In a thrilling game between the top two teams in the conference standings, Sturgeon Bay edged Peshtigo in a classic struggle at Memorial Field on Friday. The Clippers took a 1-0 lead in the 1st inning on a Max Bordeau double, but Peshtigo tied the game at 1 in the 2nd inning on a botched rundown by Sturgeon Bay.
The Clippers took a 2-1 lead with an unearned run in the 3rd, only to see Peshtigo take their only lead of the day when a Nick Neilson double followed by a 2-run Brandon Eick HR gave the Bulldogs a 3-2 lead in the top of the 5th.
The Clippers answered immediately in the bottom of the inning when a Trent Ehlers triple was followed by an RBI ground out from Jake Schneider. Although both teams had a number of late game scoring opportunities, the score remained tied at 3 until the bottom of the 9th.
Ryan Jacobson started the winning rally by fouling off numerous 2-strike pitches, eventually drawing a lead-off walk. After Jacobson stole 2nd, Trent Ehlers was walked intentionally. When a Max Bordeau fly ball to right field was dropped the Clippers had the bases loaded with nobody
out. Jake Schneider then put an end to the proceedings with a fly ball to left field which easily scored Jacobson from 3rd.
The Clippers had kept their hopes of a Packerland Conference co-championship alive with their 8th consecutive win, finishing their conference season with a (13-3) record. Peshtigo drops to (13-2) in the league, with a make-up game at Southern Door looming on Monday afternoon at 5:00 pm.
Abram Abeyta led theClippers with 2 hits, while Travis Plym, Nick Neilson and Jake Gordon all had 2 hits for the Bulldogs. Sturgeon Bay starting pitcher Jake Schneider struck out 10, walked 1 and hit 2 batters in his solid 6.1 innings of work. Isaac Berkley earned the victory in relief by striking out 2, walking 1 and hitting 1 in his 2.2 innings of relief. Another great relief
performance by Berkley brings his eye-popping season pitching totals to 20
strikeouts, with a mere 2 walks being issued.
Darren Dionne took the loss in relief of Nielson, who pitched the 1st 5.1 innings for the Bulldogs. If the weatherman cooperates, Sturgeon Bay is scheduled to host Mishicot at 11:00 am Saturday morning.
