Author: Joey Yelenick

Ground Sloths Take Down Blue Caps in First Round

NORMAL, IL – The opening round of the Kernels Collegiate League playoffs kicked off on Wednesday evening at the Corn Crib, with a matchup between the four-seeded Ground Sloths and the first-seeded Blue Caps. 

The Sloths wasted no time getting on the board in the top of the first inning. Dalton Hobick set the tone with a first-pitch leadoff triple off the left-field wall, quickly followed by a wild pitch that allowed him to race home for the first run. Shea Zbrozek followed that up with a deep double to left-center, and he moved to third on a flyout from Mateo Casillas. Jimmy Anderson brought Zbrozek home on a sacrifice fly, giving the Sloths a two-run lead to start things off. 

In the bottom of the first, AJ Weller gave the Blue Caps their first baserunner of the game with a one-out walk. On a full count to John Shuey, Weller ran to steal second, but even though the pitch was called a ball, Ground Sloth catcher Charlie Graham threw to second anyway, which went over the second baseman’s head and into the outfield. Both runners advanced into scoring position on the play, which led to the Blue Caps getting one back on a fielder’s choice. 

After the first, both offenses went quiet for a few frames, as Blue Cap pitcher Jackson McDonald fanned six and Sloth pitcher Nicholas Currie only allowed two hits in five innings. 

In the bottom of the fourth, the Caps had a great chance to tie it up with runners on the corners and two gone. Blue Cap catcher Kannon Kleine lined one out to left that would have scored one, maybe two if not for the tremendous effort of Ground Sloth center fielder Blake Crancer, who made a leaping grab in left-center to end the inning. 

The Ground Sloths added to their lead in the sixth, loading the bases on a hit-by-pitch and a pair of walks. A wild pitch scored the lead runner Casillas, and Carter Selk and Will Applegate to second and third, respectively. Charlie Graham then lined a single out to center, scoring Applegate, but a nice throw from Hendren beat Selk to home. 

With the score sitting at 4-1 in the sixth, the Blue Caps needed to answer, and did by getting their first two batters on base. A pair of ground balls scored Caleb Royer, and an RBI double from Kleine reduced the Sloth lead to one entering the seventh. 

Blake Crancer led off for the Sloths in the seventh, and he hit an absolute missile to left-center field, a solo shot that gave the Sloths a two-run advantage. 

After a lead-off single from Riley Hendren to start the bottom of the seventh, a pair of outs had the Blue Caps staring down an opening-round loss. Caleb Royer lined a single to left that gave the Caps one, but a grounder right to the second baseman got the lead runner out, and the Sloths a first-round victory. 

Morton’s Five RBIs Lead Merchants To Victory

NORMAL, IL – The three-seeded Merchants took on the two-seeded Bobcats in Wednesday’s KCL nightcap Merchant shortstop Kody Morton brought home five runners on the night, helping lead the Merchants to a playoff victory. 

Clay Conn led off for the Merchants, and on the seventh pitch of his at-bat, he launched a homer over the right field wall to give his side an early lead. Merchant pitcher Dylan Nagle looked sharp early, as he struck out two in a one-two-three first inning. 

The Bobcats struck in the second though, as Ryan Quinlan drew a walk before Bennett Summers hit a triple to deep center that tied the game at one. The Merchants answered in the third though, as Morton brought home Conn on a sacrifice fly to make it a two-one game. It was then the Bobcats’ turn to tie it up again, as Dan Mosele hit an RBI double in the third. 

Braden Alexander, the Bobcats’ starter, calmed down the back-and-forth affair by sitting down the Merchants in order in the fourth. 

In the fifth, Morton made his mark with a two-RBI, ground-rule double into the corn in right field, giving his Merchants a two-run lead. 

Bobcat second baseman Jackson Smith launched a solo shot to lead off the bottom of the fifth, but his homer was the last run the Bobcats would score in the game. 

The Merchants put up a four-spot in the sixth, recording three hits and drawing a pair of walks, to essentially seal the game at 8-3, which ended up as the final score. 

The winners of Wednesday’s games will face off on Thursday at 5:00 PM, with the losers of Wednesday’s games playing shortly after the conclusion of game one. 

Hitter of the Day: Kody Morton, Merchants, Infielder, Danville Area CC

Morton tallied five RBIs in the Merchants’ 8-3 victory over the Blue Caps, including a fifth-inning, lead-taking double.

Pitcher of the Day: Nicholas Currie, Ground Sloths, Missouri S&T

Currie pitched five innings without allowing an earned run, striking out three and only allowing two hits as he picked up the win vs. the Blue Caps.

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