michael Eden pitched 2.2 innings giving up two runs on six hits.  Eden came in to relieve Trimbur in the fifth.  Mike struck out two batters and walked none.

The Cows seasons ends in the semi final round as Licking County advances to take on the Hamilton Joes in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League Championship.

The Cows will be playing Licking County tomorrow 8/5/10 from Dennison University in Granville Ohio.

Check back soon for game times and updates.

Love,

Mookie

It was the scoring in the latter stages of the game that hurt Delaware but enabled the Terriers to tie it up. Even though the Cows’ run production wasn’t strong toward the end of the game, a clutch run scored in the eighth was enough to push them past Stark County by a score of 7-6 from Walsh University in North Canton, Ohio.

With Ryan Meade on third base and Matt Streng on first with one out in the top of eighth inning, Zach Frentsos hit into Delaware’s most pivotal fielder’s choice of the season. Streng was out at second on the play, but Meade scored on the play to give the Cows – what turned out to be – the game-winning run.

Delaware fell behind 1-0 after the first inning when Mark Lapikas produced an RBI single to left field, scoring Josh Haley.

But the Cows answered in a big way in the fifth, scoring five unanswered runs on only three base hits – all of which were singles. The Cows were able to manufacture so many runs due in part to the fact that five batters were walked in the top of the fifth alone, with three of the five scoring runs.

Stark County trimmed Delaware’s 5-1 lead in half in the home half of the same inning, using an RBI double by Lapikas and an RBI singe by Jason Bagoly to do so.

An RBI single in the fifth increased Delaware’s lead to 6-3, and Frentsos’ RBI fielder’s choice in the visiting half of the eighth made the score the 7-3.

Delaware’s four-run lead proved not to be safe, though, as the Terries tacked on four runs on only one hit in the bottom of the eight to cut Delaware’s lead to one run. Like the Cows’ big inning in the third, Stark County used several walks – four to be specific – to aid their offense.

The Cows were unable to tack on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, so the score stood 7-6 in favor of Delware heading into the bottom half. Jacob German came on to pitch the ninth and retired the first to Terriers he saw.

The third batter of the inning, Grant McCoury, double to left field to give Stark County a runner in scoring position with two outs. The next batter, however, Jason Leblebijian, struck out to end the game.

German picked up his second save of season, allowing no runs on one hit in one inning of work.

Delaware starting pitch Mason Farr made only his second start of the season, but like his first start, he earns the win and improves to 4-1 on the season. He surrendered three runs on nine hits in five innings of work.

Stark County starter Tyler Newhart takes the loss and drops to 3-1. He allowed four runs on three hits in two and two-thirds innings of work.

Five Cows finished with multi-hit games, including two with three-hit performances. Ben Jurevicius was three for six with a pair of singles, a double and a run scored while Matt Streng went three for four with a trio of singles.

With the with the Cows advance to the second round of the playoffs against the regular-season champions, the Licking County Settlers. The second round is a best of three series, with the winner advancing to the championship series against the winner of the Southern Ohio/Hamilton series.

The Cows play a double header on Friday against the Settlers, and the two teams will face off again on Saturday if necessary.

Tyler Backstrom’s error in right field, on a two-out fly ball in the ninth, allowed two runs to score and the Cows to surrender their 7-6 lead.

Ben Jurevicius retired the first two in the ninth inning but then walked two consecutive batters.  With runners on first and second and a full-count to Kody Krizman the Locos took advantage of the three base error to give them an 8-7 lead.

Dane Derstine made it 9-7 for Lima with a suicide squeeze that scored Krizman from third.

John LaCorte started the game for Delaware but was removed after 1.1 innings pitched due to shoulder tightness.  He left with the bases loaded and one out.

LaCorte gave up three earned runs on one hit, walked four and struck out three.  Kevin Schindler replaced LaCorte in the second and was pitching when the Locos scored all five of their runs to take the early 5-0 lead.

But the Cows batted around in the third and scored 6 runs to take the lead right back.  Jacob German singled to lead off the inning and was doubled home by Tim Knezovich.   Knezovich advanced to third on a Shaw fly out to right.

Ben Jurevicius made it 5-2 with an RBI single to right.  Chris Peters then picked up the second RBI double of the inning to deep left center that scored Jurevicius to make it 5-3.

Ryan Meade singled home Peters and advanced to second on a Matt Streng single.  Victor Roache hit the Cows third RBI double in the inning, scored Meade and the Cows tied the game at 5.

Dan Bethea hit into a fielders choice but scored Matt Streng to give Delaware the 6-5 lead.  Delaware scored six runs on seven hits in the bottom half of the third.

Kevin Schindler settled into a rhythm after the second and pitched three scoreless innings before being removed in the seventh.  Schindler pitch four and two-thirds gave up three runs on six hits and stuck out two.

Lima tied the game in the sixth inning but the Cows took the lead back in the bottom half of the seventh on Tim Knezovich’s second RBI double of the game that scored Matt Streng.

Delaware was unable to hold the lead in the ninth but with the Cows in the playoffs no matter what the result of the game Kobe was very proud of the team’s success this season.

Mookie’s MVPs

Ryan Meade (rf) 3-5, 1 RBI, 1 Run Scored

Tim Knezovich (1b) 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 Run Scored, 2 Doubles, 1 Walk

Game Story By: Evan Winkofsky

In Saturday’s game against the Stark County Terriers, the latter of the two extremes was the case again for the Cows, as they dropped a 10-1 decision from Littick Field.

Heavy rain in the Delaware area forced the game to start approximately 14 minutes prior to 1 p.m. ET. Despite the steady down pour throughout most of the game, the pitching and defense through the first four innings was solid for each team. Delaware had no runs on one hit through four while Stark County had no runs on five hits.

That all changed in the top half of the fifth when the Terriers scored three runs on five base hits, including two doubles, to take a 3-0 lead.

Stark County added three more runs to their lead in the sixth, using three hits and an error to do so, to make the score 6-0.

Delaware countered with its only run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan Meade was walked with one out and advanced to second base when Dan Bethea was walked with two outs. The next batter after Bethea was Victor Roache, whose single to right field scored Meade to make the score 6-1.

Both teams were silent offensively from there until the top of the ninth, which is when Stark County tacked on four unneeded insurance runs. They scored all of those runs in the ninth on only two base hits, due in part to the fact that two batters were walked and two were hit by pitches.

Other than the run they scored in the sixth, the closest the Cows came to scoring was in the third inning when Meade grounded into a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded to end the inning.

Stark County scored scored 10 runs on 16 hits and committed three errors while Delaware scored one run on five singles and committed two errors.

Zach Frentsos was the lone Cow to have a multi-hit game. He went two for four with a pair of singles.

Starting pitcher Ben Trimbur takes the loss for Delaware and falls to 3-1 on the season. In five innings on the hill he allowed three runs on eight hits.

Terriers’ starter Steve Weber earns the win and improves to 2-3. He only surrendered one run on three hits in five and two thirds innings of work.

The Cows’ regular season finale is today. The first pitch between the Cows and the Lima Locos is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.

Heading into the final day of play, Delaware sits in fifth place in the league. The top six teams make the playoffs.

Starting pitcher David Hayes (4-1) was dominant giving up only two runs on five hits in seven innings.  Hayes struck out six and walked one batter.

The two runs scored by the Monarchs came in the seventh inning and were unearned.

The Cows started off the scoring in the game putting three runs on the board in the third inning.  Jacob German led off the inning with a walk and stole second.  Two batters later Streng scored German with an RBI single to right field.

After a wild pitch that advanced Jurevicius to third and Streng to second Ryan Meade brought them both home with a 2-RBI single.

Delaware led 3-0 in the sixth and added two more insurance runs.  After back-to-back singles from Dan Bethea and Jacob German, Tim Knezovich brought them both home with an RBI double to right center.

Lake Erie added two runs in the top half of the seventh to cut Delaware’s lead to 5-2.  The Cows responded with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning all on two outs.

With the bases loaded Lake Erie pitcher Mike McKinley threw a wild pitch that allowed Ryan Meade to score from third.  Dan Bethea added the second run with a single through the left side that scored Zach Frentsos.

Delaware was ranked fifth in the playoff standings and Lake Erie was in seventh just outside of the sixth and final spot.  With the win Delaware clinched at worst the sixth spot in the playoffs with two games remaining.

Delaware returns to action Saturday July 31 to take on Stark County.  The Cows finish the season at home Sunday against Lima.

Mookie’s MVP

David Hayes (p) – 7.0 IP, 5 Hits, 2 Runs, 1 BB, 6 SO

Ryan Meade (rf) – 2-4, 2 RBI, 1 Run scored, 1 2B

Dan Bethea (3b) – 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 Run scored

Game Story By: Evan Winkofsky

After defeating the league’s second-best team in Athens, Ohio, on Tuesday by a score of 10-5, the Cows were torched 15-0 the following day from their home field in Delaware. Delaware drops to 18-17 with the loss and now stand alone in fifth place with three games to play while Southern Ohio improves to 21-12 and stay in second.

The Copperheads first struck in the top of the first inning, using an RBI triple from Jared Hook and an RBI sacrifice fly to center field off the bat of Justin Marrero to take an early 2-0. They made the score 5-0 with three runs on three hits in the fourth, but the game-changing inning occurred in the fifth.

The Cows committed three errors, threw a wild pitch and had a past ball in the top of fifth, allowing the Copperheads to score three unearned runs. In total, five runs were scored in the inning on only three base hits.

Southern Ohio tacked on three more runs in the eighth and two in the ninth to add to their overwhelming total. They finished the game with 15 runs on 16 hits and committed one error defensively while the Cows scored no runs on seven hits and committed four errors.

The shutout marks the third time the Cows have been blanked this season. The other two are both 4-0 losses, one to the Licking County Settlers and one to the Lexington Hustlers.

Evan Shaw only had two at bats in the ball game and was unable to score a run or produce a base hit, so his hitting streak stops at eight games and his run-scored streak stops at seven.

Matt Streng and Ryan Meade were the only two Cows to have multi-hit games, with Streng going two for four with a pair of singles and Meade two for three with a pair of singles.

Starter Kevin Schinler takes the loss for Delaware and falls to 2-2 on the season. He allowed five runs on six hits in four innings of work. His counterpart, Southern Ohio starter Andrew Wazsak, earns the win and improves to 3-1. He gave up no runs on five hits in five innings of work.

Three regular-season games are left to the Cows’ 2010 schedule – all three of which will be played from Littick Field. The Cows next play this evening against the Lake Erie Monarchs, a team in which they are 2-1 against, with the first pitch set for 5 p.m. ET.

The Cows Mason Farr made his first start of the season and shut down a powerful Copperheads lineup.  Farr (3-1) pitched six innings giving up one run on five hits, struck out three and walked one.

Delaware’s offense was not to bad either scoring 10 runs on 14 hits including a four-run, four-hit first inning that gave the Cows the early lead.

In the first, after Evan Shaw reached on an error by the shortstop and Mitch Sroka struck out, the next five Cows reached base four of them with hits.

Shortstop Matt Streng singled in Evan Shaw and scored on a Ryan Meade triple to deep right center field to give the cows a 2-0 lead.

Dan Bethea then singled home Ryan Meade and scored after a Zach Frentsos walk and a Victor Roache single.

Roache singled in his first three at bats and finished 4-5 with four singles an RBI and a run scored.

Delaware held a 4-0 lead after the first inning of play but no lead has been safe against Southern Ohio this season.  The Cows led the Copperheads 5-0 on June 18 before surrendering 12 unanswered runs and again on July 20, Delaware led 4-0 but lost 7-6.

In the fourth inning Delaware plated two more runs and increased their lead to 6-1.  First basemen Tim Knezovich singled to left to start off the inning.  Evan Shaw followed with a single to right and after a walk to Mitch Sroka the bases were loaded and nobody out for Matt Streng.

Streng delivered once again with a 2-RBI double to left center field.  Matt finished the day 2-5 with 3 RBI.

In the fifth Victor Roach made it 7-1 scoring on an error by Southern Ohio shortstop Wes O’Neil.

The Copperheads tried to make it interesting on more than one occasions adding two runs in the seventh and one run in the eight and ninth but the Cows scored some late insurance runs in the seventh and eight.

Evan Frazar scored on a wild pitch in the seventh after reaching base on a walk to lead off the inning.  In the eight Ryan Meade also scored on a wild pitch and Victor Roache singled home Dan Bethea to give the Cows a 10-4 lead.

David Starn (1-1) was handed the loss.  The lefty pitched three innings and gave up six runs on eight hits.  Starn left the game in the fourth inning after the 2-RBI double from Matt Streng.

Delaware (18-16) returns home to Littick Field Wednesday with a chance to even up the season series at two games apiece against (20-12) Southern Ohio.

Mookie’s MVP’s

Evan Shaw (lf) 3-5, 2 runs scored

Victor Roache (dh) 4-5, RBI, run scored

Matt Streng (ss) 2-5, 3 RBI, run scored, 2B

Mason Farr (p) 1 run, 5 hits, 3 K’s, 1 BB

Game Story By: Evan Winkofsky

Two batters later the score was five to three in favor of the Mariners, who scored two unearned runs in the eighth to propel to a 5-3 victory over Delaware. The Cows drop to 17-16 on the season while the Mariners improve to 15-18.

With Painter on first base after grounding into a fielder’s choice, Corey Huff hit a ground ball to third. Josh Holskey was unable to field the ball cleanly initially and when he attempted to throw the ball, it slipped out of his hand and went to right field. Ivory Alexander was in right field and he over-ran the errant throw by Holskey and then threw the ball off-target back into the infield.

In total there were three errors committed on the play, allowing Painter to score from first in the process and Huff to advance all the way to third.

After that play the score was 4-3 in favor of Grand Lake, but there still was only one out and Huff was on third.

The next batter was Kevin Bower, who produced an RBI sacrifice fly to deep left field, scoring Huff to make the score 5-3.

Jared Earle came in for the top of the ninth for Grand Lake to earn his first save of the season. He retired Delaware in order in his only inning of work to end the game.

Huff helped his team score the game’s first run in the bottom of the first inning when he hit a groundball to short, enabling Kirby Campbell to score from third.

Two errors committed by Grand Lake in the top of the fourth led to Delaware’s first run, which was scored by Zach Frentsos.

In the bottom half of the same inning, the Mariners retook their lead and made the score 3-1, courtesy of an RBI single by Ryan Schlater and an RBI sacrifice fly to right by Cory Klenke.

Evan Shaw singled to lead off the seventh for Delaware and scored on a wild pitch to cut Delaware’s deficit in half, and in the eighth, Jacob German laced an RBI single to center, scoring Frentsos to tie the game at three.

Grand Lake finished the game with five runs on six hits and committed three errors while Delaware finished with three runs on six hits and committed two errors.

John LaCorte pitched well for Delaware but receives the no decision. He gave up three runs on five hits in six innings of work. He was replaced by Ben Jurevicius, who gave up two unearned runs on two hits in his two innings of relief to drop to 0-1 on the season.

Grand Lake reliever Matt Igel receives the win and moves to 1-2. In one inning of work, he surrendered one run on hit and struck out one.

Delaware finishes the season series with the Mariners with a 3-1 advantage. The Cows have five games remaining to their regular-season schedule, four of which will be played from Littick Field. The exception of that is this evening, when the Cows travel to Athens, Ohio, to play the Southern Ohio Copperheads. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

In game two the Settlers scored a run in each inning but the eighth and ran away with the game 11 to 5.

Saturday was not a regularly scheduled doubleheader and the second game was a make-up from a rainout in Licking County back on July 9.

Delaware as the visiting team was retired in order three of the first five innings. The Settlers jumped out to an early lead scoring two runs on three hits.

The winds were blowing out to left field and so were the baseballs for Licking County.  The Settlers smashed three home runs on their way to jumping out to a 9-0 lead.

Justin McDowell (1-3) was the starting pitcher for Delaware.  McDowell gave up four earned runs on seven hits walked three and struck out one.

Tyler Backstrom and Brandon Hall appeared in relief for Delaware.  Hall pitched a scoreless ninth inning.

Matt Reed was the winning pitcher.  The Cows scored four runs on seven hits in Reed’s six innings but were struck out six times.

First basemen Josh Holskey was the hero for the Cows in game one delivering a two out RBI single that scored Chris Peters for a walk off 7-6 win against the number one team in the great lakes league.

The Settlers scored first in the third inning taking a one to nothing lead on the Cows and starting pitcher Ben Trimbur.

In the fourth inning, right fielder Ryan Meade singled home Chris Peters and Holskey picked up and RBI Sacrifice Fly to deep center field that scored Matt Streng from third.

The Cows 3-1 lead did not last long as Licking County scored three runs on five hits and chased Trimbur from the game in the very next half inning.

The Settlers took a 6-3 lead into the 7^th inning the final inning of game one of the doubleheader.

In the final frame the first five Delaware Cows reached base as they looked to steal one away from Licking County.

Catcher Jacob German led off the inning with a double to center field.  After an Evan Shaw walk, Zach Frentsos plated the first run of the inning with an RBI single.  Chris Peters singled to lad the bases for Matt Streng.

With the Cows trailing 6-4 Matt Streng picked up an RBI free pass and cut the lead to just one.  The next batter Ryan Meade scored Zach Frentsos to tie the game but grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and extra innings looked like the only logical result.

With Chris Peters, 90 feet away it was up to Josh Holskey to end the game in regulation.  Josh swung through the first two pitches from Andrew Austin.  Down to his last strike Holskey took the 0-2 pitch and then lined the 1-2 pitch to left field scoring Peters to win the game in dramatic fashion.

Delaware scored four runs on four hits to defeat the Settlers 7-6.

The Cows return to action on July 26 to take on Grand Lake on the road.

Game Story By: Evan Winkofsky