Hounds take down Royals in seven innings
Published 10:49 pm Wednesday, July 29, 2015
Greyhounds second baseman John Frein tags Rochester’s Jordan Martini to get the pickoff during the first inning Wednesday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
The Austin Greyhounds looked like a team that was headed in the right direction when they topped the Rochester Royals 10-0 in seven innings in Marcusen Park Wednesday.
Austin (11-10 overall) grabbed an early 3-0 lead in the second inning when Zach Schara drew a bases loaded walk and John Frein hit a sacrifice fly. The Hounds put things out of reach with a five-run sixth inning that saw Frein double in a run.
Austin Greyhounds pitcher Nels Nelson delivers against Rochester Wednesday night at Marcusen Park. Eric Johnson/photodesk@austindailyherald.com
Hounds manager Matt Cano was glad his team kept the foot on the gas pedal and put the game away when it had a chance. Austin lost a game earlier this season after leading by seven runs and he didn’t want to see that happen again.
“It’s been awhile since we ten runned someone,” Cano said. “Rochester’s a good ball club, they just didn’t have a very good night and we took advantage of it.”
Nels Nelson allowed just five hits and zero runs as he struck out six in six and two-thirds inning to score the win.
“We’ve been playing pretty good the last few weeks, we just didn’t have everybody there,” Cano said. “Whenever we have Nels or Joe Huffman on the mound, we have a shot. When we have everybody here, we’ve got a pretty good ball club.”
The Hounds will get a boost when the Austin Post 91 Legion baseball season comes to an end. Post 91 is playing in the state tournament this week and Cano let the Hounds’ players from that team rest on Wednesday.
“When we get the Legion kids, that gives us a really good defensive ball club and we get a lot faster offensively,” Cano said. “I didn’t want to get anybody hurt before their playoff game.”
The Hounds will play the Austin Blue Sox 7:30 p.m. Friday in Marcusen Park.
Royals 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 5 2
Hounds 0 3 1 0 0 5 1 — 10 9 1
Hounds pitching: Nels Nelson (W) 6 2/3 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 6 K; Grant Oldenburg, 1/3 IP, 0 R
Hounds hitting: Jeremy Evans, 2-for-4, RBI; Tyler Leopold, 1-for-4, RBI; Henry Fleek, 1-for-4, R; Matt Cano, 1-for-2, 2 R, BB; Nelson, 1-for-2, double, RBI, R; Gabe Kasak, 0-for-3, 2 R, BB; Zach Huntley, 1-for-3, RBI, R; Zach Schara, 0-for-1, RBI, 2 BBs; John Frein, 1-for-2, double, 2 RBIs; Dylan Gasner, 1-for-1, double; Oldenburg, 0-for-1; Nate Conner, R; Jacob Kempen, R; Daniel Bollingberg, R
