Snappers Snippets

Beloit is 2-5, tied for seventh in the ML West, three games out of first. For the season, Beloit is 29-48.

Friday

The Snappers gave up a run in the bottom of the eighth to fall to the Clinton LumberKings 4-3 in Clinton. Denny Almonte hit a solo homer to put Clinton ahead 1-0 in the third. Beloit took a short-lived 2-1 lead in the fifth: Jeff Lanning singled, stole second, and scored on an Aaron Hicks single; Hicks then stole second and scored on an error. The LumberKings went back up 3-2 in the bottom of the fifth on a homer, a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single. The Snappers tied it in the sixth when Jon Waltenbury walked and scored on Nathan Hanson's RBI double. Beloit missed a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth, loading the bases with one out, and it cost them, as two walks and a single plated the go-ahead run for Clinton in the bottom of the eighth. The Snappers managed only a two-out single in the ninth. Hanson and James Beresford each had two hits. Daniel Osterbrock pitched six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out seven. Bruce Pugh pitched the last two innings to take the loss.

Saturday

Rained out--made up as part of Sunday doubleheader

Sunday

Game 1

Beloit scored early and never looked back as they defeated Clinton in an err0r-filled game 6-2.  The Snappers got two in the top of the first:  they loaded the bases on a single by James Beresford and walks to Jon Waltenbury and Nathan Hanson, and a two-base error brought two runs home.  An error also produced a run in the second, as it followed a Drew Thompson double and an Aaron Hicks bunt single.  Beloit went ahead 5-0 in the third on solo homers by Nathan Hanson and Angel Morales.  The LumberKings got two runners on in the third, fourth, and fifth, but did not score until the sixth, when two singles and an error led to a run.  The Snappers got it back in the seventh when Waltenbury singled, took second on an error, and scored on Alexander Soto's single.  Clinton scored one in the seventh on a walk, a ground out, and, of course, an error.  The teams combined for seven errors in the game.  Beresford and Thompson each had two hits.  Bobby Lanigan got the win, giving up an unearned run on five hits in six innings.

Game 2

Six was again the magic number as the Snappers swept the doubleheader, defeating Clinton 6-4.  Errors were again key.  The LumberKings scored first, getting two runs in the third on three singles and an error.  Beloit bounced back to take a 4-2 lead in the top of the fourth--Michael Harrington, Nathan Hanson, and Jeff Lanning all singled to score one, a Dominic De La Osa single and a walk to Aaron Hicks scored another and loaded the bases, and a two-base error scored two more.  Clinton cut the lead to 4-3 in the bottom of the fourth on three singles and a walk, but left the bases loaded.  The Snappers got some insurance in the sixth when Lanning singled, De La Osa was hit by a pitch, an error moved runners to second and third, a sacrifice fly by Hicks scored one, and a Ramon Santana double scored another.  The LumberKings got a solo homer with two out in the seventh to close out the scoring.  Hanson had three hits, and Santana, Harrington, and Lanning each had two.  Michael Tarsi got the win, giving up ten hits, but only three runs (two earned) in five innings.  Matthew Williams pitched the final two innings to get a save.

Monday

Off Day

Tuesday

Beloit was held to only three hits and one run as they lost to the Cedar Rapids Kernels 4-1 in Beloit.  The Snappers scored first, getting a third-inning run when Drew Thompson doubled and Aaron Hicks singled.  Cedar Rapids loaded the bases in the fourth, but did not score until the fifth, when an error, two stolen bases, and a double produced a run to tie the score.  It stayed tied at one until the ninth, when a triple, a walk, another triple, and a squeeze bunt led to three runs and a 4-1 lead for the Kernels.  Beloit got the tying run up to bat with one out in the ninth, but a pair of strikeouts ended the game.  Thompson's double was the only extra-base hit.  Brad Tippett pitched six innings, giving up an unearned run on five hits.  Curtis Leavitt pitched two scoreless innings.  Steven Blevins pitched the ninth and took the loss.

Wednesday

The Snappers doubled their run total from yesterday, but so did Cedar Rapids as the Kernels defeated Beloit 8-2.  Cedar Rapids got five hits in a row (four singles and a double) in the third inning, putting the Kernels ahead 4-0.  The Snappers got one back in the bottom of the third when Jeff Lanning doubled, stole third, and scored on a throwing error.  Another error led to a Beloit run in the fifth, as an error and singles by Lanning and Thompson (Thompson's was a bunt), loaded the bases with one out and a ground out scored one to cut the lead to 4-2.  The Snappers did not score any more, however, and never came closer than that.  Two walks and two singles produced two Cedar Rapids runs in the seventh, and four singles produced two more Kernel runs in the ninth.  Lanning and Stewart Munroe each had two hits for Beloit.  Daniel Berlind took the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in only 3.2 innings.  Blake Martin pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out four, and Michael Allen pitched a scoreless inning.

Thursday

Offense continued to be lacking, as Beloit had only two hits in losing to Cedar Rapids 5-1.  Three singles and a ground out put the Kernels ahead 1-0 in the third inning.  In the fifth, a walk, a double, and a single made the score 3-0.  The lone Snapper run came in the sixth, when Dominic De La Osa reached on an error and scored on James Beresford's double.  Cedar Rapids got the run back in the seventh with a leadoff home run, and tacked on one more in the ninth on a hit batsman, an error, and a sacrifice fly.  Beloit did get two on in both the eighth and ninth, with all the runners coming on walks, but could not get any more hits, much less score any more runs.  Daniel Osterbrock took the loss, giving up three runs on ten hits in five innings. 

Statistical notes:  The Snappers are eleventh in runs, tenth in doubles, tied for twelfth in triples, and tenth in home runs.  They are fifth in walks and fourteenth (last) in stolen bases.  They are tied for eighth in OBP, twelfth in SLG, tied for ninth in AVG, and twelfth in OPS. 

Snappers pitchers are twelfth in ERA, thirteenth in fewest hits allowed, twelfth in fewest home runs allowed, and seventh in fewest walks allowed.  They are tied for fourth in strikeouts and twelfth in WHIP.

Michael Harrington is tied for third in doubles (22).  Bobby Lanigan is tied for fourth in wins (7), tied for third in starts (15), and tied for second in complete games (1).  Daniel Berlind is tied for first in most losses (9) and tied for second in complete games (1).  Daniel Osterbrock is tied for first in starts (16), tied for second in complete games (1), and first in most hits allowed.  Michael Allen is tied for second in complete games (1).  Brad Tippett is fourth in WHIP (1.09).

Notes:  Snappers hitting coach Rich Miller has been promoted to Rochester.  He takes the place of Riccardo Ingram, who is taking a leave from the team for personal reasons.  Replacing Miller as Snappers hitting coach will be ex-Twin Chris Heintz...Shooter Hunt, who started the season with Beloit before going on the disabled list, has been assigned to the Gulf Coast League Twins.