Thunder Sweep Indians

by Scott Montesano
Rome Indians Marketing Intern

(Rome, NY) The Plattsburgh Thunder banged out 17 runs on 19 hits as they swept a doubleheader from the Rome Indians Saturday afternoon at Larry DeLutis Field.

Plattsburgh defeated the Indians 12-6 in the opener and then 4-0 in the nightcap to complete the sweep.

In the first game, the Thunder exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning to break a scoreless tie.

Indians' starting pitcher David Rodriguez was able to get the first out. However, Seth Shuket followed with a homerun to leftfield and that opened up the flood gates.

Plattsburgh sent 11 men to the plate in the fifth inning.

Despite finding themselves buried in a 7-0 hole, the Indians did mount a couple of rallies to cut into the deficit.

In the bottom of the fifth, Damian Blakeley hit a three-run homerun to leftfield to make it 7-3.

After Plattsburgh added a run in the top of the seventh to make it 8-3, the Indians responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning, cutting the score to 8-6.

Unfortunately, this would be as close as Rome would get. Plattsburgh tacked on four insurance runs in the eighth to gain a 12-6 advantage.

Rodriguez suffered the loss for the Indians, lasting five innings and allowing six earned runs on seven hits.

Kevin Ryan threw 2.1 innings of mop up relief surrendering four earned runs on six hits. Josh Pardo pitched a scoreless final 1.2 innings to end the game.

Blakeley led the Indians offensively with two hits (including the homerun) and three RBIs.

In the nightcap, the Thunder scored the only runs they would need in the fourth inning.

With two outs, Pat Hughes legged out an infield single and eventually stole second base.

After a walk to Liam Miller, Doug Eitleman singled to left scoring Hughes. Miller then scored on an RBI double by Dan Stuart making it 2-0. Two late runs made it 4-0.

Pat Hughes earned a complete game victory on the mound, surrendering no runs and only three hits.

With the losses, the Indians now trail second place Mohawk Valley by 3.5 games. While time is running out on the regular season, the Indians do have a favorable schedule.

As long as the Indians only trail Mohawk Valley by no more than 2.0 games by next Saturday they will have a shot to make the playoffs. That is because the Indians conclude the regular season with back-to-back games against Mohawk Valley next weekend.

Still, before that potentially huge series comes around, the Indians have business to take care of. Rome hosts Watertown on Sunday night at 7pm. This is a makeup of the game that was rained out on July 9.

Box Scores

Game 1

					R	H	E		LOB
Plattsburgh	000	070	140	-	12	13	1		12
Rome	000	030	300	-	6	7	2		4

WP: Rick Suter
LP: David Rodriguez

2B: Plattsburgh - Pat Hughes
      Rome - Kyle Barrett

3B: Plattsburgh - Doug Eitleman

HR: Plattsburgh - Seth Shuket
      Rome - Damian Blakeley

Time: 2:46

Game 2

WP: Pat Hughes
LP: Joe Brown

2B: Plattsburgh - Liam Miller, Doug Eitleman

Time: 2:15