2008 Woodie Awards
'It's really frustrating'
Gorillas drop another game with late-inning collapse
RYAN ATKINSON
Issue date: 4/19/07 Section: Sports
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Pittsburg State head baseball coach Steve Bever stood against the green wall down the left-field line of Al Ortolani Field. He slowly raked the warning track dirt with his feet and looked up at his Gorillas, who were scurrying around the infield with rakes and brooms in hand. "Every game, I keep thinking 'This is going to be the game that sparks us and gets us going,'" Bever said. "It's really, really frustrating." After Wednesday night, you can pile on a few more layers of frustration. The Gorillas, who have not won consecutive games since sweeping a doubleheader from Truman State on March 18, gave up two runs in each of the final three innings and dropped a 10-6 decision to the Emporia State Hornets. "We were in it, but we just couldn't keep them off the board in those last few innings," Bever said. "It seems like we've been doing that a lot recently." Indeed. The Gorillas (17-21, 8-11 MIAA) have played in six series since March 18 and have had a chance to sweep five of them. Most of those failed sweeps came when the Gorillas faltered late in the contest. "We're just not getting the big plays," Bever said. "We're not getting the big hits when we need them and we're not getting the big pitches when we need them. It seems like every time we need a big hit, someone will smoke one, but it'll be right at somebody. That's pretty much what we've been going through." It was Emporia State that came up with the big plays on Wednesday, scoring six times in the final three innings to take a 10-4 advantage. The Gorillas scored twice in the ninth, but only dented the Hornet lead. "I don't know, maybe we're pushing too hard," Bever said. "We just need to relax and play. I think we might be trying too hard." Durk Wecker went six and one-third innings for the Gorillas, allowing six runs on 10 hits while striking out eight. "Durk did his job, he gave us a chance to win," Bever said. "He pitched really well and he had us in the ballgame." The Gorillas were in position to pick up a much-needed sweep on April 17 after Bryson Clark threw a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 win in the opener against Southwest Baptist. The Bearcats, however, erupted for 10 runs on 13 hits in the nightcap and killed PSU's dreams of a sweep with a 10-2 win. Clark was sparkling in the opener, allowing just two hits in the fifth inning while striking out seven and issuing just one walk. The Gorillas didn't give Clark any support until the seventh, when they reached SBU starter Zane Montgomery for four runs on four hits, including Michael Campbell's two-run single.Catcher T.J. Franklin was 3-for-4 in the game with a run scored while Campbell finished with two hits and those two crucial RBI. After Pitt State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third of the nightcap, the Bearcats jumped on PSU starter Garrett Forsythe for four runs in the third inning and then tacked on four more in the fourth. The Gorillas didn't make much noise after that, scoring just a lone run in the fifth. Pitt State will take another shot at putting together a winning streak this weekend when Northwest Missouri comes to Al Ortolani Field for a four-game series. "Time is getting short, we have to start making a run," Bever said. "It's not like we're very far out of things, but we need to start stringing some wins together." |
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