The Royal Oak Leprechauns completed a two-game sweep over the Traverse City Pit Spitters on Thursday, cruising to a 5-2 result on the back of a great performance from the pitching staff.
Royal Oak’s second series of the season could not be more different from the first. During the first two games of the campaign, both against the Kalamazoo Growlers, the Leprechauns scored a total of 26 runs and allowed 25. During this pair of contests with the Pit Spitters, the combined score was 9-5 in favor of the Leprechauns, who have now improved to 3-1 on the season.
Leprechauns field manager Chris Faust gave the ball to start the game to Justin Brown, who had just redshirted at the University of Michigan this spring. Brown was stellar in his first pitching performance during an organized game since high school. He tossed four scoreless innings and surrendered just one hit and one walk. He saw just one above the minimum number of batters he could face.
“It felt great getting back into it,” Brown said. “Comfortably threw my three pitches (fastball, changeup, curveball) for strikes and it worked out up there.”
“He looked awesome on the mound,” Faust said. “Super competitive with three pitches. Throwing everything with conviction. It was really good to see a great start out of him right there.”
The fifth and sixth innings were handled by Ryan Kruse. In his third year with the Leprechauns, Kruse was going to need a solid outing after allowing seven runs and recording just one out as the Opening Day starter. Kruse handed in the type of performance both he and the Leprechauns needed, also keeping Traverse City off the board while he was on the mound.
“On the mental side, when you can go out there and can shut a team down, (it’s important to him),” Faust said. “Two scoreless innings out of him, super competitive with all his pitches, and he just looked more comfortable. Playing with a whole new team, a lot of new players, it’s really great to see out of him.”
Royal Oak’s offense was also not something to scoff at, either. The Leps struck first during the third inning, with Chase Van Ameyde hitting a leadoff double to start the frame. After Jack Boike and Dylan Larkins both drew walks to load the bases, Ryan Tyranski was able to hit in the first run of the game via an RBI fielder’s choice. In the sixth, Van Ameyde made it a 3-0 game after a one-out, two-RBI single that scorched to center field.
Traverse City did make a real attempt to try and get back into it, though. The Pit Spitters got on the board during the top of the seventh and had the bases loaded with nobody out during the eighth. Nick Brady got the Leprechauns out of the jam by trading a double play for a run and then stranded an additional runner on third by forcing a groundout.
“Him in high-leverage situations seems to kind of feel… him,” Faust said. “He likes to step up to those occasions, so he’s gonna be a guy that’ll keep getting the ball.”
“We (the pitching staff) just shoved all day,” Brady said. “Looked great out there.”
This is also where the ever-clutch Leprechaun offense comes in, too. In the end, Traverse City never made up any ground in those innings, since Royal Oak got the run it had just allowed in the top of the frame when it was its turn to bat. Jack Dauer got both of those RBIs by hitting a single in the seventh and a fielder’s choice in the eighth.
Since Brady got the Leprechauns out of a predicament in the eighth, Faust allowed him to go for the six-out save and gave him the ninth. He sat down all three batters he faced with his opportunity, tossing a strikeout to end the ballgame.
Royal Oak will shift its focus to its upcoming series against the Kenosha Kingfish, who are 1-2 at the time that this article is being written. Both games of the series will be at The Lucky Corner on Friday and Saturday, with both games having a start time of 6:35 p.m.
Single-game tickets to any upcoming Leprechauns home game can be bought HERE.
