Pistol Shrimp Blank LumberKings Behind Herzog’s Gem
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Clinton LumberKings | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
|
Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | X | 6 | 10 | 0 |
PERU, Ill. — Jared Herzog twirled seven scoreless innings in relief and the Illinois Valley Pistol Shrimp (21-20, 10-6) strung together six runs on 10 hits to shut out the Clinton LumberKings (28-12, 10-5) 6-0 Tuesday night at Schweickert Stadium.
Clinton was held to just four hits and failed to advance a runner past second base, snapping their four-game winning streak and suffering their first shutout loss of the season.
The Pistol Shrimp opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st. Lucas Smith led off with a single, stole second, and later crossed the plate on a sacrifice fly to right field by Pambos Nicoloudes. Two innings later, Kyle Gibson doubled to left and scored on Nicoloudes' second RBI of the night—a single up the middle that made it 2-0.
Payton Hodges (1-1) kept the game close until the 6th, when Nicoloudes reached on a hit-by-pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and scored on James Love's RBI single to center. Love tried to stretch the hit into a triple but was thrown out at third, ending the inning with Illinois Valley up 3-0.
Jay Kennedy took over in the 7th but couldn't keep the deficit in check. In the 8th, Gibson reached on a single and came around on D'Andre Gaines' RBI hit to right. Love followed with an infield single that plated Gaines, and Jake Ferguson capped the rally with a bloop single to right to score Love, stretching the lead to 6-0.
Herzog (1-2), who entered in the 3rd after opener Andrew Ressler pitched two clean frames, dominated Clinton's lineup. The right-hander allowed just three hits, walked three, and struck out eight across seven innings to earn his first win of the season.
Hodges was charged with three earned runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. He walked one, struck out three, and hit a batter. Kennedy gave up three runs on five hits in two innings, while Tyler Nagelbach recorded the final out in the 8th.
At the plate, Nick Venteicher, Brayden Mulkey, Blake Timmons, and Drew Phillips recorded Clinton's only hits. The LumberKings struck out eight times and left six runners on base.
Gibson led Illinois Valley with a 3-for-4 night and two runs scored, while Nicoloudes and Love each drove in two. The Pistol Shrimp swiped four bags as a team and improved to 5-1 at home.