Spring Mills Braves overcome Lemont Ducks to tie series

LEMONT — After falling to the Lemont Ducks in the first game of a three-game series, the Spring Mills Braves looked to tie the first round of playoffs July 18. 

Most of the seven-inning game went by quickly as Ducks pitcher Brian Egan and the Braves’ Tyler Myers duked it out.

Through the first four innings, both pitchers were near even. Egan struck out four and allowed four runners, while Myers allowed five runners and struck out three.

The Braves lurched ahead in the top of the fifth and never looked back. With one out, Egan let up two straight singles to center field, followed by a walk to load the bases. That would be the end of the day for him, as the Ducks replaced Egan with Kenny Craig.
Craig struck out the first batter he faced. With two outs and the bases loaded, Micah Schrenkel came to bat. Already 1-2 on the day with a single and a ground out, Schrenkel unloaded on a pitch after a long at-bat, sending it past the diving glove of the Duck’s third baseman.

Kevin Sweeley and Kevin Conklin came in to score as Schrenkel slid into second. With runners on second and third and two out, Craig got Colton Treaster to fly out to center to end the inning, but the damage was done.
Myers stayed in for the Braves to complete the game and seal himself the win. In total, Myers faced eight base runners on five hits and struck out three in the shutout.

After the game, Schrenkel, who acts as the team’s manager and plays first base, was very humble about his impact on the game.

“One hit doesn’t do it,” said Schrenkel. “Everybody has to hit, the bases were loaded when I got my hit and it just works out that way. You can’t win with one person, everyone has to play.

‘Tyler (Myers) did wonderful, he made the pitches when he needed to and the defense made the play when they had to.”
With the series knotted at one apiece, both teams will head back to Spring Mills at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 20, to determine who will advance to the second round of the playoffs.

Looking forward to the decision-making game, Schrenkel and the Braves want to keep their offense going.
“(Our plan is to) just keep hitting the ball,” said Schrenkel. “You have to hit the ball to win, that’s all it is. This league, with the wooden bats, it’s all low-scoring games and defense. You have to put the ball in play and see what happens.”

Around the league, all of the higher-seeded teams won the second matches to tie up all three first-round series. The Howard Hawks outlasted the Pleasant Gap Peppers, 1-0, in eight innings, and the Spike Island Pirates dominated the Clarence Coyotes, 7-0.