No Room for Error

Oxford, AL – Monsters commit five errors in first three innings, get run-ruled for second time in three games and no-hit for first time in franchise history

Monday’s SBL scores
Atlanta Blues 14, Alpharetta 0
Brookhaven 3, Atlanta Crackers 2
Gainesville 4, Columbus 3
Gwinnett 11, Choccolocco 0

By Al Muskewitz


Just when it looked like the Choccolocco Monsters had taken a step forward, they went on the road to face a new opponent for the first time and took a step back.

The Monsters, coming off their first win in franchise history, made five errors in the first three innings, were run-ruled for the second time in their first three games and no-hit for the first time in franchise history in an 11-0 loss to the Gwinnett Astros Monday night.

Astros pitchers Cade Mitchell and Max Luke combined for 12 strikeouts and allowed the Monsters only four base runners – Tyler Waugh’s leadoff walk in the second and three walks by Luke in the seventh.

The Monsters hit only one ball to the outfield. Their best hope for a hit came in the seventh when Brant Deerman hit a ball through the infield that second baseman Ethan Roberts gloved and threw over for the out. They did get three runners in scoring position and loaded the bases in the seventh, but couldn’t get them home.

“It was kind of hard to figure out because some of that stuff is just baseball whether you’re playing wiffle ball in the backyard or you’re playing in the College World Series,” Monsters manager Steve Gillispie said. “We dropped two pitcher-fielding plays at first base, we didn’t want to go get fly balls in the outfield, we threw a couple balls away.

“They had 11 runs on eight hits; anytime you get more runs than hits something has gone wrong. Five errors, that’s mistake that’s hard to overcome and we had about five mistakes in the first eight hitters of the game and that was the ballgame and we just were deflated.

“I don’t believe it’s anything that practice yesterday could have fixed or prevented. We just came out with a lukewarm approach. The dial wasn’t turned up on the volume of the game.”

Life would be so much easier for the Monsters if they could ever get out of the first inning unscathed.

The Monsters fell behind in the first inning for the fifth time in their seven games and exhibitions. They’ve given up eight runs in the first inning of their last four. They did rally in one of the games for their first official win as a franchise last time out.

They’re simply giving teams too many extra runners. At first, their starting pitchers were issuing too many walks. Monday night, starter Nate Shipley strong enough, but the defense let them down. The five errors led to six unearned runs and a 9-0 deficit.

“Just from a pure baseball standpoint, if you’re going to give up a crooked number, you want to do it in the first couple innings because you’ve got a chance to manufacture and come back and chip away at it,” Gillispie said. “This has happened a couple times and familiarity will take you one way or another.

“We’ve had both outcomes. We’ve fallen behind and been run-ruled, we’ve fallen behind, come back and won a ballgame. What my job is now with my coaches is to make sure that familiarity doesn’t deflate the energy. You try to remember your past successes. Winners remember their past successes, teams that lose or individuals that struggle, they remember their past failures and both are self-fulfilling.”

The teams play each other again here Wednesday. [*** read more]

Choccolocco       000 000  0 –   0   0   5
Gwinnett            324 002 x  –  11  8   0
WP: Cade Mitchell. LP: Nate Shipley. 3B: Preston Welchel (G).

Sunbelt Baseball League standings